So Im off on my vacation and can you believe it, Im actually blogging sitting at the airport...ah ah tech savvy me huh... Ive always scorned and given cold looks at people working on their laptops in airports. Always wondered if pple are that busy that things cant wait.. and I thought to myself well Ive probably not reached that stage in my professional life .. but here Iam putting on a serious face and keying away happily. I bet the passers by are thinking exactly wht I used to...
Its after a very long time Im travelling alone to desh... Im travelling light... and right in front of me at the check-in counter, I see the all familiar sight, a husband & wife having a I-told-u-so conversation, since obviously the baggage had exceeded the magical figure of 40 + 40 + 10 Hand + 5 Leg allowances.. and here I was with a proud been-there... done-that look... Its a such a pleasure to travel light believe me.
If u rip open the baggages of any of the South India (read KERALA) bound flights u will definetly hit upon the following..Tang, Nido, Maggi Coconut Milk powder this one was always baffling to me, coconut milk powder to kerala, kinda Thirupathhikkey Laddu funda and invariably 9 outta 10 men wld pick up a Napolean brandy and a Wincarnis from the DUDY FREE....Actually I missed out the gud ol Kerala lungies ...the colorful ones which cld serve the purpose of flourescent reflector at night... absolute optical illusions these were.
Thats abt it for now... time to take off... lemme grab a cuppa cappaccino ...forget it I cant even spell it.. Ill have a tumbler of filter kapi...thats sounds better, Im headed to Chennai mate not Las Vegas...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Behind every forgetful man there is a nagging wife....
Its the last weekend before I travel to Chennai for my vacation... The last 40 odd days without the family around was terrible (to be read by everyone except my wife as rocking). Well, in fact she had prepared A To Do List before she left.
Things to Do
1 Nestle Water every Sunday
I kinda religiously followed this one. It was only Nestle water on Sunday’s, All other days it was J & B with soda, Fosters, Old Monk etc
2 Leah’s Open House - 27th or 28th June
A good opportunity to meet my daughter’s teacher without the wife around, to my bad luck this was cancelled.
3 Turn off the Gas
Wld have loved to. It wld hit the Qatari economy real bad.
4 Clear fridge of all the unused food items
Well actually cleared it of used and unused food Items. The fridge has been a revelation the past days; I just realized its too small, If one of the racks holds 330 ml Fosters the other doesn’t hold the 500ml Carlsberg’s. We need a bigger fridge.
5 Wash all dishes
Didn’t have to… ate out of the frying pan
6 Drain the water and wash the drip tray
See Note 5
7 Close all taps properly
Again carbon credits…or is it Hydrogen and Oxygen credits
8 Lock the bedrooms
Hum Tum ek Kamrey mey bund ho or chabi ko jaye.. Have actually lost the keys.
9 Water all the plants and keep them inside the room
More carbon credits please
10 Switch off all the electric mains (microwave, washing machine, computer etc…)
Even more carbon credits
11 Collect clothes from the drycleaners (if any)
Actually have rented out my clothes for some cash
12 Pay the telephone, electricity & water bills
You think I still can afford it????
13 Ensure the garbage is thrown and the garbage box in the kitchen is washed
Will know when the neighbors complain in a couple of days.
14 Pack your bag
Where’s the bag???
This could serve as a Rapidex guide for things to do before one travels on vacation.
Things to Do
1 Nestle Water every Sunday
I kinda religiously followed this one. It was only Nestle water on Sunday’s, All other days it was J & B with soda, Fosters, Old Monk etc
2 Leah’s Open House - 27th or 28th June
A good opportunity to meet my daughter’s teacher without the wife around, to my bad luck this was cancelled.
3 Turn off the Gas
Wld have loved to. It wld hit the Qatari economy real bad.
4 Clear fridge of all the unused food items
Well actually cleared it of used and unused food Items. The fridge has been a revelation the past days; I just realized its too small, If one of the racks holds 330 ml Fosters the other doesn’t hold the 500ml Carlsberg’s. We need a bigger fridge.
5 Wash all dishes
Didn’t have to… ate out of the frying pan
6 Drain the water and wash the drip tray
See Note 5
7 Close all taps properly
Again carbon credits…or is it Hydrogen and Oxygen credits
8 Lock the bedrooms
Hum Tum ek Kamrey mey bund ho or chabi ko jaye.. Have actually lost the keys.
9 Water all the plants and keep them inside the room
More carbon credits please
10 Switch off all the electric mains (microwave, washing machine, computer etc…)
Even more carbon credits
11 Collect clothes from the drycleaners (if any)
Actually have rented out my clothes for some cash
12 Pay the telephone, electricity & water bills
You think I still can afford it????
13 Ensure the garbage is thrown and the garbage box in the kitchen is washed
Will know when the neighbors complain in a couple of days.
14 Pack your bag
Where’s the bag???
This could serve as a Rapidex guide for things to do before one travels on vacation.
Poverty makes it to Page 3
It looks like the Indian media is on an overdrive these days. The new avatar of the Gandhi scion on the floor of the house, mustered up all his Doon School honed debating skills to try and whip up a passionate ‘neta like’ speech under the guise of a R K Laxman’s common man. As we all know there can be no better head turning anecdote in a ‘neta’ speech than the one on the poorest of poor? He did exactly that.
