Mostly Harmless!

Honor among thieves

2008-08-06T04:32:00.003+05:30

Everybody's united in hating evil so the wicked have to love one another; while everybody praises the virtuous are jealous of each other. What does a thief get by killing another thief? Contempt. A scholar who slanders another scholar attains glory.

Premchand

I was trying to describe the process which happens in LOTR, where it so tough to assemble the forces against evil.

Something which is happening in the world today. We know what and where the evil(terrorism, corruption, etc) lies but do not have the conviction.

“Even God will not be able to save this country,”

2008-08-06T04:26:00.000+05:30

Court slams Centre

New Delhi: “Even God will not be able to save this country,” the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while slamming the Centre for its refusal to amend the law for launching criminal prosecution against those who illegally occupy official houses. — PTI

courtesy : The Hindu

Aus v/s Ind 2nd test at Sydney 07-08 Summary

2008-01-11T19:05:00.000+05:30

India had totake 30 wickets in 2 innings.
Australia had to take 15 wickets in two innings.

Man of the Match Steve Bucknor

Winner Australia
Loser Cricket in general due to the racism fiasco

Symonds average in 5 innings of the test 53.83

What's cooking?

2007-11-24T08:33:00.000+05:30

Bissi Bela Bath

One of my favourite things

2007-08-06T08:46:00.000+05:30

Curd rice.

It has gained critical importance in my life nowadays as I need to cook on my own and I am very lazy in terms of cooking but very active in gorging it.I wanted to tabulate what all can one have with my ever favourite curd rice.All I need to is cook rice add curd and add any or more of these to have a wonderful dinner or lunch.

1.Raisins
2.Cashew

3.Pista
4.Apricot jam

5.Bananas

6. The last one a new find, Fruit Loops :D

Bush V/s Bush

2007-04-28T23:26:00.000+05:30

sweet dhal n salty chocolate....

2007-04-12T05:38:00.000+05:30

When your going through a hectic week my mind gets preoccupied by all the things I am trying to do.Added to that, I have to cook my own food :( where in lies the danger as I added sugar instead of salt to dal and curry already and salt instead of sugar to a hot chocolate I was trying to drink.

Check out the new pesticides in the market :

Unbeleivable!

2007-04-08T10:02:00.000+05:30

I had watched a German movie called 'Das Expertiment' about a prison-simulation experiment for two weeks advertised in a newspaper.

I just realized today that similar kind of experiment was carried out when the guy who conducted the experiment was interviewed on The Daily show.The experiment is famously known as the Stanford prison experiment.Here's a brief description :

The Stanford prison experiment was a psychological study of the human response to captivity, in particular to the real world circumstances of prison life and the effects of imposed social roles on behaviour. It was conducted in 1971 by a team of researchers led by Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University. Undergraduate volunteers played the roles of guards and prisoners living in a mock prison that was constructed in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.

It is so insane and the conclusions are so arbitrary which claims all good people can turn evil.If given a chance I would never hit a guy even if I wouldn't have to face any punishment and I am pretty sure there are a lot of people like me.Here's an article written by one of the 'consultants' of the experiment.It goes like :

Prof. Philip Zimbardo this "landmark" experiment is a classical treatise on the "power of the situation" and a full-blown explanation of the evils of every prison from Folsom to Abu Ghraib. I can assure you, it is neither. I say this not because I am an African American ex-con who served 17 years in San Quentin for attempted murder or one who spoke before Congress on the issue of prison reform. I say it because I was the Stanford Prison Experiment's chief consultant. I armed the Zimbardo, Craig Haney and Curt Banks with the ideas that enabled them to infuse this study with the verisimilitude that it hangs its hat on to this day. And shouldn't.

A hollywood movie is going to come out in 2008 about the experiment.

There are lot of crazy things going on around us!

Political Satire at its best!

2007-03-19T06:22:00.000+05:30

A clip from Colbert's report on Bush's trip to South America.Very funny!

Few pics from Minneapolis

2007-03-10T09:34:00.000+05:30

Few pictures that I took after two winter storms with 2 feet of snow.

Attenborough - Potoo Camouflage

2007-03-06T03:05:00.001+05:30

awesome nature video....check out more of attenborough's video on bbc worldwide at youtube.

Bajji

2007-03-02T04:43:00.000+05:30

I was reminded of one of my childhood incident when I checked out this video on eye donation in which bajji's were being cooked.

It was a get together when I was in Guntakal. My father used to work in Railways
, and all the families used to meet up at the Railway club for dinner and some recreation.I used to hang out with all the kids of my father's colleagues.

This incident occured during one of those get together. We used to pounce on the starters whenever the dinner was declared open.Generally the starter used to be a Bajji and as usual we pounced on the starters and started gorging it.However, after a few bajji's everyone realized there was mirchi(green chilly) inside it and everyone of us were running helter skelter for water.After enduring this nightmare every time I eat bajji's outside I first check whether there is mirchi inside it or not.

After all,
Once bitten twice shy!

Yes, I am Psychic!

2007-02-26T02:14:00.000+05:30

Otherwise, How would I have come across this news item on BBC

The Ministry of Defence has defended a decision to carry out tests to find out whether psychic powers could be used to detect hidden objects.

During the tests, defence experts attempted to recruit 12 "known" psychics who had advertised their abilities on the internet.

However, when they all refused to take part in the research, "novice" volunteers were drafted in.

During the study, commercial researchers were contracted at a cost of £18,000 to test them to see if psychic ability existed and could be used for defence purposes.

Some 28% of those tested managed a close guess at the contents of the envelopes, which included pictures of a knife, Mother Teresa and an "Asian individual".

However, most subjects produced guesses that were not close to the correct answer and one subject even fell asleep while he tried to focus on the envelope's content.

Then I clicked on one of the related links which led to the COLLEGE OF PSYCHIC STUDIES

It has a very interesting set of courses.My favourite one being "The Art of Dreaming".Just imagine how beautiful will the class be.

I would love to work in such an institution teaching people "The Art of Dreaming".

Which one is your favourite course?

You needn't answer that as I already know the answer as I am a psychic after all.

Perspective thats all matters!

2007-02-16T07:37:00.000+05:30

Check what a wonderful view few people have :-)

Colleen Derry: "The view from my kitchen window looking over the Columbia River in Washougal, Washington, USA. It makes doing the dishes almost enjoyable."

courtesy: BBC Pictures

All due to nothing!

2007-02-03T07:43:00.000+05:30

We do so many things and I feel everything for nothing.

A country invades another country over nothing (no credible evidence).
People have arguments over nothing(e.g. Sachin's form).
People later realize they fought over nothing.(e.g. Shipa v/s goody)
After the fight they don't achieve anything.

We blame nothing for bad deeds(An idle mind is a devil's workshop).
We keep running after something,
after we achieve that thing it becomes nothing,
which makes you go after something else,
Otherwise you are bound to do nothing,
Which turns out to be my favourite thing.

After all our life revolves around nothing!

Check out one of my favourite videos which is minutely related to this post.

Advice: Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen!

2007-01-16T13:47:00.001+05:30

You can check the original article here

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-970601sunscreen,0,4664776.column

Stuff of your dreams!

2007-01-09T11:18:00.000+05:30

A very interesting article on 5 materials having 'unbelievable' properties.

Grad student life v/s normal life

2007-01-05T11:09:00.000+05:30

Graduate student life v/s normal life summarized in 4000 words.

Definition of furniture:

Normal life

Grad life

Definition of Bed:

Normal life

Grad Life

After all each picture is worth a thousand words! :)

Sleep!

2006-12-30T04:34:00.000+05:30

This vacation I have slept a lot and just before sleeping I thought about the 'types' of sleep I love:

1. Sleeping after a heavy meal : Didn't get to practice this for a whole semester but doing this for the most part of my trip in Atlanta.Home cooked food cooked and served by someone else for a change :) and the sleep it induces is so heavenly that I get a hangover after I wake up.

2.Sleeping after a heavy workout:I remember when I went for trekking around Pune during my summer internship.We used to go trekking during the day and I used to play soccer after we returned from our trek and we used to sleep 12 hours straight for a few days.We were lucky that our guide didn't notice us missing from our work.

3.Sleeping in class after lunch: Most of us (I think) feel the boring lectures are equivalent to lullabies.I used to sleep so much in classes that some of my friends used to call me 'crash god'.During my school days one of my chemistry teachers used to chide me by saying 'supply that guy with pillows', 'wake the guy up who is try to brush his teeth'(due to my posture with my mouth open), etc.

I came across a very interesting link which categorizes different ways of sleeping in class.Here is the link to it.It is on a website maintained by Purdue students which says it is a survival guide in computers, academics and campus life. A very interesting read indeed, do check it out.

Life in Antartica

2006-12-30T04:25:00.000+05:30

This is one of my favourite photo journals from BBC's In pictures section.

They have an annual marathon in Antarctica.It must be surely fun!

Do check out the photos of the year as well in the In pictures section.

Life in Antartica doesn't look so bad in the pictures.

Glad to be in a trash can!

2006-12-21T19:42:00.000+05:30

The trash can at O'Hare International airport, Chicago proclaims "We're glad you are here".

didn't get it?

