Dolce far niente

Chuck that pot

2010-05-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Take a classic Doors song.Take the sound of monsoon rain. You have before you a very potent mix. Now, play both, sit back and relax. Of course, speakers make a world of difference.

When I learnt about this website which had a very simple offering: that of the sound of 'gentle rain', I was curious to experiment it with some of my favorite songs and somehow the first song that came to mind was the Doors' classic-Riders on the storm. The original actually begins with the sound of the storm and probably that's why.

It didn't stop with that. I went ahead, a change of genre this time, a husky voiced cat power song and I was excited. The combination of rainy weather and some good music can really do wonders as the rainymood website suggests.

Well then, if you ve had a rough week, a bad fight or something of that sort, this is therapy. Actually, its better with a calm mind.

Here is my 30-minute playlist (Link here):
1. Riders on the storm- The Doors
2. Love and Communication- Cat Power
3. Nutshell- Alice in Chains
4. Long gone day- Mad Season
5*. If you were my guitar - Soulmate (goes out to Ra and CJ)
6. Come here - Kath Bloom
7. Space Oddity - David Bowie

Enjoy! Time to make your own playlist.

When friends leave and others return

2010-03-04T15:11:00.000-08:00

It is not hard to explain how one feels when friends--dear or not so dear--leave. There is a certain social experiance we get used to that is a little sad to let go of. Sooner than later one is bound to get used to a different social setting--minus the departing friend--alright; however, as cliched it might sound, memories remain.
One such friend is leaving us soon and a train of thoughts led me to ask myself: What is it that I will recall first at the mention of this friend. There is some part of oneself that you associate people with, innit? Its as though that small part of you has lost a play companion of sorts.
This particular friend was quite an opinionated person; mostly about politics and world affairs. That's too broad a description. To put it simply, if one asked him what he felt about the India-Pakistan scenario, instead of the more common Pakistan is villian view, he would argue from a more academically balanced standpoint. He knew his history books quite well.
It was he who inspired me partly to take to historical reading; mostly penned by academicians:political scientists and historians alike. It is this part of me I discovered during interactions with him. I will miss those long discussions debating about popular view on things of interest! Putting things in perspective history was definitely not a favorite subject during my schooling. The subject was such a bore because of teachers torturing us with the exact dates of events and all.
I nearly forgot! About the same time this friend will move another long-lost friend of mine is coming hither. This friend brings memories of whiling time in discussions on issues from a cultural standpoint. The chap being a culture-vulture of sorts has an eye for perspectives of people from daily life most would miss. Like the time he was speaking in high regard about the Dutch for being so simple and straight-forward in their lifestyle.
I wish the two meet. It will be interesting to observe a mix of strategic world affairs and their cultural underpinnings!

Dear insanity

2010-01-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

After being hammered from inside and out, I set out to cycle back home. The hundred odd bucks I owed to Lausanne Roule came to mind and buried stupid impulses. Burning the hand makes sure one learns the lesson. I set out walking with a lot of frustration and anger at having let it be. A perspective change was needed for the moment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Libido is sometimes hard to explain I say!' opined an aged headmaster. 'That Freud was so obsessed with its contribution to human behavior that he used it to explain everything. What he did not was reason for libido itself.'
'Saar, I'll tell you full story, matinee balcony ticket, weekday leave from office, shady siddeshwara tent, rats under seat, premature... whistles I mean. It is the simple story saar. Hero meet heroine; ding-dong happen; heroine slap hero; hero impressed and bp raise; ding-dong happen again; heroine slap again but stopped by big muscular hands of hero; heroine knees week and girly voice of anger; kaput!'
The lady agreed although headmaster was furious. I was rejoicing with the triumph of fine oratory over intellect. Or so I thought...
'Although you are right,' began the lady 'there is a slight predisposition in your argument to make the whole thing somewhat male chauvanist. It is true that women like it that way and thats exactly why they let it be. Its a way of letting you be the boss when they know who is in control; a designation or a lack of it doesn't hurt them you see.'
'wowowow!! From where you went where maydam! I was talking of picture in siddeshwara tent. Its like that only, once I buy ticket and we go. But don't worry maydam, I keep porki fellows out. They one nuisance they are!'
'Ok maadesha. We will do that but first, where is the tea I asked for? And won't you ask what headmaster ji would like?'
'oooo...sorry maydam! Saar, what you want?'
'hihihi...whatever maydam has!'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

A perspective change had happened and I was back to the usual grind. Listen to voices in your head. It helps to!

Fact sheet

2010-01-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

I was going through Divsy's factsheet and found some questions raised therein worth pondering over. It is the content of this post.
Summarising a case study on a San-Francisco-based pharmacy company that promised monetary rewards to locals for preserving certain medicinal trees in tropical rain forests of South America (notably in Equador and Brazil), the following question was asked:

Should we use the means of market economy to implement nature conservation?

I would go further to ask:

How often can we use the means of market economy to implement nature conservation?

My understanding native medicine wrt the case study is limited. But I would first want to find out if this is a specific instance of commercialisation favoring nature conservation. It is not hard to see that the Pharmacy company can continue to do business provided they have continued access to those trees used in making the medicine. It follows then that the forests in which these trees grow need to be conserved. But, does commercialisation always favor conservation where ever nature is harvested for commercial use? I would not believe so for the simple reason that there are continuing protests world-wide where commercialisation and conservation are at loggerheads.
The study goes to show that there are instances where the two are not in conflict. But, are there more instances like the pharmacy company?
It is a different matter if the compensation promised to the locals was indeed handed out? It turns out it wasn't as good as promised because the drugs failed to make profit.
Another important question that the fact sheet poses in the context of action taken for environmental conservation in developing countries, is:

Is it really a ‘first world luxury’?

To gain insight into this question, I would like to know to what period in modern history of the world could any concrete action in environmental conservation be dated? Lets take the instance of the insistence of World bank in the 1940s and 50s to build dams on rivers. The case for conservation being damage due to submersion of surround land areas (damage to human settlements and bio-diversity in the vicinity). I would like to know what the U.S did in containing reported environmental damage[1] due to the construction of Hoover Dam in 1936. For example, how does it contrast with the Narmada dam project in India in this regard? The reasoning is that India today could be more fairly compared with America in the past and not in the present due to delayed development (because of reasons this post is not concerned with). It is a question of fairness really. Did the U.S (first world) have the moral authority to hold India (third world) responsible for its present day actions? Or Is this a fair question to ask at all?
In the view of true-blue environmentalists, it pays to conserve and not quibble about moral obligations or the lack of it? In other words, India (third world) cannot hold a lack of action wrt conservation on the part of U.S (first world) if any against it. The argument that 'You did not conserve then, so I won't now' although a morally correct argument cannot be an actually correct one,for, both are mis-using nature. The problem with this line of thought is the economic implication of conservation. Noting instances where economic development (commercialisation) is the antithesis of conservation, is it fair to ask India (third world) to compromise economic prosperity for a greater duty to conserve? Please note that the need and importance of conservation is not being questioned here? What is being questioned is the fairness in weighing all in the same scale.
Honey, I have some questions for you! :)
P.S: Sweetheart, I really enjoyed reading the document. Keep 'em coming :*

Time of change

2009-12-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

There was something amiss, something that felt as though a peculiarly integral part of me was not there. It is not too abnormal I thought, reminiscing the pensive days and nights that seemed not so long ago. It used to be that there were thoughts of conflict sometimes, thoughts about thought itself in the more youthful days of my life. Not that these days aren't any more youthful; well, a small digression here seems apt.

About five months back, when I was at the brim of a youthful 23 and the beginning of a less youthful 24, it struck me that I was past my prime, literally (the number 23) and figuratively! It seemed to me that, here I was brushing past yet another eventful day in my life, yet all I would do was serenade it with no less interest than its predecessor. Probably, Einstein was in his late teens at the time thoughts about the origin of the universe engaged him. I know! Could I have thought of a more unequal comparison?! No, but the point is... lets make it point blank for reasons of rhetoric. Suppose a dark villian was to hold a gun to your head, point blank, and asked you to do something crazy: do something that would be remembered beyond your time. Success is an appropriate word! Well,what would you do?

Digressions make stories in themselves and are sometimes antithetical to one of the main purposes of storytelling: getting to the end! Having a notoriety for stealing my audiences of an ending, for which they have patiently yearned and failed, I reluctantly shorten this piece which I have called "Time of change".

Talking of pensive days and nights from where I flamboyantly took a detour, they are common. Aren't they? That's what I told myself and thought that would be the end of it. If it were, what you are reading wouldn't be as colourful.

Being someone so devoted to time that jokes of being born with a strap around the wrist being not funny any more (to me that is. Somehow, it is always a different person with the same wisecrack); on a more serious note, a constant reminder by my sweetheart that it has been the victim of repression for long and needs to be liberated, in a manner imaginatively analogous to the British freeing the sub-continent after two centuries of occupation, had made me time conscious. Conscious of my extreme time-consciousness rather!

But I could live with that. What was bothering me was a feeling that this somehow weakened our enduring friendship: between time and myself. It was weird. Words fail when I have to describe it. I still wore it everyday. And all the time. How could I feel its gentle grasp slipping? I was confused.
As the sun set on the silver-coloured clouds that had descended upon Lausanne, and my lips slurped the first sips of coffee from shiny cream-coloured cup from the terrace cafe of EPFL (my graduate school), and at the stroke of 5 (I somehow happened to notice my second love then), a eureka moment was born.

It was the hourly chime. My first love doesn't approve of it. It irritates her.

Brooksley Born of Yalandur

2009-10-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Prologue: Yalandur is a small taluka town in Chamarajanagar district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Kannada conversations have been translated.

Sometime in the late 90s in Yalandur...
"Don't give that son-of-a-bitch any money! Give it to me. This is not the first time we are having this conversation. Either illicit liquor or that son-of-a-prostitute!", hollered Muniyamma to her fractious husband, Halappa. By now he had learned the art of ignoring her shrill abuses to an extent that he was already thinking of who to borrow money from for tomorrow's "quarter".

Sometime in the late 90s in Washinton D.C ...
After having been among the elite few female law graduates out of Stanford University in the 70s, Brooksley Born who was later made the head of a financial regulatory agency during the Clinton years, stood up against the brutal defiance of the Titans of Wall Street. Sadly,like Muniyamma, her cries fell on deaf ears as unscrupulous investment bankers in America continued to package debt and sell it.

Epilogue: In America, making money from derivatives is still legal. In Yalandur, Halappa is jobless while Muniyamma is earning a living under NREGA.

Inspired by 'The Warning', a documentary by Frontline (aired on PBS).

after (a prayer) and before (another)

2009-09-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

O lord! Why do you make us hungry?
Give me some Heineken. Bottoms up. Cheers!
O lord! Why do we have to spend empty evenings?
Give me some Kingfisher. Screw everyone. Hail the king!
O lord! Why do we have to listen to our bosses?
Shove, instead, some empty Fosters bottles up their asses!
O lord! How do we protect our lasses from third man's stares?
Give me some Strongbow. Third men?! Who cares?
O lord! How do I make this poem private?
So people don't think I was drunk when in front of thou I was prostrate.

