Coach P : what the fcuk!

Debt Limit nonsense

2011-07-27T01:08:00.000-05:00

Democrats - Come up with a 4t$ debt reduction in the next decade. 60% spending cuts and 40% immediate revenue increase. If republicans don't want to vote - let the ratings and chips fall. Stick to one fking message and let the public know. What the dems got is a "communication problem."

గుండె గొంతుకలోన కొట్లాడుతాదీ..

2007-05-29T15:11:00.000-05:00

గుండె గొంతుకలోన కొట్లాడుతాదీ
కూకుండ నీదురా కూసింత సేపు!
*********************

నాకాసి సూస్తాది నవ్వు నవ్విస్తాది,
యెల్లి మాటాడిస్తె యిసిరికొడతాదీ!

గుండె గొంతుకలోన కొట్లాడుతాదీ;
*********************

కన్ను గిలిగిస్తాది నన్ను బులిపిస్తాది,
దగ్గరగ కూకుంటే అగ్గిసూస్తాదీ!

గుండె గొంతుకలోన కొట్లాడుతాదీ;
*********************

యీడుండమంటాది యిలు దూరిపోతాది,
యిసిగించి యిసిగించి వుసురోసుకుందీ!

గుండె గొంతుకలోన కొట్లాడుతాదీ;
*********************

మందో మాకో యెట్టి మరిగించినాదీ,
వల్లకుందామంటే పాణ మాగదురా!

గుండె గొంతుకలోన కొట్లాడుతాదీ;
*********************

Namesake review, kinda.

2007-03-18T16:51:00.000-05:00

The desi blogosphere, especially among the ones who are living in North America has been talking about the movie, Namesake.

I too watched it and also wanted to lend my voice to the digital noise. It is interesting to me that, most people could relate to that movie, especially the ones who came here as immigrants along with their family and the ones who were born and brought up here. For me though, the movie's depiction didnt relate much to my experiences here. There wasn't much of initial shock value that this country offered because it was Rapid City that I first set my foot (the port of entry, not withstanding). The loneliness that would otherwise be forced on other because of strangeness of situation (location, language etc) didnt really happen because I prepared myself to an outcome that I wont be accepted. In that way, I never looked for any acceptance, so I took my initial months with a 'matter of fact' way.

However, coming to talk about the movie - it was slow, not painfully, but more because the director tried to strike a balance between pacing it and also wanting to give time to the international audience to grasp her message. Fortunately enough, the movie as a whole didnt have much message to give, except an attempt to show a certain bengali family's experience spanning two generations.

I wont be harsh on Kal Penn, if I say that it was actually the first generation which was presented in a more wholesome way - also not to mention Irfan Khan and Tabu were much more seasoned actors than KP. Alright brother, no hatred there, I am just stating they had been in this for a longer time than you. However, you did the job much much more convincingly than any other bollywood fratboys could have ever done. I am also glad that it wasn't Abhishek Bacchan who played Gogol. Gosh, imagine him being in dual-minds - "Should sound like an American or my dad, ummm..mommy..."- Fucking mama boyz, I tell ya. They should be shot!

I dont think Gogol's character was given enough time to develop. Instead of showing him go away with her girlfriend on vacation with her parents, they should have shown more of their together time after his dad passed away. That way, we could have understood his reasons of wanting to break up with her. Basically, a girl cannot turn from being a perfect fun companion to an insensitive freak - they do, but not within minutes, you get the drift? ;-)

The character who Gogol married was the most pathetic. Mousami fukturd - I mean what was the real reason Gogol fell in love with her, really? That she had so many lovers? She wasn't even that sexy and she had horrible horrible butt. Full of lard, must be all that french cheese.

Overall, it was an average movie - thoroughly enjoyable, but if you are expecting any answers to your any 'what is the answer of this immigrant life' sorta questions, I'd take my 10 dollars to buy a song by Punk Pink.

Build a house

2007-03-06T22:30:00.000-06:00

There is ancient wisdom that in order to learn responsibility, one must build a house. I know that building a home (as opposed to buying one) these days is still a gruelling task, but there is something greatly potent about wanting to build your own stuff.

For that past 2 months, I am consumed with this desire and effort of turning my business ideas into reality. It is such a revelation that you need to sell your ideas to multiple people even to get them interested about, let alone collaborate. With this new wisdom, I step forward with awe and admiration towards people who made it big in their ventures.

HP, IBM, Google - these corporations arent built in day. I salute, but hoping to take a leaf from these bigwigs and keep chugging. I hearby pledge my next few years towards my ideas and hope I learn something out of it. I am drunk with ambition - wish me good luck.

I am in love!

2007-03-03T23:31:00.000-06:00

There, it happened. I used the love word and 'I' in one sentence.

The woman is a wonderful, charming, passionate and compassionate human being. She is also beautiful and yet being an articulate communicator at the same time. There might be a problem, that she is not a desi. You see, my mom will just have to accept my decision, but knowing the firebrand negotiator my girl is, she can convince my mom that she is the best out there.

Guess who she is - her name is Suze, albiet a very famous last name Orman. I love her with all my wallet :) She even knows about Lakshmi, the hindu goddess of wealth and the reason why a home must be clean - now, those same stories that my mom told me while she was doing the 'Varalaxmi vratam' and all. Not only she is so well versed with her financial matters, but the way she gets to the real side of her callers is just all her wisdom.

Her show is turning 5 this week and heres to wish 50 more for her show.

Is she single, even? :)

Trojans beat Wildcats

2007-02-15T23:28:00.000-06:00

Yet again! :((

I thought wildcats have pulled their socks up and with that 3-0 pickup, they might have gained the momentum to bubble back up on PAC10 top charts. I guess not.

I wonder what happened to the 2-nd half team that 'Zona used to be, where they would come back even if they are trailing by 10 points. I think that loss to Illinois in the final four match has turned wildcats into not-so-wildcats. I hate ILL even more now. Bastards, DIE!

There you have it USC beats UA 80-75. A 12-2 run is something Lute gonna deal with for tonight, but teach his lads not to repeat again.

Here, I weep into my dreams.

Talk is cheap

2007-02-14T07:58:00.000-06:00

Owing to that excellent tradition of cheapness, and since I dont need to pull out even a single penny out of my pocket, I decided to do this after all.

Wish you all suckers a very happy valentines day.

Remember - dry humping is the safest forms of all sex.

Make love, not babies - keep it dry!

Self Respect!

2007-02-01T12:25:00.000-06:00

Is there any pill or potion to gain some, an expedited process rather :) I need it pronto.

Update: :) I think I did alright. Nothing to worry about.

Ismail Kavitha - రాయి (raayi)

2007-01-26T16:20:00.000-06:00

రాయి

పలకరిస్తే పలకడు
కనీసం కళ్ళు విప్పి చుడడు

దువ్వి బుజ్జగిస్తే
నవ్వనే నవ్వడు
రువ్వితే ఉండిపోతుంది
రివ్వున తిరిగి రాడు

ఎన్నాళ్ళు స్నేహం చేసినా
నిన్ను గుర్తు పట్టడు

పనికి మాలింది!
అని అనుకున్నాను, కాని
ఇవాళ తెలిసింది
దీనికీ మనసుందని

ఎండలో పడుకోబెడితే
ఎంత వెచ్చబడుటుందీ !
సూర్యుడు దీని ప్రియుడు.

yeMki pATa

2007-01-24T19:45:00.001-06:00

ఎంకి వంటి పిల్ల లేదోయి లేదోయి
మెళ్ళో పూసల పేరు, తల్లో పూవుల సేరు
కళ్ళెత్తితే సాలు రాసోరింటికైనా రంగు తెచే పిల్ల.
పదమూ పాడిందంటె, కతలూ సెప్పిందంటె, కలకాలముండాలి.
అంసల్లె, బొమ్మల్లె, అందాల బరిణల్లె, సుక్కల్లె నా యెంకి.
-- నందూరి సుబ్బారావ్

New blogger interface

2007-01-08T22:46:00.000-06:00

I converted my account to new blogger interface, because of the lure of the new categories and the quick publishing feature. However, I am not too sure if I am happy about the way things are turning out.

Only one reason for my dislike is this. With old way, when you navigate to previous blog, the 'previous blogs' section used to display all the posts before that post. With the new way of things, the previous posts section is not reflecting based on the current post that is being viewed. I think this is a step backwards. I wonder if its only typical with my template or if its true with everybody else.

Comments?

Say kudos to vintage comedy

2007-01-05T02:02:00.000-06:00

'madisannaaka kusinta kalaposhanundaali' - If you didnt know these lines, then you aren't a telugu. If you haven't watched Mutyala Muggu movie, then you missed half of art. The following clip is opening scene of Rao Gopal rao's introduction in the movie. Enjoy

Happy New Year - Welcome to BOND year :)

2007-01-02T23:35:00.000-06:00

I know I am a tad bit late in wishing all my million readers a happy, prosperous, fun filled and fulfilling new year '007.

Herez a toast to 'moving on', with a calm resolution to never look back with any regrets. Aren't we all in the process of making a few tough decisions? I think its the main part of growing up. Each year has been throwing challenges at me, personal or professional and I did sail through with some semblance.

Hope this new '007 is going to be as rewarding to everyone around me.

Funny...NOT

2006-12-22T17:15:00.000-06:00

I watched the 'Borat' movie within a week it was out and I didnt find it as funny as it was made out to be, with the only catchy part being the 'borat pause' before 'NOT'.

On similar note, is it only me or is there anyone else who dont enjoy Seinfeld as much after the 'Richards' slurring incident? Worse, I am not even able to stand that guy anymore. How can we let youtube ruin our lives?

Here, keep this!

2006-12-04T22:56:00.000-06:00

A few months back, when I was at a private house party, I met so many cool people who are offbeat, quirky characters who enjoyed being just themselves.

The host was being extra careful trying to make sure that his guests arent tripping off the wood that came off the front door. While he was at it, one guy went and brought his carpentry tool set and fixed it, inspite of being drunk on half gallon of vodka.

During the conversation, his reasons for liking Austin is that, when he helps an elderly woman on a street, by picking up a bag or something, that she DOESNT offer him a dollar or two. I didnt believe that it would normally happen to anyone, until today.

Now I believe him because guess what, I dont live in Austin.

I am member of probably the most expensive gym in this metro and silently walking into it at around 7 PM. The temperature is around 33f and with chill breeze it seemed even worse. Thats when this elderly woman called me to help her close her car window. It was stuck and wont close when she was trying to use the electronic buttons. I was just pulling the window up slowly and asked her if she wanted to open the door. She readily did and I managed to almost get it closed. In the meanwhile I noticed she was reaching for her wallet and before it hit me, she was handling me 2 dollar bills. I didnt know what to make of it.

I just repeated, 'dont want that' couple of times, after which she repeated the lame words 'God bless you' like a hundred times and drove off. I want to tell her now, to shove her God and her $$s up her a$$

World AIDS day -

2006-12-01T14:17:00.000-06:00

It is such sad point that my 100th post happens to be about AIDS/HIV, but it got to be done.

Today is world AIDS day and the focus of everybody's attention is on India, rightfully so. By conservative estimates about 10 million people are carriers of HIV and by wild estimates it can be as high as 25 million people. That is more than the population of state of Texas. Can you now fathom the enormity of this issue?

I could make a 10 page post on this but there is only one solution to this situation - public awareness.

Almost all the systems run by Indian government are a miserable failure.

1. Public health
2. Primary education
3. Public transport
4. Public distribution

Only in a few states, the PT system has some value, but all the states fail in all aspects of governance. Given such pity state of affairs it would be completely foolish to expect government to take any action, so its upon the citizens to act. Associations like CRY, AIDINDIA etc, should team up special programs to target donors pleading for money to treat this disease.

I see many Indian associations abroad do a wonderful job at motivating people and collecting money for post-disaster recovery or for schemas to remove poverty. What we need now is a program specially to remove AIDS of the streets of India. Do I see any hands raising?

Will you be able to tell?

2006-11-29T15:31:00.000-06:00

I dont know why "Maro Charitra" is such a big hit. I dont understand what it got even after watching it 5 times.

Strange are the ways of heart! :)

Words to live by

2006-11-16T23:42:00.000-06:00

This is what my main man Lance has to say about choices: Live by it!

"There aren't many clearly marked, signpost moments in your life, but occasionally they come along, and you have a choice. You can either do something the same old way, or you can make a better decision.

You have to be able to recognise the moment, and act on it, at the risk of saying later, 'That's when it all could have been different'. If you're willing to make a harder choice, you can redesign your life"
-- Lance Armstrong, 7 time Tour de France winner

S(eek n) YE shall receive bellam mukka :)

2006-11-14T13:54:00.000-06:00

I know its been a while since I made proper attempts of plagiarizing. I mean, its not like I dole out original stuff (you must be thankful that I dont), but its also bothersome that I didnt present a good song or video in more than a week.