"We're glad you are here(trash can)"

What I do during exam time

2006-12-18T10:29:00.001+05:30

I sleep for around 30 mins 5-6 times a day....just doze off when I have some heavy reading which I do right before the exams...

perfect proposal!

2006-12-08T07:40:00.001+05:30

Enjoy!

Uncomfortable silences

2006-11-12T21:48:00.000+05:30

I watched 3 movies in the past week .Out of the three movies, Black Hawk down, Seven years in Tibet and Pulp Fiction, the movie which I loved the most was pulp fiction.Now it is one of my favourite movies.I loved a dialogue in particular,
which goes like :

Mia: Don't you hate that?
Vincent: What?
Mia: Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?
Vincent: I don't know. That's a good question.
Mia: That's when you know you've found somebody special. When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence.

I feel that a mark of a close friend is when he gets to know what you are trying to convey in 'comfortable silence' which is conveyed by this quote :

Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say.

Pulp Fiction is a must watch movie and I don't why I didn't watch it for such a long time.

Black hawk down is a really long movie with not much of a story.Loved the quote at the start of the movie :

Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

Plato

Seven years in Tibet has a really nice story with good performances by Brad Pitt and the kid acting as Dalai Lama.The main theme of the movie is how a person from a western civilization, where(according to the movie) being at the top is the most important thing, confronts Budhism, where controlling one's ego is the most important thing, and undergoes a change in the outlook towards his life.

This is the life of Raghuram

2006-11-06T20:26:00.000+05:30

Motivation : rhyme of Solomon Grundy

Bored after weekdays
played his heart out on friday
slept through saturday
woke up on sunday
realized had an exam on monday
realization didn't sink in the whole day
caffeine kept him awake for two days
but there is one more exam on wednesday
thus, he surrenders to caffeine everyday
This is the life of Raghuram

:)

The scariest thing

2006-10-19T04:35:00.000+05:30

I watched the movie unbreakable today and directed by Manoj Night Shyamalan.

I realised it was a great movie in the end only as it always happens with MN's movie.I got to listen to this dialogue from the movie :

Elijah Price: You know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world.

I don't know yet my place in the world. I am scared!

B Schools

2006-10-06T21:55:00.000+05:30

An article which matches my opinion on B-schools (Thats why i am posting it)

After all,

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Aristotle

Nothing Gandhian about it

2006-10-01T20:23:00.000+05:30

Check out this article on latest hit movie Lage raho Munnabhai.

Weekend!

2006-09-23T03:20:00.000+05:30

Finally the favourite days of the week has arrived. After slogging out on homeworks for 3 days now I know how it feels like to be free :) .I had to submit three assignments, one on thu and two on fri. The time given was a week.I being an eternal procrastinator looked at the problems and thought they are pretty easy.This is how I finished my assignments :

Wed night

No enthu to start the assignment will wake up early and do it

Thu morn
woke up at 6...finished assignments at 0925...the problem was i had to catch the 0930 bus....missed bfast didnt take bath and was running helter skelter collecting my stuff and ran to the bus stop just in time to catch the bus...

Thu eve

worked for 5 hours continously and finished both assignments almost except one problem in each of them.slept at 230am and woke up at 0830 with class beginning at 0900....missed the bus for sure this time...I just brushed my teeth and ran like hell to the university and also thinking abt the leftover problem....reached just five mins before the class to realise that the class was cancelled...felt happy as well as sad...sad as i had put so much fight to reac the class on time for submission of assignments and happy as i have got a lot more time to solve the problem....I finished the other assignment due on fri just 10 mins before the class started...

From now on I will do everything on time!

Being an eternal procrastinator doesnt stop me from being an eternal optimist ;)

5

2006-09-12T07:14:00.000+05:30

Once in IIT I remember when I looked at myself in the mirror, which happens once in a blue moon, that I had a few stitches between my eyebrow and eyes symmetrically positioned. Btw, I was reading about symmetry operations in my physics class and was checking out the symmetry in my face.

here goes the five :

1

I dont remember this incident though.It happened when i was less than 2 yrs old. Until then I had been thinking I had only one set of stitches between my eye and eyebrow. I had held amma's pallu and tripped over and fell on sharp protrusion.

2
This is the one i clearly remember. We were playing cricket nearby our house. I was only 4 yrs old so wasnt allowed bat or bowl. I was expected to only field. I am a sort of guy who wants to be invovled always so started going closer and closer to the batsman.I went so close that the guy swinged his bat with full force and it hit my face right above my eyes.Blood started oozing from the wound. I still remember the way the water turned red when tried to clean the wound before it was gonna be stitched. I also remember my brother getting a verbal thrashing for not looking after me while the play was going on.

3
I used to think I was a big hero in my childhood days courtesy chiru movies. I tried to jump from the top of slide and landed directly on my face, right near the mouth part which rendered me to eat only liquid food for the next few weeks.

4
This happened in IIT when I was hit by a cricket ball right next to my nose and it swelled like hell.Again had to follow a liquid diet for a few weeks as it hurt my gums pretty badly.

5
this again due to cricket ball bowled at 135 kph right in the middle of Saaranf our cult fest. It was thankfully just a cut and no swelling occured as it missed my teeth once again by just a whisker.I was wearing a bandage through out the Saarang though.

Culture shock!

2006-09-12T00:54:00.000+05:30

I was given the course description of one of courses where it was mentioned :

Exams. There will be three examinations. They will be closed book, no cheat sheet, no formula list. Calculators are allowed. They will be cumulative but will emphasize most recent material. The schedule is shown below:

Exam 1 (50 minutes): 10/09/06

Exam 2 (50 minutes): 11/13/06

Exam 3 (100 minutes): 12/16/06 (10:30-12:30, SAT)

Then I thought "what an exam on 10 september!" it is already 7th

...then realised it was 10 october not 10 september.....here it was my first "culture shock"

A great Photo journal

2006-08-31T19:25:00.000+05:30

Check out the photo journal on a bolivian jain on BBC....It is like a city inside a closed compound and doesnt have any Policemen...

here's the link....

Guess who is this person....

2006-08-28T09:31:00.000+05:30

Me in my complete winter wear!

Mysore Sandal Soap...

2006-08-20T10:55:00.000+05:30

One of my favourite columnists in The Hindu, V. Gangadhar, has writtem about the soap I still use in his column slice of life

do check it out.

Satisfaction!

2006-08-17T10:24:00.000+05:30

After spending 2 days at another country I was very frustrated that I wasnt able to even have a single meal to my satisfaction.

my first day started off with a Pizza slice at 1130 then a veg burger at 1800 n then ready to eat chole at 1130 in the night with bread.I could have eaten everything at one go.

Second day I had an oat meal in the morning and an oat meal in the afty.Actually, I had gone to McDonalds in the afty for lunch where me n my friend took 5 mins to explain to the guy at the counter that we wanted a veg burger.He told us there were no veg burgers @ McDs.I got so frustrated I decided to cook something myself.My roomie took me for shopping at 5 and we returned at 2030 with a LOT of groceries.

To add salt to the wound I ended up with common cold, which I hate like hell.

Finally made aloo curry and ate it with curd rice.

Then realised what satisfaction really is! :)

Rain!

2006-08-06T08:23:00.000+05:30

Incessant rains had lashed Hyderabad for the past 48 hours. The whole city almost came to standstill.

This reminded me about my summer internship at Pune (Summer 2005), where it used to rain 4-5 days continously in the last 3-4 weeks of my stay. This also bought back memories of my trek in a flooded are nearby lonavala, madavli is the name of the nearby station.

3 of my batchmates decided on the trek. I had just recovered from mumps and was raring to get out of my room as I was bed ridden for a week.The 4 guys were myself, Nikhil, Jk and Raavan.
Myself and Nikhil were working at TIFR, Raavan at Pimpri (outskirts of Pune, industrial area) and Jk at Pune University.We always had to plan our social get togethers on thursday, which was the industrial holiday (sunday wasnt a holiday for Raavan).We planned to catch the morning 5 'o clock train from Pune to Mumbhai. Jk came to our place to crash in the night as he used to live far far away from Pune and Raavan was supposed meet us at 0445 at the nearby station.

On the day of trek I woke up at 0530 and realised we were late. Then I woke up Nikhil and Jk and we hurriedly got ready as Raavan was furious on the mobile at us as he reached the station at 0445.We finally reached the station at 0630 and were welcomed by Raavan's very friendly demeanour. We caught the 7'o clock train finally.When the train stopped at madavli I was shocked. It was raining like cats and dogs and also almost horizontally due to the strong breeze.I was contemplating whether to get down when Nikhil pushed me onto the platform. We all got down and enquired where the Visapur twin forts were.Raavan hadnt even got a raincoat or an umbrella so got drenched top to botom in five minutes. Others were not ar behind, eventhough we were covered from top to bottom by wind cheater and waterproof tracksuits we also got drenched from top to bottom in a few mins.

