Surplus Musings

2009-08-02T17:49:00.001+05:30

Read somewhere:

Just wake up and see what is in life? It is nothing. What do you do? You take a paid job, you earn money all day, come home, spend money on weekends. That’s it. And have fights, love, then fight again, and then you die. Life is finished. And you don’t even get bored, because it is so boring. You don’t even realize it is so boring, because you haven’t seen anything better. If there is anything better and that is all you see, that is what you will do. There is nothing better in life to do, no goal, nothing.

2009-05-17T11:15:00.002+05:30

Random Musings

* Thankfully, a likely stable government.
* Are the rainy days about to begin? I can smell them.
* Very melancholic days. Bad time doesn't just come, it floods you from every possible corner.
* Waking up early without much effort these days. Surprising myself! But then, sleeping early too.
* So many things to do, so little time.
* Mango season hasn't used well. So far.

2009-05-15T08:16:00.001+05:30

Noise

The stuff that quickly fills the mind.

2009-05-12T11:36:00.001+05:30

Happiness

Sitting in a nondescript place looking through useless images shot a few hours ago.

2009-05-08T21:05:00.001+05:30

Discipline. The one word that is ringing in my head these days.

2009-05-06T09:48:00.001+05:30

The times of travels, as I can see are soon to begin all over again. Hopefully, exciting journeys!

2009-05-05T08:07:00.003+05:30

Waking up in the morning dull and dejected. Happens on a few mornings for no reasons. And happens many times if I doze off for long hours in the afternoon. It is some sort of feeling like being scared of missing the bus, or feeling terrible having missed the bus.

2009-05-04T18:13:00.003+05:30

There is one reason why I would like to see Mayawati in the prime minister's seat: we can then stop hoping. We can stop expecting that things will get better some day and we would see a better India. It will be a good time to pack up and apply for an immigrant visa in some developed country. Or even a developing country where weather is nice. Or any country where people are nice. Canada? New Zealand? Brazil? Cambodia?

I have always had an eye on New Zealand.

2009-05-04T18:10:00.002+05:30

Yesterday and Today.

* The car, which was gathering many inches of dust and tyres nearly drowned in mud is finally ready for use! Been a while since I was behind the wheel.

* A burst of rain and hail in the evening. Pleasure. Why is it that it rains in Bangalore only in the evenings? Any one from Met Department reading this?

* Some work is getting done. Some, not a lot. What I need to do is a lot more than a lot.

2009-05-03T21:37:00.003+05:30

I looked at the cover of 'Outlook Business' while I was at the grocery store, and decided to pick it up. It has a compilation of stories about twelve people who achieved something in an unfavourable environment. The list includes KP Singh, Subhash Goel, Capt. Gopinath, V Krishnamurthy(who lead Maruti's car project), Sam Pitroda, Vijay Bhatkar(who lead C-DAC in designing India's first supercomputer) among the twelve. Some of them started their projects from scratch and made everyone turn heads. The story about each of these men tries to describe in a few pages, the values and ideas that drove them, and how they achieved their goal. Makes an interesting read, and learning.

I particularly liked one thing that Capt. Gopinath said: "We all have our own magnetic needle, and we should overcome doubt to follow it".

2009-05-03T21:31:00.004+05:30

Mom came for a visit this morning, after a long journey through the night. She was sleepy after the tiring, sleepless journey. So I chose to take the honour of making breakfast. It had to be Uppittu - every man's favoured quick fix. And it is something I have mastered over years and confidant about not screwing up.

Halfway through the cooking session, I realized I forgot to buy lemons at the grocery shopping yesterday. Ok, lemon is not a vital ingredient for Uppittu, I told myself and continued. But it bothered me.

A minute later, I heard the sound of refrigerator door opening and closing. And mom calls out, do you want lemons? She had brought lemons with her!

February 2009 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2009-01-31T17:48:00.000+05:30

This month's desktop calendar wallpaper is from Khuri Village, Rajasthan. Click on the image to get it in 1024x768

2009-01-19T10:28:00.002+05:30

Why is there so much of a fuss against the big league industrialists proposing a name for the prime minister's job? People are talking about big guys sidelining one billion people. But Mittal and Ambani are also one of the one billion people and are free to pitch whoever they think are the right people. Yes, true, they have a bigger voice. But that doesn't mean they should keep their lips tight. They can propose someone freely, just the way you are I would talk about our preferences for the prime minister.

So here I go. I would not like to see Modi up there in chief's chair. He might bring in progress yes, but an autocratic man in top position can also cause damages. I can't think of a right prime ministerial candidate. LK Advani doesn't win my favours either. I have always felt he is one of the people genuinely concerned for the nation, but I doubt if he is competent enough. Right now, I can't think of anyone who can fit the bill. Time to wait and watch.

2009-01-19T08:34:00.003+05:30

2008 was a happy happy sort of year when I lived life careless, or simply said, freaked out. It was a breezy year full of nice nice things, mostly. I could take life for granted and live it as it comes. It is probably not because I was very composed, but because life was predictable. I usually knew that every tomorrow is likely to be as good a day as today. The whole year, from the very first day, till the very last day, lasted happily. The new year has begun with a sense of loss. The assured days will no longer be. Sometimes it feels like being carried to a cold and windy place and then being left along there; like walking on the banks of a beautiful river, and suddenly slipping into the cold water. I wish the days stayed like the last year.

But it is not very bad either. I could see these days coming, and spent some time preparing for them. Instead of spending time chilled and easy as I did for the whole year, I am organizing self to do more work, be methodical and spend time constructively than before, which hopefully fills up the losses. To some extent. Hopefully. Right now, I have managed to stay cheerful. I expect me to remain so in the coming days.

So the last two weeks have been spent trying to discipline myself. I wake up earlier than I did, go for a jog regularly, do more work than I did and have been meditating more regularly than before. May be somethings happen just to keep you on your toes, and might eventually turn good.

2009-01-09T08:51:00.001+05:30

There is never enough time, especially when you are wasting a lot of it.

Happy New Year + January 2009 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-12-31T09:20:00.000+05:30

Here is wishing all the readers of Surplus Musings a very happy new year. May the year be full of happiness for you.

This month's desktop calendar wallpaper is an image from Ladakh, a lake on the way to Pangong Tso. Click on the image to get it in 1024x768

2008-12-25T19:42:00.003+05:30

In a sort of irritated mood for last 2-3 days.. And I know it is going to intensify a bit for next day or two! So if you cross paths with me this week, just keep away! :)

2008-12-18T00:08:00.000+05:30

Here is another very relishing video. Have fun!

2008-12-17T22:31:00.002+05:30

The Story of Consumption

Here is a video everyone must see, and learn from. Excellent presentation of something most of us know and a lot of us prefer to ignore.

7 years + 600 posts + Random Updates

2008-12-05T16:33:00.003+05:30

7 years + 600 posts + Random Updates

After many hours of browsing on a leisurely day, I thought of posting something here today. On logging into my blogger console and when about to press 'New Post', I happened to notice I had crossed 600 posts recently. This is 603rd. I then recalled this is December, the month when I started this blog. But I had not rememebered the date and had to check back when the first post was made. Surplus Musings' birthday falls on 7th December.

So here we are - 600 posts and 7 years of Surplus Musings.

And to give some random life updates from the past few days. November was a busy month, and December seems to to be going that way. There are articles to write and make an attempt to sell, some software development work to complete and some software related work to get started with. In the meanwhile, my first article in a foreign publication appeared in Kansai Time Out magazine, Japan. The next 2-3 months will be spent trying to get into North American markets. Another recent publication is on Harmony magazine, published from Mumbai, to which I sold a few images from Hampi, thanks to a lead from a fellow photographer. Last month I said no to an opportunity to travel across India at someone else's expense and write about it. Don't ask me why I did not take it. In the meanwhile, it looks like I might be invited from another established photographer to work with him on a regular basis. But this is mostly on indoor shoots, and I am not sure how exciting is it likely to be. Keeping fingers crossed.

A trip to Goa happened in the last week of November amidst all this. Since there is enough work in hand these days, I am experimenting on carrying laptop as I travel, and it doesn't seem to be a bad idea at all!

Bombay Blues

2008-12-02T22:13:00.003+05:30

Bombay Blues

Shivraj Patil is a happy man. Jaipur was a pain. Kashmir was a bigger pain and Delhi was even more painful. They just did not let him change suits in peace day after day, hour after hour. Finally, it is Bombay that has allowed him to live a happy life ever after. Didn't you see him wave at people delightfully and do a big 'namaskara' as he announced his resignation? He would have had to go through few more agonizing months at office but for the men with guns going to work methodically at Mumbai.

A 'small incidence' happened in VT, Cama, Taj, Leopald, Trident and Nariman House put together. Very small indeed. Thankfully, small incidences make more small incidences happen. In a smaller incidence, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra RR Patil relinquished his rather big seat and became as small as he should really have always been.

I like Vilasrao Deshmukh a lot. He is the most honest person I have ever seen. He spoke to tv cameras on record that if the congress working committee thinks he holds responsibility for the incidences in Mumbai, he is willing to offer his resignation. Oops! Congress Working Committee had forgotten to tell the poor little kiddo Deshmukh about his responsibilities properly when he became chief minister. Not his fault at all, really.

It is Kerala chief minister whatzizname I love the most. 'No dog would visit Mr.Unnikrishnan's house but for Martyr Sandeep,' he is supposed to have said. Quite right he is. When dogs were not allowed into the house, dogs would not visit the house indeed.

The Tata Foolishness

2008-11-30T17:02:00.002+05:30

The Tata Foolishness

The Tata group has a policy, written or unwritten that is usually followed in all their companies - to source anything that they require from other Tata companies where such an option exists.

But the managers at the Taj took this a little too seriously, and went ahead and insured their properties with Tata AIG. The result - Tata Suns and other share holders of Tata Group will eventually pay from their pocket even when though the hotel is insured!

The Writers Itch and Block, and the mountains

2008-10-18T20:09:00.003+05:30

The Writers Itch and Block, and the mountains

Sometimes I get this itchy feeling in my fingers that I should be writing something right now. I am not sure if it is designed to be that way - the feeling almost always comes when I am somewhere out, and there is no way I can start writing immediately. And when I go home, the mood is lost, and as I boot the comp, have to struggle for words.

Today was one such situation that made me crave for a laptop when I was commuting in the city bus. Sitting in a rather stiff atmosphere in a Volvo where most people were returning home after work and there was a sort of dullness filling up the place, I felt a need to get away.

Michal Palin's book 'Himalaya' did an excellent job at transporting me out of the situation right into the mountains of Bhutan where snowy peaks loomed large outside his tent and a population that has refused to modernize stayed besides him. It all reminded me of Ladakh, where I was a few months ago and could never shake it up from my memory.

It took me to a scene more or less two months ago when I got caught in a sudden unexpected storm. Cold wind braced us and shafts of chilling water pierced our skin, changing the mood from pleasant and sunny to almost forbidding in a matter of less than a minute. There is always some good things to look forward to in every situation - we got sheltered in a nomad's tent and got a moment to peek into their life.

Its not as exotic as the word nomad sounds. They are not on their feet everyday, but stay put in a location for a few months. Although their tent is very rudimentary and can barely save them from the elements, the insides are not entirely void of creature comforts. What made me raise my eye-brows first was a rather sizey tape deck that seemed powerful enough to shake the tent made from yak fur. The next unexpected sight was a gas cylinder and stove for cooking. Back in the big city of Bangalore where everything should be a phone call (or these days, a click) away, one has to struggle with ration card, 'below poverty line' card, non-poor card or whatever that applies to you, and then run from pillar to post getting document after document ready and proving that you are who are and you live where you claim to live. But here is a nomad with no permanent residence or whatsoever, and who in the first place would have given an image of people far from civilization, happily cooking away on LPG.