Let me hurry up and fill that void. This song is probably the single most piece that I enjoyed most all through 2004-2005. The dances are super and Nithin done it so effortlessly. Alright, the song is "Gutlo Vundi Bellam" from movie "SYE" for the curious, but you must watch the song twice or even thrice to appreciate what the choreography. You will admire more if you tried to do any filmi dance performance on stage :)

I had hopes for Nithin that he will make it big on telugu screen after his performance in this movie, but his poor choice of films (allari bullodu, Ram, Sreeanjaneyam) didnt help him at all. I dont know why the younger heroes should even agree to work with stale director like Raghavendra rao. Dont tell me about his creative genius in movies like Annamayya or Ramadasu, because success is not always about greatness. And my usage of word 'stale' is not necesarily done in a negative way. Young heroes need young makeovers, not the ones given to him in Allari Bullodu.

Anyways, more about this song. Watch Nitin's ease from min 1.30 to 2.00 and then especially from 2:52 to 3:11.

Enjoy!

change

2006-11-08T20:54:00.000-06:00

I want to see many things in life be changed - just like that.

Is there any easy way? Like a quick fix solution for this? Please let me know :)

Can I get a BOOTA CALL too?

2006-11-02T10:20:00.000-06:00

Hahaha listen to this hilarious clip where a brown brother caught red handed to his wife - but wait, there you hear no apology from Tiger, aarrrrrr!

I think its staged, but funny like $hit nevertheless. Enjoy.

Drinks on me ;-)

Just one more week

2006-11-01T13:45:00.000-06:00

You know, things are good, actually things could have been great.

One more week and one could see the shores, people are ready to unfasten the mast, let the winds guide nice and steer the boat into the lagoon, but NO, the boat takes a swift (no pun intended) turn and hits the muddy waters.

Mr foot in mouth John Kerry couldnt keep his trap shut for just one week. The erratic, pause ridden sermon of his to students has come along to bite him and the democratic party right in the ass. Now, he takes the meditative path and cancels his plans to do any further campaingning.

Truth is not beautiful, telling the truth is not at all easy. There is a time and place to say it. There is also a way of saying it. What ails the democratic party is one who can tell the truth in a way that it will never be misconstrued.

Herez to Mr. Kerry the rumble mouth. How I wish it was someone else who ran against Bush in '04.

Update: I guess he wanted his more than 15 minutes of fame, so he mr.wannabe Leno gives a lame ass apology, only after enjoying the limelight for close to 48 hours.

Now thats a melodious tune - Maayera!

2006-10-31T21:02:00.000-06:00

I found a new song to play in repeat. After raving about the 'Tere bin', it is turn of a telugu song to occupy my time during work, apart from well, work.

Harris Jayraj upstaged his calibre with this one composition, even he has miles to go before he scales levels of Illairaja or Rahman, but man, what a melody this song is.

Mahesh has always been lucky to get great melodies, but it was usually Manisharma who was delivering the goods. So it was interesting wait and watch how the tamil import would score for the Prince. All the songs from the movie are a treat, a worthy 25 minutes of listening pleasure.

Now, coming to the song Maayera, the lyrics and setting of the song reminds us of 'Jaane kyon log', and the tune is more in sync with 'mellaga mellaga vachi' from "Aasa aasa aasa" and 'dilse re' from "Dil se".

Just listening to that song, you can hear honey dripping from SPB's voice. There is no one else, no one else today in India to match this versatile genius.

For a decent review of all the songs, check out this link - 'Sainikudu'

Keywords: Telugu, SPB, Sainikudu, Harris Jayaraj, Mahesh Babu, Trisha.

eh

2006-10-31T09:22:00.000-06:00

I think I am losing my mind! Thats a definite maybe.

"Tappakunda undavanukuntanu"

Tere Bin from Bas ek pal

2006-10-19T14:35:00.000-05:00

This song "Tere Bin" from "Bas Ek Pal" has been on my mind since last week and it wasn't the case that it took a few times of hearing to sink in. It hit me right away. I like the "bas ek pal" album as much as I liked "Gangster".

tere bin, main yun kaise jiya, kaise jiya tere bin
tere bin, main yun kaise jiya, kaise jiya tere bin

lekar yaadein teri, raatein meri kati
lekar yaadein teri, raatein meri kati
mujhse baatein teri, karti hain chandni

tanha hai, tujh bin raatein meri
din mere, din ke jaise nahi

tanha badan, tanha hai ruh
nam meri aankhen rahe
aaja mere ab rubaroo
jeena nahi bin tere

tere bin, main yun kaise jiya
kaise jiya tere bin
tere bin, main yun kaise jiya
kaise jiya tere bin

kab se aankhen meri, raah main tere bichhi
kab se aankhen meri, raah main tere bichhi
bhule se hi kabhi, tu mil jayen kahin

bhule na, mujhse baatein teri
bheegi hai, har pal aankhen meri

kyun saans loon, kyun main jiyun, jeena bura sa lage
kyun ho gaya tu bewafa, mujhko bata de wajah
tere bin, main yun kaise jiya, kaise jiya tere bin

Golimaar, maar maar! Be scared :)

2006-10-17T16:51:00.000-05:00

Update: :) I see that there are some hits to my blog, by people who are searching to net for meaning of "Golimaar". It means shoot with bullet, or shoot to kill with a bullet. Simply, Goli=bullet, maar=kill(vb). HTH.

Admittedly, I am NOT embarrassed at this video, because it was such a dear song and one of the first song that got me hooked to Chiru. Alright, I am not the biggest fan of Chiru and I wont recommend all the stupid movies that he is acting lately, but this song has got to take the cake when it comes to defining pop culture in telugu movies. Radha, as usual looked lovely and Chiru simply rocked.

Alright, they copied from Jackson's Thriller (arguably his best too), but this video has our own jackson, who personified hardwork. Even though the movie "Donga", made in 1984, can't come close to "Khaidi" in establishing Chiru's place in telugu film industry, this song would probably rate among his top 10 videos.

This 'scare' song has meaningful lyrics to boot (I prefer lyrics of nandikonda vagullo, though) which makes it all the more richful scary experience. So why wait, go ahead and watch it. Dont forget to thank me :)

Also reader's reactions at the following links:

Reactions 1 along with Video:

Reactions on Youtube:

Pretty flower!

2006-10-16T14:14:00.000-05:00

Once in a while, I try to do google searches and pick the first the link that it results in it - google has this "I am feeling Lucky" feature and I use that if I want text based results. Today I searched for "Pretty flower" and this is the image it resulted in. I dont know why it is first among the results, but it is really pretty nevertheless. Enjoy!

Where as, a "Flower" is the one below :)

Doug?

2006-10-12T14:08:00.000-05:00

Deskside support person just came by and asked if I am Doug.

Do I look like Doug?

Jim, may be, but Doug?

The side kick :)

2006-10-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

I saw in sappy romantic movies and read in milks and boobs series, but never happened to me in real life. However, lately I realized that I was being used as a side kick to get to the main hero, a cool friend that I made in this new place.

There were atleast couple of girls who are/were being nice to me, just so that have more access to this guy. I never regretted (even though, wouldn't have minded) not being the stud guy around, but I totally resent this side kick role. :) Even more so because its frikken real life.

Now I know how all those ugly female friends of hot girls feel like. It must be very very tiresome.

I'll break this loop and will let you know how I managed to do that! BOOYAHH!

Happy Vijaya Dasami and Gandhi Jayanti

2006-10-02T13:37:00.000-05:00

Today is Dussara and also Gandhi Jayanti. I wish all the readers a very happy celebration on account of both these reasons.

Every one from my generation will remember that 'vijaya dasami' day when India defeated Pakistan on a friday, and that day was Dussara. Beating Pakistan was sweet, but beating them on a friday was a feat never done before. Jai Durga ma, was the slogan for a week :)

All of us know what Gandhi gave back to humanity, while we all look back and see his contributions, I want to jot down a list of possibilities if Gandhi was never born!

10. I wouldn't have sung the song 'I am bringing sexy back' wearing a short cotton towel, while I was in the bathroom.
9. We didnt need to pass the petition to make Indians vote for Gandhi as "Times Man of millenium" to overtake Christ.
8. No one would know 'Raghupati Raghava Rajaram."
7. No one could have claimed to kill him.
6. Khadhi would have been featured by Ralph Lauren.
5. Nehru wouldnt have been the first primeminister of India.
4. Indira would have just been a Hindu girl who married a Farsi guy - and Rajiv wouldnt even be a rich brat.
3. India would still have got its independance in 1947, albeit a little less dramatic.
2. Indian politics wouldnt have been kept on ransom by Politicians who wear a Gandhi cap.

and last but not the least -

1. Einstein need not have said "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood."

New phase, new place

2006-09-29T16:52:00.000-05:00

The first month at this new place cannot really be categorized into anything. There was nothing to be elated about, nor to complain about either. The few good friends I got have helped me settle down and the little network they built has helped me frame myself too.

On initial look, the new job wasnt everything that I thought it would be, but slow realization dawns upon that it can be every bit the way I want it to be. I met new people, made a few good acquaintences, moved into a new apartment with a new roommate, doing longer work commutes, which leaves me lesser time to spare during weekdays, all this has added such a new dimension that I am now trying to do things efficiently and value the time when I dont need to work. All in all, I am still not settled into a schedule, like allocating fixed time for eating or sleeping or working out.

Amongst all these, the abyss of missing all the friends that I left behind will take months to fill up. Even though, those fun moments have dried up, there are new ones that are springing up. The void of single friends is still at large. I know 'single' is only a state of mind, but being the guy who says anything and everything, it is quite hard to watch what I say and how I say, owing to the reason that I am amongst people who arent as sharp tongued (wait, make that loose tongued) . I think being married has made my friends a bit sensible and 2 bits boring too. Its all in one's perception and there are always a few exceptions.

The sensible part of the equation is when they act with common sense (which wasnt as common when I knew them last), the resposible behaviour and such. The boring part is, the packed lunches, the next hour planning and even greater respect for time and darkness.

I have been through rougher waters before, so this one isnt gonna raise any strom flags. Happy sailing!

Does BharatMatrimony.com represent Indian values?

2006-09-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Taking cue at my lack of social skills, I too (nenu saitam) have decided to create a profile on one of those Indian matrimony sites. Just when you proceed to register an id, you stumble across something which can uniquely only be Indian.

Once you specify your marital status as "Unmarried", the number of children option is immediately diasbled. If you have one, you are also not allowed to say where they live either.

1. Does that mean that www.bharatmatrimony.com disapprove of single men/women having children out of wed lock.
2. Does it mean that they encourage single Indian men/women to not disclose this vital information, just incase they went down the slippery slope of having kids when single?
3. Does it mean that they encourage abstinence to their patrons?
4. Even better, they advocate usage of contraceptives for all single and sundry
5. Why is the after morning pill product NOT present on their list of banner ads
6. Or they are simply in favor of dry humping only?

Anyone care to get back to me with well researched answers?

Pay it forward -

2006-09-24T13:41:00.000-05:00

Once you are done reading this post, call 3 people and ask them to tell 3 more people to stay the hell away from Stalin. If anyone know how to get back my 11 dollars, please let me know. Maybe Mr. Mugugodoss or Padmabhushan Chiru can write me a cheque, yeah?

I am not joking. Enough said.

-P

Hit the Nadir yet?

2006-09-15T12:57:00.000-05:00

You can classify types of lunches. Good, Bad, Ugly, Whatever and Worse. I am not gonna go into how I'd define 'em.

I can handle bad food with good friends as company or good food if eaten alone. I just had really bad food, which was not cheap, at my desk. Guess, the lunch standards have hit the nadir.

Bye bye Dose!

2006-08-30T04:44:00.000-05:00

I heard about this guy for a few times from a close friend P. After hearing a lot, I met him once and it was probably just a few hours that I could interact with him. It was at my friend P's wedding.

At the wedding reception, I walked up and introduced myself to him and when he told his name is "N", I remarked, so you are HIM, eh. He chubbed back - so they already told what a lunatic I am. He was busy getting tipsy and also trying to get the lone white girl also tipsy at the party. Such charms, one should admit. After 10 minutes, while he walked past me, he introduced himself again - "Hey I am N". When he reminded him that we've just met, he quipped, "oh, but you dont really have a remarkable face to remember all that". I guess it didnt matter to him to introduce yet another time.

He was the fresh air of the party, which was held on a stuffy summer evening. When someone else misplaced their keys, they readily blamed that he lost it. He looked every nook and corner of the hall for almost an hour, yet at the same time trying to stabilize his tipsy self dressed in primed suit. People relaxed when he was there and it almost seemed like croaky frogs also wanted to sing.

That night when we headed home, he became the home. Even the hostess felt like she was invited to her own house. He knew where the vodka was, where the last slice of veggie pizza was and also knew which girl he loved and which girl he'd "only rather have anal-sex with" too. I chuckled at that, because those were probably the words that I might say too. People only pretended to ignore him, but only to be pulled deeper and deeper into his reality. Amidst all this, he still pulled the shotgun and gently prodding his over-worked friend to go have a comfortable sleep. He knew (just like we all did) that she wanted to stay there and listen his overtly-unapologetic-sexual-ramblings (but, the imagery was quite vivid). However, his friends comfort was on his mind. Apart from her, no one else were spared. How else would you picture him striking a pose of a tortule thats getting sodomized? At first people blinked their eyes, but the tears of laughter rolled for hours after that. Even though I was the one who is taking the living room couch, I never wanted that fun to end. I braved my droopy eyes, but it had to end.