We didnt have anything till now. The only eatable available was Vada pav. Each one of us had 4 vada pavs and chai and started off on our trek.We had to cross the Mumbhai Pune expressway to get to the twin forts of Visapur. We reached a village and asked a boy to take us to the top. He told us he had to go school but told he will come with us as far as he can.We climbed some 200 feet and saw the view then we realized the magnitude of floods affecting the whole area.The whole area was looking like a huge lake just behind the Railway station.We climbed with the boy for about 500 feet. He was barefoot and was climbing the rocks at a fast pace. We had to tell him to slow down as we werent able to keep up pace wit him. He then showed us the way further up.The problem was we couldnt see the forts as the clouds were pretty low and we still didnt get a view of the fort.We carried on following the instructions of the boy and we ended up near a 10 feet wide rivulet gushing down the mountain. We were thinking whether to cross it or not.Me n Jk were against crossing it as we thought it was too dangerous.Raavan crossed it and came back but now we were unsure whether it was the right way to the top.Finally we all agreed to go back and find some one who would guide us to the top.

More about my experience in my next post..

An idea can change ur life...

2006-08-04T07:41:00.000+05:30

The opening of the movie V for Vendetta starts off with

Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman): Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,/ The Gunpowder Treason and Plot... / I know of no reason/ Why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot... But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes and I know, in his 1605, he attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. But who was he really? What was he like? We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world. I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love... And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man... A man that made me remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget.

One of my favourtie movies for the dialogues and screenplay.

After 4 years when I entered my college it was convocation day.In the same auditorium where me and my batchmates sat together to listen to the welcome address by the director of my institute we heard him giving the report of one more year gone by at our institute.The guest of honour was one whom I admire very much, which is Dr.Ratan Tata.

In hid address to us he gave us this idea:
"Think BIG and act boldly"

He added that we are setting ourselves very small targets and should try to set our aims higher.
China is building the largest dam, airport etc. and we are adding one terminal to the Delhi airport that too by 2010 wonly.

Hopefully this idea will change someone's life.

Childhood heroes.......

2006-07-16T21:31:00.000+05:30

During our childhood days I was so credulous that I used to believe the hero was strong enough to beat up 100 goons single handedly.

One of my first movies was Gang leader (Lead role played by Chiru :) n me about 6-7 years old ). I think this was my first movie. Can't forget the song in the disco where chiru and his gang sing the song 'gang leader' which goes somewhat like this :

G......A.....N......G.....
Gang Gang
Bajaoo Bang Bang
and the disco lights focus on Chiru
GANG LEADER!

My reaction was.......... wow! this guy rocks!

In the final scene Chiru saves his family by flexing his muscles and then there u have my first childhood hero.

There is one more movie where he is a poor guy from a village without any job and falls in love with the heroine. The father of the heroine challenges him to bring 10 lakh rupees in a month and Chiru's answer :
with a fiery look in his eyes
"This is a Challenge"

Still one of my favourite scenes.

Then there was the casanova by the name Anil Kapoor.I used supposedly prostrate before the TV whenever he makes the entry in a movie. The song which I can't forget goes like this :

"sapnon ka sajan,
mera naam hai lakhan"

Although I have grown 'up' I still have utmost respect for Chiru in Gang Leader but will surely laugh if I watched a similar movie like gang leader now.

PS: I was having a conversation with my friend and he presented a very interesting point,
Israel is creating such a fuss because one of their colonels had been abducted, whereas in India 150 have died and over 700 injured and we do nothing but repeat the same statements all over again 'Pakistan should stop harboring terrorists' .

Moral of the story (as my friend usually puts it) : India is a land of pacifists.

Trek Diaries 2..

2006-06-29T22:54:00.000+05:30

chk out the previous entry on my trek before carrying on.

Our group was christened as 'Bajrang Dal' (the reason being pretty obvious). The only one out of the 31 groups which led to a state of depression in our tent.

Trip to Kullu
After lunch we freshened ourselves up and headed to Kullu. It is about 8 km from our camp.There was nothing much in Kullu to look around. We just shopped for a few things for the trek and returned to our base camp.

Cheapos didn't buy the caps! The owner of the shop was very amiable.He only gave the guys the caps carefully choosing so that each one wears a different design one.

On the way we got off from the bus, as we had lot of time in our hands so we visited the baes river.

We found a lot of stones having a flat surface then we started throwing stones so that they bounce off the water as many times as possible.

But Robstoy had plans for weightlifting :D

Now to the most memorable event of the day!

We have camp fire every night during our trek. It is organized by each group every night. The group which landed a day earlier had the responsibility for our first night at the base camp. They came to our camp for singers/stand up comedians etc. I teasingly asked robstoy whether he was interested to sing and he agreed. On top of that we had an air guitar specialist rishi with him.I knew it was going to end in disaster so I closed my eyes when they performed. The song Robstoy sung was 'Sweet child of mine' with rishi as the air guitarist. It was a disaster Robstoy singing and Rishi giving out sound of a guitar. He finished the song quickly to the relief of our camp mates.

I came to know later that he finished the song quickly because he had forgot the lyrics of the song but he was happy that he had got an audience for his singing performance.

Great spirit.Hail Robstoy!

Trek Diaries 1..

2006-06-26T16:27:00.000+05:30

The beginning
Just packed an air bag for the trek.Packing for a trek is pretty simple where u needn't take bath for a week :) . Then a 24 hr train trip to Delhi which I slept throughout. One of my school friends, Nisha Mohan, came to receive us at the station.She was our guide for the day. We roamed around the markets and malls of Noida.

The next day we met up with other guys of the group n were off to the Babeli base camp which took approximately 18 hours (Due to the Mountainous terrain).

You can't eat a lot on the way due to the meandering path which causes a vommiting sensation.

On the way we had a bad experience of eating at a Dhabha.The guys gave us salad and curd with what we had ordered originally. Then they added around 160 bucks for the salad and curd with the bill. We ended up having a heated exchange with the dhabha guys as the food also wasnt great at all.

The next day morning on the way to base camp, pit stop for b/fast :

Tomorrow the chicks will be all over us

We reached the camp around noon starved to death.We arrived just during the lunch time and went directly to thulp food.The food was great throughout the trek. i don't know why do we get bad food only in our hostels :( . I am learning cooking and found that its not tough at all to cook a decent meal.

The anti climax after reaching the camp :

Finally they ended up all over eachother! :D

More in a few days time....captions courtesy Robstoy!

lets be on the safer side

2006-06-14T22:43:00.000+05:30

I am back from one of the treks organized by youth hostel assoc. of India (YHAI).

In one of the camps I met one of the pioneers of the trekking expedition organised by YHAI. He is a professor of Botany, did mountaineering course in 1964.He is presently Vice president of YHAI.

We were talking about the general attitude around the world about the love for travel n adventure. He mentioned "we Indians always want to be on the safe side. We would never like to take risks. We have very bright brains but we still need to develop fearlessness towards taking risks.Many of them don'tcometo our trek eventhough evrything is taken care of and you just need to trek because of the fear who will go to the himalayas." He mentioned how he met many foreign students who go broke while travelling. Don't where they are heading next day and also on the shoe string budget they travel.

This is where I had been....on the background is the lake being formed from the snow at 13000 feet...

Height of irrationality

2006-05-23T00:14:00.000+05:30

Check out the interview of our great Union minister (HRD) regarding reservations. It shows the level of IQ our great parliamentarians have. It is pretty evident that he didnt even care to look at the figures what the reporter is quoting. The minister has only one reply 'Reservations are necessary for development of backward sections of societies' for each and every question.

Afterall, democracy is the best of the worst forms of government we can think of. Everywhere the politicians have learnt to beat the system actually more than that eat up whole of the system and show no responsiblity towards the good of the nation. The only concern of the politicians these days being power. How to not lose it.....they can stoop to any level to achieve this...even sponsor riots, underground gangs and what all...

God save the world!

Sickly , Starved and Wild!

2006-05-19T22:53:00.000+05:30

I am at home finally.....slow internet speed is killing me....Amma after looking at me said 'enna da Raghu ivlo sickly ya terriyara apparom idhe enna kaad mardhi mudi!IIT la saapad poda maatala' (u look so sickly and wild!don't they feed you at IIT)

will blog frequently again when i get access to broadband which is expected after I come back from my trek(jun 12)..

Look Gay....

2006-05-14T21:45:00.000+05:30

The billboard reads :
" LOOK GAY IN GAYMAN TAILORED SUITS"

Nice advertising indeed!

My favourite dialogue...

2006-05-11T17:37:00.000+05:30

Maximus: [after swiftly dispatching another gladiator] Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?
Crowd: Spaniard, Spaniard, Spaniard...

photo credit: Sudhir

Born to be wild!

2006-05-10T10:10:00.000+05:30

abt my experience the day of my Btech thesis submission.....

It all started when I had listened to the song

BORN TO BE WILD

From the 1968 release "Steppenwolf"

it was the day before I had to submit my Btech thesis.....I had a lot of editing to do and I had a splitting headache.Then I went to my friends room and asked whether he was game for Mango milk shake at Coronet (Adyar) at 1230 AM. So off we went to Coronet. Then I asked him shall we go to ECR right now as the lyrics of the song go:

Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under

Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die

Born to be wild
Born to be wild

off we went on ECR @ 70kph on a bike withot headlights and poor brakes for 25 km till the toll both. It was an awesome experience with the wind wind blowing through your hair as the lyrics of 'hotel california goes' :

On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair

we hardly came across any vehicles and the the only lighting available was the moonlight.My headache vanished but my butt was paining due to the long drive :) .