Black in White

2009-09-15T01:42:00.000-07:00

"42.7% of statistics are made-up on the spot"
-Gaurav Vaz, RadioVerve host

Under ciel bleu, through the ventilator glass, I saw just that: ciel bleu. Optimist for all practical purposes, yet housing a strange masochistic pessimist inside, I began to think "si j'ai mange' mon pain blanc" - an idiom new to me in a new language. In a quirky way, an eagerness for things new that had led me to discover what the idiom meant, manifested itself as, well, a sort of a strain of noice in an otherwise tranquil background.

It was unclear to me how, when things around were nice and beautiful and mirrored by a similar inside, there was scope for dark thoughts. Was it something Indian or otherwise that we are told at a young age "Don't laugh so much; you will soon cry"? I mean whoever the peep said that! What (and why) sadism? And some strange psychological phenomenon brings that to focus when you are 24, enjoying a pleasant autumn day in Switzerland. Temporal butterfly effect!

On a happy note, Je crois que j'ai mange' mon pain noir!

Life is good!

2009-05-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

Luckily we left for the main street thinking there would be no cops around. Indoors it is hard for people to notice you but outdoors is different. Fuck! It is different. Engaging in a stress-busting monologue, I told myself,'Don't panic, Don't panic', hoping things would go better. It wasn't enough as I was soon going to find out. Soothing moonlight had other plans for me as I was suddenly confronted by a stranger. Graceful jab it was that gave my turning sleeve a vent. 'Oh My God!', I mumbled as I was being chased wishing I had taken a turn. Onto what looked like a dead end, heart in my mouth and feeling the dance of a gust in my face, I ran, I ran, I ran! 'Dead meat!', I thought!!

To be continued...

Legendary Kashinath

2009-03-29T02:51:00.000-07:00

Ananthana Avanthara means Ananth's confusion. Once upon a time, when kannada films were dominated by the Rajkumars and Vishnuvardhans, came a maverick. The name is Kashinath. Not only did he think out of the box, but had the balls to go all out and do what he really believed in. Respect!
When Anantha realises that contorted Yogaasanas wouldn't curb his urges and he hasn't the balls for a fling, he decides to get married. His secretary has the hots for him but he really likes a Menaka next door. An accidental meeting leads to nuptial day. His secretary, however, has plans of her own.
What follows are comic episodes narrating testing times for our hero on his honeymoon. With a decent BP monitor-urgeness analogy, simple yet communicative, a cot-banging neighbour to rub it in and medication from in-laws to make it worse, the movie is a hilarious satire on the closer-home mindset of not talking about problems down there and the mental torture therein.

Watch out for a Mr.Uppi aka Kashinath's sisya (Student)as Kamanna, intelligent screenplay and dialogues, clever use of songs and a nice background score by Hamsalekha in a film scripted, produced and directed by Kashinath.
The movie is off the ordinary in Indian cinema. Like it or not, take some time to appreciate a change that Kashi brought. An openness hitherto alien, and personally a feeling of traditional in look and modern in thought. A talent well ahead of his time.
Adding, Anjali, who plays Menaka's character, deserved more than the dagar roles she got later. An undervalued actress! Will finish quoting Ajji Lehya Ajji.
(When Menaka's Mum asks if Anantha would really heed their advice and have the Lehya)'Men, who have no problems, go searching for things like this. Someone with a problem, like Ananthu, will be licking it off his hands by now"

Dinner with friends

2009-03-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

R: You are either really lucky or unlucky. Just the extremes.
V(laughing it off): yeah!
B: I would give it more time when it comes to me.
R: You would come to know after around 6 months what kind of a person she is.
V: You would not know the real person until that person is really under pressure.
Me(Smirking): Pressure a? What pressure?
V: You know when you have a kid and are working at the same time and you have to manage a lot of things.
R: But come on, if you live with a person for 6 months, you will pretty much know who she is.
V (Nodding): Yeah, but the real character you will know only in pressure situation.
R: But you'll know with high probability(sic) if the person is ok for you or not.
V: Yeah, that I will know. If it will work or not. I'll just have to live with it anyway, it works or not.
R: If it doesn't work out, you can always leave V.
V(Innocently): Who will marry me then?

V's marriage has been arranged. '99%!'

A pro-arranged marriage opinion: An Indian woman's take[1]
"Here, we get married without having feelings for the person. We base our marriage on commitment, not on feelings. As our marriage progresses, the feelings develop. In America, you base your decision to marry on feelings, but what happens when the feelings wane? You have nothing left to keep the marriage together if you get married according to feelings and then the feelings go away."

A pro-love marriage argument
A marriage should be based on love. How could someone enter wedlock with someone he/she is not in love with?(as with most arranged marriages)

A balance
A marriage requires love and commitment. The romance of a marriage is incomplete without love and it's essence is a commitment. Overlooking one over the other is not right.
A commitment solely based on love wavers like the vicissitudes of life. A higher motivation is needed for it to be stable. What could this higher motivation be? Well, that is what you need to think about.

Bolt

2009-03-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

A dog lover's delight is Bolt: A superhero dog, superdog!
The movie brought a smile on my otherwise pensive face today. I mean full stretch!
What happens when a superdog doesn't know that reel is not for real? An enjoyable movie reminiscing the days you first brought your dog home, the first things he chewed on, his first collar, his cute little face, his antics that never tired you. A trip down memory lane!
Bolt, a thoroughly enjoyable story of a dog who leaves the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to rescue his best friend from the clutches of a villain only to return later after a period of self-discovery is truly a must watch!
Bolt is a dog actor in Hollywood. His day starts with slick chases and escape sequences, powers that leave his worst enemy crippled and a superbark to save the day. After a scene where Penny gets kidnapped, the shoot closes for the day. But the little sweetheart doesn't know what a movie is. In his effort to save her, he accidentally gets packaged to NewYork, a whole new world. What follows is a tale of true self-discovery.
Watch out for a wise little cat Mittens who is a friend, philosopher, guide of sorts and Rhino, a hamster who is a Bolt fan.
The animation is really amazing. They have really captured varied emotions of a dog to perfection. I really missed Jhini around :(
A must watch for all!

The president came and went

2009-01-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

I don't remember many wholly satirical movies in hindi cinema. 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron' is one that comes off the top of my head. It is a seminal movie in this genre comically mocking at corruption at all levels in the Indian society. You could call it a socio-political satire.
Of the recent lot, I am reminded of 'Loins of Punjab',a movie that parodied the NRI population in the U.S . The director, Manish Acharya, chose not to mix satire and questions of morality. The movie stayed away from evoking judgements on it's characters. I am not saying that the audience couldn't have an opinion,they could, but the movie did nothing that would enforce a certain line of thought.

'The President is Coming',co-written by the writer of 'Loins..', follows the footsteps of it's predecessor in it's presentation. The two movies rely on a competition as a central platform where the story unfolds.
'The President is Coming' is about the one Indian who is to be selected to shake hands with the then U.S president George W. Bush during his 2006 visit to the country. What makes the movie unique apart from it's 'mockumentary' style is it's characters who come from different sections of an urban Indian population. Six finalists are short-listed for the shake hand. One would be finally chosen.
What happens when a holier-than-thou writer from Calcutta(Konkona Sen), a wealthy stock broker from Mumbai, a male chauvinist social worker from Nagpur, a pretentious voice-accent trainer from Gurgaon, a bimbo from Delhi(Ira Dubey) and a Microsoft nerd from Bangalore compete to shake hands with the president? A laugh riot! Adding flavour to the khichidi is the kleptomaniac head of a P.R agency contracted by the U.S embassy in Mumbai to select the one.
As the competition progresses, the characters sub-consciously bring in their own prejudices. Highly motivated to be selected the winner, all of them give their best shot at instant fame. You know it's a gut-buster when on being asked how they intend to select the Indian to shake hands with the prez, the PR chief says: 'The American way...Reality TV!'. And what follows is a gruelling competition running for rounds. The movie might feel a little repetitive towards the end but it is a minor shortcoming and can be easily traded for a laugh marathon. Watch out for A Namaste gesturing Bush mannequin at the end!
Watch the movie for timepass. Don't take it too seriously and you won't be disappointed!
Some funny quotes:
Ajay Karlekar, the social worker:'I can say phuck and all uh!'
Kapil Dev, the stock broker: 'It's not like famous peepul are someone else no. They are peepul'
Archana Kapoor, the millionaire daughter: 'Dad, is it ok for like a strange guy to touch me...yeah, he's in uniform'
Maya, the writer: 'Please don't touch my brests'
And the best of all...
Ramesh, the geek: 'You want to ride on my love machine a?'

VCB-Go for it!

2009-01-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a boring week and more empty days to come. I had decided that I will watch a movie a day. In the night, after a good meal, with a bar of white chocolate and tucked cozily under my quilt. And so it happened. I watched "Oye Lucky!.." three days ago, a film noir movie called "Out of the past" the day before yesterday and the classic AH thriller "Vertigo" yesterday. 'What today?', was an obvious question. I had settled on "One flew over the cuckoo's nest"(No, I haven't seen it yet.period) but unfortunately or otherwise couldn't download it by night.

I cooked a nice meal for myself, a sensual mix of mushroom sauce and pasta topped with some authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. I finished dinner quite quickly brooding over the dullness of eating a good meal alone.
After cleaning up chores in the kitchen were over, my night life started! I looked online for a timepass movie that could take me through to bedtime. After a disastrous selection, I decided to watch "Chandni Chowk to China" and updated my status message appropriately.

However, I was not able to find a working link to watch it. In the meantime, Sha having looked at my status message, pinged me to find out how the movie is. In the hopeless situation I was, I asked him to suggest something to watch. Persepolis.Seen. Vicky Christina Barcelona. Ok.

In a few minutes, I was neatly tucked in my quilt watching the movie. It started with a breezy spanish guitar and a not exactly sweet vocal in the background with the intro credits rolling.
Two friends Vicky(played by the lesser known Rebecca Hall) and Christina(Scarlett I have the hots for you Johannson) are on a holiday in beautiful Barcelona and hence the title. All's well until a strange artist guy (Javier Bardem) turns up to the table where the duo are dining and makes an offer of a "fun-filled" weekend in Oviedo. Vicky, an engaged commitment-phile is taken aback by such a casual offer of sex and is the least interested. Christina, being more liberal by nature, doesn't see any harm. And so the story begins.

As the movie progresses, it shows the internal conflicts that the two protagonist characters face. Vicky is confused when a chance encounter with Juan Antonio (Bardem's character) begins to question her convictions about love and commitment. Christina, always only sure of what she doesn't want in life, goes on a journey of self-discovery. Going deeper would be playing spoilsport! How can I not mention Cruz's character Maria Elena. She plays the ex-wife of Juan Antonio to perfection.

The movie is thoroughly enjoyable. Entertaining yet making you think (Well, if you are the thinking types in a movie hall!:). I can only seem to talk of the positives. The beautiful landscapes of Spain, romantic candle-lit dinners, ancient bungalows with lovely gardens, medieval architectural beauty and Woody Allen couldn't have chosen a better location for the movie. I read that Spain is close his heart. In fact, there is a life-size statue of his in Oviedo, where parts of the movie have been shot.
The characters in the movie are real and those you could relate to in some ways. In fact, Vicky and Christina are antithesis of each other. So, you would share your views with either of them. In a movie, for one to really appreciate the acting, I feel that it has to be effective in bringing the characters to life and in the audience's focus. And all the four main actors Hall, Johannson, Bardem and Cruz deserve such appreciation. Kudos to them.