Wait, it actually didnt. After all the lights were off, he crawled up the stairs with a glass of vodka and entered into room where "M" was sleeping. He woke her up and made her chug the darn thing. I thought the girls were beating him up, but the loud thud that I heard was him falling off on stairs. There were laughters again, but he couldnt really care.

The next day morning was a complete different picture, only more drastic. This body of no buff refused to put on a shirt and roamed around everywhere he could. He rufused to eat the dosas or anything for breakfast, but as luck has it, the hostess had her way and managed to convince him eat some toast. He compared the smell of cheese on the bread to dogs pee. When I asked him to pick up the banana from the fruit basket, he publicly announced that he doesnt want my banana.

I left to meet another friend in this city, but with a promise to meet them all during lunch. I said a casual bye to him, but never got to say a proper good bye. He didnt give me a chance to that anymore. He sucked, and sucked some more, of every person's rigidness that he met in his life. Such people come with a rarity tag attached. They are like those designer brands, specially made to order, to enlighten everyone's spirits around them. Mr. Dose was one such rarity.

Those words arent accolades, those were as much factual as water and earth. I dont have a younger brother and never wanted one, but if I had a choice, he would be the it.

After all this, I didnt cry for him - because I know he would say, "why the fcuk are YOU crying for me". He got me shut up quick, but how the hell can I console his other buddies - now, take this Mr. Cool! I dont like you one bit, and you are never getting my banana!

Also, PRAY tell me why cant I get some sleep even at 5:15 AM!!

Happy Vinayaka Chaviti wishes to all

2006-08-27T14:33:00.000-05:00

I wish everyone a hassle free year, where Ganesha takes care of all the obstacles, while all you gotta do is maintain your sanity and drive on speed limits. Everything else will be taken care of if you say "Ganapati bappa mOriya". Greetings!!

On this eve, I want to present a nice little telugu story (non telugu readers can skip from here on) - from Satyam Sankaramanchi's collection of works titled, "Amaravati kathalu". It was such coincidence too that when clock stuck 12 last night, the story that I happened to read this one. I didnt want to rob you of that joy...,

"maa bojja ganapayya,

nee bantu nenayya,

undralla meedaki,

dandu pampu" :)

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అంతా సామిదే! నేనెవర్ని ఇవ్వడానికీ?

తెల్లవారితే వినాయక చవితి.

పొద్దుపొడవకముందే వూరి జనమంతా గుళ్ళొకొచ్చి పడ్డారు పత్రి కోసుకోటానికి. తెల్లవారుజామున మూడు గంటలకే వచ్చిన ధరణికోట జనం కూడా అందులో వున్నారు.

"తలుపులు తియ్యండో" అని గోల.

కొందరు ప్రాకారం గోడమీదకెక్కి వాటిమీంచి మారేడు చెట్లు ఎక్కి పత్రి కోయటం మొదలెట్టారు.

తలుపులు తీయటమేమిటి "హో" అని జన సముద్రం గుళ్ళొకొచ్చి పడ్డది. మారేడుచెట్లు, గన్నేరు చెట్లు సరసర ఎక్కి పత్రి, ఆకులు దూసేస్తున్నారు. మారేడుకాయలు గుత్తులు గుత్తులుగా తెంపుతున్నరు. పిల్లలు ఓ చెట్టునించి మరో చెట్టూకు పాకిపోతూ ముళ్ళు గుచ్చుకుంటున్నా లెక్కచేయక దళాలు కోస్తున్నారు. పృఆకరమంతా మారేడుదళాల సుగంధం, గన్నేరు పువ్వుల పరిమళం.

పదేళ్ళ సాంబడికి పట్టలేనంత సంబరంగా ఉంది. క్రిందటి సంవత్సరం వినాయక చవితికి యజమాని ఇంట్లో వినాయకపూజ జరుగుతుంటే గుమ్మంలో నుంచుని చూసాడు. వాళ్ళంతా పట్టుబట్టలు కట్టుకుని దేవుదికి పూజచేస్తూ హారతి ఇస్తుంటె తనకీ పూజ చేసుకోవలనిపించింది. ఎలా? వినాయకుడు లేడు. పూలు లేవు. పత్రి లేదు. అందుకని సరాసరి గుళ్ళోకి పరిగెత్తికొచ్చి ఎవరూచూడకుండా గుళ్ళో వినాయకుడి పాదాలమీద రెండు పూలు స్వయంగా పెట్టి మొక్కి వెల్లిపోయాడు. ఈ సంవత్సరం ఎలాగైనాసరే తన గుడిసెలో వినాయకుడికి పూజ చేసుకోవలని నిస్చయించుకుని తెల్లవారు జామునే స్నానంచేసి వచ్చి పత్రి, పూలు కోస్తున్నాడు.

'కొమ్మలు విరవకండ్రా' అని ఎవరో పిల్లల్ని అదిలిస్తున్నారు.

తెల్లవారేసరికి సాంబడు చాలా పత్రి కోసాడు. జమ్మి ఆకులు, గన్నేరు మొగ్గలతో ఒడి నింపుకున్నాడు, ఒడి చాలకపోతే పరుగెత్తుకు ఇంటికివెళ్ళి పత్రంతా ఇంట్లో పీటమీద పోసి మళ్ళీవఛ్ఛి పున్నాగపూలు కోసుకున్నాడు.

తెల్లవారేసరికి చెట్ట్లన్నీ ఖాళీ అయిపోయాయి. ఒక్క ఆకు కూడ మిగలలేదు. ఒక్క పువ్వు మిగలలేదు. అన్ని పూలు స్వామి సేవకోసం వెల్లిపోతే చెట్లు బోసిపోతున్నయి. జనం తగ్గిపోయారు. కొందరు గడ్డి వెతుక్కుంటూ గరిక, చంద్రకాంతపూలు, రేగు ఆకులూ ఏరుకుంటుంటే వాళ్ళవెంటే ఉండి సాంబడు కూడా ఆ పూలన్నీ సేకరించాడు.

పత్రి సంపాదించతమైతే అయింది. మరి వినాయకుడో? బజారుకు పరుగెత్తుకెళ్ళి మట్టి వినాయకుణ్ణి చేసి అమ్మేచోట ఎదురుగా కూర్చున్నాడు, జనం వరుసగా వినాయకుడి బొమ్మలని కొనుక్కెళుతుంటే మళ్ళీ అచ్చుపోసి కొత్తవి తయారు చేస్తున్నాడు రంగయ్య. ఎదురుగా కూర్చున్న సాంబడితో "కాస్త సాయం చేయరా నీకో పావలా డబ్బులిస్తాను" అన్నాడు రంగయ్య. దాంతో సాంబడు పనిలోకి దూకాడు. మట్టి పిసికాడు. తనూ అచ్చులు పోసాడు. కళ్ళు దిద్దాడు. ఎందరెందరో వినాయకులు తన చేతిమీంచి పూజకి వెళ్ళీపోతుంటే పొంగిపోయడు. పదకుండు గంటలైంది. రంగయ్యకి బేరం కూడా తగ్గిపోయింది.

'ఇదిగోర నీ పావలా' అని డబ్బివ్వబోయాడు రంగయ్య. 'డబ్బులొద్దు నాకో వినాయకుణ్ణివ్వండీ' అన్నాడు సాంబడు. 'ఓరి భడవా' అంటు రంగయ్య ఓ పెద్ద వినాయకుణ్ణి చేసి ఇచ్చాడు. సాంబడి కళ్ళు సంతోషంతో వెలిగాయి! ఆ వినాయకుడితో పరుగుపరుగున ఇంటికొచ్చి కృష్ణకెళ్ళి మళ్ళి తలస్నానం చేసి వచ్చి పీటమీద ముగ్గులేసి వినాయకుడి పూజకు కూర్చున్నాడు. పూజ ఎలా చెయ్యాలో తెలిసింది కాదు. ఏ పత్రి ముందుంచాలో అంతకంటే అర్థమవలేదు.

యజమాని ఇంట్లొ మంత్రాలు వినిపిస్తున్నాయి. వాటినాధారం చేసుకుని తనూ పూజ మోదలెట్టాడు. "అగరొత్తులు వెలిగించండి" అని వినిపిస్తే ఉత్తుత్తి అగరొత్తి వెలిగించేవాడు. "గన్నేరు పూలు పూజ చేయండి" అంటే ఆ పూలతో పూజ.

ఇలా పూజ సాగిపోయింది. పూజ ఆఖరున "కుడుములు, పాయసాలు, పళ్ళు, ఫలహారాలు నైవేద్యం పెట్టండి" అని వినిపించింది.

సాంబడికి నివేదన పెట్టడానికి ఎమిలేదు. కళ్ళనీళ్ళు తిరిగాయి. ఎదురుగా పెద్దవినాయకుడు. పత్రిలో మునిగిపోయి "నాకు నివేదన పెట్టవ?" అని చూస్తున్నట్లనిపించింది. తల్లి, యజమాని ఇంత్లో గిన్నెలూ అవీ కడిగిగాని రాదు. కుండల్లొ యేదన్న ఉందేమో అని వెతికి చూసాడు. ఖాళీ. "దేవుడికి ఎం పెట్టాలి?" అని గిలగిల్లాడిపోయాడు. దేవుడికి ఆకలేస్తున్నత్లనిపించింది సాంబడికి. ఎంచేయాలో తోచక వెక్కివెక్కి ఎడ్చాడు. ఏడ్చి ఏడ్చి వినాయకుడి పాదాల దగ్గిర పత్రిలో తలపెట్టుకుని పడుకొన్నాడు.కొంత సేపటికి తల్లి గుడిసెలోకి వస్తూ "సాంబా" అని పిలిస్తే ఉలిక్కి పడి లేచాడు. "ఇదిగో వినాయకుడి పెసాదం" అని యజమాని ఇంట్లో ఇచ్చిన వడపప్పు సాంబడి చేతిలో పెట్టింది.

సాంబడి ముఖం విచ్చుకుంది. దేవుడికి పెట్టడానికి ఎదో దొరికింది. వినాయకుది దగ్గరికి పరుగెత్తుకెళ్ళి "నీ నైవేద్దానికి దిరికింది సామీ!" అంటూ ఆ వడపప్పు వినాయకుడికి తినిపించాడు. చూస్తున్న తల్లి అంది. "పిచ్చి నాన్నా! సామి పెసాదం సామికే పెదత్నావా?" అని.
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What I miss..

2006-08-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that the one thing I miss by not watching television is the comedy central (and an occasional Jay Leno). The latest media phenomenon being Stephen Colbert, this guy is amazing. People have praised him, hailed him and outright swear that they are in love with his guts. Thanks to YouTube, I can catch up with the best of all his clips and I've spent good part of today just doing that. See the following clip on Hawking and Hanninger :))

Found a voice of reason

2006-08-25T01:17:00.000-05:00

For a long time, I was trying to find someone who actually talks about the real-ills that ailing the arab world. Just one, that someone who would speak against the mistreatment of citizens, that someone who isnt completely paralized in thought because of professed faith in fundamentalist tenets, which were dictated about 1400 years back (which dont apply to today's society).

Nonie Darwash is the voice of reason that I am looking for.She is not some guy who might have converted to x-ianity and now trying to find faults in Quran. Its no big deal, even I can find faults in it and also in 100 other religious books (Gita, Bible, Manu Smiti to name a few). The point is religious 'fundamentalists' are exactly that - fundamentalists. They believe that what was written as a 'word' is applicable for all times to come and they want to apply to one and all. They dont realize that one stroke of brush isnt enough to paint the whole canvas. The other sad reality is that you cannot reason with them.

The thing to do at hand is to fight the politicians, the ones who we can hold accountable based on our religion - the constitution. Whether it be India or USA, respective constitutions frame our religion. To prove that we, as humans, are prone and also acceptant of change, we amend our religion. It might need a senate/parliament majority, but we still do it. Use that tenets and fight the politicians in delivering the goods that they promised, when they came begging for votes.

Anyways, I didnt intend to use this space to voice my pitch, but present what Nonie got to say:

No longer do we want to hear our religious leaders proudly curse non-Muslim infidels and Jews in Friday prayer sermons, calling them "apes and pigs" and "enemies of God." We are all God's creation. The Arab street must not sympathize with Hezbollah. The silent Muslim majority must abandon its silence and "dark-age mentality." We must join the 21 st century's civilization.

That is correct- let the silent majority speak up and become part of the 21st century. It isnt a crime to speak, it might be a tad bit unsafe, but I am sure the ruins of truth are well worth the fight.

It must be your lucky day

2006-08-24T00:17:00.000-05:00

..., because I had to entertain myself to get out a pensive-mood. When I take it upon myself to entertain myself, I also take it a bit further and share the fun. You lucky dawgs, you! Leave a comment and say your thanks to P almighty.