Then I cam e back to my room and crashed off totally oblivious of my thesis woke up in the morning to realize I had a lot to edit before the submission.Finally, finished it at 6 in the evening and gave it for binding. A HUGE relief when I submitted it today morning as it signifies the end of 'The end' of my Btech as typified by the song 'The end' :

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end

The end of our hostel days which was like sponsored(by parent of course!) holiday (full of freedom to do anything any time). Like this song 'Freebird' :

Things just couldn't be the same.
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now,
And this bird you can not change.
Lord knows, I can't change.

These years were surely 'the best days of my life' :) and I surely was BORN TO BE WILD!

Fruit shop on greams road

2006-05-08T11:28:00.000+05:30

Here is a place where you get unadulterated juice but at a little tard expensive rates though, so generally we go to this place whenever we go on treats.

So here are my favourites:
Jughead special
california quencher (watermelon juice)
freedom
Orange punch

This is a picture taken on my job treat which was 2 months back....but I can recognize each drink by looking at the pic right now...

So here goes....
will start with the yellow thing on the left and go in the clockwise direction...
1. mango milkshake
2.jughead special
3.jughead special
4.Sheik's shake (dates based milk shake)
5.Strawberry milk shake
6.Lemon mint cooler
7.Strawberry milk shake
8.Freedom(sweet lime+ice cream)
Grape juice at the center....

One of the places I'll miss .....

Ice cream bash@ My hostel

2006-04-29T23:22:00.000+05:30

photo blog once again.........

This is an event where the warde of the hostel gives away mementos to the outgoing students. During this event I realised that I will be leaving my hostel in a month.

Hostel life changes your personality so drastically. It is again the effect of environment I guess. The sudden freedom you have of doing anything anytime without anyone asking you to comply with any of the rules. The start is the most painful and enjoyable part of it where you try to find your feet as well get an experience of this new found freedom and exposure to so many things at one time. For e.g. the first Saarang (IITM culfest) will be the most cherished for every guy inmy college even the friends you make during the first year with whom you tried to settle in this new way of life.

Here are few pics of the ice cream bash :
Me gettin momento from our warden

WE did eat a LOT of ice cream

Playing with dry Ice.....Look at my expression..it was too cold to hold!

After all only change is permanent! :D

New rubber form discovered!

2006-04-23T20:48:00.000+05:30

This new discovery was unknown to the mankind for all these years. We thank the Caterers (RR) for providing us with constant samples throughout the week. We were also oblivious to this new form of rubber until we conducted the stretching test and the chewing test.

Here are the samples:

The source of inspiration are junta who were finding it tough to break the rubber with both hands which was supposedly sold by the secret trade name 'naan'. The author has already filed for a patent.

We conducted the stretch test first. The results showed the material had very high degree of plasticity. We applied the test on Livestrong band which yielded much earlier the 'naan'. We strongly recommend this material for Livestrong foundation and also to Bridgestone tyre company (I am a Schumacher fan you know).

Now we move on the chewing test. The author had to test it on himself(which was painful indeed).The pic on the right is when the author started chewing the 'naan'.

After the author chewed the 'naan' 25 times...

After the author chewed the 'naan' 50 times...

Finally, the author was able to make the 'naan' edible by the chew test after 75 times chewing again and again.

So what do IITians resort to when they are made to eat 'naan'. They take extras from the mess or go to Gurunath to quench their hunger.Here is one specimen who was forced to survive on Milk Bikis as dinner.

I would like to make a sincere appeal to all the IITM junta to popularise this new form of rubber(The author is ready to share the royalties).

Acknowledgement: We thank the RR caterers for providing us with such great source of rubber.

On god's own turf

2006-04-23T18:05:00.000+05:30

This is a photo blog about one of my experiences at IIT madras.

It was a wondeful experience to play in an international hockey stadium.

The feeling was overwhelming when we entered the stadium. Imagining that international players fight it out in the same arena where we were going to play.It was being watered initially.We couldn't stop ourselves and went on to the field and started practising and in the process were soaking wet as well.

@IIT Madras we have this nice idea of having farewell match between the outgoing students and the future squad of the rspective sports.Thus, for hockey Dr.Radhakrishnan Hockey stadium was chosen as the venue for the match.

The hockey team squad.

I didn't have a good day on the field though :( .

M for Mandak :D .

We had fun for almost 2 hours at the end of which everyone was tired physically.

It will be one of my memorable experiences at IIT Madras.

Life@IITM

2006-04-20T18:47:00.000+05:30

Great blog by one of my seniors....

Do chk it out by clicking here

I prefer Left to Right

2006-04-20T14:44:00.000+05:30

I can never ever imagine development 'trickling' down to the poor byt he policies followed by a government which is inclined towards the right.

Here is an article which shows the hypocrisy of the right policies. People enjoying meals at high quality restaurants near the largest slum in Asia.

Here a nice piece I read today on the Hindu editorial which conforms to my views:

Where Left differs from the Right

Where the Left does part ways with the Right is on the issue of public policies in general and on social policies in particular.

On the first, the key notion has been that, much as in today's world it is the private sector that drives the economic engine, the government plays a key role in devising tools to leverage the statutory powers of the state with the material resources and managerial capabilities of business. The provision of public infrastructure, a fundamental need in a huge continent such as Latin America, is a classic example.

The notion that the free market by itself will provide the highways, bridges, tunnels and airports that are needed is just as mistaken as the one that hopes against hope that the public sector will come up with the enormous resources to pay for them, willy-nilly. Public-private partnerships are, of course, the answer here, something which India is actively pursuing, as we have seen recently with the adjudication of the bids to upgrade the Delhi and Mumbai airports but the same goes for other areas. Chile managed to generate $6 billion in private investment (mostly foreign) in public infrastructure from 1995 to 2003, and its highways and airports are today ranked among the best in the region.

On social inequalities the Right's standard approach has been "trickle down," that is, to allow economic growth per se to take care of the disadvantaged, on the theory that "a rising tide lifts all boats." And while there is little doubt that without growth there won't be much to distribute, the evidence shows than unless carefully calibrated social policies are also put in place, poverty and huge inequalities will persist. Once again the case of Chile, where poverty was almost halved, from 39 per cent of the population in 1990 to 18 per cent in a decade, is a good example of how the imaginative public policies implemented by a responsible Left have made much headway.

Yes, the Left has won quite a few elections, a majority of Latin Americans are now ruled by Left-led governments, and by leaders who are more representative of their peoples. But, far from being determined to turn the clock backwards towards the failed, statist economic policies of yesteryear, these leaders, by and large, are keen on applying new, imaginative solutions tailored to their country's specific needs, rather than the "one-size-fits-all" approach that has wrought such havoc in the region in the recent past.

Jorge Heine

(Jorge Heine is the Ambassador of Chile to India.)

You can read the complete Editorial by clicking here.

Its not about the Bike...

2006-04-17T16:15:00.000+05:30

The book is the biography of Lance Armstrong. A must read book indeed.I will try to capture the essence of the book in a paragraph.

Initially it starts off with Lance's childhood years.It was painful indeed for him as his father left his mother after his birth. He never met his biological father! Throughout his childhood his mother had to put lot of fight to make ends meet. Then he showed great enthusiasm for triathlon at around his teen years and starting winning a lot of tournaments. This supplemented the earnings of his mother as well. He became well known among cyclists in US and won some major tournaments then came the shocking news that he had cancer and he had very little chance of survival. The part after cancer life has astounded as he had to build his reputation back as a world class cyclist again which is very tough indeed. The 2 years he spent before winning tour de france was very painful indeed. The struggle he had gone through is mind blowing.I would like to qoute a paragraph from the poem 'If' by rudyard Kipling which is describes the previous lines previous lines perfectly:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

I bought a livestrong band to remind me just about this.Whenever, I am in a place where I know that i am gonna get psyched I'll wear this. Today I tried it out during my presentation and it was the best presentation I had ever given.

I want to read the biography of Sachin Tendulkar(obviously whenever he finishes writing one).It would be a good read if he mentions how he takes the expectations of the whole nation whenever he goes out to bat.

Feel free to comment!

Comments Please...

2006-04-17T13:20:00.000+05:30

For the past 1 month I wasn't at all blogging . One of the reasons being just plain lazy of course but a few comments here and there will be of great help to me to blog even more.

Waiting for your comments :).

Smile!

2006-04-12T22:01:00.000+05:30

But stories like this one brings the smile back on my face

shocked!

2006-04-12T21:52:00.000+05:30

What else can you go through when you read this story

Plied Higher and Deeper

2006-04-02T11:12:00.000+05:30

Let me start of with the good news. My journal paper got its first citation yesterday night!

Was just plain lazy to blog or do anything else in the past week. My BTech project review is round the corner and I am yet get any concrete results. I have perfected the art of grinding by grinding a lot of samples for my BTech Project.

I was hooked to this comic strip known as PhD . Finished the comic strip in 2 days. Do check it out (especially those who are planning to apply abroad).

Had a heavy dose of subject-object relationship through Lila by Robert M Pirsig.

Started reading the biography of Lance Armstrong.