The glasses in which we were served milk was pretty good too and was at least better than what I use at home. Can't exactly call their life as a comfy life, but it was good to see them living a life that is not as full of of struggle as it would have been for them a few generations ago.

Talking about all this, or reading books written on the mountains, or just this evening when I was having a conversation with someone about the Himalayas, I know there is something about these mountains that has a powerful draw. I am back from Kumaon only a week back, and Ladakh just a month ago. But a longing to be in the mountains surges the moment I descend into the plains. Its not just the scenery, the attraction of the rugged terrain and the experience of isolation. The people of the mountains, the clean air, way of life, everything combine and make a pitch to get me back there. I am looking forward to my next opportunity.

2008-10-07T00:41:00.003+05:30

It has been a short while since I am back from the might mountains, and is already time to re-visit again. Now to a different region - Kumaon Himalayas in Uttarakhand. Its almost been for a few years that I have been thinking - that I haven't ever been to these parts of Himalayas. Neither did an opportunity surface. The time has come now, though it is going to be a short trip.

I am heading towards Binsar for a few days this week. Unlike my usual journeys that are long and stretched, this one is going to be a quick visit. I did wish that while I am heading that way, might as well tour around and see more places. There is plenty to see - Corbett, Ranikhet, Nainital,... its tempting. But then, there is only so much you should travel, and an overdose is never good. With many smaller journeys lined up in South India and plenty of work to do sitting home, I shall resist temptations.

So it is again going to be time for some walking, time to shed whatever little fat I have acquired in last one month, see plenty of greenery, hangout in mountainous terrain that I have always loved, walk up, down and up but never on flat land, see snow-capped mountains on a wide horizon, wake up early in the morning, sniff fresh and cold air, allow the cold breeze on the ridges to push me gently, and fall in love.

As you can see, looking forward to departing, tomorrow.

Resurrection(or the nth attempt to it)

2008-10-01T19:41:00.003+05:30

Resurrection(or the nth attempt to it)

Its very well possible that I will be the only person reading this post. Its such a long time since I made any updates, unlikely there is anyone still lurking around. So be it, I tell myself, and continue to scribble anyway. It has been a few months since I have written on Surplus Musings, but that's now a regular affair. Once in a while I wake up and think, 'oh, there is surplus musings and I need to write something there'. And then I open my blogger dashboard, write a short post which always tells the same thing - that I am rarely updating this page and hope to get regular from now on. Admittedly, this is one such attempt. Now that I have made a habit of it, I might as well continue making such posts, don't I? For all you know I might end up with a guinness record for maximum number of resurrection attempts for a blog.

Now to get a little serious, its pure laziness(something I excel in) that keeps me from making any updates here. Once in a while I have better excuses to hide the laziness behind. Like now. I was on a two-month long trip to Ladakh, you see! Now, that sounds like a good excuse to me, so do please believe and trust me, and expect a lot of updates in the days to come on surplus musings.

So, now that I am back from a two-month long Ladakh trip, let me talk about it. It has been two weeks since I am back in Bangalore, but can't help but stay in Ladakh mood. The place has its magic that ensures that its after-effects remain for a long time. I am hoping I will make a fairly long story on the trip and publish it on India Travel Blog - long enough that it takes more than those two months I spent to write and publish it. But that will be some time later. Now, to give you a glimpse of Ladakh, here is an image to begin with.

After this short scribble, I kind of realized that I enjoy writing on surplus musings more than any other place. I can let my mind run freely and scribble what comes out, not worrying about how much sense it makes, not bothering to proof read or worry about the quality of posts. On India Travel Blog, my other weblog that frequently gets updated, it is an effort to try and bring some shape to an article, try to make sure that it is complete and readable and makes sense. Yes, I still do enjoy writing on ITB, but it is definitely not as easy as writing all the nonsense that I feel free to write here. Yes, may be I should give some more time for Surplus Musings.

October 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-09-30T09:40:00.000+05:30

This month's calendar is from Leh. View of Namgyal Tse Mo Gompa from Shanti Stupa in the evening hours.

September 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-09-01T01:22:00.000+05:30

September 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

Here is the desktop calendar wallpaper for September 2008, from Skandagiri near Bangalore. Click on the image to get 1024x768 version.

August 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-08-01T00:54:00.000+05:30

August 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

Here is the desktop calendar wallpaper for August 2008, from Kappad Beach, North Kerala. Click on the image to get 1024x768 version.

2008-07-01T02:58:00.003+05:30

Seen in 'Outlook', June 16th issue.

1. "...recalls a rally organized by the Delhi Cycling Club recently to promote green awareness. All these alleged environmentalists turned up in their Scorpios and pulled out their bicycles from the back. Not one of them had cycled there!"

2. "...drive 500 miles in a gas guzzling SUV to see a tiger and then feel they are pro-environment"

2008-07-01T02:56:00.002+05:30

Some dimwit American makes a post that proves what he is - dimwit. Must be in blood.

July 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-07-01T00:40:00.001+05:30

July 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

Here is the desktop calendar wallpaper for July 2008. Click on the image to get 1024x768 version.

Walks in India series on India Travel Blog

2008-06-05T11:27:00.005+05:30

Walks in India series on India Travel Blog

It has been a while since surplus musings has seen some activity. And most likely, things are not going to change much. This post is more like an 'insert', broadcasting about something I am working on on my travel blog.

During the month of June, India Travel Blog will be featuring a series of articles for travellers on Walks in India.

Unlike in many countries, walks and walking tours are not common or popular in India. This series intends to promote the idea of walks that can enable travellers to see and experience the places better by getting closer. The series explores short and easy walking trails across India, with which a traveller can witness history, culture, life, landscapes and heritage of the country.

The series will have fifteen walking trails, published through the month of June, containing detailed description of the walk along with maps, difficulty level, best season to do the walk, time of the day and distance of the trail.

The places include, but are not limited to metros and cities, and are chosen from every corner of the country. The walk intends to cover a lot of variety, such as walking the sand dunes in a village in Rajasthan, experiencing devotion on the bank of Ganga, seeing history come alive in the remains of ancient structures and short walks in snow amidst views of the snowy peaks.

Walks are a great way to see places, get up close to people and interact, observe carefully and see things better. They help the traveller take time and feel involved with the scenery instead of buzzing past and seeing things as a window-view. This series will assist you to find some great walks from all along the country and feel its pulse.

Walks published so far.

1. Introduction
2. Old Delhi Walk
3. Rishikesh Walk
4. Varanasi

June 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-05-31T16:06:00.000+05:30

June 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

The calendar for this month is from Madurai Meenakshi Temple. Click on the image to get it in 1024x768.

Karnataka Elections

2008-05-10T14:15:00.002+05:30

Karnataka Elections

I have cast my vote. Have you?

May 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-04-30T17:02:00.002+05:30

May 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

This month's calendar is a smiling young monk, from Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. Click on the image to get the larger version.

April 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-03-31T15:38:00.001+05:30

April 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

This month's calendar is a Sparrow taking a dip in a puddle.

Cycling and the Rains

2008-03-30T16:11:00.011+05:30

Cycling and the Rains

When I started out of home with the cycle, it looked like a normal day. There was a thin cloud cover which had been hovering on the city for a few days now, but it hardly looked like it is going to rain. I took off with the usual thought - 'been a nice weather, let me go now'.

I made past Jayanagar and to South End Circle and picked up a few magazines from a news agent there, the ones that I could not find near home. I was about head back and suddenly realized I had not noticed the fading light. It was only 3pm but looked like 6 in the evening; clouds had loomed in the sky and a few drops had already fallen.

'What to do,' I wondered. They were dark clouds, covered the whole sky and it thundered once in a while. Downpour was imminent and from the looks of the clouds, it would last for more than an hour. To head back or to wait was a hard decision to make, and I must have taken good five minutes figuring out and trying to put some logic into my mind. It would be a long boring wait if I were to wait for the rains to stop and clouds clear up. I decided 'lemme get drenched if I must' and took off.

Light drizzle and a gentle wind teased me as soon as I took off. Those who have known the leafy road passing along Laxman Rao park would know how much fun it would be to pass through it on a nice cloudy day with rains coming on and off. I cycled a kilometer or two with few drops falling on me every now and then. 'Such pleasure being here', I thought, 'I hope it doesn't rain hard till I reach home'. Before I knew, it had started pouring but I did not realize it as the rain takes much longer to drop down through the thick tree cover.

I got the first taste of big drops on me only when I passed through a junction with a patch sans tree cover. It started coming harder as I moved forward and in a moment it started pouring like mad. The few bikers on the road parked their vehicles and ran to find shelter. I was already pretty wet and decided to move on anyway, as I did not find any place near by to get under. I thought it is going to be a painful ride home but in a flash I figured I am actually having a ball out there in the middle of downpour. It was only a mental block that was telling me characteristically that one has to escape from rains and getting drenched would be a painful experience, but the thought drifted away in that moment of realization.

I rode ahead having absolute fun even as the rain hammered down at a speed that I had not seen in many months. Visibility was coming down and a few cars on the road had turned on their headlights. Some older cars without air conditioning had pulled over, unable to see through fogged windshields. It rained harder and I was reminded of BBMP's signs at the entry to Laxman Rao road warning that trees and branches tend to fall on the road on stormy days. But I rode on as my spirits were high and there was hardly anything I could do about it anyway.

Within a few minutes roads had turned into rivers and at times I had to get down and walk. Instead of staying off from them, I walked right through the puddles and played in the water, dragging my feet through the flowing water. At times when I was riding through the flow on the road, it felt as though I am gliding on them, and sometimes drifting with the flow. The tree lined road to my house was dimly lit and heavy drops from the leaves dripped on me continuously as I passed through them. For all the fun I was having, I nearly considered continuing further away from home in the rains.

My clothes, wallet, phone, the magazines I had bought, everything was completely drenched when I reached home. I was in such good mood, it hardly mattered. And coming home and standing under the shower was almost like letting the rains continue to pour on me all over again.

Cycling in the City

2008-03-16T19:04:00.005+05:30

Cycling in the City

Slowly and steadily, I am venturing farther and farther with my bicycle. I had never before cycled in city's heavily crowded main roads. Until recently I had only heard from others that riding on those two slim wheels is not the safest mode of transport. All those 'others' had done a good job in scaring me, which means I ventured out only in the odd non-peak hours and did not go beyond a few kilometers. But I kept going farther by the day and faced more aggressive drivers, and finally at times immersing myself in the big mean and noisy thing called peak hour traffic.

People who warned me of the dangers were very right. For some reason, every driver and rider who is gifted with the controls of an internal combustion engine seems to, miraculously, become blind to bicycles. When they turn left or right, or go in the wrong lanes or in the opposite direction in a one way as typical of us proud Bangaloreans, they somehow manage to see all those giant buses and trucks and even cars very clearly. And then they seem to get attracted to bicycles and at the same time don't get to see it, and end up trying hard to drive straight into the cyclist. That means the cyclist must start his ride with an attitude to be prepared to run or prepared to get banged. Most people choose the farmer option but still, fairly often we see riders who have ended up with the later.