Now, listen/watch this video once and watch it again while you read the lyrics below :)

Jatsu tsappari dikkari dallan
tittari tillan titstan dullaa,
dipidapi dallaa ruppati rupiran
kurikan kukka ja kirikan kuu.

Ratsatsaa ja ripidabi dilla
beritstan dillan dellan doo.
A baribbattaa baribbariiba
ribiribi distan dellan doo.

Ja barillas dillan deia dooa
daba daba daba daba daba duvja vuu.
Baristal dillas dillan duu ba daga
daiga daida duu duu deiga do

Ok, here it goes

2006-08-23T23:53:00.000-05:00

Like the famous adage goes, when one door closes, another opens.

Just when I thought my eveningz gonna end on an irritable note, I stumble upon this cool video on youtube. They define a whole new way of singing, dancing and also working it out. You must watch the video to understand what I mean. Apparently, they are big hit on VH1 videos count-down, which makes me ruefully admit that something good comes out of television sometimes.

It happened to me again!

2006-08-23T22:35:00.000-05:00

I get an invite forwarded, where bunch of guys are going out for drinks to a local pub. I say, yes - and thought there ended the matter.

During the course of day, plans have changed, meeting point changed and being unaware of this I end up going to the other place, trying to make a soul-connection with voiceboxes.

I dont know when and how many times it happened before, but know for sure that this isn't a first.

The "I" generation

2006-08-22T00:49:00.000-05:00

Being the staunch hindu boy that I am (ask my mother, she made me visit 7 zillion temples in span of just 13 days - that would be enough temple visits for 2 complete years, so I stay away from holy sites, just to give a better chance for other devotees with all those gods), I was told that detachment is the way to eternity.

The only way, one can reach the eternal goal is by doing work and not expecting any results from it. If the hindu philosophers had their way in framing the english alphabet, they would have removed "I" from the list. [At ths pont, 'm tempted to wrte rest of the post wthout the alphabet *, but dont wanna pIss you off]. So at an early age, we were told that we dont really exist, unless we make it to IITs (notice two Is?) or get the coveted US Griincard [On both these aspects, I am still lying there in ether just as "concept".]

Hence, the behaviour of many people I come across these days simply baffles me. What made me take notice to this phenomenon is death of an extremely talended musician from India, Ustad Bismillah Khan. While I brought it up, one person reacted calmly - "oh no, you know his shehnai track was one of my favorite tracks while growing up. I used to like it so much, that during summer times, I would love mangoes also, I also like cow milk and these days cow meat". The other reacted, "Ustad is a great man, so was my grand father and one day I want to become as famous as I myself, but not Irene."

This reaction threw me into great confusion, I mean, come on. This grand old man died at ripe old age of 90 busting his lungs off, sucking all the wind to make sense of an instrument. He did it for 70 odd years. He probably knows more about that instrument than a man knows about his wife's anatomy, but he gets a passing reference in our "I" talk, even after he passed away. Poor fellow, would he go complain to Indra (another big egoistic nut case, basket case) that we all collectively stole his thunder (no pun intended)?

When the great MS Subbalaxmi passed away, all my friends talked about their experiences with regards to her much known work of "Venkateswara Suprabhatam". One great soul commented, "GOSH, she was so great, her suprabhatam, it would air on saturday mornings and my mom would blast it like its a P-Diddy song. I used to wake up with recurring headaches for the rest of the week" - yeah, gee thanks. Another buddy says, "You know, her voice is like bells in a temple, she is so great, it makes me remember the awesome dosas mom would serve on saturday mornings" - whats up with this "ME ME ME"?

Can't we all set aside the "I" factor for a moment each day, or maybe twice each day and let the things take the natural course? Maybe that would save lot of headaches for "ME" too -huh?

Thank I.

P.S: Have you taken notice to this tid-bit of information: The goat which cries "MEE" all the time is eaten, while the bird "MAI-NA" is fed the best possible fruit because it means "ME-NOT" ;-). There, that'd teach you a lesson.

That'd cost you a quarter!

2006-08-19T13:02:00.000-05:00

Have you ever playfully said that when you hold the door open long enough to let co-worker pass by? Or when you brought a cup of water to a friend? I did and I sometimes, still do. Its all in light hearted spirit. There are no hidden meanings to convey that I am servant nor that they are masters, but just a way of ruling out that I am being chivalrous (on compulsion).

Once (sometime last year), I was in a restroom at a local bar actually taking a leak. The spot next to me was vacant, when a decent looking, gracefully dressed, aged 55+ or even 60s gentleman took it. He looked at me and smiled. Since it didnt seem like a plastic smile I said, "I have held the spot for you and its costs a quarter". Two more drops and a shake, I'd be done walking out of the room, when the guy retorted, "My mom might have been raped by a jewish guy, that I am so cheap I wont part with my last quarter, HAHAHA".

I expected him to say back something funny, so in anticipation of that, I was already beginning to grin (and sometimes, this would encourage others to further loosen up), but those words slowly started to sink and my brain started to register. The smile on my face evapourated and anger started to kick in.

I couldnt take it, that a harmless quarter-for-leakspot took such a nasty turn, so I went, "Moms are like that arent they, she shouldn't have had you in the first place, HAHAHAHA". I waited just about enough time to watch all his abandon charm leak away along with his piss and it was his turn to be pissed on.

That was also my first lesson that just because a smile didnt look plastic, it doesnt mean that its real too. There are men (and women) who master the art of making a fake smile look real and they got no qualms about it.

While I think of this incident, it brings back fond memories of a man who I've known for about 7 years and one I can probably call a true non-desi friend of mine. He was bundle of enthusiam, openness, charm and friendliness, all incorporated into one. Rudy, a German immigrant to 'California' back in 60s. [The reason, I put California in quotes is because he didnt want to admit that he moved to America, for him it was all California]. He made it a point to not lose his Frisian accent and inspite of living for about 40 years, he didnt apply for American citizenship. He regretted that Calif isnt the same anymore and that I being a young immigrant wasnt given the same welcome treatment that he received. So, he used to take time each friday to introduce me to richness of areas around Campbell, Sanjose and Santa Clara. Those were fun times because, just to show me how to walk up to a stranger, this man who was married for 20 years with four kids, used to walk up to a dashing looking 20s hot blonde girl, strike up a conversation with her and proceeed to introduce me to her. And then, he would prod me to do the same.

After a few beers, he would recollect what he learnt about Hindu philosophy, the openness of practising it, the wideness of it (chastly admonishing the retrograde caste system), while I tell him the similarities between the german and sanskrit languages.

However, one fine Californian summer evening, he went to the restroom and returned with a pale and puzzled place. He said, 'Prasad, I almost got into trouble today in the rest room". Upon little inquiry I learnt, while he was doing his 'thang' in the restroom, he wished a "hi" to a young guy next to him. After some small talk, Rudy mentioned that he was originally from Germany. It was the most unfortunate thing to hear the young guy reply with, "Ahh, that guy Hitler, hehe". Make no mistake, Rudy hates Hitler and everything associated to him. I dont think he said anything back, but just calmly moved out.

These two incidents prominently come to my mind because of the two different experiences we had at two different places and times years apart. People haven't changed, their insensitivities didn't nor their proclivity to be politically incorrect in the guise of humor. I would probably have felt that the man talked crap to me because I was an Indian, but Rudy's incident proves that there is no such barrier when it comes to offending others.

Happy Independance day wishes :)

2006-08-15T10:09:00.000-05:00

I would like to extend my warm-est-est greetings to my readers on the eve of Indian independance day. A day when the good prevailed over the evil, when Gandhi still wore a small dhoti (did he flash too?) and when Nehru smelt the carrot.

I think if didnt miss up the custom, today is 60th birthday (Indian style), So, new India a modern India celebrates its shasthi-poorti :) Congratulations old man.

But, but, then India is Bharata Maata. OH, I'm so kunphuzed!

Greetings again.

Reno, Tahoe, California and all that jazz

2006-08-15T01:40:00.000-05:00

When I was first about to move to California, it was as if I was moving to a second home and I really planned on making it there. Unfortunately, it didnt turn out to be the case. The best part about living in the SF Bay area was that you dont need to really plan your weekends, just hit the streets around 8 Am and you would be sucked into something lively and fun. I know people do complain about higher price of living, but they would unanimously agree that the weather pays for itself. The economy was a bitch and here I ended up in Austin (which IMO is a close replacement, only in terms of social life). You can never ever make me speak great about Texan weather because I despise heat or really bright sun, so do take anything I say with a pinch of salt. Also, the lack of great hiking spots is such a bummer, but I guess if you arent in the habit of doing a thing, you wont really miss it much. I missed not being able to hike initially, but now since that is a distant thought, it has becoming a thing in the past. The Yosemite trips, big sur drives, Pacific trails, Muir woods, Purisima Creeks - they all give me goose bumps and I'd get these with-drawl symptoms.

It was great fun when I hike up the steep slope atop of Mission peak and run down the longer trails (with less grade), not once, but twice before the sun peaks; thats exhilarating. Then there was half dome, Mt. Dana, one can go on and on about this.

Here, I present a cool video clip (photo slides) of a tour taken by few Texans (without accents, as they claim), 178 mile expedition run. The background song was apt and quite endearing. Hope you enjoy it.

J&B - Kiss me (montage)

2006-08-14T21:05:00.000-05:00

This gotta be the best montage video done on two bollywood actors and for the first time I thought I liked an american pop song :)

This clip is just a bonus deal:

Navvindi mallechendu, naccindi Girlfriendu :)

2006-08-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

If you dont know which movie this song is from, then you better be in teens or a non-telugu :)

Going with the flow of chronicling success, I present yet another glorious feather in the cap of telugu cinema. The movie is "Abhilasha", written by none other than Yandamuri Veerendranath, lead role played by Chiru (incidentally, the infectuous energy he displayed in this movie with special attention towards his dancing skills, earned him the "dancing star" tag and he never looked back after which), kondandarami reddy, Maestro Illayaraja (awesome disco tunes to this movie), SPB and Janaki (she would laugh in almost all the songs). Replace Vijayshanti of Challenge with Radhika (amazing chemistry between the lead pair added to the success factor of this movie). The song presented here shows the real enthusiasm to work hard by Chiru and ofcourse the backdrop is nowhere else but VISAKHA. I know I might sound like a drumbeat at this point, but please watch the video before you make a conclusion (and also feel free to revise it a bit) :)

Can I redeem my superpowers?

2006-08-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

Apparently, even I dont believe/fantacize to possess great powers - the outcome of this poll for me is pretty lackadisiacal. Such a DUH!, who is Green Lantern anyways?

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern		60%
Superman		55%
The Flash		55%
Iron Man		50%
Robin		48%
Supergirl		46%
Spider-Man		45%
Hulk		45%
Catwoman		45%
Wonder Woman		41%
Batman		30%

Hot-headed. You have strong
will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

If only this quiz was given to me when I was 16 year old, I would have let the inner juices flow out and picked all the gungho responses instead of playing it safe. However, the point of this exercise for me is that I am not extremely happy about things around me, but only I know that I am constantly working on improving those short-comings. Check out an year from now, I might be a 90% ironman ;-)

Award for cheesiest joke

2006-08-13T13:21:00.000-05:00

delivered on time goes to ...

Gaurav :)

'wasnt me!

Golf and 'Zona connection

2006-08-13T13:03:00.000-05:00

You dont see me raving a lot about my alma-mater much, but there are times when you just cant wipe the glee on your face, for instance when someone from the school wins a Nobel.

While wildcats are quite known for their talents on basketball court and also softball pitch, there are athletes who made it big in swimming, running (winning olympic medals) etc, but there are two girls who stole the limelight when it comes to golf.

Annika Sorenstam
Natalie Gulbis

The first one will probably walk into all time golfer hall of fame, the second is making rounds in the internet for her *ahem* hottie looks. She is now being dubbed as Anna Kournikova of Golf. Now, that is quite an honor because what Anna achieved without winning a single tournament is quite splendid (In desi picture Sania is also closing heels with Anna, IMO). Natalie also, is yet to win a great tournament, but the number of bikini shots does make her more marketable. So if any of my fellow reader want to pick up golfing as full time sport and can sport a bikini with ease, I'll make a mention on this premium bloglet too.

Until then, read Natalie's mind

Weathering multiple storms

2006-08-12T15:21:00.000-05:00

All my friends are pitching up the ante with thought provoking posts on their blogs, while I pile up all the borrowed snippets as if my life depended on it. Whereas it was my intention to talk about things asunder that affects us in daily life, but then I dearly realize that most of the information that media feeds me is of no sequent value for me.

For example, when the department of labor comes out with the unemployment figures each quarter, it doesnt affect me or my job or my payrate by any means. The formal discource on state of economy has really been a state of mind, that many people attribute to happiness (or unhappiness, if you may). All it matters is that you need one job to keep you gainfully employed and that you earn enough to wear comfy jockey boxers (preferably red, when going out on a date. Luck is a bitch, dont mess with it). The more comfortable you are in your underpants, the more comfortable you are during the day, which directly translates into higher productivity - you get the drift. While you are drifting, do NOT lose your marbles. Danke.