He spoke of one Kalavati whom he met, a person living under abject poverty in a non-descript village in Maharashtra and linked her to the benefits of Nuclear Energy. He could have shown some respect for the privacy of this person by atleast using a fictitious name.
Barely had he mentioned this, our media friends were knocking at the doors (if there was one) of this poor lady’s house with OB vans et al and one prominent media even went to the extent of reporting that she had’nt eaten for 2 days. Where are we headed for… I wish the lady had shown some business sense and sold the rights to her story and pictures for a good sum and probably been out of poverty atleast for a few days. Never have I witnessed such blatant trespassing of privacy. Privacy is not a privilege for the poor I suppose.
Kalavati will be forgotten in a couple of days and will continue to remain in poverty, but how does it matter, the media had its moments and so did the ‘neta’.
But the irony was that poverty had attained a momentary celebrity status and catapulted to Page 3.
He spoke of one Kalavati whom he met, a person living under abject poverty in a non-descript village in Maharashtra and linked her to the benefits of Nuclear Energy. He could have shown some respect for the privacy of this person by atleast using a fictitious name.
Barely had he mentioned this, our media friends were knocking at the doors (if there was one) of this poor lady’s house with OB vans et al and one prominent media even went to the extent of reporting that she had’nt eaten for 2 days. Where are we headed for… I wish the lady had shown some business sense and sold the rights to her story and pictures for a good sum and probably been out of poverty atleast for a few days. Never have I witnessed such blatant trespassing of privacy. Privacy is not a privilege for the poor I suppose.
Kalavati will be forgotten in a couple of days and will continue to remain in poverty, but how does it matter, the media had its moments and so did the ‘neta’.
But the irony was that poverty had attained a momentary celebrity status and catapulted to Page 3.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Great Indian Democracy...Post 22/7
Im back as promised with the post 22/7 commentary ...The great Indian democracy's week of diarhoea finally ended in a nauseating climax that left a trail of stench as bad as the one emanating from a Sewage Treatment Plant working with a dysfunctional deodorising unit.
I will not write on the happenings of the day inside one of the biggest icons of democracy in the world, the Indian Parliament, cos it will be simply be more dirt.
But at the end of the day, a man of conviction prevailed, thereby saving the Nuclear deal. A deal that cld bring self sufficiency in clean energy to India, energy that would light up the remotest of villages.
A friend of mine recently gave me a feed back that I shld refrain from writing contemporary stuff since these are short lived domestic issues. Well, if this blog and me,were to live for a couple of decades more, I would reminisce on the importance of this day then.
On a lighter note it was a day when the 'Singhs' sang their way to victory and the new bollywood number 'singh is king..., singh is king...' prevailed over 'money money money ...how I look so funny....'
I will not write on the happenings of the day inside one of the biggest icons of democracy in the world, the Indian Parliament, cos it will be simply be more dirt.
But at the end of the day, a man of conviction prevailed, thereby saving the Nuclear deal. A deal that cld bring self sufficiency in clean energy to India, energy that would light up the remotest of villages.
A friend of mine recently gave me a feed back that I shld refrain from writing contemporary stuff since these are short lived domestic issues. Well, if this blog and me,were to live for a couple of decades more, I would reminisce on the importance of this day then.
On a lighter note it was a day when the 'Singhs' sang their way to victory and the new bollywood number 'singh is king..., singh is king...' prevailed over 'money money money ...how I look so funny....'
American Economy
Investment guru Marc Faber concluded his monthly bulletin (June 2008) with the following:
" 'The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China . If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India . If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala . If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany . If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US. I've been doing my part."
" 'The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China . If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India . If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala . If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany . If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US. I've been doing my part."
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Mangatha & 3 Cards – The two ultimate card games…
All right, taking a cue out of the comment made by my friend Susheyl, I thought its time to graduate to Adult games we used to play… Yeah Adult Games…. I can kinda see all the wicked eyes, ears and whatever pop up… no pun intended.
Im jus talking about a game of cards called the Teen Patti in Hindi, Three Cards in English, Mucheetu in Malayalam, Munnu Seetu in Tamil… Well one should know that variations of this game is Poker, yeah maaan Poker, played in the high profile gambling dens of Las Vegas… Incidentally this game was also India’s contribution to the world.
I would say we started young at it…The stakes used to begin with 50 Paisa and on days whn we were rich and famous we started on rupee deals. Boy the kinda high this game used to give us wouldn’t match the best Scotch in town. The contract was that the winner would share his booty buying us all Panneer Sodas (Pepsi's and Coke on the days of higher stakes) or dums (Ciggys) for the smokers… a win win situation for all.
Talking about ‘panneer soda’ carbonated Rose Water in English, I’m wondering y this is yet to be canned and marketed as Paneer Cola or Paneer Pepsi…Yeh Dil Mange More….Its still sold in the same bottles I drank from 2 decades back…some recycling this…
Coming back to the game 3 cards, it was a game which needed an equal measure of luck, mathematical and statistical skills, since a lot of probability, frequency and the likes were involved… Some acting skills were also required to feign a make-believe-face that u hold the ultimate three cards with u. The convenience of playing this game was that it actually didn’t need any infrastructure, all u needed were a pack of cards …No Wait a minute… we did’nt even need that... we used to create our cards and play during a Strength of Materials or a Fluid Mechanics class… God save the guys who are buying pumps from me...(btw, that’s what I do for a living).