The worst enemies of the cyclist are the cars and trucks parked illegally on the roads that have so lovingly planted 'no parking' signs. Time and again I come across them and am left with a difficult decision to move away from the comfort of the curb and to the center of the road. And moving to the center of the road often involves having to face the 'bicycle-blind' drivers in the heavy traffic. I have still been a chicken and often get down and then get into the footpath. But then how many of our roads have footpaths? The next big enemies are the two wheelers who just love riding on the extreme right side of the road, or in case of a double road, on the opposite side. There are so many such people, I have a feeling Bangalore has a cult of such riders. The third enemy is the cyclist himself, who I have seen, often jumps signals and cuts tersely into the center of the road oblivious to the fact that everyone else pretends to be blind to his presence. And soon after he cuts tersely, goes bang!

Five kilometers is as far away from home that I have ventured yet. I would love to sneak out farther early in the mornings but haven't done that so far. But then, cycling is love, and I know I will be spending more and more time with it. It has been such fun riding just for the sake of it. And it is keeping me from the guilt of burning fuel, and contributing to the already horrible traffic with my automobiles. Come, let's build cycling culture in this 'once-green' city; I am sure you will enjoy it.

A conversation at a wedding..

2008-03-03T08:34:00.002+05:30

A conversation at a wedding..

Not the usual socializing stuff.

I attend this wedding of a friend, meet a couple of friends and chat with them for a while and then walk up to the couple to wish them. I wished the girl, who is a good friend of mine, and then whispered to the guy - "I need to tell you something, just be careful, she is a very dangerous person.

"Well, thanks," he replied immediately, "it's a little too late to tell that now."

March 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-02-29T10:46:00.002+05:30

March 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

This month's calendar is of the views of distant hills in early morning fog.

Click on the image to get it in 1024x768

The genius of BMP engineers

2008-02-28T20:56:00.003+05:30

The genius of BMP engineers

We in Bangalore are always happening, lead the way, do new things that puts us apart from the rest. We showed how things can be done completely differently and in a totally unpredictable manner when we introduced a manned interchange on the first floor on Richmond Circle Flyover. I am sure no one has been able to achieve anything like that yet. We did not stop our innovative ideas there, we keep improving by the day. And it was evident with recently finished Kaveri Junction underpass. See the image for the layout of the underpass.

1. If you go from Sadashivanagar to Windsor Manor Bridge, you take the underpass
2. If you go from Mekhri circle to Windsor Manor Bridge, you go straight at ground level, uninterrupted
3. If you go from Windsor Manor Bridge to Mekhri circle, you once waited for signal. Now you go at ground level, along the route as shown in picture.

I got a chance to take this road a couple of days and could not help but appreciate the most ingenious design ever. We must give some awards to BMP engineers. As I passed the U turn and headed towards Mekhri circle, I felt that the shape of the road is oddly familiar. After a few seconds, it struck me. It struck me when I conceived the shape from Mekhri circle end - it looks like a 'question mark'! BCC engineers have given a very opt shape for their design! Very very apt!

The Morning Hours

2008-02-27T08:03:00.004+05:30

The Morning Hours

Last few days have been about getting up early and cycling for a good 30 minutes. While in the process, I already seem to have discovered a few muscles that earlier did not seem to exist. Darwin's theory about unused organs tapering away from the body over a long period(what is that theory called?) has less chances on operating on my clan now! I am reminded of what Ruskin Bond writes in one of his stories: 'In a hundred years, people will be born without legs. Of course by then, we will be having flying wheelchairs'.

The plan has been to wake up at 6 and start moving by 6.15. That means I can at least wake up by 6.30 and start moving by 6.45am. You have heard the phrase 'some things never change' and waking up on time is one of those 'some things'. The main roads look generally calm at this hour, but for the BPO cabs that do not quite align themselves with the cycles of sun and earth. The software crowd starts trickling in around 7 and gigantic buses buzz threateningly close to me. They have a long journey to make, and starting any later would hold them up for hours. But then, the world is full of smart people - everyone is starting early and it is again coming to the same story.

I used to sit in one of those buses sometime ago, and probably whiz past threateningly close to other cyclists. I see the same old expression of boredom on the faces of people heading to work. Reminds me all those attempts to make the mornings cheerful and not being all that successful with it. I encounter my once office bus at 7.15 and peer into it for familiar faces. All windows are closed and I can't see people inside well enough. I stop for a coffee around 7.30, and realize I have been having so much coffee lately that I don't enjoy it any more. I take a badaami haalu instead. It is 7.45 when I return home. All those once undiscovered muscles are now screaming of their existence!

The mall horror show

2008-02-24T19:18:00.003+05:30

The mall horror show

Over a short discussion on a Sunday afternoon, we decided to go for a movie in the evening. The movie we were looking for was playing in Fun Cinemas at Sigma Mall. We called up and booked tickets over phone. The show was to start at 9.30pm.

I drove to Cunningham road and reached there around 8.45pm. I wasn't too keen to take the car but it was late hours and car was a better option. Having heard of likely parking problems at the mall, I parked outside on the road where I found the first parking space. It was a half kilometer walk to the mall and I made it there at nine. We still had 30 minutes, but I had to pickup the tickets.

I was surprised to see the mall unusually crowded at this hour. There were people all over and hardly any space to walk around freely. The cinema hall was in the fourth floor. I planned to take the escalator but it was narrow and crowded. Besides, I figured there wasn't really any space in the lobby to comfortably go up and down the escalator(oops! no escalators for coming down at all), instead it was fixed besides a wall. And if you want to go all the way in escalator it was many complicated steps.

1. Beat the crowd, fight it out if you have to and find a place in the escalator and get to first floor.
2. Search around for the escalator to continue to second floor. It won't be visible anywhere. Realization comes - you need to get into some shop and emerge from the other side of the shop to find the escalator! This is the time most people abandon the escalator.
3. If you feel strong enough to take the pains to continue repeat steps one and two at each floor to get to the top.

I abandoned the escalator at the ground floor itself and searched for the stairs. Lift was a total no no. Stairs were hidden somewhere at the backside, but fortunately wide enough and spacious. But the crowd was big enough even there, that I had to search for some space for walking up. I slowly walked up to the fourth floor and hoped to find the entrance to the cinema. There isn't one! The only way through the fourth floor was into food court. Searching, I had no choice but to walk into the food court. The food court, not surprisingly is full with people. The chairs are so densely packed and there are so many people that it is a hard job walking through without tripping into a chair or bumping into someone. If you are claustrophobic, this is where you would meet your end.

The worst is yet to come. A narrow passage on the other side of the food court finally leads to the movie hall. I am relived, almost. Someone is checking the tickets at the entry. I walk into her and ask her where should I collect phone booking tickets. She looks at me as though I am a peasant and tells me -

"The ticket counter is at the basement sir".

And that sounds like a bombshell to me. I need to make another adventure to go back to the basement and come back all over again! I am amused at the sheer brilliance of the architects of the mall and the cinema for having the hall at the top floor and ticket counter at the basement. Surely there is some sadism involved. If Howard Roark were to come here, he would have died of shame.

I have no choice. I make my way, again via the claustrophobic food court and the stair case. To my horror, stairs stop at the ground floor and don't continue down to basement! That means you either have to take the lift or cut across using the ramp. Later is the worst of the two devils, so I choose the former. But why should I be worried about the lift? There are reasons for that.

1. There is a long queue of people already waiting for the lift for a long time.
2. I did see a mad rush in and out of the doors when the lift arrives; I feel creepy to be in that rush.
3. Later when I finally make my way into it, I see the sign on the lift reads that it can hold 20 people. But there is floor space for hardly ten; and the actual count of people inside is not a comforting number.

I waited for a good long time to finally manage it into the lift and get to the basement. Then, I had to endure another queue to get my tickets printed. On the way back, the lift scene occurs again, and I have to live with the drama of people rushing in and out at every floor from basement to the top. Finally when I am inside the hall, it is 9.27pm. 27 minutes, is as long it took, just to print my ticket and get into the hall.

After the movie was over, I walked to the basement to say goodbye to my accomplices. I see cars haphazardly parked all over the place and even on the driveway and the ramp as there is not enough parking. It should take the last person anywhere around twenty to thirty minutes to get his car out. I feel good about having parked the car outside, the only feel good moment while I was at the mall, and drive home swearing never to come back.

Later, I remembered an employee from Fun Cinemas whom I know telling me that they are having a tough time getting permission to open the hall there. No wonder it was so. First, the already busy Cunningham road gets clogged during the end of the show; and then there is not sufficient space and parking for everyone. But somehow(you know what 'somehow' usually is) folks from Fun Cinemas seem to have pulled it off.

Life's good..

2008-02-19T19:23:00.002+05:30

Life's good..

..when

* you don't have to worry about traffic jams in the city
* you get to decide when to wake up, when to eat and when to go to bed, with no obligations to keep up with time
* you can travel as you please, where you please, when you please
* you can finally find time to take out the guitar and re-start learning
* you can take out Spanish notes and re-start learning
* you have sufficient time to go out on weekdays, if you feel like
* you have sufficient time to travel-blog everyday, and sufficient dough to fill it with.
* you are contended, and really feel that you don't really a great deal more in life than what you already have.

Life, IS good.

Dont' be Hasty..

2008-02-14T12:01:00.003+05:30

Dont' be Hasty..

I am walking on the road near my house, and suddenly something falls in-front of me from a tree with a sonorous metallic sound. My eyes follow the object that disturb me - it is an empty deodorant bottle. Have deodorant bottles started growing in trees while I was away from town for just two weeks? Obviously no. It would have come from the first floor balcony of a house behind the tree. I don't like someone throwing things at me, and I hate it even more when people take littering as their right. I throw my hands in the air and am almost ready to tell who-ever is in the balcony to get their act right. And I see there, a three year old kid amusing himself and seemed to be bothered about having lost his toy. Don't be in a haste to conclude things, I tell myself, we have a kid in all of us.

Auto-rickshaw..

2008-02-13T19:48:00.003+05:30

Auto-rickshaw..

After a break from the city for 2 weeks, I land at the airport and head to the pre-paid auto counter. The cop there says no pre-paid facility, just go by the meter; which surprises me. I don't understand why. And then he adds, you need to pay 16% extra, which adds more surprise on the top of it. Further inquiry reveals that the prices have gone up by a rupee a kilometer. Having been recently in Delhi where transportation is much cheaper, I get irritated. Nevertheless, I don't have a choice. Had I had no luggage, I would have taken a bus without thinking twice.

Anyway, I get into a rickshaw. When I get in, the meter is already showing Rs.12. I ask the driver to reset it once and he pretends as though he did not hear me. I say again and he speaks to me rudely and taunts me as though he wants a fight. But I keep quiet and keep my cool, and he resets the meter. A few kilometers later, he asks me which route to take when he clearly knows there is only one sensible route. I answer. In 45 minutes, I am home. He reads the chart for mapping the increased fare, and says it is 120 rupees. But I know my math; I take the chart from him and see that it is only 110. I tell him so. After all these things, he feels he has the right for an extra 10 rupees. And he gets into a shameless begging routine now for that additional 10. I shrug, give him only the what is due and leave him without speaking a word.

And then I make a mental note to take the bus more and more, a process I have already started sometime ago with some degree of success.

February 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-02-01T21:24:00.000+05:30

February 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

February 2008 calendar is a happy bird breaking into a song :)

Click on the image to get it in 1024x768

Movie: Aa Dinagalu

2008-01-25T08:38:00.000+05:30

Movie: Aa Dinagalu

I had been planning this one for some time, and finally watched it yesterday.

Cinema probably started as a media and art for story telling. But as technology improved and the culture of hero-worship flourished, the idea of story telling faded and gave way to more dramatic things like techno wizardry, action and excessive portrayal of the mundane. Especially in Indian cinema, all these new things were sufficient to get people sit up and notice, and filmmakers over the years have been happily rehashing a formula or two to make new movies.