I was seriously troubled by the downpour of rains back in India - I was so troubled by it that I didnt realize until "A" pointed out to me that Vizag airport was closed down for a week. Vizag airport is a spectacular work which can boast of runway track exactly 17 feet longer than my balcony. It takes pride in being re-discovered after each monsoon and the citizens of Vizag feel as much elation tantamount to finding the drowned Dwaraka nagari. Being the the dutiful alarmed son, I immediately call up my parents to know their whereabouts. I talk exactly for 60 seconds, when my mom announces that my impish nephew is sour on me because I didn't wish him while he is in the room. I had to greet him "kanna kanna.." for 3 minutes until I hear that he is smiling now. The satisfied little lord Curzon now goes into another room, there follows my parents after him. I pretended that I am still talking and hung up after a fresh heave of static howled my eardrum.

The london bomb plotting has deeply affected me too - I stopped talking to the last Pakistani guy that I have never known existed. These kinds of resolutions are gainful because you always win in vacuum (:which btw is the only word with consecutive "u"s). I cursed them all and cursed some more when a friend of mine sent a lunch invite to go eat at local Pakistani joint. The last I heard, he is ailing with upset stomach. I called it conspiracy by them Pakis, while my friend tells me that it is too much oil in the raita.

While the whole world is moving, I am safely tucked in my work, the deadlines, the team lunches and some fire drill. While I do this, I make sure to use the office restrooms as much as possible so the fellow mexican doesnt lose his job. I am emanating such sense of social/community worth that I deserve knighthood or an iced tea (the other variety *wink*)

So, with a deep sigh, I careen back into my cuckoo shell.

In the meanwhile, 2 local hotties celebrated their birthdays in the past fifteen days. I wished them both and I hope they pay me back on my birthday.

A dose of reality in form of Humor

2006-08-12T14:52:00.000-05:00

Yet another clip from "TGILC"

Stay till the end to see the state of sports in India, the craze of cricket. The best joke being Amitabh and nimboo :))

Presenting Harika in all her glory :)

2006-08-03T08:50:00.000-05:00

What did you expect? I mean, really? ;-)

When 6 geniuses come together to put on a show, they can pull a timeless classic. If not a classic, atleast a never dying entertainer. This song is
"induvadana kundaradana
mandagamana, madhuravachana
jaghana gagana
sogasu lalanavee"
[Note: When the song came out, I am sure more than 90% of people didnt know what the first 2 lines really mean, until Yandamoori makes Chiranjeevi explain to Radha in another movie what "jagHana" bhagam means :)]

So who are the 5 people, you'd ask. Yandamoori, Illairaja, SPB, Chiru and ofcourse firebrand (and sexpot in this movie) Vijayashanti. Wait, that counted only five? Who is the main guy - well, dear reader - its VISAKHA in all its naked glory. It gives me goosebumps that I can relate to every scenic bit in that song. Anyways, enjoy the view :)

Chalo, thodi hum bhi haslenge :-)

2006-07-27T00:13:00.000-05:00

Jaroor dekhna, maza aayega :)

Ping pong anyone? :)

2006-07-23T21:58:00.000-05:00

Addu cheppade, Umbrella epudoo

2006-07-23T02:51:00.000-05:00

I am going to present the two most intelligently picturised telugu songs (ofcourse, according to my opinion), one of which was directed by Suresh Krishna for the movie "Prema" back in 1992, while the other song was done by Chandrasekhar Yeleti for the movie "Aithe". It came as no surprise that lone song from "Aithe" has the director's cut written all over it, but I was truly pleased with the song from "Prema" too.

Song 1: While "Eenade edho jarigindi" was a great hit audio wise, the visual presentation credit goes to the director that he kept up the chirpy-romantic tempo of the song all through. As we know that first lines of a charanam are repeated in some songs, directors would just fill in redundant frames to keep the audience occupied. However, this aspect has been treated with sheer brilliance in this song.
At the end of first vocal of "ningi nela yekam kaaga, ee kshanamilage aagali", he freezes the frame for 2 seconds to affect of "kshanamilaage aagali" and then jumps into a different locale.
When she sings "Suryunimaapi, chandruni aapi, vennela rojanta kaachindi" line for the first time, hero records it and plays it back to her when audience hears it the second time around.

Song 2: "Chita pata chinukulu" song, inarguably is a visual treat. The color effects and different shades of nature are properly captured and extreme care has been taken to reflect the teen spirit in every frame. One can write a whole chapter analysing this song, but I'll just brush upon the main points.
First of all, the umbrella without a covering cloth symbolizes the "addu cheppade umbrella eppudu, oo vaana nuvvostanante". Notice that, umbrella in this song will never cover the kiddos from the 'welcome' rain. After all, droplets are turning into pearls, arent they?
"Ali baba" reprimanding the kids for waking him from his sleep is hilarious and also tells them not to expect free lunches.
While the wind if blowing against them, they turn around to make the questions fly away - artistically done.

However, what is the one salient similarity between the two songs, but to create different effect? Both the directors decided to 'paint' in open space/sky to convey a message. While Venky writes that he loves Maggie, the younglads inscribes their future on it. Ali baba redirecting "Ours" to "Yours" is a perfect ending.

Hope you enjoyed.

tapALA baMTrOtu (Postman): A poem by Tilak (telugu)

2006-07-21T23:43:00.001-05:00

I know in this day of emails and instant communication, we dont depend on post man to be our means of communicatin, but circa 1959, he was the one guy who the whole village knew.

Here is a poem from Tilak's collection titled "Amrutam Kurisina Ratri". Telugu font works with IE. If you need the lines in RTS, mention that in comments section and I can post in english. Enjoy!

తపాళా బంట్రోతు

"మైడియర్ సుబ్బారావ్
కనిపించడం మానేశావ్
యేవిటీ - పోస్టుమాన్ మీద గేయం వ్రాయాలా?

అందమైన అమ్మాయి మీద కాని
చందమామ మీద కాని
వంద్యుడైన భగవంతుడి మీదకాని అ
వంద్యుడైన ధీర నాయకుడు మీద కాని
పద్యాలల్లమని మన పూర్వులు శాసిస్థే
యెక్కడి పోస్టుమానో యీ గోల
యీ సాయంత్రం వేళ

ధనవంతుడిని స్తుతి చేస్తే
పది డబ్బులు రాలుతాయి
సచివోత్తముణ్ణి స్మరిస్తే
పదికళ్ళు మన మీద వాలుతాయి
ఈ నీ ప్రార్ధన కడుంగడు అసభ్యం సుబ్బారావ్
ఉత్త పోస్టుమాన్మీద ఊహలు రానేరావు

మూడవ పంచవర్ష ప్రణళిక
యేడవ వన మహోత్సవ దినం

బిర్లా దాల్మియా
సినిమా దలైలామా
యుద్ధం పరమార్ధం
రాజులూ రాజ్యాలూ, తారుమార్లూ
ఇటువంటివి చెప్పు
మరి చూడు నా తడాఖా
మౄదు మాధ్వీ పదలహరీ
తరంగ మృదంగ విలసద్బంగీ
మనోహరాలౌ కావ్యాల్ గేయల్
కొల్లలుగ వ్రాస్తాను

కానీ, తపాళా బంట్రోతు మీదా
హవ్వ!
ఎండలో వానలో
ఎండిన చివికిన
ఒక చిన్న సైజు జీతగాడు
చెవిలో పెన్సిల్
చేతిలో సంచీ
కాకీ దుస్తులూ
అరిగిన చెప్పులు
ఒక సాదా పేదవాడు
ఇంటింటికీ
వీధివీధికీ
ప్రతిరోజూ తిరిగేవాడు - ప్రిమ్మినిస్టరా ఎం

అయితే చూడు
ఆ కితికీలో రెండు విచ్చిన కలువల్లాంటి కళ్ళూ
ఆ వీధి మోగువైపు ప్రసరిస్తోన్న చూపుల ముళ్ళు
ఆ కళ్ళలో ఆతృత
ఆ గుండెల్లొ గడిచిన
దేశాంతర గతుడైన ప్రియుడి వార్తకోసం

అమ్మాయీ!
పద్దెనిమిదేళ్ళ పడుచుదనాన్ని భద్రంగా దాచి
పళ్ళేరంలో పెట్టి ప్రాణనాథుడి కందించాలనే
నీ ఆశ నాకు అర్ఠమయింది

అందుకే
నీ చూపుల తుమ్మెద బారులు కట్టి
నీ కోర్కెలు గజ్జలవలె ఘలంఘలించి
వీధి వీధినంతా మేల్కొలుపుతున్నాయి
వీధి వీధినంతా కలయచూస్తున్నాయి
అడుగో పోస్టుమాన్!

ఒక్క ఉదుటున వీధిలోకి నువ్వు
అతని మొహంమీద లేదని చెప్పడానికి బదులు చిరునవ్వు
వెల్లిపోతున్న తపాళా బంట్రోతు వెనుక
విచ్చిన రెండు కల్ హర సరస్సులు

గుడిసెముందు కూర్చున్న పండుముసలి అవ్వ
గడచిన బ్రతుకంతా కష్టపు నెత్తుటి కాలవ
కనపడీ కనపడని కళ్ళల్లో
కొడిగట్టిన ప్రాణపు దీపంలో
తాను కనిన తన ప్రాణం, తనకు మిగిలిన ఒకే ఒక స్వప్నం
తన బాబు తన ఊపిరి

అస్సాం రైఫిల్సులో సోల్జర్ సిమ్మాచలం
కోసం నిరీక్షణ

క్షణ క్షణ ప్రతీక్షణ
ఒకకార్డు ముక్క వ్రాశాడా
బంట్రోతు వెళ్ళు వెళ్ళూ త్వరగా
ముసలిదానికి మంచివార్త నందించు
ముడతలు పడిన మొహంమీద ఆనందాన్ని పరికించు
దూరభారాన ఉన్న కుమారుని కోసం
వగచే తల్లికి
చేరువచేరువౌతున్న నువ్వొక ఊరట
దగ్గరదగ్గరౌతున్న మిత్రుని లేఖకోసం
నిలిచిన తరుణుడికి నీ రాక ఒక బాసట
వర్తకుడికి నర్తకుడికి ఖైదులో దొంగకి హంతకుడికి
ఉద్యోగ శప్తుదైన నవీన యక్షునికి
మనిషికి రాక్షసునికి
నువ్వు
దూరల దూరాల్ని విచిత్రంగా
ఒకే నిముషము
అనే కండె చుట్టూ త్రిప్పగల నేర్పరివి - కూర్పరివి
అదృస్టాద్వంమీద నీ గమనం
శుభాశుభాలకి నువ్వు వర్తమానం
నీ మేజిక్ సంచీలో
నిట్టూర్పులు నవ్వులు పువ్వులు
ఆనందాలు అభినందనలు ఏడుపులు
ఏ క్షణంలో ఏది పైకి తీస్తావో
ఆ క్షణాన నువ్వు రాజుతో సమానం!

కొందరికి పరిచయమైన నువ్వు
కొందరికి తలపరికించిన నువ్వు
కొన్ని వైపులకి చూడనే చూడవు
అందరికీ నువ్వు ఆప్తబంధువువి
అందరికి నువ్వు వార్త నందిస్తావు
కాని నీ కథనం మాత్రం నీటిలోనే మధనం
అవుతూంటుంది
ఇన్ని ఇళ్ళు తిరిగినా
నీ గుండిబరువు దింపుకోవడానికి ఒక్క గడపలేదు
ఇన్ని కళ్ళు పిలిచినా
ఒక్క నయనం నీ కోటు దాటి లోపలకి చూడదు
ఉత్తరం ఇచ్చి నిర్లిప్తుడిలాగ వెళ్ళిపోయే నిన్ను చూసినపుడు
తీరం వదిలి సముద్రంలోకి పోతున్న నౌక చప్పుడు!

****** - తిలక్ *********

Usher in Lungi :)

2006-07-21T20:34:00.000-05:00

He is India's answer to USHER! Check it out :)

Bush Visit to India

2006-07-21T20:28:00.000-05:00

Old clip, but well worth a re-visit.

Monalisa

2006-07-21T03:03:00.000-05:00

I found it on sulekha discussion board :)

Leonardo da Vinci's last scrawls
Mirror art on public bathroom walls
And discovered today
Near the Vatican say
"Mona Lisa played here with my balls."

one about me and one about you

2006-07-17T00:02:00.000-05:00

I create, nurture, relate, nurse and develop irrational fears, just to conquer them. How about you?

Animator Vs Animation

2006-07-12T11:49:00.000-05:00

Well - the man did fight the system, so gotta cheer for it.

EDIT: I got the video embedded in my previous post, but the video automatically starts playing every time I open the blog, which is a huge nuisance. Hence, this gets reduced as a mere link.

Check out Animator vs Animation

Hope and prayer

2006-07-12T11:36:00.000-05:00

I dont know who visits my blog, but I hope you and everyone who you know are safe in Mumbai after the dastardly act. Please leave note conveying the message that you are alright.