On the other hand, the game of Mangatha depended entirely on your stars on the given day. You needed a pack of cards, 2 contestants (read gamblers) and plenty of spectators around u to chant 'ullaey', 'veliyae' in unison… You also needed to declare the table money upfront and the winner takes em all. Player 2 needed to pick a card which he does after invoking all the gods…
Player -1 starts throwing open cards one by one into 2 sets, the ‘Ullae set’ (Inside set) and the ‘Veliyae set’ (Outside set). If the card bearing the number picked by player 2 falls in the ‘Ullae Set’ player 1 wins, if it falls in the ‘veliyae set’ Player 2 wins.
So you see, if 3 Cards was Test Cricket this was the 20-20.
Wish I could do it all over again ‘Orru Kai Mangatha podu machee’ translated ‘hey dude lets play another round of poker’
Guys looking to brush up their basics on 3 Cards here u go
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Patti
Im jus talking about a game of cards called the Teen Patti in Hindi, Three Cards in English, Mucheetu in Malayalam, Munnu Seetu in Tamil… Well one should know that variations of this game is Poker, yeah maaan Poker, played in the high profile gambling dens of Las Vegas… Incidentally this game was also India’s contribution to the world.
I would say we started young at it…The stakes used to begin with 50 Paisa and on days whn we were rich and famous we started on rupee deals. Boy the kinda high this game used to give us wouldn’t match the best Scotch in town. The contract was that the winner would share his booty buying us all Panneer Sodas (Pepsi's and Coke on the days of higher stakes) or dums (Ciggys) for the smokers… a win win situation for all.
Talking about ‘panneer soda’ carbonated Rose Water in English, I’m wondering y this is yet to be canned and marketed as Paneer Cola or Paneer Pepsi…Yeh Dil Mange More….Its still sold in the same bottles I drank from 2 decades back…some recycling this…
Coming back to the game 3 cards, it was a game which needed an equal measure of luck, mathematical and statistical skills, since a lot of probability, frequency and the likes were involved… Some acting skills were also required to feign a make-believe-face that u hold the ultimate three cards with u. The convenience of playing this game was that it actually didn’t need any infrastructure, all u needed were a pack of cards …No Wait a minute… we did’nt even need that... we used to create our cards and play during a Strength of Materials or a Fluid Mechanics class… God save the guys who are buying pumps from me...(btw, that’s what I do for a living).
On the other hand, the game of Mangatha depended entirely on your stars on the given day. You needed a pack of cards, 2 contestants (read gamblers) and plenty of spectators around u to chant 'ullaey', 'veliyae' in unison… You also needed to declare the table money upfront and the winner takes em all. Player 2 needed to pick a card which he does after invoking all the gods…
Player -1 starts throwing open cards one by one into 2 sets, the ‘Ullae set’ (Inside set) and the ‘Veliyae set’ (Outside set). If the card bearing the number picked by player 2 falls in the ‘Ullae Set’ player 1 wins, if it falls in the ‘veliyae set’ Player 2 wins.
So you see, if 3 Cards was Test Cricket this was the 20-20.
Wish I could do it all over again ‘Orru Kai Mangatha podu machee’ translated ‘hey dude lets play another round of poker’
Guys looking to brush up their basics on 3 Cards here u go
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Patti
Friday, July 18, 2008
Games we used to play...(Contd)
As I told u Im back with this particular blog by popular demand …actually singular demand since I got a comment from my gud ol friend Nelson, who incidentally is the only one who reads my blogs and hence by singular demand here I go.
Thanks to Nelson, I was reminded of this most important terminology in the game of Marbles (Golli) ….’Jaan’. Though it means ‘my love’ in Hindi, what is relevant here is the 'Jaan' in Tamil when translated in English is a Span, a unit of measure between the tip of ur thumb and the tip of ur lil finger whn ur palm is stretched until the pain is unbearable, the bigger ur palm the bigger ur span and u cld almost touch the two marbles and be declared a winner…
And the next one Mudhu Punkcher Translated as (Ones back pierced or punctured) or the anglicized ‘Seven Stones’ was a pretty violent game and sometimes as painful as its second cousin Accupuncture…
There’s nothing much to explain here, as soon as some one knocks those pile of seven perfectly flat stone … u better run for cover ….or else u r dead..
Thanks to Nelson, I was reminded of this most important terminology in the game of Marbles (Golli) ….’Jaan’. Though it means ‘my love’ in Hindi, what is relevant here is the 'Jaan' in Tamil when translated in English is a Span, a unit of measure between the tip of ur thumb and the tip of ur lil finger whn ur palm is stretched until the pain is unbearable, the bigger ur palm the bigger ur span and u cld almost touch the two marbles and be declared a winner…
And the next one Mudhu Punkcher Translated as (Ones back pierced or punctured) or the anglicized ‘Seven Stones’ was a pretty violent game and sometimes as painful as its second cousin Accupuncture…
There’s nothing much to explain here, as soon as some one knocks those pile of seven perfectly flat stone … u better run for cover ….or else u r dead..
Games we used to play….
I find my daughter of six often online at Barbie dot com (well wrote it like that cos If I use the ‘.’ Dot followed by the com u will get the HTML link and hit upon Barbie dot com and never end up reading this blog) would try to dress up a Barbie or feed a Barbie or … or arrange a date for Barbie with that bloke Ken…
the nearest I got to a date was my date of birth.