Aa Dinagalu is a clear exception, and has gone back to the basics. The movie has no thrilling sequences, no mind boggling technical works or special effects, no 'extra emotions' or nothing else that can help the audience watch the movie 'scent by scene'. It is a package as a whole, and tells a remarkable story with greatest simplicity, and as naturally as possible. And that is where the strength of the movie lies. Things keep moving smoothly and quickly on the screen, and when I came out I exclaimed to my friend - "Oh! It is a two-and-a-half hour movie, I did not realize I was sitting inside for that long".

Much has been already said about the storyline of the movie, and how, despite being a movie on rowdism, is devoid any on screen violence that is lately part of series of rowdism based Kannada movies. So I will leave the part of getting into those details here. It is already a 100 day old movie, and before it goes away from the halls, go watch it.

Youtubed..

2008-01-23T15:24:00.000+05:30

Youtubed..

What I have been listening to on youtube lately.

* Male ninthu hoda mele
* Ninnindale
* Minchagi neenu baralu

A New Record...

2008-01-10T10:05:00.000+05:30

A New Record...

Five hours on the phone! I can't believe I did it!

2008-01-09T00:09:00.000+05:30

This is one news I can't help posting here. Our honourable president of India visited Havelock island in Andamans, and 400 trees were chopped off in her honour, so as to give her clear views of the beach!

She herself is probably not directly guilty but the officers who worked to welcome her are. But then, someone in a responsible position must own the responsibility.

January 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2008-01-01T17:19:00.000+05:30

January 2008 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

Wishing a very happy new year to all the readers of Surplus Musings.

Calendar for January - one for the new year - is wild grass soaked in a new dawn.

Click on the image to get it in 1024x768

2007-12-28T01:13:00.000+05:30

Bhutto's assassination is deeply saddening. Just when our neighbours were looking like they are at least getting somewhere from nowhere, people who prefer life without peace have struck again. Just at a time when I was going through Chaplin's famous speech in 'The Great Dictator' on human beings living in peace and helping each other, what a contrasting news..

Heal the World..

2007-12-20T10:18:00.000+05:30

Heal the World..

I rediscovered this Jackson's video yesterday while picking through the pile of CDs. And then started on 'Heal the World' all over again. I must have listened to it a good thousand times and seen the video a hundred times, and never felt enough of it. The music is perfect, and so is the video and it has such a soothing feeling that keeps me playing it in loop and letting it run as long as it can run. And the expression of the children in the video - of happiness, sadness, qualm free laughter and joy, conquering the war machines - totally bowled over.

Youtube video apart, watch it on a bigger screen if you can.

Scorpions in Bangalore

2007-12-11T18:19:00.000+05:30

Scorpions in Bangalore

The legendary rock group is going to be in Bangalore, again. I was there the last time they made it to Bangalore and could not help raving about it for many many days after the show. It was easily one of the best ever live music performances that I had ever witnessed. I can still recall those energetic folks on the stage churning out some of their amazing numbers; it was as awesome as it could get. They are going to be back in town on the 16th of this month. Don't miss it if you love traditional rock.

The six year celebration

2007-12-11T11:12:00.001+05:30

The six year celebration

When this blog completed its six years, it was a big time news everywhere. It made into the headlines and television companies spent bulk of their time reading lines from this blog, and newspapers spent bulk of their spaces printing extracts. On the big day, they sent their their pack of sixteen year old journos to interview the celebrated blogger behing the blog. Sixteen year olds because, all the eighteen year olds were running behind Sanjay Dutts and Salman Khans and it was the turn of seventeen year olds to attend college to give proxy to the eighteen year olds.

I refused to talk to sixteen year olds as a matter of my esteemed status, but the tv companies said that other than the 16 year olds, Karan Thapar is the only guy who is free right now, and they can send him instead. Thapar, I hear, is having a tough time finding people willing to be interviewed for the full lenght of the program and is so sitting idle. I somehow suddenly found comfort with sixteen year olds! I faced them all in a press conference in the comfort of a seven star hotel.

While I was arriving at the hotel in my black limo, the sixteen year olds were already waiting for me and plunged into me. I barely survived, thanks to my bodyguards. Finally at the press conference -

Sixteen Year Olds: Sir, your blog has completed six years. HOW ARE YOU FEELING?

Me: [Throwing my hands in the air, beaming widely, trying to find where is what through my dark sunglasses in dimly lit room full of dimwits] It's been awesome folks.. You guys rock! Let's get this going!

SYOs: Sir, any highlights and achievements you want to mention in these six years?
Me: Yes yes, I completed six years

SYOs: Err.. I mean, any thing important that happened to you or your blog in these six years.
Me: Yes.. yes.. you heard me. Isn't it a great achievemnt? I completed six years. Its awesome folks!

SYOs: [not sure where to go next] Any other important achievements sir? Anything other than that?
Me: Please don't insult me. I completed six years. Please celebrate that. You have dinner and drinks arranged for you, all at my expense.

SYOs: What are your future plans for the blog sir?
Me: I have plenty of plans for this blog. It has a great future. A year down the line, I intend to complete seven years of blogging and eight years further on.. I will then hire an exotic island for the press meet. Its going to get better and better.

SYOs: Sir, do you plan to enter politics?
Me: Hmm.. not really. I don't like politics and power play. I prefer to stay away from all this and write letters.. no, not letters, blog posts. Great Devegowda, who was never greedy for power is a role model for me. I strive for the poor of this country and I do this striving thing with my brothers, sisters, children, parents and other members of my family.

SYOs: How did it all start?
Me: It was easy. One fine day I was sitting in a dark room, lonely and bored. I was feeling unhappy seeing all happy people. No one cared for me. I tried to get life, without success, because I did not know how to get it. I remained unhappy, and then I got angry about all the happy people. I wanted to make all happy people become unhappy like me. I wanted to bore them to death and torture their minds with things that they would not want to know or care. Then the idea of blogging flashed! That was how I could find readers for me whom I could torture with ease and make then unhappy. You know rest of the story.. don't you? You know, no?

SYOs: Sir, we are overwhelmed by your vision. Any message for our viewers?
Me: Yes, yes.. Today's generation should take up blogging.. you should all complete six years like me, and then seven years and so on. This is the only way to bridge the digital divide. Let's have some food now.. Those of you who are minors, be careful with the drinks.. Thank you, thank you.

Six Sexy Years

2007-12-06T13:36:00.000+05:30

Six Sexy Years

Surplus Musings has done six years today!

Long way, isn't it? :)

December 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2007-12-01T20:09:00.000+05:30

December 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

This month's calendar is the pretty Hirekolale lake in Chikmaglur. Click on the image to get it in 1024x768.

Dreaming..

2007-11-15T10:23:00.000+05:30

Dreaming..

The mild fog of the morning, streaks of sunrays emerging through the leaves enhanced by the thickness in air, gentle cold kissing the skin and an attempt to strike balance with it by exposing oneself to the equally gentle sun.

Winter mornings are here, a season I cherish and love, and yet makes it difficult to get away from the bed to feel the beauty of the world.

The thoughts, feelings and experiences I have had on my way to work today morning.

A friend waves me franitcally at workplace, completely ignored by me in my dreamy world until she shouts out my name loud. I think I will be a for-ever misfit in the array of cubicles that guard the modern economy.

Yeah, call me impatient!

Winter morning fog at Nandi

A few more books..

2007-11-11T23:08:00.000+05:30

A few more books..

It has been a while since I have shopped for books. I deliberately avoided purchases since there was a backlog of unread books to complete. The temptation to enter a bookshop and steal half of their goods was always there. Today's buy -

1. Grihabhanga - SL Bhyrappa, some of his old novels have remained unread.
2. Love in the time of Cholera. So far have read only one book of Garcia Marquez(One hundred years of solitude), and hopelessly impressed by the stuff he wrote.
3. Hitch-Hikers guide to the galaxy five novel edition. Believe me, I haven't been introduced to H2G2 yet.
4. Alice's adventure in wonderland. Had read it when I was a kid, and had found it totally boring. Can't recall anything about it now.
5. Sarvajnana Vachanagalu. Was actually looking for works of Akkamahadevi, did not find them and picked up this anyway.

Innovation..

2007-11-10T23:46:00.000+05:30

Innovation..

I have been too sleepy lately - it has been a week since I haven't been waking up to the alarm. It goes totally unheard, and when I finally wake up, it will be an hour or two late.

I set the alarm and leave the mobile on the bed when going to sleep. These lazy days, it probably needs a little louder sound to wake me up, but the volume is set to high and there is nothing more that can be done about it. After some thinking, I hit up with an idea to work around it. Yesterday I took a steel plate and placed the mobile on it instead of leaving it on the bed. Next morning when the alarm started ringing, it's vibrating alert made a loud shrill noise colliding with the steel plate. And it worked just perfect and served the purpose!

Now I am getting wild ideas and considering placing the mobile on the guitar strings! Who knows.. I might end up with a would be chart-buster tune.. :D

November 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2007-11-01T09:42:00.000+05:30

November 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

November 2007 Calendar is an image from Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh. This was shot from Batal village on the bank of Chandra river, where we spent a night in July-07.

Click on the image to get 1024x768 version.

Bless Bangalore's traffic!

2007-10-25T20:20:00.000+05:30

Bless Bangalore's traffic!

I know you won't come across such a title anywhere else. Read along and figure out yourself!

I left work yesterday a little later than usual, and ended up missing the office bus. Next option was public transport. I walked up to the bus stop and got into the Volvo that arrived almost immediately. As I was getting in, I suddenly remembered I had almost no cash in my wallet. I open it and see a single Rs.10 bill laughing at me. I scourged my bag for whatever change available, and found another fifteen rupees. Still Rs.10 short of Rs.35 needed to take me home.

After some quick thinking, I took a seat and asked for a ticket to Marathahalli. The plan was to at least cross the gigantic traffic jams at Marathahalli in comfort, and then take an ordinary bus, for which the money on me would have sufficed.

Our bus joined the long tail of vehicles near Kundalahalli gate when a brainwave flashed into me. As the bus made its way through the traffic in snail pace, I kept a watch on the surroundings. A few minutes after slowly moving forward, I found what I wanted. I jumped at the sight of first ATM and ran into it. It was luckily empty, and I had some money on me in two minutes. I ran back to see that the bus had not managed to move an inch forward, and happily got into it with some money in hand to pay for rest of the journey!

It's Time for More

2007-10-22T20:27:00.000+05:30

It's Time for More

Many years of pondering, a few discussions, some strong words by a friend over the weekend, a few email exchanges in the last few weeks, some incidences in the last one month, a revisited plan and a will to sacrifice less important things in life. All things put together have lead to a simple and much needed decision. Now, it's time for more! 2008 will see more of everything, including(but not limited to)

* more travel
* more photography
* more books
* more guitar
* more commitment to service
* more free time
* more movies, more Rangashankara
* more blog posts
* and many more Mores!

And there will be time to learn many things that have been infinitely postponed - Spanish, for instance. All in all, it is time for more fun.

Nanda Devi

2007-10-20T15:58:00.001+05:30

Nanda Devi

Every time I get a fat courier delivered home, I get curious. It is usually a copy of a mag where I have written in, or something equally exciting. Yesterday was one such day. When I came home in the evening, I saw a copy of a travel catalog and a cheque! The good folks at Mountain Travel Sobek had decided to use my image of Nanda Devi below, for their 2008 catalog to promote this tour.

Busy is the word..

2007-10-16T11:54:00.000+05:30

Busy is the word..

October has been a month of being busy. At work that is, which is not very normal for me. In the meanwhile, made a wonderful trip to Melukote last weekend. Here is a picture to start with. As always, it will follow up with a report on India Travel Blog, but only after my busy days are over!