The background score, with lovely spanish guitars only play second fiddle to the goodness of the movie. The music adds flavour to the eye-catching visuals and the mood of a scene.
Woody Allen's narration is articulate yet precise. The movie to me is like a good book. The story blended with an objective interpretation of it by the narrator is classic Woody Allen!

I am like Christina when it comes to my view of things around me. This movie review for one. I am only sure of things I don't like. And there isn't such a thing about this movie! :) Go for it! For planning a trip to Spain if not for anything else!

And last but not least, thanks to Mr.Sha for an awesome reco!

Dev D OST

2009-01-19T01:02:00.000-08:00

I am surprising myself by talking about a hindi movie OST. Well, I can't NOT write about this varied compilation which I bumped into when switching channels and heard this funky track called "emosional athyachar". The song was so catchy that I downloaded the OST right away.
The first few days were dedicated renditions of athyachar in spite of protests from near and dear ones! Little did I know that there were 16 other songs on this album, each one different from the other. The album is a melange of folk sounds, western classical pieces, rock ballads, groovy rhythms, classic pop and closer home melodic hindi music. It is basically a soundtrack for a Devdas flick and has songs of love, desperation and eventually madness.

More than the vocals behind the songs, which any review will talk about elaborately, I was floored by the arrangements for songs. This includes instrumentation, their timing and feel, and the rhythm which gives a particular groove to a song.
If you don't know what I am talking about, please get the Dev D Soundtrack and give it a listen. I think you'll find something interesting in it for you.

This post ain't complete without writing about some of the songs themselves. Here are a couple of reviews:

Emosional Athyachar:
The cover song of the movie if you can call it, the brass band version as they call it, will catch you in splits. It has the feel of orchestra bands that play during processions in marriage ceremonies up in north of India. The sound is not really original but what is, is it's adaptation to the theme song of the movie. Who would have a conceived such a thing?
The rock version of the same song has a serious rendition in a rock balladish way. It is after all a Devdas story. On a first listen, I was somehow drawn to compare it with 'Die,die,die my darling' by Metallica mainly for the drumming and the tempo. The song is not great if you've grown up listening to Queen, The Who et al. But it's still good.

Paayaliya:
I pressed the next button on my pod, and what started as an old classical song with a touch of violin, moved into a faster tempo with a little synth and sounds of shehnai here and there, then the veena with carnatic chants and some Ghatam with the Shehnai still playing hide and seek, suddenly breaking off on a western chorus and being lulled back eastwards and finally heading for a climax with a delightful mix of everything! Wow! Never heard so much in one song! For me, this song is a must listen.

Oye Lucky - A good watch

2009-01-16T16:44:00.001-08:00

When ma soeur spoke of "The president is coming" that released in theatres today, I was happy to be witnessing a definite change in hindi cinema. I looked for this movie online without luck but I was lucky to have remembered about this other movie in my playlist that was pending a watch. This one is called: "Oye Lucky!Lucky Oye"

Having heard good things about it from Masand (a mean movie critic), I didn't think twice before watching it. Starring,rather upcoming starring Abhay Deol as the protogonist conman, this movie never really stops entertaining you. Beginning at the backdrop of a punjabi family in Delhi, it tells the story of a suave thief.

The movie is replete with witty dialogues and screenplay. From Lucky's question to a Veterinarian Paresh Rawal on distracting a ferocious dog for ostensibly gatecrashing into his girlfriend's house, to after being nabbed, resolving a skirmish over a piece of jewellery he had robbed.

Another good point of the movie, is the way it shows the growing up years of Lucky and his romance with a girl in the neighborhood. This part of the movie has been particularly well handled and builds up the story to the movie ahead. I should point out that the background score (Nope, there are no songs in the movie) is mostly punjabi but apt.

However, the movie is not flawless. The technicalities are good but there are loose-ends in the story. For one, Lucky's approach seems a little too vulnerable to work so consistently well as in the movie. Also, the story seems to get a little monotonous toward the end.

You can forgive and forget it's little imperfections and enjoy this refreshingly good comedy any day! If you are not too critical and there for a hearty laugh you won't be disappointed. This movie is an entertainer!

I like Abhay Deol for choosing his roles carefully and maybe wisely. From a journalist in 'Manorama 6 feet..' whatever, as a contemporary Devdas in an upcoming flick directed by Anurag Kashyap, a smooth operator in OLLO and hopefully more to come.

What's the one thing I'd like to do differently in 2009?

2009-01-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

I'd like to deal with loneliness and hope to understand myself better. I also want to be less selfish and more pro-active (though they have nothing to do with each other!)

Depression over the bay of Bengal

2008-12-08T18:33:00.001-08:00

Can you hear the sounds of silence,
When you are by yourself?
Can you hear a clock ticking,
And the beat of your heart?

Isn't it funny these times
When you wouldn't reach for a pen
To write
When you wouldn't switch on the TV
To watch
When you wouldn't see humor
In a joke
When you so fucking want to use the F word
And so fucking frequently?

What is this state of being?
What do you have to say about it?
It was you who made us
Hasn't it happened to thee?

'O!petulant mortal!',came a voice from above
'You haven't seen much
Of what I have seen.
It pays to be patient
That is what I have been.'

'It was one day when
I wouldn't reach for a pen to write,
I wouldn't switch on the TV to watch,
I wouldn't see humor in a joke,
I so fucking felt like the F word myself,
And so fucking frequently,
That I made thee!'

Note to the reader:The writer of this piece says, "Better luck with the coin toss!"

Bugs

2008-12-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

Platform: Eclipse IDE for JAVA
Error : "Editor does not contain a main type" in spite of main being there
Fix : The java file containing your main() is probably not in a src folder. Move it to a source folder and this will hopefully help! :)

Why

2008-11-25T02:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes low sometimes high,
A different emotion every time.
Sometimes thoughtful sometimes blank
This melange, I wonder why.

Sometimes shallow sometimes deep,
At times strong sometimes weak
A messy head wavering feet
Ever so often I wander the streets

Why is it so fickle?
Why can't things be more simple.
Sometimes sure sometimes not,
Back to a familiar story of sorts.

A snowy evening

2008-11-23T11:34:00.000-08:00

Ah! Life seemed to brighten up on a dark evening. And suddenly everything seemed perfect!
I picked a nice milk chocolate and headed for the balcony. It had started snowing. Somehow, the flakes of snow winding past in the light of neon street lights made my day. I had to go out, but alone. The last thing on my mind was look for company.
Confetti on an uneventful day was ironic I thought. Well, I won't complain!
The melancholy melody of Carla Bruni(http://www.last.fm/music/Carla+Bruni) was waiting to get out of my head. It felt like a walk in a artsy French movie where the protogonist decides to hell with the world and takes a walk on a snowy evening.

Before mundane worries begin to bother me,
I thought it out this very day.
Noon upon the clock,
A man may put pretence away
Who leans upon a stick,
May sing, and sing until he drop,
Whether to maid or hag:
I carry the sun in a golden cup,
The moon in a silver bag.

A hot summer day

2008-11-14T15:22:00.000-08:00

On times I write,
On those good times!
They are great alright,
But there's more than that meets the eye!

Life is good on a cool autumn day,
Sunny and all and colours gay.
For the trees though, it is chilly,
Yet they lose their skin when colours play!

I much prefer, a hot summer day,
A scorching sun and colours pale.
For the trees though, it is a merry day,
With a glint on their face when colours fade!

Good times they come
Loads of smiles they bring and then they go.
Bad times they come when that smile stretches from left ear to right
They take that smile away though but leave you far wise!

Retrospective: First days in Lausanne

2008-11-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

After huffing and puffing outside our guest house, I entered the lobby area. It was really neat! What wasn't was the lady at the reception informing us that our dorm was in the second floor and there was no lift! "Wtf!!!Is this some endurance test or what?"

I was so dead when we reached the dorm! After resting for some time, I made way for the huge suitcases in the corner of the room (the dorm was really small). There was a nice french window overlooking the town of lausanne. This was quite a nice view as I soon found out.

Another funny thing about this guest house we had booked was that it was right next to the railway tracks that run out from the railway station. Trains ran past our abode in Swiss time! Every 7 minutes(seconds are excused).

After all this, we were so hungry! Went to the station and found a restaurant that looked decent. Looked at the menu. 15 francs for medium sized pizza and our indian heads were churning out currency conversion numbers. After a good meal and finding out the hard way that when you ask for water, you need to cough up 5 CHF, we were heading back to our dorm to check out the kitchen. No surprises!

The kitchen was speckless. A nice huge fridge, a big dining table and a neat counter.
"Nice place to learn cooking!", I thought to myself. My cooking knowledge increased by leaps and bounds here. My first puliogere happened. Gawd! Did it taste like the best lunch buffet at Mainland China!;)

The lobby of the guest house was really well done! A hot cup of coffee in the cold, a view of gentle drizzle outside and the splendid mix of colors of autumn (More of this was in store!) and life was good!

It was really depressing a lot of times to not have people around. The gloomy weather made it worse sometimes. It is something else to be on vacation in Switzerland! The downside of not being a tourist.

Retrospective: Day 1 in Suisse

2008-10-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for a while now. The last time I did was moments before I turned 23. So much has happened in the time between then and now! Phew...It's like catching up with a long-lost friend.
Hmm...I had to decide...between continuing on a mundane software job versus hitting the road again. Only if I had a convincing reason to...wait! "Higher" education! That's it!

September 1st 2008:
Landed in Geneva (exactly 2 months ago!) on a busy monday morning only that I had to get used to different busy standards across continents. I vividly remember approaching the geneva airport. It was so beautiful. Right above Lake Geneva with an aerial view of the city. Wished she were next to me!
After collecting my baggage at the airport, I was looking for a push carraige. Saw a line of carraiges locked to one another. Was seeing how I could unlock it. Moolah! 2 CHF. My friend and I went to the ticket counter to board the train to Lausanne. The guy at the ticket counter spoke zilch english. "I am so fucking screwed!", I thought.

After being swindled for the 2 CHF for carraiges(another side story), we got into the train. After a long journey and loading our baggages into an empty carraige, we were tired. The train cheered us up a little.

The beautiful landscapes of swiss country side was more than welcoming. With a D80 by my side, I went berserk!

Kao(My friend) was feeling left out. Lake by my right and pastures to my left. Wish I had two cameras.

After a totally enjoyable train ride (this was just a beginning!) we landed at the Lausanne railway station. Some enquiries and we set on foot to our guest house with push carts carrying luggage. Lausanne hosts the International Olympic Committee and yapped about it as we moved out.

Phew! Reaching the guest house was an arduous trek during the last stretch. I muttered a fuck and set off without stopping and stood still for 10 minutes afterward. "Lausanne Guest House baby!"

TBC...