I support ban on crying.....read on

2006-03-29T15:57:00.000+05:30

check out one of the letters to the editor in today's Hindu

Ban crying

If scenes of smoking should be banned from being screened on television and in movies because of their ill effects on health, television soaps in various regional channels should also be banned because of their dangerous effects on emotional health. If my mother does not want me to see my favourite actor smoking or drinking alcohol because I may start smoking or drinking, I do not want my mother to watch screen mothers crying all the time because she may become emotionally weak and start crying for everything. Just as parents are concerned about the content and quality of serials and movies their teenagers watch, we the teenagers are also concerned about the content of the serials they watch.

R.L. Narayan,
Bangalore

Oh my god! I have been tagged....

2006-03-22T08:19:00.000+05:30

First of all I hate to be tagged....anyway as Sreejith has tagged me, I hope so this is the last time I get 'tagged'....

Five things I can't live without
1. O2
2. H20
3. Food
4. Shelter
5. Thoughts

Five movies I'd see as many times
1. Sound of Music
2. Pushpak
3. Snatch
4. amelie
5. life is beautiful

Five places I'd love to go any day
1. 349, Mandak IIT Madras
2.RRC grounds, Sec'Bad
3. Chemplast, IIT Madras
4.2/4, Rail Nilayam Colony, Sec'Bad (My home!)
5. Western Ghats

Five places I'd love to visit
1. Himalayas
2. Egypt
3. Venice
4. Andaman & Nicobar Islands
5. Rio

Five websites I visit day in and day out.
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport
2. http://www.google.co.in
3. http://www.orkut.com
4. http://indiauncut.blogspot.com/
5. http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?PL=M

Five things I love doing at work.
I haven't started working yet....

Five books I've loved.
1. Cathcher in the Rye
2. Three men in a boat
3. Leave it to Psmith
4. Mahatma's autobiography
5. The bourne identity

Five English songs I'd listen to anyday.
1. Return to Innocence - Enigma
2. High Hopes- Pink Floyd
3. Cloud number nine- Bryan Adams
4. Simon and Garfunkel, I love every song equally...
5. Dream on- Aerosmith....The list is endless I named 5 at random..

Five famous personalities I respect.
1. Gandhiji
2. Micheal owen
3.Ronaldinho
4.Lance Armstrong
5.Steve Waugh

Five fictitious character I like
1. The main character in Catcher in the Rye
2. Aragon
3. Abel from Kane & Abel
4. Psmith
5. Bourne

I have been very honest with my 5 post.
please don't tag me.
I'm going to tag ...
Arpan
nightwatchmen

to spread the disease of being tagged :D

I wish I could...

2006-03-22T08:01:00.000+05:30

Thats me in the pic playing a straight drive in the summer at Hyd. I have been yearning to play a test match from the time I started playing cricket. I feel the one day format, I play of 25 overs per inning, is too short for someone. I have been yearning to play the longer version of the game. It is so interesting (for me of course! :)), as your patience , dedication and talent is tested. My brother has commented why Test matches are better. "Why else do you think I place test cricket higher. The better team always wins I repeat always. Over 5 days if a team loses then it deserved to.

Look at the SA they lost the test match within 3 days. On the other hand the "strong" Indian batting line up is a misnomer. On form other than Dravid no one else would cause any of the bowlers sleepless nights."

This wish will go unfulfilled I suppose :(.....

Sport!

2006-03-19T18:06:00.000+05:30

There are always a certain mystic surrounding every sport, you can be a hero someday or a zero on some other day.

The shining example of Herschelle Gibbs, he was the guy who dropped the catch of Steve Waugh during the super six match against Australia in the '99 World Cup. I think he had his vengeance when he scored 175 against the same side recently(every1 knows abt this match). Ironically, he was dropped by Nathan Bracken.

One more quality of sport that I love is there is no value for reputation. i don't know why the reporters start saying before every match that this team is gonna win. Could anyone have predicted SA, termed as chokers, would have succesfully chased 434 in 50 overs. We have the best example before us even today, the famed batting line up of India will thrash the England bowlers on the Mumbhai wicket. Finally, England are on top of Day 2 of test match even though they are missing 5 of their first team players. Mind you England was on top in the past two test matches for the most part of the tests.

Unpredictability in result and the performance of both, the individual and the team, is what I love as well as hate about sport, as luck plays a very important role as well. Who knows if Gibbs had caught the catch 'properly' Australia mightn't have won the '99 World Cup.

The Greatest Restaurant on earth

2006-03-15T09:03:00.000+05:30

The name is Shiok and is based in Bangalore.....after my futile attempts at searching for its webpage by typing siok and soik, I finally got hold of it through amit varma's blog .

I had gone to Bangalore or sorry Bengaluroo around Feb 8 to hang out with my brother. The service , ambience and the quality of food is awesome. I never tasted better food than this. If u give me a choice between Aishwarya Rai and Shiok I would go for Shiok without any doubt in my mind.

you can chk the webpage of the hotel at Shiok

The guy who started the restaurant is also a blogger and you can chk out his blog by clicking here

Contempt

2006-03-14T09:24:00.000+05:30

Contempt: lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike; "he was held in contempt"; "the despite in which outsiders were held is legendary"

In my height of cynicism I wrote this poem:

Contempt

Contempt for myself,
Contempt for thyself.

Contempt for society,
which doesn't believe in honesty.

Contempt for friendship,
which I think is equalent to an industrial partnership.

Contempt for education,
which leads to nothing but prespiration.

Contempt for religion,
which leads to seperation.

Contempt for conventions,
which always undergo terminations.

Contempt for everything,
As contempt is the only thing.

One of my fav posts on India Uncut

2006-03-04T19:15:00.000+05:30

India Uncut is one of the blogs i read frequently and now it has reached top 10 in blogger.com list of most visited blogs....

This post(It has links to other blogs) is awesome do chk out... by clicking here

NFS : Most Wanted

2006-03-04T15:38:00.000+05:30

These are the pics taken when the great exponents of NFS, trained by me, were playing. The two guys are Venky and Kalia.

from 'you can't be serious' to some serious reading

2006-02-26T20:14:00.000+05:30

Finally finshed the biography of Johm McEnroe...will soon upload some of my favourite parts of the book.....

Now I have started reading J Krishnamurhti's notes,essays and discussions on God....The book is titled as 'On God'...

u can click on the following link to know more about him....
The sage who wouldn't be a guru

This my first book of J Krishnamurti....

movies I watched recently...

2006-02-26T10:36:00.000+05:30

I watched the following movies in the past few days....
Goodnight and good luck, Hazaaroon kwaishein aisi and motorcycle diaries ...(the links will lead to imdb profile of the movies)
all the three had some relation with politics ....loved each one of the movies....especially the last one..it is based on Che Guvera...how a motorcycle trip across 8000 miles changes him ....
I was shocked initially that someone will take a trip of 8000 miles, i.e. across a continent on a motorcycle in 1953!!
This is one thing I love about foreigners..they travel a lot.....I met a German who just graduated on a train journey(from Hyd to Kolkatta in II class sleeper)....he mentioned to me that they travel a lot after they cross a milestone in their education career...he told after he finished his XII he travelled across Europe..after he graduated he was on a trip to Asia...China, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives...he started in Feb from germany...will hopefully return by Oct to his homeland..all from his own savings...He told me that he will be broke by the time he reaches Germany..

here are a few quotes from the movie:
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: How is it possible to feel nostalgia for a world I never knew?
---------------------------
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: What do we leave behind when we cross each frontier? Each moment seems split in two; melancholy for what was left behind and the excitement of entering a new land.

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: This isn't a tale of heroic feats. It's about two lives running parallel for a while, with common aspirations and similar dreams.

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: What we had in common - our restlessness, our impassioned spirits, and a love for the open road.

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: Wandering around our America has changed me more than I thought. I am not me any more. At least I'm not the same me I was.

Miner's Wife: Are you two looking for work?
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: No, we aren't looking for work.
Miner's Wife: No?... Then why are you traveling?
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: We travel just to travel.
Miner's Wife: Bless you... Blessed be your travels.

yesterday while coming from ascendas me and my friends were discussing about movies.....and most of them I havent seen yet........there are such a hell lot of great movies which im yet to see :((...thus, I embarked on a mission...to watch 2 movies everyday..:D

few of my favourite movie quotes/scenes 2....