Intrigued..

2007-10-08T23:30:00.000+05:30

Intrigued..

* by the fact that I always keep finding single socks in my pile of clothes every now and then, with the other one missing or hidden somewhere, never available when needed.
* on the driving habits of Bangaloreans, and their incredible skill to cook up a traffic jam even at places where it is least likely to happen.
* on discovering lipstick mark on the rear view mirror of my car! Why would someone(hopefully a pretty girl) target a mirror but not me instead! :p
* on having to prove myself. I am told that I look younger than I am - something I am neither elated nor bothered about. But sometimes in peer groups(especially at work) I am meeting for first/second time, I get snubbed until I prove myself - a process I have started enjoying lately.
* on discovering that there are a few more people who are like me, and who can understand my thought processes - something I did not really expect.
* when people tell me that they wish they were like me, even when they don't seem to be of 'my type'. All the more intrigued that I seem to have some admirers, which I never seem to understand.
* when people throw garbage all over the place and justify it by saying that they are only throwing bio-degradable stuff; pretentious friends of environment! Snobs and SOBs is what I would like to call them but I am cultured to be polite. I pity the education they have allowed to filter into their peanut brains.
* Of the monstrous home loans. Self owned house is supposed to give you freedom; does it really give freedom of mind?
* Of people who can't prioritize their own life.. Of those who run behind things that are supposed to be good instead of things that ARE good!
* Of me! For acceding, to some degree, to the previous point.

October 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2007-10-04T19:31:00.001+05:30

October 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

I decided to make previous image into this month's desktop calendar wallpaper. Click on the image to get the picture in 1024x768

At Gokarna..

2007-10-03T14:44:00.000+05:30

At Gokarna..

Stretched the last weekend into a three day trip to Gokarna. Very beautiful place, and as it usually happens to me with such places, I am already thinking of when to head there again. Here is a picture, with a report soon to follow on India Travel Blog.

Ways to tackle mice at Work

2007-09-27T20:52:00.000+05:30

Ways to tackle mice at Work

I was baffled and amused and choked when I had to witness security personnel called to deal with an intruder in the form of a mere mouse. And then I wondered how else would they deal with a mouse in other workplaces.

At the Whitehouse: The CIA would be called to work on who released the mouse into White House. In the meanwhile, the news has somehow leaked to the press. Al Gore's camp is already saying that mice are invading places where they were never seen earlier, all due to Global Warming. But the Bush camp and CIA believe Osama has a hand in it. While both parties continue to occupy most of the time slots in tv shows and a nation of clueless fools tries to wonder whom to believe, US Army has already invaded Nigeria and taken over all the oil wells. No one knows how Nigeria came into picture. Haliburton has taken up contracts on dealing with all those wells, thanks to the mouse. In the meanwhile everyone has forgotten about the mouse which is still having a free run in the kitchen!

At a factory in China, busy exporting cheap goods: It is fairly obvious. There is a big commotion. Everyone runs behind the mouse. After all, it is he who catches the mouse gets to have it for dinner.

Parliament House, New Delhi: Someone catches the mouse and throws it at the arena of opposition parties. A fight breaks out immediately and no one cares for the speaker who starts shouting first, and then begs for mercy! The parliament is adjourned for the day while the mouse continues to stay inside.

McKinsey, KPMG, or any other consulting company: They run a research and study, including a market survey to find indicators on how the mouse entered. Past data on mouse intrusion is collected and a trend chart is made to check the likelihood of mouse's occurrences in future. They are still clueless. When they realize that mice are not their core competency, they hire another consulting company and pay big time money to get their advice. A lot of presentations are made and plenty of money changes hands. Lot of people become rich and finally the findings will indicate that the mice in office are harmless and no action needs to be taken.

Deutsche Bank, Citi, or any other big bank: Presence of mouse is treated seriously and taken as a security breach. Processes are reviewed and 10,000 page document is created to ensure mice do not enter office. At the end of the whole exercise, they still find mice in the office, which provokes them to hire KPMG to work on the problem. Go to previous point to know what happens finally.

LN Mittal's Office: Pays 10 billion dollars to buy the mouse, and in the process pays another billion dollar to the consulting firm that negotiated the deal and yet another billion to the investment bankers who worked on the deal. End of the day, everyone is happy except the grumbling mouse.

Bill Gate's Office: Decorates the mouse nicely and sells it for a thousand dollars. The mouse gets sick often, and he charges another 10,000 dollars to fix it each time. As he laughs his way to the bank, the folks at Sun Microsystems who tried to sell a healthy mouse without decorations and failed, keep grumbling about Gates' unhealthy business practices.

Vidhanasoudha, Bangalore: A yawning Devegowda calls a press conference and sleepily tells the waiting press that the mouse will not be transferred to BJP. Kumaraswamy calls a press conference next day and says he will keep his word and transfer the mouse to BJP. Meanwhile, press has a free run as each JDS member gives a different statement. Whatever they do, the mouse remains in Vidhanasoudha.

All India Congress Committee office: They are too scared to decide how to act on it, because any decision can make a section to pick a fight. They leave the decision to Soniaji instead. Sonia appoints Rahul as mouse manager for AICC. Rahul goes on an overseas trip with Congress money to have some fun while the folks at AICC office silently keep up with the mouse.

What would happen at your workplace?

A Guest @ Work..

2007-09-26T21:22:00.000+05:30

A Guest @ Work..

Was at a training room today morning at work. We must be around 20-25 people and were half-way through the training. If you don't understand what half-way through the training means - people were just beginning to shift to sleepy mode. And then an intruder appeared out of nowhere. It was a tiny mouse that had lost his co-ordinates and was gripped with fear!

The next part of the story is slightly predictable. The girls in the room screamed and there was sudden burst of activity in the room - a quick transformation from the sleepy mood! The mouse would have found a corner to hide and it would all be fine, but some one got a brainwave and called the security personnel! I am not sure since when did the security staff's job extend to flushing out tiny four legged intruders! Obviously neither were they trained to it and nor were they equipped.

Someone did arrive and he had a totally confused look on his face. Poor chap, I am sure he never thought he would have to face such situations in his job! But luck was in his favor - a few seconds after he opened the door and came in, the troubled mouse found it's way out of the ruckus from the still open door and relieved every one of the further trouble.

India wins the Twenty 20 World Cup

2007-09-24T20:55:00.000+05:30

India wins the Twenty 20 World Cup

Nobody predicted it isn't it? Well, that's when it is all the more fun. I wasn't meant to watch the match as something else kept me from it; but managed to make it for the last four overs of the match. I think those were the overs that were really really worth the entire game. Few little things of interest at the end of the match.

- As soon as the last ball was caught by Sreesanth, ESPN did not throw in a hurricane of ads as they normally would, but continued the relay. Bless them.
- Did you notice? Joginder Sharma's last ball was a lousy one. If Misbah just stood his ground, the ball was an ideal candidate for another sixer. It was a showdown between two stupid guys; at the end the stupider of the two lost out! :D
- Ravi Shastri kept saying again and again that Misbah's brain is working like a computer. Finally every computer meets its virus! :D
- Dhoni seems to be a really cool dude. As much as he is known to keep his cool in difficult moments, he did not really go bananas after the win.
- Harbhajan seemed to be the most delighted of the whole lot
- Did you see Dhoni instructing team members to go around the ground soon after the match was over? A few of them took off, and Dhoni himself stayed back!
- And when they started running, they were empty handed. Then they cleverly picked up some flags from the spectators
- Did you see those two ladies brining in the cup? Someone had carefully designed awful looking dresses for them. And they wore such perfect artificial smile, it would make the most seasoned air hostess to go into hiding!

The presentation ceremony is on as I am writing this. Am looking for more things interesting to update.. :)

- Pathan's tensions have no end. He was struggling and stuttering with words as he received man of the match award.
- Afridi says - "Winning and loosing doesn't really matter". Well Afridi, we understand :)
- Dhoni said it straight and clear - "No one expected us to win". You guys did it man!

SeventyMM and the ordeal of ordering

2007-09-20T16:58:00.001+05:30

SeventyMM and the ordeal of ordering

One fine day, I woke up and decided that I need to watch more movies from now on. In a few hours, I had subscribed to seventymm and was on a roll. You see, I am a very decisive person who can act real fast! And as soon as I enrolled, the fun started.

Folks at seventymm seem to believe that if they stay silent, they may have to let go a customer. So I was immediately bombarded with communications from them. First shock - there were four emails on my mail box.

Email 1: Welcome to seventymm, blah, blah and more blah..
Email 2: Thank you for registering to seventymm, etc, etc.. Yes, if I remember correctly (1) and (2) were different emails.
Email 3: Thanks for the payment..
Email 4: Here is the faq, these are the features we have, these are the things you do, so on and on and on and on..

And it looks like they were not sure if people read there emails. Within 5 minutes of registration, some one called me up and thanked me for the subscription and gave me some instructions. He said they can deliver me a movie on the same day and asked me to add a few movies in my queue, just in case the specific ones I wanted weren't available.

Done. Waited for the movie that never came on the same day. It turns out they are really low on inventory. I had entered 8 movies in my queue and they did not have any of them!

Ok. But they were not to leave me for myself. Two days later I get a call from an unknown number. Its the seventymm folks! And they "re-remembered" me! The lady who called said, "sir, this is a welcome call sir.. thank you for subscribing to seventymm saar.. you can do this and this and you should do this and this saar.. thank you saar.." and banged the phone down. Never even bothered to explain why my movies weren't delivered to me as they had mentioned earlier.

The best part was yet to come. You would never guess anyone would do this to you. Another day later, they were still not sure if I love them enough. I received a courier from them, and it turned out to be a hardcopy of the faq on their website. Admit you could never have guessed this, did ya?

After 2 more days, they finally had some of the movies I wanted. Thank god, at least the wait was not eternal! But the delivery process added more fun.

Someone called me on Tuesday and said - "shall I deliver the movie saar..?"

I was unwell and at home that day.

Me: Okay.. bring it to my home address. Not to office address.

Caller: Which area saar?

I could not believe that he can't look up my home address in the system. Anyway I told him. He said "okay saar.. I will bring it" and hung up. I waited for my movies to come to me that day. They never did.

Next day, I am at office. I get the call again; now he is now trying to deliver it home while I am at work. "Saar, I am near your house.. can you give me landmark and directions?" I gave him, told him that I am not at home and asked him to leave it with the neighbours.

So I presumed I will finally have the DVDs in the evening. I was wrong. They had not come! Another day passes, and I am at work and the phone rings. "seventymm sir.. shall I bring the movies?" Now I was ready for their call; I nearly expected them to call every day, at least once. I love the way they love their customers! I said, "ok, get it to office," but never hoped it will come. Late afternoon and I get another call with familiar greeting -

"seventymm sir..!"

But this time the news was better. "Sir I am waiting outside the gate."

I thought wow, and finally received the movie from my loving caller! That was yesterday. I am hoping I won't have any calls from them today.

The story was not finished though. As I was entering back into my office with DVDs in hand, the dutiful security folks stopped me. STPI premises, no unauthorized magnetic media inside the office, etc, etc. Darn! Why did not these seventymm guys give me the movies in a cover or something! So I had to surrender it at the gates and could only pick it up when I was leaving office for the day!

What an ordeal, I think I am drained enough that I have no energy left for watching the movie now!

A New Way to Give Directions

2007-09-20T12:43:00.000+05:30

A New Way to Give Directions

Big time rains paralysed Bangalore last week, with traffic jams all over the city. The word 'paralysed' has already lost the emphasis it is supposed to create due to overuse. But until we come up with a better word, let's hang on to what we have. I would not be too keen to admit on lack of creativity anyway.