Short stories

2008-07-13T10:26:00.000-07:00

An hour to 23:
--------------

Phew!
I am beginning to feel scared a little, nervous a little and pensive all at the same time! Don't know what it has got to do with me turning a year older in some time.
I always feel like talking to someone (anyone) about anything really. I can feel expectations that I think have been dealt on me. Entangled thoughts of comparison, rejection, contempt keep swirling around in my head as though my head is a mug with liquids being stirred on with a spoon.
It sucks when you are not sure of yourself. That s a real shitty situation!

Moving on:
----------
It's better to move on yourself than life forcing you to. That way you can say you were in control all along ;)!
It's hard sometimes to understand even the closest people you know. Even though you could, sometimes you just won't. Being objective ain't that easy always. Easier said than done category.
Huh! I am beginning to really like the disgusting feelings that times like these arouse in me, for that is what brings the real understanding of things living or not for me. It's a nice kind of maturity. Being who you wouldn't want to really helps. It's only then that you understand why exactly you wouldn't want to be who you wouldn't like to be. Better done than said category.
If you still don't understand, you would be a hypocrite if you believe that you didn't like who you were. Otherwise, you would just be yourself and would know that you are like that. In the former case, you would be cheating yourself into believing that you are someone you aren't! It's crazy. Isn't it?
Know thyself! It's better to understand why you are how you are than not know who you are. You would always be climbing a step higher and not stay grounded. Always moving on!

Tribute to a scene

2008-04-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

Down in Mexicali
There's a crazy little place that I know
Where the drinks are hotter than the chili sauce
And the boss is a cat named Joe

Why the fuck is a brunette with hair let down in a tight skimpy shorts and a weeny T so fucking sexy!?
Imagine this:
A downtown bar with the regulars not making much noice. Enter three super hot chics. One with fucking amazing hair till her ass. Awesomely done. A blonde you can bet your nickel to flirt with and an alpha-brunette with luscious lips and a neatly cut cheek bone.
Bro, if you're not up then you probably need some stretching exercises!

He wears a red bandana, plays a blues pianna
In a honky-tonk, down in Mexico
He wears a purple sash, and a black moustache
In a honky-tonk, down in Mexico

Enter a diabolic stuntman!!

The woods are lovely,
Dark and deep,
But I have miles to go
Before I sleep

Before you sleep!

Login successful!!
You get a lap dance man!!

All of a sudden in walks this chick
Joe starts playing on a Latin kick
Around her waist she wore three fishnets
She started dancin' with the castanets

I didn't know just what to expect
She threw her arms around my neck
We started dancin' all around the floor
And then she did a dance I never saw before.

The uber hot brunette is turning her ass to you! Those hips man! Those hips! Shakira, You have (1) bitch alert!!!

So if you're south of the border
I mean down in Mexico
And you wanna get straight,
Man, don't hesitate
Just look up a cat named Joe.

He wears a red bandana, plays a blues pianna
In a honky-tonk, down in Mexico
He wears a purple sash, and a black moustache
In a honky-tonk, down in Mexico

This article is in progress...

Sympathy for the devil

2007-11-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1: Sympathy for the devil

Fuck!!! Fuck!!! Fuck!!!
Screw you!
Again!! Fuckin kill him man!!
(dishkiaun... dishkiaun, dishkiaun)
Ya let's go!
[At HQ]
Where da fug is the guy?
Fuck!!! no!!!
(dishkiaun,dishkiaun)

Chapter 2: California dreamin'

You see ppl, I am new to this city. It feels weird you know. Fuckin strangers everywhere after a familiar home...matter of time though!
See that chic? faggin with a book in hand! Oh fuck, how i wish i knew her rite now!
Omgwtf!!!! Here she comes!

Chapter 3: Serenade

Fagher: Fuckin hopeless!!! Even the fag tastes like shit!! Never felt like this in some time man
BMG: Light this lady! Serenade the dawn!!!
Fagher: Oh fuck!! yeah,baby!

Chapter 4: Me and Bobby Mc Gee
Fagher: I love you baby!!
BMG: I love you too sweetheart!
Fagher: I am scared!
BMG: Don't be sweetheart! It'll be ok.

Chapter 5: Perhaps,perhaps,perhaps...
Don't fuckin shoot!!
Where the fug is the money?
I really don't have a clue!!
Where were you headed

Chapter 6: Dream a lil' dream
[Uma Thurman sittin by a window sil when it's pourin cats and dogs outside]
[John Travolta havin a smoke over breakfast on a cloudy tuesday morning in a wayside restaurant]

Chapter 7: Kissin a fool
Time: 00:43 hours, Saturday
Place: Zero-candle bulb lit room of mine
It's rainin outside as I several thoughts queue up in my head

To be continued...

Take it as it comes

2007-10-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

Time to live
Time to lie
Time to laugh
Time to die

Takes it easy, baby
Take it as it comes
Don't move too fast
And you want your love to last
Oh, you've been movin' much too fast

Time to walk
Time to run
Time to aim your arrows
At the sun

Takes it easy, baby
Take it as it comes
Don't move too fast
And you want your love to last
Oh, you've been movin' much too fast

Go real slow
You like it more and more
Take it as it comes
Specialize in havin' fun

Takes it easy, baby
Take it as it comes
Don't move too fast
And you want your love to last
Oh, you've been movin' much too fast
Movin' much too fast
Movin' much too fast
- "Take it as it comes" by The Doors

One fucked up sunday morning! Is it goin to get better? Will it remain the same? Can I help? We can do it baby! Yes, we can!
Holy fuckin shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too many fuckin unanswerable questions you get in mind sometimes. All you need to do is to fuckin get hold of yourself man! Look at the bright side. There is afternoon. evening and night to come and you may have a blast then. I mean, seriously! Carpe diem baby!!!
Even as a cloudy sunday morning doesn't seem to brighten up in the near future, I see a ray of light shining distinctly! Ya, I don't know if others can see it right now but I sure can!
Hehehe... wadda fug was morrison thinkin of when he wrote this song?!

Go Real slow
you like it more and more
take it as it comes
specialise in having fun!

Shine on you crazy diamond

2007-09-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Part-I

Boss: Good news man!
Empl: what it is?
Boss: You've got promoted!
Empl:
Boss:
Empl:
Boss:
Empl:
Boss:
Empl:
Boss:
Empl: Recognition feels so good!!
Boss: Yes, it does!
Empl: I want to retire now! I've had enough!
Boss: [Laughing His Ass Off]
Empl: Ya, was lookin forward to this day actually boss!
Boss: [Still Laughing His Ass Off]
Empl: I want to see and do more things man!I've seen this place and now it's time to move on!
Boss: [O! Fuck! Why Can't I Stop Laughing My Ass Off?]
Empl: Learnt a lot boss! Thank you so much!!
Boss: hehehehe...Enough man!! When's the party?
Empl: Anytime before I leave!
Boss: What's wrong with you today man?
Empl: Nothing. I'm fine boss.
Boss: We need to talk!
Empl: Ya. That we will! Come home sometime!Leaving for today Boss!
Boss:
Empl: ChaCha!!

Test O' St Erone

2007-08-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

I seriously want to know the answers to some mind-boggling questions!

Q1.Where the fuck am I? [4 Marks]
Ans)If I knew, I wouldn't be asking that question. 4 marks

Q2.What have I come to? [3 Marks]
Ans)I've come to 15th cross bus stand and am now boarding an auto. 3 marks

Q3.Am I selfish?How much? [2 Marks]
Ans)Yes,I am. This much!! 2 marks

Q4.What is goin on with me? [1 Mark]
Ans)Hard to say! [As Ra used to put it]. 2 marks

V.V Good! Keep it up! (oh...that's of no use m'am)

Score: 11/10

Short stories-II

2007-08-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

Ting tong kathe (the ting tong story):
Ting Tong! Ting Tong!
yarappa adu? at this hour?
Ting Tong! Ting Tong!
a? I don't know any ting tong ting tong! Go to hell

The proposal:
Girl, there isn't a moment I can't think of you. You are in my dreams, my heart, my soul...a...just a sec...hey priya! Am in the middle of something. Can i call you a lil later?...ok bye!ya...so ya. you are in my heart,soul,my can of beer,
Wait a minute! Why r u tellin me this?
because, a... because...I love you!
oh ok ok... but why din t you tell me this a lil earlier?
Would it have helped?
Ya... Would ve spared you from rehersing your pick-up lines

Moving on:
I ve served in many homes. The last three places have been for old-aged women.
O! How are they doin now?
no no...they r not there anymore. It is one ajji's vaikuntha (ceremony related to last rites) today. The other ajji passed away a couple of months ago.
(smiling but lost in thought) oh ok.
You don't talk much, do you?
not much akka!
How do you generally spend the whole day then?
(A blank smile)
How was it being with these people you ve served as a helper?
It was very good!All treated me as part of their family.
hmm...

The choc game:
Kiddo! Do you want a chocolate?
(nodding head)
Which one?
Five star Crunchy...
Oops, Don't have that.
What d'ya have?
Ferraro Rocher!
Could I have that? please?
Sorry, that s for my son.

Alternatively,
Kiddo! Want a choc?
(nodding head)
I won't give you. Go

One way (or another!!!)

2007-08-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

H: eh,tell me this!
S: bout what?
H: well, i' m after a girl big time! Can't get her out of my head.
S: what the eck is wrong with that?
H: One way!
S: atleast you have company.
H: what d ya mean?
S: Same here!
H: same as mine or opposite way?
S: ayyo! the other one way man.
He: Holy cow! then we are on two different one ways, not the same!
Sh: so?
He: you want a guy rite?
Sh: ya...i 'm straight!
He: So am I!!!
She:and you need a girl alva?
He: yes yes!!
She:Are we single and ready to mingle?
He: don't you see in my eye,a twinkle?
She:Here comes my man!
He: wo!man!

A motivational story

2007-07-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there lived a poor young man in a remote village. You know, poor means a lot of stuff;a lack of a lot of stuff actually! This poor guy had a family of 5 to feed, a small shack for shelter, a dawn-to-dusk daily wage job at the fields and a nagging wife and cryin babies to come home to!

"What is my motivation here?" would cross his mind pretty often. Sometimes it was so bad that he thought of running away from his responsibilities. But the principled man he was, and fortunately for his wife and kids,he stayed his course!

He thought he felt like a singer without a crowd to sing to,a movie maker without an audience or even a Tom without a Jerry to live with!

But still he worked every day from dawn to dusk and kept it going! From dawn to dusk!! Everyday!! In the paddy fields!! "Without any motivation?",you may ask. Well,lets see!

On a cool,breezy afternoon,relaxing on the grass,enjoying his lunch break,chewin a strand of straw and soakin up mild winter's sun he paused to think: "Why do I do whatever I do?","What is my motivation here?";"Is it the feeling of helplessness when I have to see my kids starve because of bunking a day's work?","Is it my small shack which never seems to get any better?","Is it my nagging wife who would not let me be in peace?"."I am sick of questions! I need answers!!"

Then as the tender sun began to hide under a dark cloud and the light grew dark, he felt a drop of rain caressing his clean shaven face! (Now don't ask me how he got the bucks to shave!! this guy just did! hotteg hittila juttig mallige huvina kathe! oh! that s a side story by itself). As soon as he looked up, his face was lit! He loved it! Every bit of it! The tender sun, the cool breeze, the sound of the rustling paddy fields, the rain and the rainbow that followed!

"Eureka!", he exclaimed.