Oka chinna forwardu...:) - prayer by Baalaiah

2006-07-12T03:00:00.000-05:00

Naanna.. Nuvvu Naaku Nachhavu!!!!
Prayer by Baalaiah..............

Nanna.....

Gurthuchesukovadaniki VAMSAM itchav...

Kottukovadaniki PEDDA PEDDA THODALU itchav...

Janalni himsinchadaniki DIKKUMALINA cinemalu itchav....

Mammalni bharinchadaniki PRODUCERS ni Itchav .....

Maalo Memu Thannukovadaaniki, chalamandi BROTHERS and SISTERS ni itchav...
(Banda Krishna, Bochu Krishna, Bodi Krishna, Boku Krishna, Bongu Krishna..etc..)

Naannaa...... (Eyes with tears)

Political background Vunna AKKAA - BAVALANI itchav...

Adakkundaaney PINNY (Lakshmi Parvathi) ni itchav...

Yelanti Chetha Cinemalu theesina Barinchey FANS ni itchav...

Chirakoshtey producers ni kalcheyyadaniki GUN itchav...

Kani yenduku nannaaa.. intha earlyga Chatchav..... Chatchav....

Ayina Nuvvu Naku Natchav...

Amma cheppindi - Audio (quick thoughts)

2006-07-04T12:34:00.000-05:00

Its a damp affair. That was my impression after hearing to the songs for about 4 times. I dont see strong imprints of either Keeravani's melody nor simplicity of Gunnam. They tried to remake a few tunes that worked with AOR.

I hope I am not being too critical of the tunes. As far as lyrics are concerned, there were some touchy lines in the "evaremainna" song, but most other songs couldnt gather much punch. I am just hoping that the visual presentation would actually lend a reason as to why these songs are the way they are.

Nevertheless, I'd still watch the movie - because talent and purpose rarely comes together when we are talking about Indian cinema. I pray this movie would be a success.

Ek aadmi kitna kitna karleta re...

2006-07-04T00:14:00.000-05:00

Go Shakira :)

2006-07-01T01:52:00.000-05:00

Dont tell me she didnt win - I'd be terribly disappointed :)

A few magic tricks - you wouldnt want to miss :)

2006-07-01T01:46:00.000-05:00

It seems as if its David Copperfield himself :)

This blog is pertty useless

2006-06-30T00:10:00.000-05:00

For many reasons.

1. I cannot talk about my work - for reasons that can be comprehended by any working professional.
2. I cannot talk about career, lest someone from my work might snoop around.
3. I cannot write about close friends, unless I got nice things to say. If it isnt nice, then I will tell only on their face.
4. I dont write about mere acquaintences, which means that they didnt make much of an impression on me.
5. I cant write about personal stuff, thereby opening myself up for endless mockery.

When I try to write about serious stuff like politics, it gets promptly ignored. I hate to make this a blog about movies and celebrities.

By all means, this blog has reached its half life period. It would be a miracle if it celebrates its first birthday.

cheers
-P

Amrutavarshini - అమృతవర్షిని

2006-06-26T00:09:00.000-05:00

అమృతవర్షిని

కురిసేను విరిజల్లులే
ఒకటయ్యేను ఇరు చూపులే
అనుబంధాలు విసిసేను పన్నీరు చిలికేను
శృంగారమునకీవె శ్రీకారమే కావె

ఘర్షణ (1988 మణి రత్నం's) సినిమాలో ఈ పాటతో మొదలైంది ఈ రాగం పి అభిమానం. మొదత్లో అదంతా అమల చలవే అనుకున్న, కాదు, అది అ రాగనికున్న మహిమ అని తెలుసుకోటానికి మంగళంపల్లి వారి "శ్తిరతా నహి నహిరే" తాకిడి ఒక్కటి సరిపోయింది

సాధారణంగా మన తెలుగు సినిమాలలో ఏదైనా మంచి రాగంలొ పాట చేస్తే, అ రాగం పెరు పల్లవిలో వుండెటట్లు చేసేవారు. ఇదే వరసలో, మరొక మంచి గేయం, "ఈ గాలీ, ఈ నేలా.." అంటూ "సిరివెన్నెల" చిత్రంలో, సీతారామ శస్త్రి గారు, అటు గాలివానకీ, ఇటు పడుచు మనసుకీ ఇలాగ మెరుగులు దిద్దారు.

కన్నె మూగ మనసు కన్న కరుణ స్వప్నమై,
తళుకు మన్న చినుకులెల్ల కాంతి ధారలై,
గగన గళమునుండి అమృథ గాన వాహిని,
జాలువారుతొంది ఇలా' అమృతవర్షిణి,
అమృతవర్షిణీ.. అమృతవర్షిణీ......
ఆ స్వతి వానలో నా ఆత్మ స్నానమాడె,
ఆ మురళిలో ఈ పలుకులే స్వరములుగా సాగె..

విని ఆనందించండి
-ప్రసాదు.

Lets make babies

2006-06-15T23:59:00.000-05:00

I think this is something I should do in Austin :)

Laugh Baby, Laugh!

2006-06-15T23:39:00.000-05:00

If this video cannot make you lighten up a bit and smile or even join the chorus, I dont know what would :)

couldave bin, wouldave bin - gooodave bin!

2006-06-15T14:03:00.001-05:00

But didn't. :(

It could have become the first ever world cup goal by a player of Indian origin - true, I shouldnt be making such celebrations *just* because his past generations were desis (and OH, he is a telugu too, haha) - but when we dont have our heroes, we go find 'em.

Check out Vikash Dhorasoo's entry and the 'almost' goal!

-P

nI chellelni kanuka!

2006-06-15T00:32:00.000-05:00

I wanted to write this in telugu, but the unicode transliteration software doesnt allow me to write "vattulu", without which the language is incomplete. I hope someone is looking into this [but, I need to thank Vijay Iyer for his efforts, see the telugu transliteration link on left side of blog for more details], so I decided to write the poem age old RTS format.

This the first poem that catches your attention and after that you'd never give up until, you breeze through all the 45 odd pages. I promise to write more on this, but let me present the cutest poem of the all.

#nI chellelni kanuka!

assalu...nIvu nA palaka eMdhuku tIsukOvAlI?
thOkalA eMdhuku nA veMTa padathAv?
nA pUvula chokkAni peddhahoppagA eMdhuku vEsukonnAv?
nA huMDIlO pAvalAllannI eMduku mAyaM cheSAv?
nAku jvaramocchi padukoMTE.. nEveMduku BhoMchEyav?
nEnu vEpacheTTekkabOyi kiMdhapaddAnani ammathO eMduku chebutAv?
nEnu sagaM koriki pustakaM mEdhuMchina jaMpaMdu eMduku tinnAv?
nEnilA yedupumohaMthO .. ukrOshaMgA pattipatti adugutuMTE ..
"nE chellelni kanuka" ani mariMtha udikistU turrumanEdanivi.
#

If you like to send any words of appreciation, please write to NOSPAM_thammineni@lycos.com :) I am sure he would appreciate some words of encouragement.

cheers
-P

Amma Cheppindi and Chelleli Geetalu

2006-06-14T00:50:00.000-05:00

I cant wait for the release of this movie by Gunnam Gangaraju, ofcourse living in Austin means that I will have to wait for a longer time than otherwise. I would simply buy the DVD when it is out - because the banner that produced "Aithe" and "AOR", cannot really go wrong.

On another note - I want to put in my words of praise for the collection of cute telugu poems by a good friend Bhushan. He has written a few books, of which I was fortunate enough to get hold of "Samudram" and "Chelleli Geetalu".

[Author: Thammineni Bhushan - NOSPAM_thammineni@lycos.com]

I dont have enough words of praise for his poems in chelleli geetalu. They take you back lazily into your childhood when you are playing with your little sister - the mood, the moment and the ambience will be recreated and you simply be teleported into your age of khakhi shorts and white half sleeve shirts. You will go and play yet again in rain, in the park and probably even climb a few trees along with your lil sis. Thanks a lot Bhushan garu, for this wonderful collection.

I will write a more informative review (probably in telugu) over the weekend. If you can read telugu, I urge everyone to buy this book, read it and lock it so that you can read it yet again when you turn 60 :) Now that will be real tribute to your oldage.

cheers
-P

Ask me to name a lake

2006-06-09T22:58:00.000-05:00

If you have grown up in India (most of my readers seem to be desis), you might say 'pulikat' or 'kolleru' or whichever one that you grew up "reading" about. It was the case for me while I was living there.

When I came to US, I went to Rapid City, SD. It was neither a city nor was it rapid by any stretch. When my plane (if you call a 20 seater a plane, sure) landed in the RC airport, I stepped out of it and looked around only to find land mass, large land mass. In the distance there will be black hills and ofcourse bad lands. Quite scenic and pretty, if you get used to the lifestyle or if you are forced to live there by style.

By the first weekend, we pretty much knew where the Hardy's burger joint was, where the nearest grocery store was and that everyone will have jump start cables in their car trunk. Even if you go in August when the winter is whole 2 months away, you will be advised to shop for winter boots. By the second weekend, you will make a grand trip to visit the president(s) - yeah, we ARE talking about Mt.Rushmore. If you are enthusiastic enough, the next weekend will be a trip to "Crazy Horse", on route you might be fortunate enough to be forced to wait for 2 long hours right on the farm route, because a chain of 40 American Bisons are taking their sweet time to cross the street (if you got real witty friends in the car, you might also get to hear the "why did the chicken cross the street" joke).

After doing all this, you wouldnt know where else to go. Then you decide to go anywhere scenic and pretty and boy was it ALL pretty. SD has got the most amazing naturally beautiful open spaces, black hills and lakes of vast expanse. On one of those random drives, we took a detour from the main highway and hit upon a majestic lake - named as "Pactola". I dont know why this vividly stuck in my mind as I went there more than 7 years back (will be 8 soon), and its dark blue shade reflecting the illustrious sun is a sight to watch. I wished that such kind of silence prevailed in everyone's life and it is one of the moments where you actually started to believe in giving peace a chance.

I made a mental note to visit that place again and was fortunate enough to do so, albiet 2 months late, when the thick of winter has started. It was sometime during december and we all decided to take the same detour to see this lake. What we saw is a sight that I can never forget. The dark blue water has turned into thick white sheets of ice, sheets so strong that there were trucks parked on it. The vehicle we went in wasnt equipped with chains, so we werent fortunate enough to drive on that solid water chuck.

There were people who got there in huge trucks and fishing permits and they drove miles into the lake. I was told that they can make a circular hole in the ice-mass of about 20" inches in diameter and wait to catch some fish. I thought it was the coolest idea since invention of light bulb. I made a mental note of doing the same myself, but never did.

Factually, there were many more gorgeous lakes around this region (and even more so in Minnessota), but this was the first still water body that caught my attention. Reason being, I come from Vizag, that can easily boast its pristine beaches and revelry in sun. My favorite way of biding time was just sitting on the light brown colored coarse sanddunes of the bay and hear the waves come and go. The wave patterns and the haunting sounds of wave splashing was what I was used to. So, this huge water body staying still and letting people to walk on it was akin to me being moses myself :)

The original intent (dating back to 30 minutes ago) was only to mention that I like lake Pactola, but turned out to be a trip down the foggy memory lane. Its not meant to be a tavelogue, so excuse me for giving really terse introductions to few good spots indicative of American natural beauty.

cheers

-P

Google adsense - can H4s cash on it?

2006-06-08T00:12:00.000-05:00

If you are vistor of my blog, who would make the second person other than me to visit this blog, then you might have noticed that I signed up for google adsense.

If you think that I am nuckingFuts to think that this loose cannon blog can generate any income, then you are incorrect, because I dont expect to earn anything out of my writings. I just wanted to see how this works and see its viability and potential. I have been advising a few of my friends (essentially wives of friends) to start up their own blogs and try to see if they can generate any wealth out of that content.

It pains me to see that these women who were busy professionals who had handful of work back home are being tied down due to obtuse work related laws of this country. I think that this country is losing out big time wasting away all the value these incredible professionals can add to this nation. For all practical and foreseable reasons, whose husbands hold higher degrees from respectable universities in US and also gainfully employed for major employers of the country, are in process of getting thier permenant residency sooner or later. It is immaterial if it takes 2 or 3 years, but if these women can work after 3 years, why shouldnt they be allowed to work today? Why should they vile/bile away their time doing unproductive things and also lose out bigtime in their career?

Agreed, it was their choice to marry this guy who works abroad and they were fully aware of this situation, but that doesnt make it right. Information should only become precursor to action. Imagine, all the H4 workers forming a smal group and coming up with colorful/contentful/interesting blogs and if they can atleast generate 200-300$ a month, it would serve some purpose. Hopefully, someone takes some action.

cheers
-P

You ask me THAT? How dare you?