Not to digress from the main topic, it suddenly flashed to me that we can have a whole new way to give directions when someone asks how to reach a place. For example, here is a great way to tell someone how to drive from Banashankari to ITPL - a road I frequently commute on.

"Start from Banashankari towards Ragigudda and enjoy the smooth flow of traffic in the first few minutes. Enter Jayadeva Hosiptal flyover and join the line of vehicles already piled on the top of the flyover. And just wait there! If you move forward in less than 15 minutes, you are probably at the wrong place. Crawl along with rest of the traffic to reach 16th main junction and again - just wait there! After waiting till you get totatlly frustrated, jump the signal with the help of your neighbouring cab driver(Now, this is something I really don't do and recommend, but that's how it usually happens) and somehow continue to crawl further. In case you see yourself in a breezy fast moving lane, you have missed your way, so look around for the longest traffic jam around and join back in the tail!

You somehow managed to drive through SilkBoard. Now let out all the frustrations you have had on your accelerator; but just stay away from the cabs, okay? Continue the smooth ride till you reach the big long pile of cars at Sarjapur Junction. And of course, next thing to do is wait! After clearing the junction, look for the immediate traffic jam near Bellandur and gleefully join the long queue. Clear this again, vent out your ire on the accelarator(remember - I told you to stay away from cabs) till you reach another set of traffic jams at Marathahalli. Go right up the flyover and join the traffic jam. And once you come down the flyover, get into the next traffic jam at Kundalahalli. Your next landmark(!) will be the traffic jam at Graphite. Just when you are thinking you had enough for the day, all the gates open up from here and give you a free run all the way to ITPL."

That's it! The trick is very simple. Just spot the next jam and join the gang, and you will automatically reach your destination!

I am sure it applies to most of the roads in city. Try it the next time someone asks you for directions!

The loot at the bro's

2007-09-17T19:10:00.000+05:30

The loot at the bro's

Been to bro's place a couple of days back and came back with an awesome loot. A little bit of burrowing and I got a small treasure to carry home with me - a cool book and five classic movies that I had not seen!

- The latest Harry Potter(Deathly Hollows)
- Dead Man Walking
- Casablanca
- Amistad
- Doctor Zivago
- As Good as it gets

The loot is really as good as it gets! Thanks bro!

Small Changes @ Surplus Musings

2007-09-17T19:04:00.000+05:30

Small Changes @ Surplus Musings

Now that I can surely say that Surplus Musings has returned to life after a long period of inactivity, it is time to start making more changes. For one, I got rid of the old commenting system - Yaccs and replaced it with blogger comments. But many thanks to the nice guys at yaccs for selflessly supporting commenting for such a long time. I thought of expressing my gratitude with a small donation as I moved on, only to find that they no longer accept.. Now commenting interface is much better but I have to agree to forgo all the comments that were ever made on surplus musings earlier.

A few more changes will follow soon. I need to update my blogroll which is completely outdated. A few minor changes may also happen in the look and feel of the blog, but I have a feeling that is unlikely.

For a Good Friend..

2007-09-15T09:34:00.000+05:30

For a Good Friend..

She was relocating. She already lived 1000 miles away but was moving another 10,000 miles further. I called her on the day she was about to leave.

Me: Hey, so you leaving tonite..

She: Yes, the flight is at xyz hour..

Me: Great, you have a great time wherever you live, etc, etc..

She: Thanks, you too have a good time.. blah.. blah..

Me: You know you are going to be missed.

Now, that had given her the opportunity to burst and spatter all her ire that was lying dormant till now and waiting to come out. She nearly screamed -

She: Ya? When you went to Spiti Valley you did not even tell me. We were planning a Ladakh trip for such a long time and you said you are going to be busy and all that and then you folks suddenly left without even leaving a word.. after you guys come back I get to hear the news.. you did not even tell.. you did not even call.. $%&^$@*&%^....

Now I was not looking forward to this one. I had not seen it coming.

Me: Jeez.. you would have come? But I presumed you were busy with relocation plan, GRE and all that.. you had been telling that you hardly have time in your hands, and been running all over the place.. gawd.. so sorry.. you know it would have been so nice to have you around.. mumble.. mumble..

She: Ya.. you tell me all this now.. I so wanted to go there.. and you did not even say a word.. ^&*#^$(#@^^...

Me: Oops.. umm.. *searching for words* ok, my mistake.. Now, say some sweet sweet words before you go; don't be so harsh, be nice and goody goody.. :)

She: hmmm.. alrite then. So be it..

And that nearly ended our conversation with a few more customary exchanges of parting friends.

'A' was one of the best travel companions I have ever had and could ever ask for. She knew the right ways to travel, ways to make closed doors open, and be her natural self even in unfavorable times. There are few people who would acknowledge my thoughts exactly as they were and when she spoke, I often thought - "this is exactly what was in my mind". 'A', you will be missed, and those beautiful journeys with you will be remembered.

Funny Blogs..

2007-09-12T11:10:00.000+05:30

Funny Blogs..

Have been checking out funny blogs on the web in the last few days. There aren't many people out there. May be when god creates people, humour is not on the top of his mind.

Silverine. Just the way I like humour to be. Not too strong, not too light. She must check word count for her posts though; sometime they get really long. Too much funny can cause stomach ache.

Ouchmytoe. Funny indeed. But this guy has got some problems. He has marketed his blog heavily as a funny blog, and now under pressure to keep up. So when his creative juices are low, still tries to cook something up; and easily lands up with some soft porn in the process. Nevertheless, good read.

Pri. Funny and cruel. Cruel to people around her and funny to the rest. Checkout her blog, but don't get too close or you might be victimized!

Bikerdude. Funny, and very creative at it. Have a look, but you may have to be a big time linguist to understand some of his posts. Not updated frequently.

Ramki's cartoons are funny though his blog is meant to be more serious.

My blog hunt for funny people will continue. Watch this space for more updates.

Paintball..

2007-09-10T19:18:00.000+05:30

Paintball..

A surprise invitation from guys from an old gang saw me heading to play paintball last weekend. Funny how things turn out, only sometime back I was thinking of exploring it and as if someone figured it, plans fell in place!

Checkout the link to know what paintball is all about. If you are too lazy to click(I know you will be!), here is a quick brief. Its a shooting game with semi-automatic toy guns. For bullets, you use colorful balls with liquid inside it. When you are hit, the ball bursts and the liquid splashes all over your body declaring you out!

Our instructor showed us how to shoot and seeing the way the paintball jetted out, people gasped. "ouch.. it can hurt". It does, but not badly. Nine of us, we split into two groups with ours being smaller - four people. World has to be unfair to me isn't it? :D But we played 3 games in as many hours and we won all that, killing our enemies in no time.. Okay, thats not the truth.. We lost two of those games but we still won one game despite being a smaller team ok? My best moment was when I and an enemy were hiding the in the same bunker - opposite ends. I threw wisdom and caution into air and boldly got up and shot bang into his face before he knew what happened! hahaha... D But in the previous game, those folks - three of them had attacked me from three different and had shot me like Sallu shooting the poor black bucks.. :P

After three games we headed to bushy wilderness outside the arena and started shooting everyone all over the place. I had a spat of guns with S and at the end of a burst, it turned out I had not shot her even once properly! It was like in the bond movies, one party gets shot by a revolver but the bond happily escapes truck loads of machine guns aiming at him! darn!

We were tired at the end of the game and rested for a while, and on the way, our guide showed us a guava orchard in their campus with nice ripe fruits. After we walked past the orchard, there were no ripe fruits in the trees he he!! :D

It was a fun game, except that one of the close shots I took still pains slightly.. :)

Septermber 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2007-09-04T09:37:00.000+05:30

Septermber 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

This month's calendar is the beautiful Chandratal Lake in Lahaul and Spiti region, Himachal Pradesh. Click on the image to get 1024x768 version.

My Room..

2007-09-02T10:17:00.000+05:30

My Room..

When Mouna wrote about the mess that her room has been, I asked her to post a photo. But mine was no better, and it seemed worth a picture. Disclaimer: It is not always like this, but now matter how it is, it always gets to being like this some day!

1. I had wired something a few months ago for some temporary purpose. The purpose is past now but the wires remain.
2. The hotspot - right now seem to be carrying too many things - my guitar, small backpack, many clothes, unicef 2008 calendars box, camera, lens, a few books and many more things that are yet to be discovered and listed! Where to I sleep then? Good question! :D But it is empty below the cot - mind you - it is chaotic but not dirty. At least the floor sees some cleaning every day.
3. The curtain is alright, but has a few things invisible. 2-3 data cables to connect to me to the world, a hub.. The poster you see to the left of the curtain is intended to reflect the chaos of my room. It is not visible well in the pic; it says 'this is my room' and has a cartoon of a room similar to mine!
4. The computer table - has a small unorganized pile of books and CDs, Flash card reader to the right of it. There is an equal amount of chaos in the rack below too..

Like with most people, nothing gets lost in this room and anything I need will be always found in no time. On the days when it is all organized, I never seem to find things..

Picture in 2008 UNICEF Calendar

2007-09-01T21:33:00.000+05:30

Picture in 2008 UNICEF Calendar

A courier guy banged the door early in the morning and handed me a huge package, which seemed to be from overseas. I did not remember ordering anything recently and wondered what it would be, and checked for the sender. It was from UNICEF, and I was delighted to see it. It has 2008 calendars with one of my photographs in it.

See the larger sized image here.

Movie Review: Mathad Mathad Mallige

2007-08-31T17:17:00.001+05:30

Movie Review: Mathad Mathad Mallige

Director: Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar
Cast: Vishnuvardhan, Suhasini, Sudeep

To summarize, the movie has a drab story, excellent screenplay, poor cinematography and good performance by Vishnu.

It is a winner, and is worth watching because there aren't many movies(yet) with the story line, and the good screen play makes up for other shortfalls of the movie.

At some point of time, I started wondering if Mathad Mathad Mallige is trying to induce an effect a la Bangarada Manushya with its viewers. There is plenty of talk to praise the farmers and the worthiness and holiness of the land he tills, mixed with bashing of the rich multinational companies which are projected as exploiters of the poor in the movie. A lot of things have been taken from the recent political scenario like the Naxal problem spreading to Karnataka, Singur SEZ episode and mining issues in North Karnata. Some of the ideals are valid and thought provoking though there is a lot of prejudice that goes with the script.

The story starts with a multinational mining company looking to acquire some land in a fertile village, eventually resulting in conflict between villagers and the government, with Naxalism and Gandhi's principles working against the forces of governance. There are a few sidelines to the story which don't add much to the movie but was probably needed to make the movie a little more interesting.

Nagathihalli has done an excellent job with the movie which has been packaged and presented well to ensure that there are no dull moments anywhere in the movie. Go watch it!

Career Ponderings..

2007-08-29T12:07:00.001+05:30

Career Ponderings..

It has been sufficiently long time for me in the software industry to get bored. Or may be the correct way to put it is - since I got bored, it feels like sufficiently long time!

I have considered alternate careers many a times. Infact thinking of alternate careers was a hobby for me until recently! Photography was something I thought of a few years ago but no one recognized this photography genius! :D Travel Writing was the next plan that is still alive. If all went as I wanted, I would have quit my deskjob by the end of this year. But the guy up there always throws in surprises. He introduced a life changing, catastrophic event in my life which busted the quitting plans.