Now is it any surprise that he worked in the fields every day from dawn to dusk and kept it going! From dawn to dusk!! Everyday!! In the paddy fields!! "Without any motivation?". No! Now you are not excused for asking! He did it because he loved every bit of it! He liked to work in the paddy fields!

P.S: Now the poor,clean shaven bastard runs a co-operative agency for selling off his stock. He has a couple of hundred people under him, a decently posh house, a bunch of happy kids and a nagging wife ;) !
P.P.S: Some things don't change! For everything else it is a matter of time!

Moral: Every time a job is seen as a routine, it becomes a pain in the ass! Start seeing rainbows in your job and you shall be happy!Know that every job has it s share of rainbows!!
Your rainbow hunt begins now!!...

A great gig in the sky

2007-07-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

I m not afraid of dying!

aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAooo
oooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAA
oooooooaAAAAAAAAAooooooooooooOOOOOOooooOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooooo
OOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa
ooooooooAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAA

Dedicated to all the trippy nights in room no 218, 5 block,Men s hostel, NITK Surathkal, Srinivasnagar, Mangalore-575025

Seeing God in a Pornstar

2007-07-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well, as we all know God is omni-present by definition. So He/She must be in all space that be. That includes us, our surroundings and everything else that you can think of. Us includes all of human race. Me, you or maybe a pornstar. The next question is why this pornstar pseudo-intellectual rhetoric?
Well, it s easy to see God in people with "morals", "values" and all the other things perceived "good". Which is why it is difficult to see God in people who are perceived to lack these qualities by the majority of people around. Which is why intellectuals( add a pseudo before use to let me feel modest bout myself)like me are striving to broaden the concept of morals and values. I intend to come up with chapters designed to make it easier for you to truly appreciate the scope of morals and values. After this exercise, I can confidentally say (well, what do i lose?) that you will see God in a pornstar!

Serenade the enlightenment and shower me with Cake fudge at CH!

10th March 2009, my apartment in Lausanne:
Saw a candid money-for-sex interview. Was reminded of this post written a year and a half before :). The idea is still relevant though it hasn't developed a wee bit more from then.
The change from then is, I don't intend to see a god in a pornstar or anyone else. This time I felt what Krishna echoes in the Bharata that, everyone has to play their part, fulfil their duty whatever that may be. Good or Bad doesn't apply to duty. Would you judge a gardener by his work? Is he good or bad in what he chose as work? He might be depending on how he works but not by the nature of his work. Simple!

Can a kiss be platonic?

2007-06-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

This poem's called "Lead Kindly Light ;) (Oh yeah baby! the wink 's there!!)"

When people seem closer
Places seem like home
I'll let it seem how it seems
Who cares if people say, "Oh! He dreams!"?

How true is what it seems?
Can I let it seem how it seems?
Oh Yes you can!Oh yes you can!
As long as it seems how it seems to you!

-From www.plagiaristswillbeprosecuted.com

I have some questions in mind and i need answers. If you are reading this and you are not me, kindly find some time to leave a comment. Merci Beaucoup!

Q1. What is the origin of feelings of parenthood (if it exists) in unmarried(ok this kinda means you don't have a kid) 20 something s?

Q2. If you are unmarried/married but not a parent,does seeing yourself as a dad or a mom arise a feeling of confinement/erosion of freedom?If yes, do you think you are being selfish?

Please people i really want to know!!! The least you could do even if you happen to trippily visit my blog (which is highly probable)is to leave a comment. Thanks again

When idleness turns hell

2007-05-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

"hey man! whadda fuck ve you been upto?"
"omgwtf(acronym for o my god!! what the fuck!)!! Is it fucking you ...you unshaven bastard?where the fuck were you all these days?...seems like eternity"
"I needed a break man...buzzed off when you were sleeping.what ve you been doin?"
"nothin much man...it's a long story though...to cut short i was testing the limits of idleness?"
"wtf does that mean?"
"well...you see this head?"
"ya"
"what you don't see is how fucked up it is on the inside...Thank god you're back...it'll bring some order"

The end? Not really...

2007-03-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am temporarily sick of structuring my thoughts as a dialogue (atleast now, when writing this one). So i ll put em straight from the head...just the raw thoughts...because if you strip the structure out of a written piece what remains is just the essence (Like the subtle aftertaste of kodbale when sippin on coffee)

What is in my head now is the concept of start-end. I have a short film idea also. It's something like this:

The short film s called:

THE START

It's the olympics...The 100 meters run is about to start and the athletes are on their marks...There s a Gun shot and these guys set off. Now there's some explainin to do about the running track. The track is a small circular field and there's only one banner for start and finish. On one side to which the athletes start is START and on the other side FINISH. It's simpler to see it as a circular track where the finish point is the same as the start point.

You know how these athletes look...strong muscular bodies and stuff. So these guys are running as hard as they can with grit in their eyes. Run,Run,Run...Nothing on their mind except the finish line and how fast they can reach there to be first.

And think of yourself as a journo covering the race for BBC or somethin standing in front of the finish line (wait! isn't it the start line?!). You have a camera and all. You stand there catchin the first glimpse of these guys coming towards you. You start recording footage... Strong men makin a run for it. Then one really strong guy emerges clearly in front of others and in the wink of an eye he's crossing the finish line. You focus your camera on him...tired yet accomplished look on his face. After everythin is over and the guys are resting you happen to tilt your camera accidentally so it is focussed on the banner...And you see START written all over it.

THE END

And now for the aftertaste (ya! imagine you are sipping on a cup of coffee now):

Was there a finish line? Isn't it the start line after all? you run a race and reach the finish but it ain't the end mate. You've just started another race.

Isn't the end of a start, the start of an end?
And Isn't the end of the end, the start of another start?

Free Bird

2007-03-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

Radio goobe plays Free bird by Lynyard skynard (The extended guitar version) as a raw mango (RM) is talkin to it's bearer-the Mango tree (MT)

If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be travelling on now
There's too many places I gotta see

RM(snobbishly): Hehe...you're so MT without me
MT: You are a Real Moron, aren't you?
(There's a pause as both are held in a trance by the guitar solo. Lynard skynard kick ass!!)
RM: Hey! how long do i cling to you MT?
MT: Till you are pelted with stones or by yourself when you are old enough.
RM: Strange isn't it?
MT: What is strange?
RM: That I can't cling on to you forever!!
MT: Real Moron!!! It can't be that way.
RM: But Why?
MT: Hmm...I can't bear too many mangoes RM. Someday you've gotto go and make way for others to come!
RM: Oh! So I ain't special to you eh? You let me go without feeling bad...Chay!Who do i live for anyway?
MT: You live for yourself RM.
RM: That's too selfish MT. You and your MT thoughts...nothin in 'em. As hollow as a kadbu without the stuffing.
MT: Ok. Then come let's live for each other!!
RM: Too good!! Give the kai!
MT: We'll start now. You breathe for me and i'll breathe for you!
RM: Ok. But how do we do it?
MT: Let's see...Hold your breath and i'll try breathing for you.
RM: Ok.Here i go!
(30 seconds later ...)
RM(Breathless): eh sala MT breather! I am not able to breathe!!
MT: Obviously you Real Moron!! You're holding your breath!
RM: Aren't you breathing for me??
MT: O shit! It ain't workin! Is it? Hey! I was only testing your theory of living for each other RM.
RM: eh try properly MT. There gotto be some way.
MT: arre RM! I'm tryin man.It ain't workin i guess!
(30 more seconds of breathlessness sees RM give up)
RM: Damn!! Why dint it work?
MT: Hmmm...I guess we can't live for each other!
RM(Still disappointed): Why can't we?
MT: Actually we can try by holding our breath hoping we can breathe for the other. But then we may have to die for each other!!
RM(with a scared look): What if we die?That's not living is it?
MT: No,it isn't. That's dying!
RM: Then come let's give it a shot.
MT: That I can't RM. I can't risk dying! I've hazaar mangoes to bear and more to come!
RM: Actually even I can't. I wan't to see the world yar! It's too early to die.
MT: Now who is selfish?
RM(Smiling): Oh! that's me!!(Now pensive)But still it'll be hard when i'll have to leave you MT!
MT(Wisely):Yes it'll be! You'll be hittin the ground head on!
RM(Not discerning the infinite wisdom in MT's words): Eh MT! I 'm talkin of farewell blues and you're talkin of me hittin the ground. Kuch nahi samajhtha!MT sala!
MT: They are'nt too different.Are they? Hittin the ground and farewell blues.Both ve gotta hurt.
RM: Shit! I never thought of that!!
MT: See RM. It is difficult I understand. But you have no choice but to accept it. How long can it hurt?
RM: How long?
MT: As long as you want it to. Haven't you listened to Mad Season's song called 'River of Deceit'.It goes...(Singing)'My pain is self chosen'
RM: bas bas ! You are a bad singer!
MT: hehe...ya
RM: What do I do then? How do i not feel bad when i'm leaving you and my friends here?
MT: Know that every one has to live for themselves. Living for each other ain't possible.
RM: That is too harsh to accept.
MT: I guess we don't have a choice. Let me tell you this RM...I know it hurts. I like you like i like others here...(winkin)a little more maybe but the fact that I know we can't live for each other will ease my pain.We have to say goodbye. Now or someother time.(pensively) No choice bud!
(Back to his wise self)But what you ve gotto do is move on RM. Spring back. It ll hurt for sometime. But soon you ll have to decide between seein the world and feelin sad about the farewell. What will you choose?
RM: I guess seein the world. But isn't that selfish?
MT: NO. It's not your fault RM. You din't choose to leave me. It's just the way it is. A set of rules that binds everyone! Don't blame yourself.You're not selfish!
And you've gotto see the world man! Whatta world it is!
RM(Tearful):I guess you are right man! We are supposed to be free birds! No choice!
Even if we don't want to be free.
MT: Arre...Ro mat yar! Rona tumhe suit nahi karta!
RM(wiping tears):hmm...no use crying na?
MT: You lose water i guess!
RM(smiling):ya...Come let's see what radio goobe is playing.

('Bhor' by Indian Ocean playin on the radio)

Bhor!Bhor!Bhor bhai ek udta panchi
jaa baitha ek daal aa baitha ek daal!

floydy afternoon aka floyd is god

2007-03-08T00:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome, my son, welcome to the machine.
Where have you been? It's alright, we know where you've been.

Signal bhaiya: Namaste!So we meet again.
Me: O Signal bhaiya! namaste! aayiye aayiye! aap hi ko dhoond raha tha.To kya lenge aap? coffee chaay?
Signal bhaiya: Intazaar kaphi hai. uske baad bhi dene ki mood me ho to coffee theek hai.
Me: theek hai??
(at a nearby shack)do coffee. ek me namak dalna!

Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd, smiling
mercyless the magistrate turns round, frowning
and who's the fool who wears the crown
go down in your own way
and every day is the right day
and as you rise above the fear-lines in his crown
you look down, hearing the sound of the faces in the crowd

Idiot (chuckin a frizby into the sea): loof!
Magistrate: what a fool!!
Idiot(Seein the frizby sail away): It will come back!
Magistrate(laughing with contempt): Hopes you have
Idiot (smiling): ha!one lucky frizby freed from humanity

Brushing teeth

2007-02-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

There s somethin to brushin teeth in the morning. You ve just woken up and are a little fazed by reality. Rigours of life slowly take a toll on you and get you ready for the day ahead. The teeth brushin takes you from a semi-reality to reality(actually the snoozin the alarm does this but that is momentary). The transition happens fast especially in the hostel where you are being shoved for thook space in the wash basin.