2006-05-25T00:38:00.000-05:00

The reservation saga going on in India for past fortnight brings the ultimate control of power Indian government exercises over its citizens. It is just insanely crazy that the dimwit minsters make up a decision and arent even willing to give a proper explaination as to why they choose to give 27% reservation in the first place.
Case in point is Arjun Singh's interview by Karan - it is bizzarely funny - imagine what must be going on inside the head Mr.AS

"Yeah, he is going to try to rap me a bit, but I will just say that I dont know in as many possible ways as possible"
"Who the hell he thinks he is really, I AM THE UNION CABINET MINISTER, and shouldn't that make me above reasoning"
"It is an interview, where I talk and people listen. People dont question me"
"I am not answerable to no one - Indian public is herd, thats right goats, sheep, cows, holy-cow at that"
"What, really? He wants me to answer that. Wait, can he reall ask ME THAT?"

I am sure, this is the attitude many politicians in India possess and thats what they grow up with. No wonder they turn out to be so asinine and callous.
Democrazy is what is India today - Indian public moves one step forward and politicians pull us two steps backward. They divide us in the name of caste, religion, gender, skin color, language, race and myriad other ways. They dont care about governance, all they care about is seeking power and keeping that power.

Amids't all this nonsense, Sensex loses about 1500 points, and billions of dollars are lost. I am sure that it is the powerless middle class small investors are the ones who lost their shirt, but our ignominous government never cares for him. After all - "isnt being poor" - a celebrated treatise according to great Congresswallahs? So why should there be any middle class - there should be poor and then should be Netas...

Mangoes Mangoes

2006-05-12T13:14:00.000-05:00

Mango Mania
True, all of get these cravings for the heavenly tasting mangoes (be it alphonso if you belonged to Mumbai, be it Noogiveedu or Banganipalli if you belonged to Andhra, or someother 'brand' if you belonged elsewhere), every once in a while, especially when you live out of the country now.
So, this article titled "Mango Mania in India" (What a rhyme too, but needs free registration), it readily caught my attention. It immediately brought fond memories of eating ripe mangoes during summer vacation when we visited our grandparents and all that endless fun. I also remember how all of us cousins locked ourselves up in the dark room (which was where the unriped mangoes were stacked inside the dry grass) to be right there to eat when the mangoes would 'come of age' (ok, no corny thoughts).

To break all this innocence, the said article got some fiesty passages, which makes me wonder if the author is really talking about mangoes indeed.

Inside knowledge always helps, so this reporter called upon Deepanjana Pal, a wine critic in Mumbai who is just as enthusiastic about mangoes. The most important lesson: How to eat a mango, presented in a three-part mime. She first holds out a cupped hand, in which sits the imaginary glistening orange oval of a whole peeled mango; she then deftly flicks her hand at the wrist to propel the phantom mango against her mouth, which gets busy sucking the flesh down to the seed; finally, outrageously, she deploys the full length of her tongue to lick her arm, elbow to wrist, to recapture an inevitable trickle of invisible mango juice.

"That," she says after a long moment's rapture with a fruit that's not even there, "is the best bit." She goes on to speculate that there is something alchemical in the mingling of sweetest mango juice with a salty sheen of sweat.
(Later, a local driver reacted with horror to the mime. "So you don't eat them like that?" I ask. "Well yes, at home, of course," he says. "But not in the streets! People will think that's where you live.")

Happy summer! Well, there gotta be something good associated with excessive heat, right?
cheers
-P

Desi done by Videsi

2006-05-09T23:56:00.000-05:00

While I was looking for interesting hindi/telugu videos on google, I came across these two video clips, where non Indian guys were singing Indian film songs.

I liked the Ricardo bit, but the hindi clip is also funny and amusing. So, enjoy em.

Nicardo Telugu Song

German engineer sings bollywood hindi song

Sanjay Gere Kehta hai...

cheers
-P

Common sense creeping in?

2006-04-19T02:02:00.000-05:00

I normally admire people who are generally irreverant in nature. The selective logic button doesnt give the same previlege to one and all in my book, and the downside of that is that I dont hold Mr. MF Hussain in the same regard as other heretics.

I dont hold to the idea that, if you are criticising a religion, you should have been born into it. If one can prove to be truly secular, then I welcome irreverance with open arms, but MFH doesnt fall in to that category. So, I would object to his paintings of nude hindu godessess because this nincompoop doesnt have guts to put a black spot on his own religious gaurdians. I dont care if he is worried about fatwa and hence wont practise his 'freedom of expression' on prophet Muhammad, if you are scared shit of your life, then tuck your tail in your ass and move on.

Anyways, it is a welcome sign that the muslim clerics have come out against MFH's nude painting of Saraswati and called for restraint - thats all I ask for.

Read more here

cheers
-P

Did someone say PUNJABI!!

2006-04-18T03:30:00.000-05:00

Last night I was having a conversation about female infanticide (wait, its even worse, they are killed before birth, talk about perils of technology).

It was absolutely appaling to learn that the most prosperous state of India is also culprit of having the lowest female/male ratio, almost placing on par with China on this attrocious count. Chandigarh seem to have taken it further (with what all its millionaires and such) lowly levels.

Gender Ratio: 2001 Census:

If all the girls are killed before birth in such inhuman mindlessness, who will produce the real shernis like Neerja Bhanot, who fought to stand up for her duty - as a purser for Pan Am airline hijack of 1986. Read more about Neerja and her bravery here:

Salut to Neerja

Will the real punjabi, please stand up? We need more of them Neerjas.

cheers
-P

Unknown Indian's Rantings: Manmohan, Don't Waste Time Screwing the IIMs. Focus on Basic Education - Introduce School Vouchers

2006-04-18T00:52:00.000-05:00

Unknown Indian's Rantings: Manmohan, Don't Waste Time Screwing the IIMs. Focus on Basic Education - Introduce School Vouchers

The above blog addresses the educational needs of India; It would take some time for me to pen down my thoughts regarding this, but I largely agree to what the author has to say about primary education. However, I am nonchalant about reservations - the only thing reservations in jobs has managed to do is, push me outta desh while all my friends with insane reservations take up plush government jobs. 'Good riddance' is what they must all be saying, oh well!

cheers
-P

How not to get 911-ed

2006-04-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

No, I am not talking about the horrible 9-11 events that shook the whole world. I am talking about the emergency response system that has heralded this country into the next generation - which has been symbol of 'value of life', which western nations hold so dearly to heart.

Yet - there was one woman who collapsed with a failing heart and right beside her was a child less than 6 yrs old. He did what exactly he was taught to do. He asked for help, he identified the gravity of issue at hand and acted upon it, only to be treated as a trivial child.

Lo behold he calls AGAIN for help after 3 hours - I cannot even fathom what that little child had to go through in 3 hours (imagine you get a direct line with "God" and you were told that this whole "God" business is only a joke after all), he dialed the number again. The lady who answered the phone asked her not to play on phone - his heart might have sank at being reprimanded yet again. I think tha takes guts to call again - I salut him for that resilence. I wish he called sooner, but I am sure he was confused to a 'cynical no return' point, but he overcame that. He not only lost his mom, but also his trust in the system.

When the Scandinavian nations are debating whether it is acceptable to give 'voting' rights even to new-born children, how can the most advanced nation act in such cold and old fashioned way - the way of trivializing kid's sensibilities.

I hope that this would serve as a wake up call and alerts everyone out there. I dont have a solution to this (as my subject title suggests) - the only solution to this is pure common sense.

Grass is greener and Street justice..

2006-04-09T01:34:00.000-05:00

Did someone say 'street justice' - look at the dude, who has taken it to himself to take down the convict, and he is waiting to pick up his kith and kin; guess chivalry isnt dead after all :)

Ironically, it is the same picture collection that carries a picture showing two young girls gapsing when they were shown the affects of gun wounds - in both the cases, the truth is told 'using a picture worth thousand words'.

Killer on the loose: Armed with his rifle, Skip Sherlock keeps lookout as he waits for a school bus to unload his nieces and nephews in Ball, La. Ball residents have been on edge since convicted murderer and martial arts expert Richard Lee McNair escaped from the federal pen at Pollock.

Check out more in DIP, a picture collection from sfgate.com, which has lately become my main source of news, even though it comes in quirky ways.

Tucson at it Baby!!

2006-04-05T05:55:00.000-05:00

I always held a belief that Tucson has one of the most fitness conscious public, inspite of being a haven for people who wants to retire (being the warm valley, etc). Whenever I used to head towards the mountains on the north, I would find scores of people running or biking along the bylanes.

Not to mention the ever busy rec-center, being the university town etc. I am quite surprised that Austin didnt find its place on this top ten list because I find such freaks on streets here too, but then Austin cannot boast of such biker/hiker friendly locales like Tucson.

If not for the pig-headedness of Tucson's voting public, we (the proud UofA wildcats) would be living/working in dear old zona town - Tucson could have taken the berth of high tech town and also gets its share of liberal crowd, because UofA at one point wanted to take that crown away from Berkeley - if you think I am making tall claims, go visit the city yourself; those grafitti walls near Grant and I-10 intersection speak for the whole city.

cheers
-P

తొలి తెలుగు పలుకు

2006-04-04T02:05:00.000-05:00

అందరికీ వందనాలు - ఇది తెలుగులో బ్లాగు ఎలాగ వ్రాయాలో చూడాలని కుతూహలంతో చేస్తున్న ప్రయత్నం.

మీ ప్రసాదు

List of Inspiring telugu songs

2006-04-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

These are the songs that readily come across when I try to look for inspiring and meaningful songs from telugu movies - most of the songs are relatively new and some can be categorized as cheesy too. Oh, there are also couple of hindi songs (but from telugu movies) that made it here too.

Number one on the list is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE song. I dont think any other song can beat that.

1. Sahasam
Singer(s): SP. Balasubramaniam, Chorus
Music: Illayaraja
Album: Maharishi

2. Adharaku
Singer(s):
Music: Mani Sharma
Album: Athadu

3. Agni Salkani
Singer(s): MM. Keeravani, Mathagi, Mangari
Music: MM. Keeravani
Album: Chathrapathi

4. Saahasam Swasaga
Singer(s): Mallikarjun
Music: Mani Sharma
Album: Okkadu

5. Lokam
Singer(s): Kalpana
Music: Mani Sharma
Album: Bobby

6. Jagamanta Kutumbam
Singer(s): Sri
Music: Chakri
Album: Chakram

7. Hut Hutja
Singer(s): Kunal
Music: Mani Sharma
Album: Balu ABCDEFG

8. Alupannadi
Singer(s): Chitra
Music: Sri
Album: Gayam

9. Abhimanyudu
singer(s): Chorus
Music: RP. Patnaik
Album: Nijam

10. Hare Rama
Singer(s): Shankar Mahadevan
Music: Mani Sharma
Album: Okkadu

11. Dushkara
Singer(s):
Music: RP. Patnaik
Album: Jayam

12. Jayam
Singer(s):
Music: RP. Patnaik
Album: Jayam

13. Ye Mera Jaha
Singer(s): Kay Kay
Music: Mani Sharma
Album: Kushi

14. Nalugurikee
Singer(s): Shankar Mahadevan
Music: Mani Sharma
Album: Takkari Donga

If they are troubling you up north, head this way..

2006-04-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

This way as in, south and NO, not to Mexico, but good old Austin.

Read : "Bars are no there to get drunk..."

However, this is also to caution all my friends who might find it fun to act like they are drunk, when in fact they *can* handle yet another six pack :)

Just dont fall in the eyes of TABC - they say a human sight can break a black rock, you dont want to lose your beer appitite because of some nosey cops, do you? See y'all on my patio.

cheers
-P

A tribute to Gunnam Gangaraju

2006-02-15T23:21:00.000-06:00

Back in early to mid 90's, most of the telugu movies were either big banner productions with sleazy humor with double meanings dialogs and heroes trying to build a mass appeal; and all of them are there to just make a buck. I dont blame commercial aspect of any film. They all did what they had to. Those were also the days when film producers are trying to introduce their ugly kith and kin to the industry.

Just then, there was a movie which came out like a sharp lightning, flashed, made its mark and left. Its only people like me who were either kids or were teenagers then remember a film called "little soldiers (1996)" with as much fondness as my elders would talk about "maya bazaar".

Little soldiers was a simple film, with simple dialogs, no histrionics and no vamp gyrating to gratutious music. People noticed it along with another classy film with a relatively bolder concept - Sogasu chooda tarama (1995), remake of hollywood's "indecent proposal", directed by Guna Sekhar. These are the two movies which stand apart as being made by less known director and less known producers but with creative production values. By this time, audience were attuned that Manirathnam movies will be classy and come out with good research, Ramu's movies would have great production values and thrills. I will not talk about any other telugu director of those times in this same paragraph; for reasons of blasphemy ofcourse :)

Anyways, after the decent hit of little soldiers, people were expecting Gunnam to come out with barrage of ideas and movies, but it didnt happen that way. Telugu audience had to wait for 7 years before he produced "Aithe (2003)" and we were not disappointed. The movie didnt have great promos, so people like me who live abroad took one whole year to notice this movie. However, Gunnam garu didnt make us wait for another 7 years and came out with "Anukokunda Oka Roju (2005)" . This movie also excelled in all departments, with Gunnam garu producing them and Chandrasekhar Yeleti being the director.