So now that I am stuck here in my deskjob, lemme look at all good things, funny things, nice things, lovely things that come with my job and make myself feel like a king! Well, to cut all that crap, I have no work today and trying to find ways to kill time. :D

1. Funny Managers. The folks who want to call meetings, and then have another meeting to review what was discussed in the first meeting. After many days of running around meetings, they will also call a meeting to check if all the meetings were effective.
2. Endless cups of cofee and endless banter with colleagues about funny managers, only to get back to office and meekly end up in the latest meeting called by the same fella..
3. Long calls with overseas counterparts to discuss stuff that are not really problems but are made to look like problem, and then not arriving at a solution, but pretending as though some productive hours were spent brainstorming! Finally arriving at an action plan to ignore the non-problem for now!
4. Long lunches and long walks following it. How I used to hate walking after lunch. I relish it now, thanks to good company.
5. Long commute to work in public transport that seems to be specially designed to carry techie folks, and watching faces of peole - tense faces, boring faces, dull faces.. And every day listening to someone or the other taking a call and answering - "I am on my way.. I will be there in <insert some time<.. ok?"
6. Traffic Jams in the long commute. I love them so much because extended commute time means more sleep in the bus! :D
7. Free internet, some blogging time, twittering, flickring and exchanging personal mails full of silly nonsense..
8. Being asked by funny managers to provide some funny data that would be used by no one, and the kind of data that everyone knows that no body will have; telling the funny manager that no one has that data and listening to him saying he needs it anyway; cooking up that data from nowhere and keeping everyone happy - the funny manager, his funnier manager who initially asked for the data and poor us who initially told the truth.
9. Gasping when we get to know that funny manager got some quarterly performance award for submitting the cooked up data that incidentally turned out to be as ideal as it should be!

There would be much more to add surely, but I have to get to doing somethings very unimportant right now.. What are your amusements at work?

The Salman Gate!

2007-08-28T09:50:00.000+05:30

The Salman Gate!

Warning: Really long post, worthy of Salman Khan! If you don't have enough time, I have marked the juicy stuff in bold, just for you!

Entire media was talking about it all the time and they tracked it much much better than Hyderabda story. I might as well follow the trend. Actually, let me admit the truth, I never switched on any news channels after the bombs blasted.

Infact it was many months since I had seen any news channels at all. I haven't managed to master the art of staring at the tube yet, and of late it had mostly remained switched off for many months. By fate's design or accident, I turned on the tube on that fine Saturday morning. I know Salman Khan would say Saturday morning was not fine, but anyway..! Fate's devious schemes lead me to tune to Times Now and they were doing a great job in enlightening the nation with every detail about the front gates of Salman's apartment. I got curious; how can I not? Afterall, all news channels have been working so hard to stimulate the nation's curiosity, and it is our duty to respond to it. The news that the channels knew - Salman is taking 11:30 Jet Airways flight from Mumbai with his family and lawyers to Jodhpur and is going to surrender at the Jodhpur court.

So here is the minute by minute update on what happened on Times Now.

Saturday morning 9:55AM: Unlike the usual me who wakes up early on weekends, I got up only around 9, and have been slowly starting my day. I had heard Indians had made a big score yesterday for a change and wanted to figure if they had won. I switch on the tv and search for some news channels; I stumble upon Times Now.

10:00AM. News begins with headlines. The first headlines is about their dear Salman, followed by some political nonsense and lastly India's win.

10:01AM The Salman's Gate coverage is live now. Yes, they are showing the gates of his house live! And how pretty it is!

They have posted a reporter with a camera there to see what's going on. To their bad luck, all tv channels also have done the same thing! So we get to see the gate once in a while in a big crowd of media persons. And don't forget - it is a very pretty gate!

One of the clever guys in some tv company plays smart - he get's a ladder - the kind of aluminium ladder you see in hardware shops and has installed it in front of the gate, so he can have a top view of the gate! To his bad luck, folks from other tv channels accompany him to the top. Whoever said it is lonely at the top was not correct!

The lady in the newsroom hammers the reporters at the gate with questions. They talk a lot between them, but for the convenience of the reader, I summarize the converstion. It goes like this:

Lady at the Newsroom(LN): What is going on there?[Note: Let's call this Question One]
Reporter at the pretty gate(RPG): umm.. not much really, we are all confused. I wish I knew what is going on.
LN: Is Salman inside his house?
RPG: Seems like that. There are lot of cars inside. I think Salman is inside.

A few cars come in/out of the gate. There is some traffic on the road in front of the gate - buses, rickshaws, etc.. The channel makes sure that nothing is left uncovered.

LN: So tell us, what is going on there?
RPG: umm.. I will ask the cameraman to show it all to you.

She tells the cameraman who was focussing on her face - "show the gate", and the cameraman is delighted to focus again on the pretty gate.

LN: What do you think is Salman's mood out there?
RPG: Umm.. I am not sure, but let's have a look at the gate.

Once in a while, they show a small 10 second clipping of a video with Salman, which they claim is previous day's. They keep repeating it again and again but never for long because they wanted to focus more on the pretty gate.

Question One is repeated continuously and now I am admiring the girl reporting from the gate. She has the consistency of a lawyer with her answers and never once made a different statement. She also manages to answer patiently even though LN keeps disturbing her from peacefully admiring the pretty gate.

10:16AM. Suddenly there is a change. Times Now guys move on to airport where they have stationed another girl to await Salman. We get to see the approach to airport live! How lucky we are! Occasionally, we are also shown live another reporter who is waiting at Jodhpur for Salman. But there are no pretty gates at airport or in Jodhpur, so we return to the good old gate which we love so much.

Meanwhile, yours truly is impressed. I did not expect the gate to be covered in such a detail, and did not know how much more is yet to come. But now I am no longer gawking at the gate now, since I am yet to learn the art of gawking at the tube properly. Instead, I go make myself a coffee, get hold of the newspaper and settle down comfily while everyone else was staring at the pretty gate.

10:36AM. Coverage of the gate continues non-stop. I am all excited to be able to see the gate for so long. Who cares about silly things like the nuclear deals when we have such lovely gate to stare at? I feel blessed. Suddenly there is some commotion beyond the gate! We spot Salman Khan walking towards the gate. Apparently he loves that gate too. But since it is the gate that we were covering, we could not see him properly while he speaks to the media! After a few minutes, the folks at Times Now somehow manage to get a footage of his speach, probably from a neighbouring reporter.

We also notice that Salman is wearing a shirt, which was unexpected. On his lawyer's advice, I presume.

Salman Speaks: As a responsible citizen of India I am going to Jodhpur to surrender, though I don't have the court order with me.

Now, this is why I love Salman. Anyone else would have said, "I am going to Jodhpur to surrender". Who would have thought of prepending that with so much responsibility? Afterall, Salman takes his responsibility seriously. Do you remember once he took responsibility for India's growing population and mowed down a few sleepy folks at the footpath?

His lawyer added in legalese longo: As a reposnsible person... And with the rights that can be exercised by any citizen of the country, we will file an appeal with the higher court...

And then they drove for airport. Suddenly the gate did not look as pretty as it did. So the live coverage switched in rapid successions between airport, pretty gate and Jodhpur. In the meanwhile, Times Now spoke with some one who they told us is Salman's Lawyer, and the lawyer repeated his words a few more times before pretending loss of contact.

While the airport premise was being covered live, I left the tv on and went for a bath. I made sure it is a long bath with full faith in our tv channel to continue the coverage when I am back. And they did not disappoint me. Salman had arrived at the airport and had gone inside, and the tv crew continued to cover the airport premise while he was inside. It was 10:55 by then.

I was completely impressed by the magnanimity of the coverage that Times Now managed and was keen to continue watching till Salman would reach Jodhpur, and then surrender at the court, and then being lead to the Jail. After that, I am sure we could have got to see the Jail Gate in plenty. But I was missing the pretty gate that we started with, and was not too keen about seeing anything else. So I decided to switch off and move on, thanking Times Now for all their hard work to show the us the pretty gate.

Becoming Bengalooru..

2007-08-24T12:43:00.000+05:30

Becoming Bengalooru..

It is now official. What was once called Bangalore is now officially declared as Bengalooru. There will be some battle of spellings between Bengaluru and Bengalooru until the official name sinks in the minds of people properly. In the occasion of name change, this long time Bangalorean(from now on a Bengaloorean!) looks at other things that have been changing in Bengalooru, along with its name.

The most evident change is in construction activity. There are flyovers all over the place and a new Metro work has taken over most of MG Road. Needless to talk about hundreds of buildings all over the place - on lake beds, government land, other people lands, and sometimes even their legally owned land! And tree felling comes naturally with all this. Trees gone on Kanakapura road, Vanivilas road, Malleswaram, MG Road... So the erstwhile Garden City can now be called a Baldened City! If the same thing continues forever, after some time we can call it a barren city.

Then they called it air conditioned city. Lets admit that things haven't changed very much and the climate is still pleasent and much cooler than the boiling summers we see in rest of the country. But there is some change in the air. Haven't you noticed it getting more black and smelly over time? There is some chance that your eyes and nose have adapted to the slow change and you may not have realized that change at all. I would call this getting conditioned to the air in the once air conditioned city! So if you haven't realized the 'change in air', take a break, go out somewhere for a few days and come back and you will know.

What was then a pensioner's paradise has now taken more accepted and well known names like IT/BT city, silicon city, etc. Those people who have given all these names have conveniently forgotten to add a few more adjectives like garbage city, traffic jam city, chaocity, etc. But I am confident that all these names will come sooner or later, and changing the official name of the city is just the beginning of it. Let's wait and watch!

Last Word: With the kind of fast growth that Bangalore has seen, and with sudden widening of Bangalore's periphery in the form of Brihat Bangalore, it would not be wrong to name the city as ObeCity

Nokia Batteries..

2007-08-22T14:02:00.001+05:30

Nokia Batteries..

So Nokia is recalling batteries that were getting hot and posing a risk. Most of you who own Nokias would have checked your batteries hoping that your's doesn't need a replacement. I for one also checked my battery anxiously, but with a hope that it needed a replacement. The battery was getting old, and is lasting only half the duration of what it once used to. I could have definitely done with a free replacement! :D

Bad news: Looks like my phone has a good battery in it. Now I want to sue Nokia for that. Anyone offering legal help? I can let you in on a generous 50% of claim money!

Mungaru Maleye..

2007-08-21T12:32:00.000+05:30

Mungaru Maleye..

Five years ago when I looked down from the cliffs of Jog Falls, there were just us out there. Last week when I returned, the place was full of people. Mungaru Male effect has conquered Jog.

An image from last week's trip

I missed the quietness we had at the cliff the last time around. The crowd caught my eye more than the falls did. The highlights:

1. People leaning over the rocks to see the water falling down.
2. People leaning over people who were leaning over the rocks!
3. People unwilling to get to the edge, but were just getting edgy!
4. People trying to act daring but pretty bad at the act!
5. People who wanted to be photogrpahed.
6. People who photographed the people who wanted to be photographed.
7. Photographers(commercial) who were seeking people who wanted their photographs!
8. People who wanted to see the photographs I shot!
9. People who controlled their kids
10. Kids who tried to escape their people's contorl!
11. People who wanted their people to see what they saw!

Strumming the Guitar

2007-08-19T18:18:00.000+05:30

Strumming the Guitar

I have now set a new world record! And never really expected that it would happen. It has been three months since I have started learning guitar, and I haven't given up yet. Yes, three months is a real long time for me when it comes to sticking to something.

There is another kind of record that I have carefully hidden from rest of the world. The secret is becoming harder to keep within me and longing to come out, so I might as well share it. It is about the keyboard classes a few years back. I enrolled for weekend classes, went to first class, and was all excited about it. Next weekend I was out of town. The weekend after that I wasn't well and was again out of town the weekend after that. After that I felt too ashamed to get back to the class and show my face, and found solace in hiding myself from the teacher and then hiding the keyboard from me! I even gave away the keyboard to a friend, lest its memory would haunt me!