But at home it is less sudden and for a moment you can enjoy this transition before amma hollers 'Drink coffee before it gets cold' while Jhini is two legs on me and tryin to wrestle me out.

Here s somethin that will make my brushin teeth experiance memorable. wake up. go to the wash basin. Grab the paste and squeeze some. Look into the mirror and start brushing. walkin around with my brush and i hear this on radio:

...sakatt hot maga
we have something special for you today. For a change we ll play some nice music.This one's called 'No excuses' by a band called 'Alice in chains' and you have no excuse to not have listened to this song before

And then you stand there lookin out of the window early morning, relishing the semi-reality phase of brushin teeth. And after you ve been 'brought back' by amma's coffee advice and are now thinkin bout the beauty of the brushin experiance, she asks you 'whats the smile on your face about?'
'hehe...nothin'

Heres the song:

It's alright
there comes a time
got no patience
to search for peach of mind
laying low
want to take it slow
everyday it's something
hits me so cold
find me sitting by myself
no excuses, then I know
It's okay
had a bad day
hands are bruised
from breaking rocks all day
drains and blue
I bleed for you
you think it's funny
well, you're drowing in it too
no more hiding or
everyday it's something
hits me so cold
find me sitting by myself
no excuses, then I know
yeah it's fine
we'll walk down the line
leave our rain
a cold trade for warm sunshine
you my friend
I will defend
and if we change
well I love you anyway
everyday it's something
hits me so cold
find me sitting by myself
no excuses, then I know

-"No excuses" by Alice in chains

P.S: I have nothin against our own music but it's so everywhere that it sounds ordinary.That and there are way too many things happenin on radio that space for good music is denied.

Story of Stories

2007-02-22T19:56:00.000-08:00

2:30 PM Sunday afternoon

Time is on my side
Yes it is Yes it is
-Stones song playin on the radio

(Hey! how da peep man!! you ve got amazing radio stations playin just the right songs at the right times in all your stories.And when i tune into one it's either some run-o-the-mill remixes or some sick paris hilton shit)

(Chillax O objector!! This is a story and it is mine!! Even the radio station is!! Atleast here! So lemme bask in the goodness of life atleast in my stories.

lemme tell you that i don't need to justify why i'm doin what i am.but since you are pissed rite now for god knows what! and i see a potential smile on your face after listening to me, I'm tellin you this.

It's like this you see.Reality doesn't give you everything.It kindof creates gaps actually.You feel the lack of romanticism a lotta times. You ve either thought about it or haven't but felt it in some way.

So you re left with two options.option a) accept reality for what it is and hope for glimpses of romanticism in between.This is like acceptin lifelessness like fate man. You think thats it.Sit hopelessly by the window at someone's mercy man.

option b)Keep dreamin.Generate romanticism out of anything.For example ,you see a man (better if it's a woman(best if it is julie delpy ;))) drawing cash from an ATM. Now, given the worst possible scenario: A total dickhead drawin cash and you want some romantcism in life. You know.Somethin that ll take your mind off somethin that s eatin your head.A moment of peace.

And you see this dickhead drawing cash. What d'ya do? you also see a jammed signal near by and people are gettin restless by the second seein the red light.Now what you do is create life.cos thats where romanticism lies.

So you can see the ATM machine eatin your card and pukin cash.eww!!thats disgustin! No its not.It is cash man.You can buy stuff from it.If you want to be more refined (whatever the fuck it means) see it like this. The ATM machine-dickhead relationship is a give and take one. He gives her his card and she promptly gives cash and they live happily ever after.No! Not so easy bud!! even in an ATM-dickhead relationship there can be trouble.This guy feeds his card and she says 'Invalid Transaction.Please collect your card' This means the dickhead has missed her birthday (oh Yeah! ATM Machines have birthdays too!! Everythin is born someday man! the cake makers would go out of business otherwise).

Ya! So you ve missed her birthday and she is sayin 'piss off dickhead! you are a dickhead anyway! what was i thinkin when you stepped in?!!'And then the dickhead stamps his foot on the ground! Damn!! I m late to work today he s thinkin and no cash!! Shit!

But you can't hear all this. So you can actually see this in whatever way you want.He sees 'Invalid transaction' You see 'you ve just missed your girlfriend’s birthday'.And you can relate to the situation man!! that s the best part!!

I mean See! I missed my Mom's birthday only 2 days back and felt like shit man!!It's the same expression on the dickhead's face now. So I see this and smile to myself and increase the romanticism quotient (call it RQ from now on) ya! so increase the RQ by addin thoughts like 'This is life man!!Shit happens to everyone around you! And you think why me?! Why did I miss my Mom's birthday?! I am a good son.I eat good day choco nut! (Now where did that come from?!)

But maybe these things happen cos there s somethin that someone wants to teach you.Like in my case I wouldn't have thought of how my mom would ve felt when I din t wish her on time.I now value it.I appreciate what it means to wish somebody. If I'd wished her on time and all that , I wouldn't have bothered thinkin bout the value of wishin as much as I do now. So there's the lesson. Chapter 1: What birthday wishes mean.

Now what you ve done is turned a reality that is sad (in my case) or that is totally lifeless(in the ATM-dickhead case) into somethin more alive.You ve transformed negative emotion into a constructive positive emotion.

Listen man!!I m NOT tellin that you miss your mom's birthday so you can appreciate the value of wishing her.Thats bullshit man!Wishin anyone on time is the best thing!You know that and so do I!

What I am tellin you is always be a spectator.Be the audience. Don't be mired in your own shit man!!look outside for inspiration!See People!See ATM Machines!! See anything man! Don't sit sadly in the corner of your room crouchin and all that and listen to some really depressin music like Smog's 'Rock bottom riser' or somethin.

Life puts you through situations and you learn from them cos thats what she wants you to do. ya! actually you can do nothin about it like not be bothered bout it at all and be happy all the time. I ve tried that man! But this is better because you can atleast make yourself believe you ve learnt somethin!

Doin nothin about it means no progress. And bosses hate no progress you know!But I kind of appreciate people who do nothing with conviction.It makes me think that they must have a really strong reason to do nothing man!! It requires quite some stength to do nothing!!You have to deal with this masochistic feedback from your head that you are doin nothin! Why do we think doin nothin is bad! Beats me man!

Ya! so comin back to the point of choosin the path of generatin romanticism and learnin from it. It's way better than feelin like shit all day listenin to some depressin music man!!You know that! You might have thought you r all alone in this shit and need some help. No man! you r not!!

I almost forgot option c man.ya! option c) is being this guy who listens to smog all day in the corner of his room! Listen man!!I ve nothin against Smog! I think he is a master of minimalist instrumentation,a truly great Lo-fi artist and the guru of Emiliana Torrini (ha! she s another person I d like to see in the ATM. It makes romanticism so much easier man!!You don’t even need to imagine stuff).

What I am sayin is don't let the mood of the situation affect the way you look at it.If you are down and listen to sad music you ll either hit the bottom or try to garner some sympathy from whatever source you can.Like thinkin .Ha! some shit might ve happened to Smog and he s sayin 'Been there done that'.

So be the audience!! That s what I try to be in all of my stories. I don't think of em as MY stories cos it's a little unfair. I m borrowin partly from real life and whatever remains from adventures of this Random-Romanticism-Generator that is there inside anyone.You,me, anyone!Just hafto dig it out.

So it's anyone's story. I' m just tellin you that 'it's runnin in PVR and DON'T MISS THE SHOW!'.Now have you bought your ticket yet?(politely smirkin))

(PVR s costly man!!)

(Whatta fuckin waste of time!)

(Relax man! I m lookin for an ATM now!!)

(Now give the kai!!See even i get pissed.I am like you man or anyone else. It's just that it's not the end of it.You might have missed a chapter by just gettin pissed!
See I bought you a smile. It feels good man! buyin smiles for people.The hard part is convincing people that it don't cost a thing man! Smiles are as cheap as you want 'em to be. What an irony!! Buyin smiles!Good day man!You ve been a good listener.Some stupid assholes just don't see the point.haf some story writin to do.See you man!)

(ya!thanks for the smile man!But tell me this…Why are we talking in brackets.Is it some secret stuff? Are you real?Shit! are you a ghost?)

(Relax man! The brackets are because our talk is disturbin my story.You know I started writin one and you objected to my RRG Radio(A real smirk now))

(oh ya! Thanks again man!)

(no probs man…good day (choco nut))!

And so the story begins...(and you thought it was over!!)

"eh! pass the cards yar!will try some patience"
"arre yar!akele kyun khelte ho! Lets play some thing na?three of us are there"
"hmm...we can play bridge"
"arre! ditch cards man! lets play somethin unusual for a change"
"like what?"
"here's the game.We sing a rhyme a line a piece.Like if we choose twinkle twinkle rhyme, I sing 'Twinkle twinkle little star' and you sing 'How i wonder what you are' and it continues till the end of the rhyme"
"what da peep! anyway it's better than patience. I'm in. Wake this lazy ass man. He s still sleepin"
"ok. we ll wake him up when his turn comes.We ll start.'Ba Ba Black sheep have you any wool?'.Now wake him up i'll sing again"
"Ba Ba Black sheep have you any wool?"
"what the fuck! It's 2:30 and i got up now? shit!"
"Wrong answer!you r out"
"Out of what?"
"You ll know soon man"
"Yes Sir Yes Sir 3 bags full"
"Shit! I don't remember how it goes now man! Google!!!!"
"One for the master,one for the dame"
"One for the little boy who lives down the lane"
"hey! unfair man!he din't know the third line and he's still in and you wake me up without tellin me anythin and the first thing I'm out!"
"True!!Life's a bitch man!Go brush your teeth first and catch some lunch.Or sleep for some more time and you ll be in time for dinner"
"Fuck you!"
"Sorry yar! Took my anger out on you"
"Oh yeah! what r you angry about?that you ve nothin to do on a lazy sunday afternoon and you are jealous of somebody sleepin peacefully?"
"No man. I am angry cos I won't be quite as jobless as now, the same time tomorrow.Kal monday hai na? office jana padega!"
"Give the kai man!!Now you go brush teeth!"

Time is on my side, yes, it is.
'Cause I got the real love, the kind that you need.
You'll come runnin' back,
you'll come runnin' back,
you'll come runnin' back to me.

(Yeah! Even if it's an hour since i started writin, the radio s still playin stones!!)

Quote from Before Sunrise:

And Here's what Jesse said:
"Why is it, that a dog,y'know,sleepin in the sun,is so beautiful ,it is,its beautiful,y'know,but a guy standing at a bank machine,tryin to take some money out,looks like a complete moron"
Here's what celine thought but din't say:
"Oh yeah!!Haven't you heard of Random-Romanticism generator?!"