The games we played when I was a kid were very seasonal and we used to religiously adhere to it.
There was a kite season, there was a kalanggol season (the most interesting game I have ever played, will go on to explain it), followed by the marbles or alleys or (Golli in tamil) season, The Top Season (bambaram in Tamil) the cricket season, the hand cricket season and during winters the book cricket version for indoors. Imagine a IPL kinda extravaganza for book cricket....
Lemme go on to give a ‘How to Play it’ briefs on all of the above.
The Kite season
One needed to be a professional at this and I was not one, but was an ardent follower of this game and knew all the jargons.‘Deal’ was to enter into a direct aerial conflict with your opponent who was a couple of buildings away, the victory or defeat depended on how strong the coating on your thread was, the ‘Manja’ that would do it… each one had a secret recipe for the manja the ingredients I was told ranged from Glue to finely ground glass or bulbs to add strength... kinda glass reinforced coating... but believe me, that was some serious cutting edge technology.
The Kallanggole Season.
This follows the kite season after the finances have dried up for the funding of Kites,thread and manja, venture capitalist were not around those days…..
The funda was to use the remaining ‘manjad’ thread and test its strength with a stone tied to its end and try and cut your opponents thread…
The Marbles or the Alleys Season
This game has its roots from the colonial days. Here's a list of some common marble terms to get you started:
• Mib/Kimmie: One of thirteen 5/8" marbles placed in the center of the circle.
• Shooter/Taw: The marble that the player flicks toward the target mibs. The shooter must be more than 1/2" in diameter, but not over 3/4" in diameter.
• Knuckling down: A player must have at least one knuckle touching the ground while flicking.
• Flicking/Fulking: While knuckling down the shooter is flicked by the thumb out of the players hand.
• Alley: A marble made of marble. Alley is short for alabaster.
• Bombsies: Dropping your shooter on the target marble.
• Keepsies: Playing for keeps. You get to keep all the marbles you win.
• Lagging: A way of choosing who shoots first. Players roll their marbles toward a line in the dirt (the lag line). Whoever gets closest without going over gets to shoot first.
• Plunking: Hitting the targets on the fly.
Well I just got to know all of them recently in English but I can relate to each one of them with a terminology we used in the local parlance then.
For more info on the game marbles (golli) chk out this link
http://www.kidsturncentral.com/topics/sports/marbles.htm
I don’t intend writing much about cricket cos most of you know this game. The only stuff I would wanna write abt is a version of the modern day run outs we used to follow then, called ‘current’. The ‘current’ concept was that you touch the stumps with any, yes, I meant any part of your body with the ball in hand and if the person is short of the crease is then declared run out. Well ICC cld take a cue from this.
Will be continued on request... cos only a very niche audience can identify with this.
the nearest I got to a date was my date of birth.
The games we played when I was a kid were very seasonal and we used to religiously adhere to it.
There was a kite season, there was a kalanggol season (the most interesting game I have ever played, will go on to explain it), followed by the marbles or alleys or (Golli in tamil) season, The Top Season (bambaram in Tamil) the cricket season, the hand cricket season and during winters the book cricket version for indoors. Imagine a IPL kinda extravaganza for book cricket....
Lemme go on to give a ‘How to Play it’ briefs on all of the above.
The Kite season
One needed to be a professional at this and I was not one, but was an ardent follower of this game and knew all the jargons.‘Deal’ was to enter into a direct aerial conflict with your opponent who was a couple of buildings away, the victory or defeat depended on how strong the coating on your thread was, the ‘Manja’ that would do it… each one had a secret recipe for the manja the ingredients I was told ranged from Glue to finely ground glass or bulbs to add strength... kinda glass reinforced coating... but believe me, that was some serious cutting edge technology.
The Kallanggole Season.
This follows the kite season after the finances have dried up for the funding of Kites,thread and manja, venture capitalist were not around those days…..
The funda was to use the remaining ‘manjad’ thread and test its strength with a stone tied to its end and try and cut your opponents thread…
The Marbles or the Alleys Season
This game has its roots from the colonial days. Here's a list of some common marble terms to get you started:
• Mib/Kimmie: One of thirteen 5/8" marbles placed in the center of the circle.
• Shooter/Taw: The marble that the player flicks toward the target mibs. The shooter must be more than 1/2" in diameter, but not over 3/4" in diameter.
• Knuckling down: A player must have at least one knuckle touching the ground while flicking.
• Flicking/Fulking: While knuckling down the shooter is flicked by the thumb out of the players hand.
• Alley: A marble made of marble. Alley is short for alabaster.
• Bombsies: Dropping your shooter on the target marble.
• Keepsies: Playing for keeps. You get to keep all the marbles you win.
• Lagging: A way of choosing who shoots first. Players roll their marbles toward a line in the dirt (the lag line). Whoever gets closest without going over gets to shoot first.
• Plunking: Hitting the targets on the fly.
Well I just got to know all of them recently in English but I can relate to each one of them with a terminology we used in the local parlance then.
For more info on the game marbles (golli) chk out this link
http://www.kidsturncentral.com/topics/sports/marbles.htm
I don’t intend writing much about cricket cos most of you know this game. The only stuff I would wanna write abt is a version of the modern day run outs we used to follow then, called ‘current’. The ‘current’ concept was that you touch the stumps with any, yes, I meant any part of your body with the ball in hand and if the person is short of the crease is then declared run out. Well ICC cld take a cue from this.