A slightly better performance was with the Spanish classes. I was all enthu about learning Espanol and proudly declared to my teacher in my first class - "I would like to learn Spanish, so I can travel to Latin America". She was impressed. But the impression did not last long when I started missing classes. Two months is as long I went to the class, and to be honest, I am surprised that I lasted that long!

Now, my guitar class thing had a few advantages. First, the classes happen right behind my house, and there is some level of flexibility with timings. That wasn't really enough, what worked is the persistence of the guy who conducts the classes. Each time I am missing in the class, he would call me to remind. I would politely say I can't make it due to a million excuses, and he would call me back again for the next class with the persistence of a monitor lizard. So after missing classes for a month, I gave in again and started going back.

I have been more regular now, and there is some confidence that I can really make it through this one. Wish me!

A Short Conversation...

2007-08-14T11:39:00.000+05:30

A Short Conversation...

The walk from my office to BMTC bus stop is a little longer than I would want it, and takes a good 10 minutes. Yesterday evening when I was about to leave, I saw my boss also was on his way out, and decided to ask to drop me at the bus-stop. Here went our conversation.

Me: You headed home..?

Boss: Me, no. Am going out for a dinner.

I wondered why did I get so much of details instead of a Yes or No. And I further wondered about his early dinner plans because it was still 6.15. Anyway I carried on.

Me: ok, can you drop me at the bus stop?

Boss: Ya sure, come over.

As I packed my stuff and got ready to get out, he continued.

Boss: So otherwise how do you go?

I was not sure what exactly he wanted to ask. Ofcourse I would walk to the bus stop, what else?

Me: Walk, naturally!

Boss: No, not that.. from the bus stop how do you go?

Now this was a question I was least expecting. I almost wanted to ask him to take a wild guess and come up with an answer. But a boss is a boss. So hiding any possibility of funny looks on my face and trying to sound normal, I responded -

Me: I take the bus from bus stop.

Boss: oh.. ok!!

And thus ended the conversation.

Plant Trees...

2007-08-09T21:47:00.000+05:30

Plant Trees...

Reproduced from Bangalore Metblogs

This is about a lady called Janet who plants trees.

You can have a tree planted on someone's behalf to commemorate a birthday, anniversary, ceremony, or just another day you're glad to be alive. So far she's planted over 650 trees...She's looking for people who can become members of her charitable trust and contribute 100 rupees per month.

She's also trying to get in touch with companies to see if the corporates can accommodate her mission - The Rajanet Yegneshwaran Charitable Trust.

She plants trees anywhere and everywhere - sidewalks, schools, churches, company compounds, houses... If you know any place where there's place for a tree, get in touch with Janet on 9845449703.

Spread the word. The rest will follow...

Conversation with a Dentist..

2007-08-09T10:32:00.000+05:30

Conversation with a Dentist..

My sister in law happens to be a dentist, the kind of professional I prefer to stay away from. Anyway, who likes the people who push weapons of mass destruction into your mouth and let them have a free run?

Last time I had gone to a dentist, the dentist had warned me about the deteriorating condition of one of my teeth - the one in extreme left bottom. I was telling this to sis-in-law and she decided to inspect herself.

SIL: Open your mouth..

I reluctantly opened, recollecting my dentistophobia.

SIL inspected the teeth in question and exclaimed - "oh.. this is a wisdom tooth, needs to be removed."

I replied instantly - "you are a bad dentist!"

She peeped into my mouth again and said "see, this is not properly aligned. We will have to pull it out".

me: surely you are a very bad doctor.

SIL: Do you have any pain?

me: No, just that the person who inspected my teeth said there can be problems in future.

At that moment, SIL did not have her equipment to diagnose properly and gave a verdict. So she just said - "fine, no problem then. If there is no pain, don't worry right now. Once you get the pain, let's pull that tooth out.."

me: I don't trust you any more. Get away. Are you sure you are a dentist? Show me your certificate..!

And we agreed to change topics while I convinced myself to ignore the problem!

India Needs no emission norms?

2007-08-01T21:08:00.000+05:30

India Needs no emission norms?

Government of India thinks developing countries should not be restricted with emission norms, as it affects their development.

I wish we had a vision further into future. We are fast on our way to becoming growth hungry, consumerist nation following the footsteps of the west. If we continue the trend of double digit growth in the economy(which is not bad) and start gulping every available resource in the already resource crunched country(which is bad), it is not hard to see what happens in next 15 years. If the nation of one billion starts running behind growth and if every Indian start consuming as much as the Americans, this earth will be empty in no time and what follows will be nothing short of catastrophe.

Sure, we need our people to come out of poverty and live better life. But there are better way to approach better living. We need to tax cars and subsidize buses. We need to promote local marketing against packaged foods. We need to tax polluting products to subsidize eco-friendly products. We need to encourage green ways of doing things. We have to find ways to uplift farmers as a priority than creating more billionaires. There are plenty of things we are now doing the wrong way, for which we need to think long term.

And to add finally, yes, the governments must take steps in these directions but there is a lot that we all can contribute as individuals.

Working with traffic jams

2007-07-31T15:24:00.000+05:30

Working with traffic jams

One fine day on our way back from work, just escaping a traffic jam only to enter another one, yours truly and a friend + colleague + fellow-commuter decided to do some "Root Cause Analysis" using all the management jargons we had learnt in our glorious career. Glorious because, if I call it boring, it defeats all the marketing lessons we have had!

So we started by the book - by creating a "problem definition" first. Then follow some simple logical steps to arrive at a solution.

Traffic jams are caused all over Bangalore in the morning hours and evening hours. What is traffic jam and why does it happen?

Traffic jam is a phenomenon where inflow of vehicles at a certain location are more than outflow of vehicles, resulting in accumulation of vehicles at that location.

The problem is now defined in simple words. Let's look at the parameters involved. Vehicles are the subject of traffic jam. Inflow and outflow are the activities involving the subjects. Since higher inflow being the root of the problem, this is where we should address it.

Location: Marathahalli Bridge.
Inflow: Arrives from Whitefield, via graphite junction and Kundalahalli gate.
Outflow: Outflow is regulated at Marathahalli Bridge.

Ok, now we know what needs to be addressed. Next question is to work on an approach. The solution now looks obvious. Regulate the inflow to a degree that it does not overshoot the outflow! So let's take a careful look at that parameter to arrive at a solution.

Inflow comes via Graphite Junction and Kundalahalli Gate. So the obvious resolution to the problem - let's have checkpoints at these locations to ensure reduced inflow at Marathahalli Bridge! Now for the implementation strategy - install signals and appoint cops in these junctions so that no more vehicles than what Marathahalli Bridge can take shall pass through these places!

Incidentally, those who have been taking this route for last two years would have noticed that this is exactly the approach taken by Bangalore Traffic Police in the stretch. Two years ago, we had a major problem of a traffic jam at Marathahalli Bridge. It was eventually distributed to multiple areas, creating traffic jams all over the place.

But can't really blame them. We simply don't have enough roads to match the number of vehicles that are getting that are getting into the roads everyday. Guys, let's start taking buses, let's not become contributors to the pains that the city is going through.

August 2007 Desktop Wallpaper Calendar

2007-07-31T07:12:00.000+05:30

August 2007 Desktop Wallpaper Calendar

I decided to use a picture of Taj Mahal for this month's calendar, since it was in news recently. Click on the image to get it in 1024x768 size.

Thadiyandamol remembered..

2007-07-29T15:27:00.000+05:30

Thadiyandamol remembered..

I was looking at some photos in my gallery just now and memories of Thadiyandamol came rushing. We had a so-so weather and so-so scenery the previous day and we weren't expecting much. But when I woke up in the morning just before sunrise, I was awed. It all was too beautiful to be true. No more words, just pictures...

Views from the place where we had camped

sights of the morning

Another picture

I guess Thadi is a place I can't stay away from for long. It was my third trip there 2 months ago, and have been toying with the idea of making another trip this winter.

The Mind Game

2007-07-29T13:32:00.000+05:30

The Mind Game

As I go out for a walk, I look at the weather and feel good about the overcast sky that is keeping the day pleasant. I look around and think of the few trees that have managed to hold on to their life in the concrete jungle, and admire them and the people who planted them. I feel grateful and happy, but not for long. A cabby honks and drives past me at a speed unreasonable for the small road we are in, and I get irritated. I instantly recall of some insecure cabbies I see on the road, who have the practice of habitual honking every few seconds even on the empty roads. They used to make me go crazy once but I smile at them now and pass them as silly folks. The whole thought process now expands to Bangalore's fast growing traffic that has increased the commute time to twice what it was a few years ago. There is no reaction in the mind for this one, it has become a thought too common and gets ignored. It is no more than a few seconds before I move on to a much larger picture of Bangalore's fast, unplanned growth and all things sundry. All of it was broken by pretty girl who walks past me from the opposite direction, and there is an attempt to assign her with a prettiness quotient! I am now walking on a nicely laid footpath with no loose stones or any such surprises, and I begin to feel grateful all over again. The process continues, forming a chain of unrelated things..

No wonder they said it is all in your mind - happiness, sadness, joy, sorrow, call it what you wish. And we ofcourse continue identifying these emotions with external stimulus.

Sound of the night..

2007-07-28T11:04:00.000+05:30

Sound of the night..

Here is how to guess what time is it, by observing the sounds of the night, and early morning.

1. If you hear the sound of a car reversing, it is necessarily beyond midnight. I guess some car owners enjoy doing it - first get an awful, cacophonic reverse alarm installed in the car. And then set an alarm at 1am or something, get to the garage and do some reversing practice! It is all the more surprising that I hear these noises in the weekdays.

2. If it is the honking of a tata indica, it is the call of a nocturnal cab driver to his nocturnal passengers. Check what time is it in your watch one day, the call comes at the same time everyday.

2. If you hear prayers from the nearby Darga, obviosuly it it beynd 5am

3. If you don't have a Darga near the hour, listen to the koels. If they are getting noisy, it is again beyond 5am. These guys never seem to sleep till late, probably stay awake thinking of all the worms that the early birds get..!

4. If it is the ruckus of the Mynas, it is beyond 5.30. They congregate in a group very early in the morning, and start howling as though there is a catastrophe coming!

5. If it is the crows, it is beyond 6 am. It is your wake up call - as harsh as your alarm can get!

6. If you hear a mix of sounds - shouts of veggie vendor, school buses, autos, and anything you can't decipher, wake up or else you are going to be late to work!

July 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

2007-07-01T13:38:00.000+05:30

July 2007 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper

July 2007 desktop calendar wallpaper is ready for download. To get the image in 1024x768, click on the picture below.

About the image: The waterfall in the picture is Nohkalikai falls, Cherrapunjee.

A visit to Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnau in Himachal

2007-06-17T14:30:00.000+05:30

A visit to Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnau in Himachal

I spent last twelve days roaming around Himachal Pradesh. First few days were spent in and around the green and beautiful places near Shimla and then I headed towards Manali. Manali is a picturesque town located in the Beas valley. It is an incredibly pretty place, and ease of access to the town has resulted in tons of resorts donning the entire valley. We trekked around Manali for a day, and then hired a jeep to take us to the inner regions of Himachal, including Lahaul and Spiti, and Kinnaur region. Lahaul and Spiti were very beautiful, but Kinnaur pales in comparison.

Giri River flows south of Shimla, in Himachal Pradesh

Ofcourse, over time, the complete details of the trip will be published in India Travel Blog, though it is likely to take a few months before I actually start writing about it.