Children Of Heaven

2007-02-10T03:49:00.000-08:00

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause i'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'

-"Raindrops Keep fallin' On My Head" by B.J Thomas

I spent some time to look for a theme track for this Iranian movie I saw called "Children of Heaven" (Translated English title) and decided on the oldie quoted above. This post is like a game, a test of your imagination and all that. Try it. What follows is a list of descriptions of scenes from the movie with the appropriate background essential to get a feel of it. The game is this: Choose a song you think is apt for the scene described.

Scene 1: Cobbler mending old kid's shoes. A boy in ragged clothes and sneakers collects it...Buys bread...At the vegetable shop...Leaves the mended shoes outside carried in a plastic cover and goes in to buy potatoes

"Hey! Pick those inside the cart not those!"

Trash Collector pushing his cart looking for junk to be collected...At the veg shop while the boy is choosing potatoes from the cart...Sees plastic bags around...Puts inside cart...A small black cover is also put

"That will be 65 tomas"

"Mother asks you to credit it to her account"

"You're already in debt!! Ask her to clear a part of it atleast"

Boy with the potatoes...Picks up the bread wrapped in paper...Looking for the shoes in the black cover...Moves the vegetable cartons around lookin for it...Carton of tomatoes falls bringing tomatoes to the ground

"Hey You! What do you have in your head!!"

Boy trying to make amends for his accidental mistake...picking tomatoes from the ground

"Beat it boy!!" (Aiming a tomato at him)

Boy runs for a distance...Scared look on his face...Comes back stealthily...frantically looking for the black cover...Oops! Spotted by the grocer

"Stubborn boy!! Beat it"

Boy runs back home with a scared look.

End of Scene 1. Now sit back. Close your eyes and visualise the scene happening. Then think of a song that can be played while the scene is being shot.

Short stories/films

2006-12-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Two sides of a road:

Me: I think i ve been doing nothing for days! it's a morbid feeling.
Jhini: How can you be doing nothing when that choco nut pack got over in 3 minutes flat!
Me(opening another choco nut pack): I feel so good now!

The Discovery:

A pissed motorist rips to catch the green light just in time only to see the red light. The timer counts 180 seconds.
Damn!
(Looks around; Sees a middle-aged man on a cycle) On a cycle!! He is dressed well.
A Baking school!! In this cacophony! Dirt! It's so small! it's a house!
(Removes the helmet and feels his hair breathe fresh air.He is smiling but unaware of it) Ha! It's feels so fresh.Like my hair is having a shower!
(Honk!Honk!Honk! It's green light and people are ripping except those behind him!)
(Looks at the signal,smiles and starts his moped)

Ersatz minus Inferior aka The Discovery-II :

(At a rehab)
You know, you can kill your urge by choosing a harmless substitute! Click for example-low on tobacco.
(The patient blowing air through his dry lips...Jaws drop(of the doc of course!))
Is that a tooth pick between your fingers?!
(The patient smiles,looks up at the ceiling and blows air through his dry lips!)

Chiaroscuro:

(At the lounge where job seekers are seated,a guy comes out of the interview room with a sullen face)

Background music: 'Why does it always rain on me?' by Travis
Damn! Damn! Damn! It's my third and no luck!!!

10 minutes later...

(A guy comes out whistling)

Background music: 'Beautiful world' by Colin Hay
Hey! One guy in the panel wore a T!
What happened man?!
No hopes man but that guy was wearing a T!

After 300 tick-tock s...

(This guy punching his fist in the air...)

Background music: 'My girl' by The Temptations
Yes!Gottit!I think life's my girl!!

(The camera skips to zoom in on an artist's hands painting a figure in shades of grey...from white to black)

T-shirt liners

2006-12-11T04:25:00.000-08:00

A) Pissing off (the reader (obviously)) one liners:

1. I am who you see. Do you have to read my T for that?!

2. Back: Yes!!!
Front: Another one fell for it!

3. Tu 13 Dekh!

4. T-shirts are WORN not READ!

5. I am thinking of life in general
See you read this in particular!

Ok. I don't like the look on your face right now :() Run Lola Run!!

B) Self deprecating aka I am in deep shit! one liners:

1. I ve lost my mind and I don't want to find it!

2. I am a thinker. I think about T-shirt lines!

3. Front:Virginity is not dignity
Back: it is lack of OPPURTUNITY

4. I am jobless and it's so nice!

5. I don't have an attitude problem!

6. Hey lifesaver! I don't have a date for you!

C) Some cool fundae one-liners:

1. SHIT HAPPENS! IN CAPS!

2. Happiness is a CHOICE!

3. All bad things come to an end!

4. There is no SPOON!

Go insane

2006-12-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Background music: 'Go insane' by "The doors"

Bad Boy (BB) : Here goes another banana peel down the drain!

Good Boy (GB) :eh! that's your 5 th banana man! Don't eat so much, it's not chocolate or something

BB: ssshhh! we are having a banana eating competition!

GB: And the guys walkin around here are having slipping on banana peel competition!

BB: Why are you complainin? You are seeing us stuffing ourselves without any reason and people fallin!Isn't it double fun?

GB: What a sadist you are! How can you laugh at people who unknowingly slip on banana peels? O god!it is funny!that guy fell on his back

BB:See, now you are also having fun.Bad boy!

Good Boy Turns Bad(GBTB):Thanks! Now what's the score?

BB: It's six all!

GBTB:How can you eat six bananas man?

BB: I just finished the seventh!Yipee! I am in the lead!

GBTB: Where did the other guy go?

BB: He suddenly had an urge to eat apples so he went to apple eating competition

Laugh of the week:

'I've got an identity crisis', announced the 8 year old, coming home after school.
'What do you mean?', said his mum. 'You re only bloody eight'
'Yeah mum.But you know the problem. Dad's jewish and you are aboriginal'
'So what?',asked the mum
'I'm confronted by an ethical dilema',said the kid.'There s this terrific bike at school that a kid wants to sell me for $20 and I don't know if I pinch it or offer him $10!'

Arbit musings 2112

2006-11-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

I was totally into torrent sitting today. every now and then checked on the download speeds. made sure all the torrents are healthy.gee, torrent sitting is a lot of responsibility. feel sad for the orphans out there.it's a bad bad world.No seeders only leeches...to suck em dry.

have started biting nails of late. stupid habit. You know, this journalist came up to me today evenin while I was takin jhini for a walk and said 'Hello!we are doing a census of singapore immigrants in bangalore aka bengalooru who walk their labbies between 4 and 5 pm' I said 'ol to u!you see a chinki there walkin his labbie.Why me?' and he said 'only fawn-colored labbies are counted!'.I said 'ol to u again!'

And then I went to this tea/lunch shack near my house to see whats cookin. I told the guy 'namaskara! one regular' and then sat on the wooden plank mounted on a couple of stones. the guy next to me was readin the paper.'udayavani' i think. I said somethin which translates to 'Politics and cricket are goin to the dogs as usual' thinkin he would be interested in atleast one of them. he said 'This food is also goin to the dogs'and abruptly ended his meal gesturing to the stray dogs near by. They came,smelt and went to sleep.I dint wait for my meal after that.

To be continued...

Another Level

2006-11-29T08:23:00.000-08:00

Background music:Long Gone Day by Mad Season OR Kiss Me by SPNtR
Mood: High but grounded

Had a candid conversation with a girl I barely knew in school and found a good friend in her.Pinched myself every now and then to make sure that it was real. Man!The mood of the conversation matched listening to Mad Season which I have been deifying of late.

The chat was damn casual and without pretensions.Candid.It was dreamy,nostalgic and all that for the sheer time that had gone by between our meetings.We seemed to agree overtly with each other on most things. I was too eager to agree sometimes...hehe.

I appreciated (to myself(how selfish!(hey!this bracket inside bracket thing is funny!))oops!forgot to close the last bracket) her enquiries bout the subtlest of things like my best friend in school,my interests back then etc. I did'nt think she would remember that much in view of how little I knew bout her. I knew very little bout her as a person. kicked myself for that. This substituted pinching sometimes.

This was our second or third chat online and I found myself havin a buddy level converstaion with her. Amazing! She was kind of more candid...initiating conversation on questions I would almost never ask on a third meet! Appreciated! hehe...the content is secret. Miss,I should've discovered you a long time ago!

You know there are a few things that get me high (not in any particular order):
Air guitaring to an awesome song
Sit pensive by the window and appreciate life around me or Zach Braff in Scrubs
Discovering a true friend

I m on another level
Now I just think it's mine!
-Another level by Level 9

And now, a year later...
20th November,2007

Background music:Still Kiss Me by SPNtR
Mood: High but grounded (yeah rite!!!!Sweetheart, I just can't be!!!)

It's been a larger than life journey with this angel ;) I barely knew in school!!! And I mean every bit of it!!!!

Thank you so much for everything sweetheart!!!!

Yours truly,

Bagsy

Mad Season

2006-11-27T23:57:00.000-08:00

My pain is self-chosen
At least so the prophet says
I could either burn
Or cut off my pride and buy some time
A head full of lies is the weight
Tied to my waist
The river of deceit pulls down
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
-"River of Deceit" by Mad Season

Good things come about in serendipitous ways. I wouldn't have perceived the idea of being high on some divine melancholic melodic grunge on a tuesday afternoon. It was the beginning of Mad season!

Mad Season, it seems,is an english term for the time of the year when psilocybin mushrooms aka shrooms are in full bloom. And man! listening to Mad season is as close you ll get to being super high on shrooms in full bloom.

The formation of the band left me wondering how different influences within a group make music so much different. AiC and MS(forget apping for a while),though has come out with only one album have made top class music, but they are ever so different in spite of Layne staley being the common factor. It's not difficult for an AiC stalwart to recognise this difference;even for a lay ear maybe. You can play these games where one makes a band of one's own from certain favourites and wonder how their music would be. Let's say I tag Jerry Cantrell with Chris Cornell and Tom Morello of Audioslave. Hard to imagine.

For a really absorbing blend of music listen to "Long Gone Days" from their only album "Above". Some magical Saxophone pieces by Skerik, a seattle based artist and refreshing percussion in place of drums.

I don't need to convince people to listen to MS. That would be the most redundant thing ever!! Kickin myself for discovering MS so late.

Mad Season is:
Layne Staley (AiC) - Vocals (R.I.P)
Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) - Guitar
Barrett Martin (Screming Trees and Skin Yard) - Drums
John Saunders - Drums (R.I.P)

Guest apps:
Mark Lanegan (Screaming trees) - Vocals
Skerik - Saxophone and percussion

Song compilation

2006-11-19T07:01:00.000-08:00

I am piqued by vicariously taking the position of a music critic asked to compile some good songs under sellable titles. Here's an amateur attempt:

CD title: Songs for a Sunday morning
Artist: Various

CD1:

1. Fragments of freedom- Morcheeba
2. Free falling- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3. It's all been done- Barenaked Ladies
4. If you steal my sunshine-Len
5. Sinner man- Nina Simone
6. Take it easy- Eagles
7. Your body is a wonderland- John Mayer
8. Alaap jam-Morning Raaga OST
9. I'm feeling you- Michelle Branch feat Santana
10. Komm zu mir-Run Lola Run OST
11. Big empty-Stone Temple Pilots
12. The moth-Aimee Mann

Try it out and please post comments.

goobe tana

2006-10-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Background music:Intro Guitar piece of Big empty by Stone temple pilots

Totally pissed with myself for not keepin in touch with pu friends!
I sometimes can't comprehend the depth of my goobeness.