Will be continued on request... cos only a very niche audience can identify with this.
Losing my religion - Kerala Style..
Page 24, Social Studies Book, Class VII, rings a bell, well this is one page which has brought an entire government machinery and a state to standstill and thereby plunging the common man into varying degrees of hardships.
Madham Illatha Jeevan (Life without Religion)
The lesson is set in a school room where the parents and their kid meet the Principal for a school admission. The Principal fills in the forms,
Principal: “What is your name?”
“Jeevan”
Principal: “Nice…father’s name?”
“Anwar Rasheed”
Principal: Mother’s name?”
“Lakshmi Devi”
The Principal looks at the parents
Principal: “What should I fill in for the kid’s religion?”
Parents : “Keep it blank…or else add No Religion”
Principal: “Caste”
Parents : “not needed”
The Principal leans back on his chair and asks solemnly
Principal: “What if he wants a religion when he grows up?”
Parents : “If he wants a religion when he grows up, he can choose the one he likes then”
End of Lesson
I simply don’t understand what all the hue and cry is all about, and as I write this, a son of the soil hailing from Ottappalam, Palakad, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon is trying to convince IAEA Board of Governors and delegates from 54 countries on the safeguards agreement and other aspects of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Why is it that all the Mallus, once out of Kerala end up being brilliant????
I guess you should blame it on one Dr Vipin Gopal who first coined the phrase.... ''Gods own country''...to promote the state.
Everyone in Kerala thinks he is GOD!!!
Madham Illatha Jeevan (Life without Religion)
The lesson is set in a school room where the parents and their kid meet the Principal for a school admission. The Principal fills in the forms,
Principal: “What is your name?”
“Jeevan”
Principal: “Nice…father’s name?”
“Anwar Rasheed”
Principal: Mother’s name?”
“Lakshmi Devi”
The Principal looks at the parents
Principal: “What should I fill in for the kid’s religion?”
Parents : “Keep it blank…or else add No Religion”
Principal: “Caste”
Parents : “not needed”
The Principal leans back on his chair and asks solemnly
Principal: “What if he wants a religion when he grows up?”
Parents : “If he wants a religion when he grows up, he can choose the one he likes then”
End of Lesson
I simply don’t understand what all the hue and cry is all about, and as I write this, a son of the soil hailing from Ottappalam, Palakad, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon is trying to convince IAEA Board of Governors and delegates from 54 countries on the safeguards agreement and other aspects of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Why is it that all the Mallus, once out of Kerala end up being brilliant????
I guess you should blame it on one Dr Vipin Gopal who first coined the phrase.... ''Gods own country''...to promote the state.
Everyone in Kerala thinks he is GOD!!!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Remixes SUCK BIG TIME....
Check out these two to believe me....
The gud ol Illayaraja 's Maasi Masum Allana Ponnu from Dharma Durai
http://musicmazaa.com/tamil/audiosongs/movie/Dharma+Durai.html?ssid=1165&x=48&y=12
and the f*£$%&* remix
http://www.raaga.com/playerV31/index.asp?pick=90688&mode=3&rand=0.5660402589975078&bhcp=1
Have fun....
The gud ol Illayaraja 's Maasi Masum Allana Ponnu from Dharma Durai
http://musicmazaa.com/tamil/audiosongs/movie/Dharma+Durai.html?ssid=1165&x=48&y=12
and the f*£$%&* remix
http://www.raaga.com/playerV31/index.asp?pick=90688&mode=3&rand=0.5660402589975078&bhcp=1
Have fun....
The Great Indian Democracy’s week of Diarrhoea
The coming week will see the biggest democracy in the world hit a new nadir.
The wheeling’s and dealing’s, the winnings’ and dining’s are all happening in the corridors of power to muster up that ever elusive number of 272.
The political equivalents of marriages-for-convenience, divorces, live-in’s, wife swappings are going on, all in pursuit of that magical majority. It’s unfortunate that the most wanted guys in the country who are languishing behind the bars for cases ranging from extortion, rape, murder and kidnapping are also the ‘most wanted’ in parliament on the 22nd of July.
On a lighter note I thought up of a rock/pop version of the situation…here u go…
The left signing ‘We Will, We Will, Rock you’ while Mayawati goes ‘Oops I did it again’ and Mulayam, Amar Singh and co go ‘Brothers in arms’ (no, not the Ambani’s) and happily singing ‘We are the Sultans of swing’ (swinging from one coalition to the other) while the Bihari babus rant ‘We don’t need no education’ and Achumama in Gods own country joining in ‘Hey Teacher, leave the kids alone’ and finally the BJP proudly belting out ‘We didn’t start the fire’
The common man & the 'back street boys' (porambokku passunga) just hope and pray the Great Indian democracy doesn’t end up in ‘Dire Straits’.
Watch this this space for post July 22nd commentary.
The wheeling’s and dealing’s, the winnings’ and dining’s are all happening in the corridors of power to muster up that ever elusive number of 272.
The political equivalents of marriages-for-convenience, divorces, live-in’s, wife swappings are going on, all in pursuit of that magical majority. It’s unfortunate that the most wanted guys in the country who are languishing behind the bars for cases ranging from extortion, rape, murder and kidnapping are also the ‘most wanted’ in parliament on the 22nd of July.