Lo behold, we have yet another movie from "just yellow" banner and who else than Gunnam himself is directing the movie "Amma Cheppindi (2006) Video Link".

I listed all the films that he is associated with, the real tribute is to thank him for being there, in believing that one can a good tiding for telugu movie and this does bode well for tollywood. I am sure that there are budding directors who watched/watching these simple movies being noticed and will go in same path as Gunnam. One can expect a golden decade of telugu movies, only due to "initiators" like GG.

cheers
-P

Pakistani policeman eaten alive - Happy V-day :)

2006-02-14T14:29:00.000-06:00

A Pakistani policeman was eaten alive, while thousands of people were watching a cricket match at Lahore. There was no one to rescue the poor SOB, while the lady Indian tiger snarled an and had him for lunch and all he could was close his ears and eyes while gloom set into his heart.
For more details, see the pitcure.
If anyone can fetch me this sherni's number, I will build a shrine for them outside our love-nest.

India connection:: Renu?

2006-02-08T20:13:00.000-06:00

During my initial days in US, I used to relate everything and anything that happened with something I knew/learnt/experienced in India. That phase lasted until I visited back home for the first time, when I started relating my experiences from here over there - lets cut the "here and there" talk and get to point.

I once thought that the multi-purpose contact lens solution of Bausch and Lomb, which was named "Renu" was "aptly" inspired from its sanskrit roots.

rENu (ray-Nu) in sanskrit means eye. I never even bothered to check if what I thought is true or not. When I saw its commercial on TV being pronounced as "re-new", it occured to me that they are simply talking about renewing the freshness of the lens. I couldn't prove whether there existed a sanskrit connection; searching on net didnt help either. In anycase, the name of the solution is apt and might only be coincidental.

If anyone know more about this, please do share your thoughts.

cheers
-P

How does master spooky look like now?

2006-02-08T13:31:00.000-06:00

Last night I watched 1976 scary classic movie "The Omen". It would be 4th or 5th time viewing, but still enjoyed it till point where I just couldnt stop from falling asleep.

What got stuck in my head is that the kid who played the character "Damien" is really spooky to just look at. The casting director need to be appreciated for choosing him for that role, not to mention that "Harvey Stevens II", who played the role is a blonde boy who had to go jet black for this movie.

While all of us agreed that the kiddo is a freakshow, I left wondering how he looks like as an adult. I searched all over the internet to find out if anyone got a mugshot of this guy, but none. Harvey was a one-time wonder (with brief role in one another movie - if you are interested, go google) and now he is happily married and living in Kent, while being a succesful realtor.

Now thats interesting - what would you think he'd say to his prospective client, or when he is showing the new house around. Look "I AM SPOOKY and I can sell"? :))

An interesting tid-bit is that he still wants to keep the tricycle that he rode in the movie and wants to pass it on his daughter.

So much for my blog - you may slap yourself for reading this.

cheers
-P

Don’t they deserve something better?

2006-02-05T23:13:00.000-06:00

It always bothers me as to why Indians (mostly Hindus, but can add others also into the list) get so cornered when it comes to dealing with Muslims or Islamic countries. A classic case of such behavior is India’s vote against Iran and thereby referring it to IAEA.

I don’t understand how is the world more unsafe if Iran is going to legally get some nuclear arsenal. IMO, the world is safe if it’s a unipolar world (USA being the power center) or a multipolar world (where all major countries take the center stage). Most smaller western nations like Finland, Sweden, Switzerland or USA centric Asian nations like Japan, Philippines openly support uni-polar world, all other major countries who would like to have share in the power pie vouch for multi-polar world. Due to strategic interest w.r.t my Indian citizenship, I want the latter option.

As far India’s strategic interests are concerned, world is unsafe if Pakistan has the arsenal than Iran and the Satan has got the dog bone anyways. Those bastards have stolen right from the nuclear bazaar. Why not let Iran also have it. Won’t it help Iran to deal better with Pakistan w.r.t to Baluchistan? Shouldn’t that be in India’s best interests to make sure that Pakistan has to work harder on its other side of border instead of on Kashmir?

Besides the security strategies, India has a lot to lose by not buying the cheap oil from Iran, which is selling oil for much lesser price than what Saudis are quoting to us? Isn’t it better that we buy oil from a non-arabic country? Are we such beggars that we make Saudi king as chief guest for our republic day and fart on face of Iran – is that what they get for being the nation which favors India the most? Until the militant Wahabi culture has taken over within the last century, the Indian Muslim (not Mughul) culture is influenced more by progressive Sufi/Persian culture which was widely prevalent in parts of Iran and Afghanistan. It is only fair to extend the camaraderie back to our real friends beyond borders.

I think Indian government has made an irrevocable mistake, which is going down in history that we betrayed Iran. At least the dillydallying tactics (which is crown bread and butter of a Congresswala) like abstaining from vote would have done some face-saving. While Russia and China (whose vote actually matter) are taking their own sweet time in deciding which way to go, India jumped into the pile way too soon and this is a point of no return.

cheers
-P

Mucha Hulla over the south asian tag

2006-01-19T14:29:00.000-06:00

:)

All my friends know that I dislike Pakistan A LOT. Hence, I would never associate myself with any Pakistani, make sparse friendship with them and with them at work, I make professional related conversation and thats where the deal ends. It is extremely simple for me, because the whole attitude is primarily driven by politics. There are quite a few of my Indian friends, who are more open-minded than me (in this matter) and hence wants to give peace a second chance. I respect their opinion and with that same respect I tell them to stick it up their you-know-what.

Having said that, I dont see why anyone should bother to question when an American kid born to Indian parents (or Indian origin parents) wants to tag him/herself as South Asian. Some like to tag their experience while some like to tag their identity. Its a prerogative by every means possible.

I know that my post wont serve any purpose since I desist myself in expressing any concrete opinion regarding this, but not having opinion does constitute as an opinion (and in few cases as THE opinion). If you need help with math to arrive at that conclusion, refer why 0!=1?

The motivation behind this futile exercise is the way people are pulling each other's hair over an article by Abhi on SepiaMutiny - Boomerang Effect.

Which begs me to ask this question - WTF is sepIAmutiny? Shouldn't it be sepaimutiny?

-P

Linking on my own to a worthy blog

2006-01-17T00:49:00.000-06:00

As Gaurav mentioned in his blog - the north eastern part of India is probably been the most neglected, while the whiney cousin Kashmir gets all attention and publicity of our dear politicians and the media. Maybe because our brothers from eastern side of Himalayas dont look as India, or maybe they arent hunky enough to become bolly-punjabi-wood heros.

Ignoring is one kind, but if utter attrocities are going unnoticed, it wont do any kind of justice or good for dear India.

Knowledge is power.

The Ignored Land

cheers
-P

Wake up call for all parents

2006-01-17T00:19:00.000-06:00

Today I was directed to a disturbing article titled "Are you there God?, Its Me, Monica", which borrowed and changed the title "Are you there God, Its Me, Margeret", where Margeret simply became Monica.

This could be that innocent looking little girl. I dont know what can parents do to avoid girls (all kids infact) from going astray into these sorta deeds. There is real beauty and fulfillment in adults taking care of their sexual needs, but utterly disturbing to see small kids throw away not only their materialistic dreams but also trivializing their own lives.

This article must serve as a wake up call for parents in India also - which is what the DPS episode has proven to all of us.

Enough of this Idealism, already!

2005-11-07T10:24:00.000-06:00

For past 15 years, I have seen BJP growing as a political party. I have seen them playing the voting game, games to harnass the majority (pandering to majority Hindu sentiment, ala Ayodhya) and also trying to become more inclusive of minority, by shedding its pro-brahminical stance, etc. Last week, I have seen them actually becoming one among the dirty, when they were all too ready to implicate/incriminate Natwar singh and current congress party based on UN's Volker report.

Voila, today Natwar is no longer our foriegn minister. Volker's report has implicated more than 2200 people (and literally hundreds of organizations all over the world) in his report, and yet only Indian monkeys have decided to dance to the shim(sham) music and I blame BJP to be wholesole reason for this ruccus. Being power hungry is one thing and being dirty about it is another. I dont think any government should resign based on this report Remember BJP making claims last year that the newly installed congress govt gonna cease its power in dec 2004. I dont think there was any kind of unnatural clairvoyance when they 'predicted' that. I think they were hoping that Volkar report is gonna be out by then and that they can hold Cong govt responsible based on some UN report. With the kind of credibility carried by either UN or US investigations, one should never hurry to judge.

Let us hear out again - UN is a failed body, UN is a sham and waste of everybody's time and effort. It is a corrupt machine looting all the money only by creating imaginary schemes to be implemented in remote (and I cant stress this word enough) corners of the world.

India, wake up and hear to your heart. Dont punish yourself; be rational about it. I was the one who defended George Fernandes during the coffin-gate scandal and this is the time I want to defend Natwar Singh. I dont like him and I think he is inefficient, maybe so, but dont remove him until VOlkar provides STRONG EVIDENCE.

Here is B.Raman's account as to why Natwar shouldnt be removed.

Now its turn of Dwaraka Sankaracharya

2005-10-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

Its the turn of his holiness Sankara of Dwaraka to be insulted by none other than Indian airlines pilot and that too on a domestic flight within India. Welcome to secular India, welcome to land of milk and land of saints, where old habits die hard but old traditions often gets trampelled. All it would take is a person of authority to decide what he thinks is right (or left for that matter). There is no need for public consent to do anything. I think we Indians deserve this treatment, because we as a civilization seldom gone through any kind of revolution - the only behavour we are accustomed to is to pick up the bones left by our masters, be it the british and mughuls from yesteryears or political goons of today. India should be named land of thousand cuts and million bruises.

Read further:

Flight offloads Dwarka swami- By Our Correspondent

Mumbai, Oct. 19: Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati, the successor to Swami Swarupananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth, was made to disembark from an Indian Airlines flight for carrying his holy dand, a thin bamboo stick which is a symbol of their spiritual designation, inside the aircraft cabin.
The swami was in Mumbai to attend the Hindu Sabha Acharya Sabha, a first of its kind organisation which held a two-day conference at Sanyas Ashram, Vile Parle. Despite repeated attempts to contact Indian Airlines, no airline official was available for comment.
Speaking to this newspaper, Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati said, "Our work takes us on flights often. I have travelled on an aircraft over 225 times till date but never have I had such an experience." He added that it was the pilot of Indian Airlines flight IC-147 who objected to him carrying the five-foot, eight-inch long stick on board the aircraft.
According to the swami, he had been cleared in the security check stage and it was only after he occupied his seat that Indian Airlines staff came and requested him to keep the dand in the cargo compartment. He refused to part with the dand, saying it is always kept with his person, is a symbol of his mutt, and that keeping it away from his person would be sacrilegious.
"The behaviour of the pilot of the flight, which had over 50 per cent foreigners, made me feel like I am indeed a terrorist and I just wondered what the foreigners would be thinking of Hindu saints," the swami said. He said he got off the plane because he feared an incident could be created by Hindus on board the plane.
Swami Avimukteshwa-rananda Saraswati met senior Indian Airlines officials who apologised to him verbally, but refused to issue a written apology or refund the ticket. He had to wait at the airport for three hours before returning to Sanyas Ashram at Vile Parle. "They just want me to forget the incident as a one-off incident and did not assure me of anything. Tomorrow, any saintly person of the Hindu dharma could face such treatment," he said.
Swami Vishveshwar Anand, the mahamandaleshwar of Sanyas Ashram at Vile Parle, Mumbai, said, "The dand is so small that it cannot injure anyone. We will definitely agitate against it and there are many Hindu organisations that will be happy to raise this issue of ill-treatment of a Hindu saint of Swamiji’s stature. Just yesterday we had discussed such issues of ill-treatment of Hindus at our conference. Today we are observing it."
There was a record attendance of 138 sampradayas and heads of akhadas, mutts and acharyas from all parts of India. Former President of India R. Venkatraman also attended. There were several translators for the diverse religious heads. Seven sampradayas from Assam attended this meet.

You like Quotes?

2005-10-18T15:24:00.000-05:00

Added 8/13/2006:
If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
-Thomas J. Watson

Added 5/15/2006:
We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action. - Frank Tibolt

Added 2/17/2006:
"The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." - Joseph Heller

Added 2/16/2006:
"Traditions are group efforts to keep the unexpected from happening."
- Barbara Tober

Added 1/13/2006:
"I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity."
- Tom Stoppard

Added 1/2/2006:
"Education is a state-controlled manufactory of echoes."
- Norman Douglas

Added 10/18/2005:
"Boyhood, like measles, is one of those complaints which a man should catch young and have done with, for when it comes in middle life it is apt to be serious. " - PG Wodehouse

Added 10/07/2005:
"It is always easier to believe than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative." - John Burroughs

Added 9/30/2005:
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." - Blaise Pascal

Added 9/20/2005:
Here is a true Quote: "As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." — H. L. Mencken