2006-02-26T09:58:00.000+05:30

Kevin Lomax: "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven", is that it?
John Milton: Why not? I'm here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began. I've nurtured every sensation man's been inspired to have. I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him, in spite of all his imperfections. I'm a fan of man. I'm a humanist. Maybe the last humanist.
--------------------------------------
god level dialogue

John Milton: Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off. He's a tight-ass. He's a sadist. He's an absentee landlord. Worship that? Never.
----------------------------------
[last lines]
John Milton: Vanity, definitely my favorite sin.
--------------------------------------------------------

Forrest Gump: Will you marry me?
[Jenny turns and looks at him]
Forrest Gump: I'd make a good husband, Jenny.
Jenny Curran: You would, Forrest.
Forrest Gump: But you won't marry me.
Jenny Curran: You don't wanna marry me.
Forrest Gump: Why don't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is.
------------------------------------------------
Forrest Gump: Momma always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
---------------------------------
Jenny Curran: Do you ever dream, Forrest, about who you're gonna be?
Forrest Gump: Who I'm gonna be?
Jenny Curran: Yeah.
Forrest Gump: Aren't-aren't I going to be me?
---------------------------------

Paul Rivers: How many lives do we live? How many times do we die? They say we all lose 21 grams... at the exact moment of our death. Everyone. And how much fits into 21 grams? How much is lost? When do we lose 21 grams? How much goes with them? How much is gained? How much is gained? Twenty-one grams. The weight of a stack of five nickels. The weight of a hummingbird. A chocolate bar. How much did 21 grams weigh?
---------------------------------------

Judge Garrett: In this courtroom, Mr.Miller, justice is blind to matters of race, creed, color, religion, and sexual orientation.
Joe Miller: With all due respect, your honor, we don't live in this courtroom, do we?
----------------------------------------
Joe Miller: What do you love about the law, Andrew?
Andrew Beckett: I... many things... uh... uh... What I love the most about the law?
Joe Miller: Yeah.
Andrew Beckett: It's that every now and again - not often, but occasionally - you get to be a part of justice being done. That really is quite a thrill when that happens.
------------------------------
[Andrew transcendentally describes his favorite opera.]
Andrew Beckett: Do you like opera?
Joe Miller: I'm not that familiar with opera.
Andrew Beckett: This is my favorite aria. This is Maria Callas. This is "Andrea Chenier", Umberto Giordano. This is Madeleine. She's saying how during the French Revolution, a mob set fire to her house, and her mother died... saving her. "Look, the place that cradled me is burning." Can you hear the heartache in her voice? Can you feel it, Joe? In come the strings, and it changes everything. The music fills with a hope, and that'll change again. Listen... listen... "I bring sorrow to those who love me." Oh, that single cello! "It was during this sorrow that love came to me." A voice filled with harmony. It says, "Live still, I am life. Heaven is in your eyes. Is everything around you just the blood and mud? I am divine. I am oblivion. I am the god... that comes down from the heavens, and makes of the Earth a heaven. I am love!... I am love."

Col. Jessep: What do you wanna discuss now? My favorite color?
Kaffee: Colonel, a moment ago you said that you ordered Lieutenant Kendrick to tell his men that Santiago wasn't to be touched.
Col. Jessep: That's right.
Kaffee: And Lieutenant Kendrick was clear on what you wanted?
Col. Jessep: Crystal.
Kaffee: Any chance Lieutenant Kendrick ignored the order?
Col. Jessep: Ignored the order?
Kaffee: Any chance he forgot about it?
Col. Jessep: No.
Kaffee: Any chance Lieutenant left your office and said, 'The old man is wrong'?
Col. Jessep: No.
Kaffee: When Lieutenant Kendrick spoke to the Platoon, and ordered them not to touch Santiago, any chance they ignored him?
Col. Jessep: You ever served in an infantry unit, son?
Kaffee: No, sir.
Col. Jessep: Ever served in a forward area?
Kaffee: No, sir.
Col. Jessep: Ever put your life in another man's hands: asked him to put his life in yours?
Kaffee: No, sir.
Col. Jessep: We follow orders, son. We follow orders, or people die; it's that simple. Are we clear?
Kaffee: Yes, sir.
Col. Jessep: [nearly shouting] Are we clear?
Kaffee: Crystal. Colonel, I've just one more question before I call Airman O'Malley and Airman Rodriguez; if you gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched, and your orders ar always followed, then why would Santiago be in danger? Why would it be necessary to transfer him off the base?

Kaffee: Did you order the Code Red?
Col. Jessep: I did the job I...
Kaffee: [shouting] Did you order the Code Red?
Col. Jessep: [shouts] You're goddamn right I did!

Judge Randolph: [reading the verdict] Lance Corporal Dawson, Private First Class Downey: On the charge of murder, the members find the accused not guilty. On the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, the members find the accused not guilty. On the charge of conduct unbecoming a United States Marine, the members find the accused guilty as charged. The accused are hereby sentenced to time already served, and you are ordered to be dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps. This court martial is adjourned.
Bailiff: All rise.
[the courtroom clears; Downey is baffled and afraid, and speaks to Dawson]
Downey: What does that mean?

Col. Jessep: Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

Col. Jessep: You see Danny, I can deal with the bullets, and the bombs, and the blood. I don't want money, and I don't want medals. What I do want is for you to stand there in that faggoty white uniform and with your Harvard mouth extend me some fucking courtesy. You gotta ask me nicely.

Col. Jessep: I run my unit how I run my unit. You want to investigate me, roll the dice and take your chances. I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4000 Cubans who are trained to kill me, so don't think for one second that you can come down here, flash a badge, and make me nervous.

Col. Jessep: Ever put your life in a man's hands or asked him to put his life in yours?
Kaffee: No, sir.
Col. Jessep: We follow orders, son. We follow orders or people die. It's that simple. Are we clear?
Kaffee: Yes, sir.
Col. Jessep: ARE WE CLEAR?
Kaffee: Crystal. Colonel, I just have one final question before I put Airman O'Malley and Airman Rodriguez on the stand: If you gave an order that Private Santiago wasn't to be touched, and your orders are always followed, then why would Private Santiago be in danger? Why would it be necessary to transfer him off the base?

Col. Jessep: You fuckin' people. You have no idea how to defend a nation. All you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee. That's all you did. You put people's lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son.
Kaffee: Don't call me son. I'm a lawyer and an officer in the United States Navy. And you're under arrest, you son of a bitch.

Col. Jessep: Transfer Santiago off the base. Yes, I'm sure that's the thing to do. Wait, I have a better idea. Why don't we just transfer the whole squad off the base? As a matter of fact, why don't we just transfer the whole Windward Division off the base? John, go on out there and tell those boys to come down off the wall, they're packing their bags. Tom!
Tom: Yes, sir!
Col. Jessep: Get me the President on the phone. We're surrendering our position in Cuba!
Tom: Yes, sir.
Col. Jessep: Wait a minute, Tom, don't call the President just yet. Perhaps we should consider this for a moment. Dismissed, Tom. You know, maybe we have an obligation to young William. Maybe we as officers have a responsibility to our country to see to it that the men assigned to protect it are properly trained... yes, I'm certain I've read that somewhere and while your suggestion, Lt. Col. Markinson, of transferring William off the base, while expeditious and certainly painless, might not be, in a matter of speaking, the American way. Santiago stays where he is. We're gonna train the lad!

few of my favourite movie quotes/scenes 1....

2006-02-26T09:43:00.000+05:30

Favourite quotes from shawshank redemption
District Attorney: And that also is very convenient, isn't it, Mr. Dufresne?
Andy Dufresne: Since I am innocent of this crime, I find it decidedly INCONVENIENT that the gun was never found.
---------------------------------
Red: These walls are kind of funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them. That's institutionalized. They send you here for life, that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyways.
-------------------------------
Red: [narrating] I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
------------------------------
on Red's harmonica playing]
Andy Dufresne: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget. Forget that there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone. That there's a - there's a - there's something inside that's yours, that they can't touch.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Dufresne: That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here
Andy Dufresne: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red: Forget?
Andy Dufresne: Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone, and that there's something inside that they can't get to ,and that they can't touch. It's yours.
Red: What're you talking about?
Andy Dufresne: Hope.
----------------------------------------------
Red: I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say... I liked Andy from the start.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

favourite scene from snatch:
Bullet Tooth Tony: So, you are obviously the big dick. The men on the side of ya are your balls. There are two types of balls. There are big brave balls, and there are little mincey faggot balls.
Vinny: These are your last words, so make them a prayer.
Bullet Tooth Tony: Now, dicks have drive and clarity of vision, but they are not clever. They smell pussy and they want a piece of the action. And you thought you smelled some good old pussy, and have brought your two small mincey faggot balls along for a good old time. But you've got your parties mangled up. There's no pussy here, just a dose that'll make you wish you were born a woman. Like a prick, you are having second thoughts. You are shrinking, and your two little balls are shrinking with ya. The fact that you've got "Replica" written down the side of your gun. (withdraws his gun) And the fact that I've got "Desert Eagle point five O" written on the side of mine, should precipitate your balls into shrinking, along with your presence. Now... Fuck off.

Perfect career...by monster.com

2006-02-15T20:13:00.000+05:30

there is a link on the moster.com website giving you the perfect career according to personality types....you can go to the page by clickin here

For me the result came out as...

Life as an INTP
(Intravert, Intuitive, Thinker, Perceiver)

People of this type tend to be quiet, independent and private; logical and unemotional; creative, ingenious and innovative, global thinkers; curious and driven to increase their competence; casual and adaptive; nonconforming and unpredictable.

The most important thing to INTPs is their privacy and the opportunity to solve complex problems in unique ways.