On a lighter note I thought up of a rock/pop version of the situation…here u go…
The left signing ‘We Will, We Will, Rock you’ while Mayawati goes ‘Oops I did it again’ and Mulayam, Amar Singh and co go ‘Brothers in arms’ (no, not the Ambani’s) and happily singing ‘We are the Sultans of swing’ (swinging from one coalition to the other) while the Bihari babus rant ‘We don’t need no education’ and Achumama in Gods own country joining in ‘Hey Teacher, leave the kids alone’ and finally the BJP proudly belting out ‘We didn’t start the fire’
The common man & the 'back street boys' (porambokku passunga) just hope and pray the Great Indian democracy doesn’t end up in ‘Dire Straits’.
Watch this this space for post July 22nd commentary.
Fundamentals on plate tectonics from a Pashtun taxi driver!!!!
Visited Dubai after six months last week and decided to hop in and out of taxis instead of driving. Almost all the drivers who drove me around were from the NWFP (North Western Frontier Province) of Pakistan a place re-known for, and living up to the adage of ‘a bombing-day-keeps-the-Americans-away’.
The people from this place speak Pashto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashto_language
A language spoken by the inhabitants of NWFP in Pakistan and Afghanistan, one of the drivers I met took off on his Pashto laced with Urdu laced with a lil Hindi to a guy, that’s me, who speaks a lil bit of Tamil & Malayalam laced Hindi.
My first attempts at Hindi way back in 1996 when I first landed in Dubai was nightmarish, I still remember my first sentence in Hindi, ‘MERAAY KOOOO DEIRA(a place in Dubai) JAAANAAA HAAAII’ (to be read transliterated exactly the way its spelt). The driver just replied back ‘Erry okkarunga saar’ in Tamil (meaning 'please hope in sir'), so u know my Hindi was a give away on where I was from.
Coming back to our Pashtun friend, he explained to me that he has heard that the high rises under construction in Dubai needs very deep foundations, and hence these numerous excavations in close proximity causes movement of the Earths crusts, thereby causing Earth quakes!!!!! Maaan this guy was terrific...Fundas on plate tectonics…That was not all, we moved on to the Middle East crisis, he ‘explained’ to me America’s policy on Iran, he also revealed stuff that the likes of A Q Khan and Musharaf refuse to admit. He declared that the only country apart from the America to possess the THE BOMB was Pakistan. He went on to say that Iran was even faking their nuclear prowess.(Are u listening Mr. Ahmedijinad)
I paid him a good tip for enlightening me (or rather taking me for a ride!!!) on Plate Tectonics and the Middle East politics.
The people from this place speak Pashto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashto_language
A language spoken by the inhabitants of NWFP in Pakistan and Afghanistan, one of the drivers I met took off on his Pashto laced with Urdu laced with a lil Hindi to a guy, that’s me, who speaks a lil bit of Tamil & Malayalam laced Hindi.
My first attempts at Hindi way back in 1996 when I first landed in Dubai was nightmarish, I still remember my first sentence in Hindi, ‘MERAAY KOOOO DEIRA(a place in Dubai) JAAANAAA HAAAII’ (to be read transliterated exactly the way its spelt). The driver just replied back ‘Erry okkarunga saar’ in Tamil (meaning 'please hope in sir'), so u know my Hindi was a give away on where I was from.
Coming back to our Pashtun friend, he explained to me that he has heard that the high rises under construction in Dubai needs very deep foundations, and hence these numerous excavations in close proximity causes movement of the Earths crusts, thereby causing Earth quakes!!!!! Maaan this guy was terrific...Fundas on plate tectonics…That was not all, we moved on to the Middle East crisis, he ‘explained’ to me America’s policy on Iran, he also revealed stuff that the likes of A Q Khan and Musharaf refuse to admit. He declared that the only country apart from the America to possess the THE BOMB was Pakistan. He went on to say that Iran was even faking their nuclear prowess.(Are u listening Mr. Ahmedijinad)
I paid him a good tip for enlightening me (or rather taking me for a ride!!!) on Plate Tectonics and the Middle East politics.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Thiruvalluvar & the Art of Living
Im wondering why such a book is still not on the the bestseller's list or on the 'How to Make it Big list'. Well I first read Thiruvalluvar in an Anglo Indian school.. yes an ANGLO INDIAN School and fell in love with the couplets at first sight. For all those who want a dope on who or what Thiruvalluvar and Thirukural is, here u go.
''Thiruvalluvar (திà®°ுவள்ளுவர்) is a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukural, a well known ethical work in Tamil Literature.
Thirukural is one of most revered works in Tamil . It consists of 133 athikarams or chapters. Each athikaram consists of 10 kurals (rhyming Tamil couplets) thus making 1330 kurals in total. Each couplet consists of four seers in the first line and three seers in the second.
Well I googled for ''Thiruvalluvar and the Art of Management' but ended with a lotta results on books and research papers from Madras University to the Harvard. But not a single book has reached the fame or sales as the Art Of War by Sun Tzu or the Stephen Coveys or the Deepak Chopras..Thirukural which is all of the above put together was not at all marketed well.
What prompted me to write this was, I read a Kural in the most unlikely of places.
In the Library Bar, at the Ramada Hotel, Doha. The library bar is a bar themed on a Library, the table, the ambience, except the noise around resembles a library. One of the walls is fully painted with pictures of lot of open books with gibberish scribled all over.. One of the open books drew my attention ....They say one hears and sees better after a couple of beers... well wht I saw was unbelievable and till date I believe that Iam the only one who has spotted it ....It carried the first Kural. Will try and get a pic of that and post it in here.
''அகரம் à®®ுதல வெà®´ுத்தெல்லாà®®் ஆதிபகவன் à®®ுதற்à®±ே யுலகு''
''Aghara Mudhal Ezhuthellam Aadhi Baghawan Mudhetre ullagu''
which is translated as ..
"Alpha is the first and source of all the letters. Even so is God Primordial the first and source of all the world''
I started to look around the painting for a signature... and finally zeroed in on one Ramesh... cld figure out that he had set upon his assignment with the first Kural, there by singing praise to the Gods, but Im sure, lil did he know that his work of art would adorn the walls of a bar some day....
The Thirukural consists of three books, the first book on Aram (the way or dharma), the second on Porul (material or artha) and the third on Inbam (joy or kama). These go on to make the very foundations of the society we live in .
Its been a long blog but I would like to sign off with one of my all time favourite Kurals....
''Selvathul Selvam Sevichelkvam Achelvan
Selvathul Ellam Thallai''
Translated as
The gift of good listening is a basic Wealth that affords other forms of Wealth ... Hence the best of wealth to possess.
Well we run behind the Feng Shuis, The Zens, The Sun Tzus and the Stephen Coveys... stuff we cannot even spell or pronounce correctly ...yet we overlook the 4 - 3 meaningful and relevant couplets from our very own Thiruvalluvar...
''Thiruvalluvar (திà®°ுவள்ளுவர்) is a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukural, a well known ethical work in Tamil Literature.
Thirukural is one of most revered works in Tamil . It consists of 133 athikarams or chapters. Each athikaram consists of 10 kurals (rhyming Tamil couplets) thus making 1330 kurals in total. Each couplet consists of four seers in the first line and three seers in the second.
Well I googled for ''Thiruvalluvar and the Art of Management' but ended with a lotta results on books and research papers from Madras University to the Harvard. But not a single book has reached the fame or sales as the Art Of War by Sun Tzu or the Stephen Coveys or the Deepak Chopras..Thirukural which is all of the above put together was not at all marketed well.
What prompted me to write this was, I read a Kural in the most unlikely of places.
In the Library Bar, at the Ramada Hotel, Doha. The library bar is a bar themed on a Library, the table, the ambience, except the noise around resembles a library. One of the walls is fully painted with pictures of lot of open books with gibberish scribled all over.. One of the open books drew my attention ....They say one hears and sees better after a couple of beers... well wht I saw was unbelievable and till date I believe that Iam the only one who has spotted it ....It carried the first Kural. Will try and get a pic of that and post it in here.
''அகரம் à®®ுதல வெà®´ுத்தெல்லாà®®் ஆதிபகவன் à®®ுதற்à®±ே யுலகு''
''Aghara Mudhal Ezhuthellam Aadhi Baghawan Mudhetre ullagu''
which is translated as ..
"Alpha is the first and source of all the letters. Even so is God Primordial the first and source of all the world''
I started to look around the painting for a signature... and finally zeroed in on one Ramesh... cld figure out that he had set upon his assignment with the first Kural, there by singing praise to the Gods, but Im sure, lil did he know that his work of art would adorn the walls of a bar some day....
The Thirukural consists of three books, the first book on Aram (the way or dharma), the second on Porul (material or artha) and the third on Inbam (joy or kama). These go on to make the very foundations of the society we live in .
Its been a long blog but I would like to sign off with one of my all time favourite Kurals....
''Selvathul Selvam Sevichelkvam Achelvan
Selvathul Ellam Thallai''
Translated as
The gift of good listening is a basic Wealth that affords other forms of Wealth ... Hence the best of wealth to possess.
Well we run behind the Feng Shuis, The Zens, The Sun Tzus and the Stephen Coveys... stuff we cannot even spell or pronounce correctly ...yet we overlook the 4 - 3 meaningful and relevant couplets from our very own Thiruvalluvar...
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Cricketers and TRP's
I happened to watch the first episode of the program IF- Indias Future on NDTV last night , very rightly named cos atleast after watching the first episode Im sure that IF and only IF the guest goes on to become India's Future this program would continue.
The anchor Vishnu Som who is a personal favourite has to his credentials some of the best news shows including the ones on the F16's. To see this one anchored by him was rather pathetic. Not a fault of his but that of the quality of the guest on the show. None other than our slapgate Sreesanth.
Watching the guest display a few obsolete steps of break dance which was in vogue 2 decades back on prime time in 2008 was absolute misery. A cricketer who is more popular for his antics rather than for his on field skills, a kid who has shot into fame overnight was definitely not the right choice for this show. The replies to some of the questions were a perfect blend of empty arrogance and ignorance... I hope NDTV gets better guests on this show or else India Future will remain an IF.
TRP's matter more than good programming I suppose.
The anchor Vishnu Som who is a personal favourite has to his credentials some of the best news shows including the ones on the F16's. To see this one anchored by him was rather pathetic. Not a fault of his but that of the quality of the guest on the show. None other than our slapgate Sreesanth.