Great careers for INTPs

Here are just a few popular and often satisfying careers for people whose Personality Type is INTP:

Computer software designer / developer

Legal mediator

Financial analyst

Economist

College professor: philosophy, economics

Musician

Intellectual property attorney

Pharmaceutical researcher

Network integration specialist

on cloud no. 9

2006-02-14T21:11:00.000+05:30

Its a great feeling when you get an offer from a university so early.....
evryone who has applied abroad for higher studies or attending placement intervies is equally nervous as each one wants to know asap whether he will be going to the place he wants after four years at IIT....for reading one of the well written posts on placement click here

People used to ask me why do you look so dull nowadays......the smile is back on my face...

and here goes the lyrics of the song cloud no.9 by bryan adams....

clue number one was when you knocked on my door
clue number two was the look that you wore
n' that's when i knew it was a pretty good sign
that something was wrong up on cloud number nine

well it's a long way up and we won't come down tonight
well it may be wrong but baby it sure feels right

and the moon is out and the stars are bright
and whatever comes s'gonna be alright
cause tonight you will be mine - up on cloud number nine
and there ain't no place that i'd rather be
and we can't go back but you're here with me
yeah, the weather is really fine - up on cloud number nine

now he hurt you and you hurt me
and that wasn't the way it was supposed to be
so baby tonight let's leave the world behind
and spend some time up on cloud number nine

well it's a long way up and we won't come down tonight
well it may be wrong but baby it sure feels right

well we won't come down tonight
ya we won't come down tonight
no we won't come down tonight

we can watch the world go by - up on cloud number nine

Heart Broken for the nth time:((

2006-02-14T20:53:00.000+05:30

Heart Broken for the nth time:(( was the status message of my friend(from my hostel) on yahoo msgr a few days back. Being an IITian and having a girlfriend are conflicting properties. There have been exceptions, a few of them are in my wing. I started thinking why I don't have a girl friend and came up with the following set of reasons...

1. Girls are an endangered species in IIT Madras. Here the sex ratio is 1:40.

2. Don't have friends(girls) for a long period of time say 3-4 years near my home as we kept shifting our home at Hyd.

3. Didn't put fight for a girl outside IIT as I busy enjoying other things at IIT.

I would like end by saying...

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Being an IITian I don't have a GF(girl friend) too...

IF by R.Kipling

2006-02-07T22:07:00.000+05:30

The peom which influenced me a lot......

here it goes...

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Something Fresh By PGW

2006-02-07T20:42:00.000+05:30

This is his first book on the Blandings Castele series.

Presently quite bored of PGW books as I have been reading PGWs since last 2 years.

Started reading an autobiography "you can't be serious"...you can easily guess the guy...the clue is he is a tennis player....u should have got it by now..

Ascendas Food court

2006-02-07T15:58:00.000+05:30

The tech park recently opened at Taramani, behind IIT is just great news for us, as we have a food court just 10 mins walk from our hostel zone.

The food court has qwiky's which runs 24x7. I went on Monday at 2330 hrs. They serve sandwiches and burgers as well which are much cheaper and better than varoona's, which is the favourite of IITians.

Pizza Hut, Pathankot, KFC and many more retail stores are coming up.

Lyrics of High Hopes by Pink Floyd

2006-02-06T21:17:00.000+05:30

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun

Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway
Do they still meet there by the Cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The night of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

guess what is this....

2006-02-01T22:29:00.000+05:30

for the answer scroll down.........................

Protrait of JRD Tata

Pic for my Biography :D.......

2006-02-01T22:15:00.000+05:30

The inspiration came after me and my friends watched the biography of the TATAs

In a sarcastic sense me and my friends took a pic for "My biography"....

Presently Hooked to....Zinda-Kabhi Muskarake.......

2006-01-21T10:23:00.000+05:30

(kabhi muskurake mushkilon se mil gaye
kabhi has ke gam ko pee liya
na kal ki sochi na kal ki thi fikar
jaise mujhe jeena tha maine waise hi jiya) - 2

ab ho jaaye jo ho jaaye khada hu seena taane - 2
jahaan mein kaha hai dam mujhe jhukane

zukta nahi hai woh tootne ka intezaar karta hai
bemaut marta hai koi toh har saans se pyar karta hai

bematlab hai mera duniya se poochhna ke jo hue woh kyu hua
kis jurm ki mujhko mili sazaa
koi bata de bass maine aaisa kya kiya
ab ho jaaye jo ho jaaye khada hu seena taane - 2
jahaan mein kaha hai dam mujhe jhukane

Zinda Sound Track

2006-01-20T22:45:00.000+05:30

Great sound track!! after so much time we have a great soundtrack for a Hindi Movie.....

My favourite is Kabhi Muskuraake...sung by Sanjay Dutt....

and the one with strings is also very good...Yeh hai meri kahaani.....

Do check it out........

Where do we go now!

2006-01-02T12:12:00.000+05:30

Most my wingmates aren't placed yet.....
so a state of depression has come upon my wing....
I myself looking forward to 2 companies.....If I get placed I'll most probably stop applying to univs....

"Hope my friend is a dangerous thing" dialogue from Shawshank redemption..........

Hope that all of my friends get placed asap...

Hope against Hope hopen....

I am BACK!

2005-12-29T12:58:00.000+05:30

after my End semesters, Fillin up application forms,Jamshedpur trip cum short trip to hyd .............Finally, I am back to blogging.........

Return to Innocence.....

2005-11-21T08:19:00.000+05:30

Return to innocence By Enigma...

Love - Devotion
Feeling - Emotion
Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence.
If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny.
Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence.
That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

I am just a dreamer....................

2005-11-17T19:36:00.000+05:30

The profile of a day dreamer..............
Source Orkut community for daydreamers.........
1) Desire to change the world.
2) A weakness for nostalgia, but we can get just as easily stuck in an 'ideal' future we still haven't lived.
3) Being very imaginative, often being artists of some sort, or having a great appreciation of the arts.
4) Being a good listener - only if we're interested. Otherwise, we automatically drift off into other more pleasant thoughts, while the person is talking. We can stop hearing everything around us.
5) Being perceptive about the way people feel, but not necessarily feeling the need to respond to this.
6) People think we're forgetful because sometimes formalities may slip our minds. But we pride ourselves on our excellent memories: We remember conversations, feelings and situations so well, because they are preserved in our daydreams!
7)) Being very curious.
8) Imagining about the lives of strangers that pass by.
9) Feeling a lot of empathy for others due to our capacity to observe.
10) Having humanitarian tendencies.
11) Keeping a lot of secrets -- sometimes our thoughts are too complex or different from normality to communicate easily.
12) Becoming a psychologist for all our friends -- people see our mysterious silence and imagine they can tell us anything... We are confidants.
13) Enjoying philosophy
14) Hating small talk. It may bore us.
15) Laughing to ourselves anytime, anyplace... which makes people think we might not be all there...

To end it......one of my favourite songs....Dreamer-Ozzy Osbourne

Gazing through the window at the world outside
Wondering if mother earth will survive
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her, sometime

After all there’s just the two of us
And here we are still fighting for our lives
Watching all of history repeat itself, time after time

I’m just a dreamer, I dream my life away
I’m just a dreamer, who dreams of better days

I watch the sun go down like everyone of us
I’m hoping that the dawn will bring a sign
A better place for those who will come after us this time

I’m just a dreamer, I dream my life away, oh yeah
I’m just a dreamer, who dreams of better days

Your higher power may be God or jesus christ
It doesn’t really matter much to me
Without each other’s help there ain’t no hope for us
I’m living in a dream, a fantasy
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

If only we could just find serenity
It would be nice if we could live as one
When will all this anger, hate and bigotry be gone?

I’m just a dreamer, I dream my life away, today
I’m just a dreamer, who dreams of better days, ok
I’m just a dreamer, who’s searching for the way, today
I’m just a dreamer, dreaming my life away
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

School Pics

2005-11-15T13:06:00.000+05:30

left top to right bottom

1st row : Sudhir, naveen, ritesh ,amit chopra,alfred , deepak tijori, ch srikanth , chakri, mahesh,Boozo(java/vikram) , arvind, C vinay , nikhil kher.

2nd row :
shruti, sumedha,priyanka, mamata,victoria, anee,vilekya, shefali, hari chandana,sireesha, deepthi, sangeetha.

3rd row :

p.srikanth, Raghuram, lalit,babu,vinod, uday,Asha madam,jayashree , sai chandrika, pavani,nirupama,krishna,Vindhya.

4th :
vijay (bajji), arun kumar,karim, v srikanth,sridevi, srividya, indu mati, G padmini

Top row from left
top 1st row : rajender(juddi),ritesh,satyanarayana, kabilan,uday,sheeladitya,ch srikanth,arvind, v srikanth, mahesh
2 row from top from left:
girish,p srikanth, chakri, raghu,meka(naveen),unknown, karthik khanna,amit chopra, Sudhir, pravesh, sai chandrika,mamata, vilekya
3 row from top from left:
3rd row : shefali,indu, krishna,srividya,siresha, G padmini,swathi,p padmini,sangeetha,nirupama,hari chandana, jayashree,( i dont know)
last row from top from left:
yeshayshri , anee,victoria , sumedha, priyadarshini,pavani, sudha mam,nikhil,vijay kumar(panjabi cricket team),vinod, shreedhar, arun babu, arun kumar
XII Farewell photo
guys standin from left
Vinay,varun,hari Krishna,Khwaja,Chaitanya,Lucky
Singh,Parthasarthy,Rishabh,Arun Babu,Sandeep kishore
guys below them from left
Aman,Raghu Nair,Vineet,Shashank,Ashish Kumar Rai,Gaurav,and Raghuram
to the extreme right

The story of A CUTE ANGLE

2005-11-13T11:58:00.000+05:30

I checked out my school photos yesterday.Generally started remembering various incidents at school.This incident 'ignited' my love for maths.It goes like this....

In my V class the Math teacher (Girija Madam) was teaching types of angles. She wrote on board:

Three types of angles:
1.Acute angle
2.Obtuse angle
3.Right angle

I read Acute angle as A CUTE ANGLE :D , then I thought mathematicians were truly imaginative!!

To top it all off we had a Unit test where most of the angles were ACUTE and I wrote all of them as A CUTE angle. Finally I ended up with 2/20. I went and met the teacher telling her that I took ACUTE as A CUTE ..she started laughing....she told me "No problem if u score above 90 in the half yearly I won't consider this test'...you see my father is a gold medalist in Bsc Math and my bro used to get 100% in every math exam...If I go home and show these marks they would tease the hell out of me!!so to salvage some pride I started preparing for my half-yearly Math exam.

I remember when she came and whispered in my year during the morning assemly, the day when she distributed the papers, "Raghuram you have scored above 90"....I was spellbound with joy!!She gifted me a pen to mark the occasion.

Have we become Insensitive or are we insensitive by nature?

2005-11-12T21:25:00.001+05:30

Just recently Kashmir and its neighbouring regions was hit by a massive earthquake. estimates (on the lower side) around 2,00,000 have died, mainly women and children.

Most of them had died due to cold weather, starvation and open wounds.

On the other side I see a lot of people wasting food in the mess. I feel so bad. It isnt an one time case, you get to see a lot of people wasting a lot food everyday. If u ask them why do they do it? they retort by saying I am paying for this.

as the song affirmation by savage garden goes like "I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye"

Everyone of u would have noticed that you don't know the true value of anything until you lose it.Thus, I feel we have become insensitive as we can't even imagine what the people of Kashmir or maybe anyone who suffered a great tragedy is going through.After all we don't care as it doesn't affect us in any way.

u can check out one of the articles on related to this post here

The future is Bright and Sunny

2005-11-12T21:13:00.000+05:30

Hey Channaites! the days of depression(no pun intended) and rain will soon be gone....
Finally will get to play some football...
and Ind v/s SA ODI will most probably be out of danger...

My Favourite Batsman.....

2005-11-09T00:33:00.000+05:30

Steve waugh: No one can match his commitment. The way he took balls on the stomach so that he doesn't pull (as he didn't want to get out, as pull is one of his weak links) was just awesome, that too while facing Ambrose and Donald in their prime.Mind you getting hit at those speeds must be painful! There are countless examples .....few of them which come to my mind are against England in edbagston where he scored 180 odd to save the test with a pulled muscle and once again against the same opponent scoring a hundred with a broken finger!! BTW, his autobiography has been released .Hopefully, will read it soon.

Brian Lara: Absolute class. will pay anything to watch a Lara century. The most dreaded batsman of Muralitharan, warne, Mcgrath and many more bowlers........Most memorable matches against Australia in west Indies where he played out of his skin to level the series......Brian lara1-1Australia. Characterized by his high backlift and his complete domination of spin bowlers even in Sri lanka where he scored around 800 runs in a 3 match test series...Almost opposite of Steve waugh full of class but performance depends on mood.

VVS Laxman: very very special laxman... hyderabadi :)....Such a joy to watch his soft touches....like an artist creating some beautiful painting...his innings seem so effortless....unforgettable innings 167 against aus in sydney and 283 against aus in eden gardens....its so sad that such a great batsman is treated so shabbily by the selectors...he changed the fortune of sourav ganguly and the Indian team by the innings he played at eden gardens......can hit any ball along any line to the midwicket fence!! due to his wonderful wrists (all hyderabadis are born with it !)

On a lighter note......

2005-11-05T18:08:00.002+05:30

China, Vietnam and Japan reported fresh outbreaks of bird flu yesterday as Asian governments adopted increasingly desperate measures official warning against kissing parrots - to prevent the disease from spreading to humans.

So plz don't kiss parrots in future!!

Why I love PGW's creations

2005-11-04T12:37:00.000+05:30

Described on WIKI as:
Called "English literature's performing flea", P. G. Wodehouse, pictured in 1904, became famous for his complex plots, ingenious wordplay, and prolific output.

For me the primary reason is his ingenious wordplay and added to that you feel so good after reading any of his books.I love to read books which have a happy ending.
My favourite character is Psmith, with a silent P.I still have to read the blandings and jeeves series.

My favourites are:
Laughing Gas, Girl in Blue,Ukridge,Psmith in the City,Leave it to Psmith out of the eight PGWs that I have read till now.

Giving up.....

2005-11-03T23:51:00.000+05:30

As my favourite episode of The Wonder Years goes:
Kevin arnold (Thinking, background piano recital)

"When you are a little kid you are a little bit of everything.... Artist,scientist,athlete,scholar...
sometimes it seems like growing up is a process of giving those things up one by one..
I guess we all have one one thing we regret giving up, one thing we really miss, we gave up because we were too lazy or we couldn't stick it out or because we were afraid."

In my case it was badminton, which I gave up after three years of intense practice from VI-VIII under one of the coaches of Railways.I couldn't get through the school team as I wasn't one of the favourites of the PT teacher.Consequently,I gave up as all the three years of my fight had gone down the drain.This is the one thing I would regret for whole of my life.The coach loved me very much for my sincerity , as i used to be more regular than railway sportsmen.

my daily schedule used to be:
wake up at 5:30
report to ground @6 for stamina training
come back by 7:15 and get ready for school..
come back from school by 3:30 and go for practice @4 ...
practice till 7 in the evening ...then come back home..

I literally lost touch in these years with my friends in the neighbourhood, which also contributed me giving up badminton.I was seriously let down by the attitude shown by the PT teacher and took this drastic step.

This is the one thing I regret giving up...

Dedication to the "PJ GOD" of our batch(IIT)

2005-11-03T17:17:00.001+05:30

Caption of the pic is :

GOA is colourful....

if u don't get it contact me.....

just watched.....

2005-10-26T12:44:00.000+05:30

A nice Movie showing the travails of a young kid (who lives with his grandma,mother has left him and his father isn't interested in him) through his own eyes.....

my favourites from the BBC photography competition

2005-10-25T10:11:00.000+05:30

bad morning!!!

2005-10-24T10:20:00.000+05:30

couldn't get 5 hrs of sleep....woke up to find it is raining heavily @7....
Then i realise somene had borrowed my raincoat dunno who....on top of that have an exam @8...searched for the raincoat ....couldn't trace it......@7:30 go down for breakfast....@7:45 comes a call from home asking why rnt u comin earlier for diwali...i tell mummyyy i have an exam @8 and my mom gets pained and because of that i get pained as i pained my mom....@7:50 cycling to the exam hall in heavy rain without a raincoat...and then realise the prof didnt mention the exam hall ....then search for the exam hall....finally @8:05 settle down to give exam....realize like half of the paper the prof didnt teach anything....@8:25 finished my paper wondering what to do for the rest of time....then i think abt the call from home and get pained again.....@9 go to worst course taken by me..@10 return to room.....Finally to top it all off......I find my raincoat lying outside my room mummmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
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Finished reading......

2005-10-23T11:12:00.000+05:30

It is kinda ironical for me to realize the impact, that i have neglected my mother tongue whole of my life!!!, through a book written by a britsh auhor,Sir Mark Tully.

Plz note: i knew all along that i wasnt concentrating on my mother tongue,which is reading literature in it and stuff like that....but didnt realize the sort of impact it will have...

I know how to speak tamil and telugu, but dont know to read and write in both.Hopefully, there will be a post in Tamil and Telugu before I graduate.Actually, I had learnt both the languages ages ago and forgot due to lack of practice.

btw,Tamil has been declared as one of the classical languages

Google earth pics

2005-10-21T01:50:00.000+05:30

First of all my home sweet home...

Second Pic is of the RRC grounds where i used spend my evenings playing Cricket,Footer or Baddy...

Third and fourth are pics of my school old block(studied here from V-X) and new block (studied here from X-XII) respectively....

my first crush

2005-10-21T01:21:00.000+05:30

my first crush was alpha.I loved the way she used carry herself in public.
She was sooooooooooooooooooo
sauve,amiable,beautiful,eloquent...........

I was ecstatic when our class teacher chose me as her dance partner..... i'll put her pic up soon..(I think i have her pic at home.....)

This happened in IV class when i was in KV Guntakal....so none of my present circle of friends know about her :D

My Favorite things

2005-10-18T10:27:00.000+05:30

I would like to start of with the lyrics of one of my favourite songs, from The Sound of Music soundtrack "My favourite things"

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things, as the lyrics suggest.I planned to write some of my favourite things.Whenever I think about them And then I don't feel so bad.

First position goes to my Family, especially my mother for her unconditional love.If i feel sad i just call her up (thanks to the telecom revolution).

Second position goes to my Friends, who have always been there when i needed their help.

Third position goes to 3-a side footer @RRC grounds near my home or @TIFR,Pune.

Incidents which i won't forget whole of my life :

when my father hugged me (really hard!!) when X board exam results were out

when my Hindi teacher told the whole class "You should recite like Raghuram "

when i dived full length to my left and held on to a wiiiiidde ball bowled by Matter

when i got beaten up while trying to defend my friend

when i got to dance with my first crush :D

When I'm feeling sad
I will simply read this post of mine..................:)