Watching the guest display a few obsolete steps of break dance which was in vogue 2 decades back on prime time in 2008 was absolute misery. A cricketer who is more popular for his antics rather than for his on field skills, a kid who has shot into fame overnight was definitely not the right choice for this show. The replies to some of the questions were a perfect blend of empty arrogance and ignorance... I hope NDTV gets better guests on this show or else India Future will remain an IF.
TRP's matter more than good programming I suppose.
Friday, July 4, 2008
The Alphas and Betas in a Relationship.
Well Im not talking about an algebraic relationship where finally the LHS = RHS and hence QED.
Im refering to the simple or rather not so simple man - woman relationship. Where the LHS does not quiet square up to the RHS these days..
To try and understand what the Alphas, Betas and Omegas in the context of a man - woman realtionship is, here's a lil dope from our good ol Wiki ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_(biology)
I hear and read more and more young women on the threshold of their nuptials are on the look out for Beta Males the reason being....
“The definition of marriage for an individual directly affects the choice of partner. If a woman is looking for social and financial security she will choose an alpha-male. But if she’s looking for love and space in the relationship without compromising on her career she would prefer a beta-male.”
So all you maidens out there who are at loggerheads with your moms & sisters on the choice of the man in your life .... you now have the option of looking for a Male, an Alpha male or Beta male... its akin to ordering your Dosas... Sada, Masala or Mysore Masala and this would well become part of the matrimonials in the years oops days to come.
Related links below...
Im refering to the simple or rather not so simple man - woman relationship. Where the LHS does not quiet square up to the RHS these days..
To try and understand what the Alphas, Betas and Omegas in the context of a man - woman realtionship is, here's a lil dope from our good ol Wiki ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_(biology)
I hear and read more and more young women on the threshold of their nuptials are on the look out for Beta Males the reason being....
“The definition of marriage for an individual directly affects the choice of partner. If a woman is looking for social and financial security she will choose an alpha-male. But if she’s looking for love and space in the relationship without compromising on her career she would prefer a beta-male.”
So all you maidens out there who are at loggerheads with your moms & sisters on the choice of the man in your life .... you now have the option of looking for a Male, an Alpha male or Beta male... its akin to ordering your Dosas... Sada, Masala or Mysore Masala and this would well become part of the matrimonials in the years oops days to come.
Related links below...
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Border Thottam to Besant Nagar
Had actually reserved this title for a book I wanted to write someday, on second thoughts y not for a blog.
These are 2 places in Madras(now Chennai) very close to my heart and the 2 places that equally contributed in making me.
Well Besant Nagar needs no introduction...and Border Thottam also needs no introduction to hardcore Madrasis, but for the not so hardcore ones heres the link that gives a lil dope http://wikimapia.org/5286895/Border_Thottam
Both these places sit at the 2 extremes of the social strata of Madras. I was fortunate to have experienced both the places in equal share. The first dozen years of my life at Border Thottam and the other dozen in Besant Nagar. (doing my third dozen in the Sheikhdoms of the Middle East).
I end up meeting a lotta people from Madras where ever I go, Pubs, Airport Lounges , Get togethers, general parties.... The convo almost goes like this every time I meet some one from Madras(if he/she is above 35 or Chennai if he/she is below 35).
''U frm Chennai / Madras'' (apply logic described above)
''Yeah''
''Whr in Chennai / Madras''
Besant Nag....
''Oh wht a place to liv maaan..Kewl... the place rocks..''
Hang on I say ''I used to live in/on Mount Road.''
''How cld u possibly live on Mount Road''
''Well u know Border Thottam'' I go on to explain the geography
''Yuk u lived there....'' but any one who knows the place well gives u different kinda respect
It wasnt kewl to live in Border Thottam but it was really macho....a Highly notorius part of the city....believe me even today if I wanna handle the auto guys in Madras I still tell them I live in Border Thottam...The Fords, the Toyotas, Mitsubishis and the Mercs landed here much before Madras came to be known as the Detroit of India.
These are 2 places in Madras(now Chennai) very close to my heart and the 2 places that equally contributed in making me.
Well Besant Nagar needs no introduction...and Border Thottam also needs no introduction to hardcore Madrasis, but for the not so hardcore ones heres the link that gives a lil dope http://wikimapia.org/5286895/Border_Thottam
Both these places sit at the 2 extremes of the social strata of Madras. I was fortunate to have experienced both the places in equal share. The first dozen years of my life at Border Thottam and the other dozen in Besant Nagar. (doing my third dozen in the Sheikhdoms of the Middle East).
I end up meeting a lotta people from Madras where ever I go, Pubs, Airport Lounges , Get togethers, general parties.... The convo almost goes like this every time I meet some one from Madras(if he/she is above 35 or Chennai if he/she is below 35).
''U frm Chennai / Madras'' (apply logic described above)
''Yeah''
''Whr in Chennai / Madras''
Besant Nag....
''Oh wht a place to liv maaan..Kewl... the place rocks..''
Hang on I say ''I used to live in/on Mount Road.''
''How cld u possibly live on Mount Road''
''Well u know Border Thottam'' I go on to explain the geography
''Yuk u lived there....'' but any one who knows the place well gives u different kinda respect
It wasnt kewl to live in Border Thottam but it was really macho....a Highly notorius part of the city....believe me even today if I wanna handle the auto guys in Madras I still tell them I live in Border Thottam...The Fords, the Toyotas, Mitsubishis and the Mercs landed here much before Madras came to be known as the Detroit of India.
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