Made a good beginning man.so all's well.And a lesson during the journey.

I feel so much better now.

-The exorcism of Goobe (btw there's a movie called The exorcism of Emily Rose ?#$%^Twiltmax stuff i think)

arbit musings

2006-10-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Where do bad folks go when they die?
They don't go to heaven where the angels fly.
They go to a lake of fire and fry
Won't see 'em again till the fourth of july!

-Lake of fire,"The meat puppets"

Had to get it out of my mind.This song was repeating in my mind like a screwed up answering machine.Love the satire in the song though.

Well that apart, I have gone through an emotional catharsis.I guess emotional is kindof redundant.It started with some project work and went on to things like not having done enough apping research.I felt kind of relieved when a 1000 wala was flarin up.don't know why.
I think tough situations bring the best out of me.sometimes i just forget about what the problem is so it doesn't seem like a problem anymore.

Then I go back to square one and walk 'One mile at a time'.This is damn helpful. One needs to take the the problem out of it's surrounding and deal with it.So u r face to face.

I also have lost a feeling of fear and helplessness that used to accompany the bouts of catharsis mainly due to telling myself 'You r not goin to die because of this'.There is life at the end of the tunnel.Light even!So guy 1 balks on reachin a tunnel but guy 2 goes right through;maybe this guy has built the tunnel(?!)(<-so he knows dumb bracket with two arbit punctuations),but still there is lesson to be learnt.

It's like a guy ritchie movie sometimes. The feeling of watching somethin happen from the terrace;the feeling of seeing the bigger picture;like knowing what would happen next-the interplay of life.The guy below is just a meat puppet.(holy shit!that's why the song was stuck.salvation time for the song!)

Sometimes I wonder,how I fit in this bigger picture. I don't know.It's a nice thought. You can see yourself as part of a larger than life movie.Only you don't know who you are playin. And someone is sittin with a bowl of pop-corn and whisking his blues away!

a lesson in professionalism a.k.a contemporary gandhigiri

2006-10-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

Just a suggestion:listen to 'The End' by Doors as you read this.It works for me!you could mix a shot of 'Ship of fools'

ella nodu, neatagi plan madbitt madbeku.
aytu saar.
ad hengo? ninu ella kelsa shistninda sakkatag madtya!
adakke professionalism annodu!
adeno ondu tiliyalla nange!
adyeno? ella line gu ond exclamation hagtidiya.osi tadko!
nee yenekk hakdyo laude?!
aytu tannig aagu.tamashi ashte.

..........

adyenu helltidyalla professionalism anta.enadu?

nodu ivaga ondu projectnalli kiy hakidini.22 lakshaddu!
ayyo.enadu?

ondu quiz makklige.ee high school collegavirige.Gandhi jayanti prayukta avare bagge quiz nadisona anta.

adakke 22 laksha enikke?
ade prizu-gizu kodbekalla...
ashtonda?
hoon.gandhiji mahatmanappa!idu swalpane avra stature edurige.
en gaurama!en abhimana!

ad sari,ninigen sigatte idralli? 22 laksha prize anta kottre?
nodu.nee nanna best friend adrinda helltidini.yaargu helbeda.
hellappa.nanna bittu elluu hogalla ninna rahasya!

adyenappa andre... adu nanna hattra yenu devra kripyinda duddu tumbi tuluktayde.aadre black nalli.

gott bidu

adanne swalpa white madona anta.ivaga 22 laksha prize money andbittu,yavdu sponsor banner hakbidodu.organise madi dudd hanchbidu!

aadre nin dudd hoyta?
(smirking)enappa isht divsa aadru nannana tilkondillvalla.nam gunda idanalla!
aan?

namma gunda!schoolallenu odalla saryagi.play station kodstini andmele gandhiji bage oodidde oodiddu.ood dedru nadyatt bidu!

andre,namm gundanne koodsi gellsbidodu!dudd whitu aytu mate namge sertu!akasmatu bere yarara geddre?

matanadu athva longirodu enakke?

aadroo anamana bandbidutte.22 laksha gundanne hesaralli FD na?

nanna in 10 laksha black money in ell hoytu annkonde!!

...gawking speechlessly...

........

ee barappa illi.banner galu ready na?
ready saar.

prashne gal ready ayteno girisha?
hoon.olle prasnegalne aarsidini.B.A lli history odiddu sarthka aytu!

ivtrolage ella school principal galige invitation mail madbidi,poster jote.
ayto saar.neev esthu professional saar!

irli tamma!aa exclaimation aamelg ittko!(looking at his snehita)en antya mitra?
hoon.saryage heldi.en dharma sankata dal sikh haks bityo nannanna!

TOEF not L thankfully

2006-10-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

L is in the name of the exam.Thankfully I escaped it's sometimes tenacious hold.After,a late start(it started 1 and a 1/2 hours late)because of ups malfunction and a late finish (eight thirty ,whadaeck man?).

The best part was listening.I took notes like a first year girl in a biology class.That made the section a breeze.
The speaking was kind of mixed fortunes.Sometimes,I left out some points that could ve made the answer more rounded.
Reading was a harrowing experince for the sheer number of passages to be read.
The first part of writing was good though it exceeded the word limit.The second was not so good.

Sorry toffy,that's the space u deserve.no more;no less.

Returning to grunge and specifically STP,I have some of their videos and story tellers with me. Figured that it's purple was a super hit and they play crackerman more often than i thought. Weiland is now with velvet revolver with former guns n roses junta.
Plush was inspired by the gruesome murder of a girl it seems.Interstate is about concealing lies about somethin.

grunge max part-I

2006-09-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

eh nilsappa jhini.this is the millionth time u'r listening to that song,uh,what is it called?

wooofsch!

What?

(sniffing)wooffsch!

Oh ya!plush.'Will she smell alone?'!@#$%.It's addictive though.

Stone temple pilot 's good man.ave to listen to them more often and many of their unpopular songs too. Grunge has lured me ever since I first dismissed Nirvana's vocalist as ordinary,worse,dissonant.I still feel that way,though my dislike for his vocals has been moderated over time.

What is essential for a grunge vocalist is to add depth to the sublime guitar pieces that often accompany good grunge pieces. Depth in terms of a generally high-pitched voice;a complementary 'bass' vocal (like Jerry cantrell's of Alice in Chains) would be icing on the cake,staying in tune with the melody (Pearl jam's Eddie Vedder sucks because of his melodic 'digressions'),a haunting or enticing tone adds to the appeal of a song.

I was listening to this song,which jhini woofs about,and couldn't help singing along (thank mini-lyrics for that) until I just realised what i had been singing.Here's an excerpt:

'And I feel,and i feel
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?'

For me,the wording of a song comes a distant fifth to the music and other musical matters.Still,I only want my frequent public renditions of the song (Helmet shields most of my singing and mouth guitaring on my daily ride!) to be a little more meaningful.

I don't think the huge electrical machines at IISc have heard any grunge in a long time and am pretty sure not in a long time to come.

Here's a trippy piece that i would sing any day for the guitar solo that follows:

'Kickin as I'm tryin' to sleep
I got mud beneath my shoes
Rubber band,rubberband
Gun in hand,gun in hand'

Heaven beside you

2006-09-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

En maharaya en rip madthare activa dalli henn makkalu!
ellaru rip madaure.time ellide ellargu? Ad bidu nenne match enaytu?
(Bidi hattskolta...eega ondu dam eleyutta)Sotru ansatte.enyenu tendulkar century hodidnalla!
sakkat chali nappa ivattu.ill nintkonda kolibeku.collectionu illa.
tale kidsubedri.savarar jana sikktare.al nodi ebru giraki galu sikkru!!
...

Evatt sakkat bejaragoytu.aa kit vichitravag aadtide.God damned kit!
Noor rupiya draw madtini. dvd togobeku,corner house maybe.

Please collect your cash.

Corner house hogtya?hogu. obbne hog bitt enu madtya?Adu sarine.dvd togondu manege ripmax ashte.

...

DL kodi.
Number?
Evag katt tira?
Eshtu?
nooru.
hoo.hm...mmm

Like the coldest winter chill
Heaven beside you...Hell within

GRE blues,kjb and movies

2006-09-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

What a fund-raising gre it was! Ask cj for what it means :)

Khadki junction blues whatta band.Listened to a song of their's called 'The saucy fingerchip) (goto http://punerockers.sitesled.com/MP3's.html .it's free!) after being put to trance by their genius in 'Journey to funkeshwar'.people in funkeshwar must be honoured for making it happen.

Bhrigu Sahani,the genius behind solos in jtf,i bow to thee!(I had trouble air guitaring it!!)

Movies,well,got two of the dekalog (promises to be an adorning piece in any movie collection).3-iron as i had promised myself.Cache also.

Alienation

2006-08-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

I was thinking of urban alienation over the past few days.It was provoked by a strange sense of estrangement after I left for Bangalore from my 'compact'(sounds good :)) room in 5th block hostel of NITK.

I was hit by a strong sense of emptiness and it happened over a couple of days. I was quite scared for some time because i was going nuts(yeah,the previous post is a give-away).Missed friends back hostel which is when the alienation set in.

I then remembered the part in 'groundhog day' where bill murray's character is depressed with his monotonous life (In the movie,he sees every day as any other.only other characters don't.he lives the same day every day and isn't able to get out of the cycle;he is depressed).Towards the end of the movie, he feels that he is thinking too much bout himself and stops doing that.Instead he begins to discover people around him.It is this journey that is damn good about the movie.

GRE prep

2006-08-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Interloper:

ay loper!baro illi.
aan.neenu nannana loper anta karidya?
illa interloper antha karde!
yake?
you are intruding my dolce far niente.
ayyo!id yenta grahchara.karidaga hodre intruder antane boli maga!

ken:

Interviewer:What is your ken?
Interviewee(visibly enraged):You spied on my wife!bastards!all of 'em!

Larceny:(Inspired by monty python)

Larceny is a morale sapping barter system over time. think of it. if you steal from others, they will need to steal from someone else and it becomes a chain.Then all u've done is exchanged possessions but with a remorse of having stolen from someone else.
Sir,do we have to listen to this made-up bull crap?
Are you suggesting that it is synthetic?
What?
The bull crap ofcourse!
You are stealing our time.This is larceny!Holy shit!!
(gloating)What did you think?!

an ode to soliloquy

2006-07-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

1.Bengaluralli traffic

"Ayyo loaparo,nodkond hogu! nimi "

'Aytu Guru.adre nin tane left indicator hak bittu,right kai torsbittu straightagi reverse bandiddu?!'

"Sorry boss.tensionallidde!ad enaytu andre takshana eno important nyapaka bantu adikke vapass hogakke reverse gear hakbite!"

(long etutta)'ee sati enu long nestime kurpa.erdu onde bidu!'

2.Ondu kathe

"Ajji!ajji! ond kathe helltini"

'aytu.hellappa'

"ondanondu kaladalli obba raja idnante.Avanu tomba kettavnante.Janiranda dud kittkondu maja madtiddnante.Jana noduashtu nodidru,on disa ellaru machu,kallu,marada kombe,longu,bharada ups u ella togond hogi,al iraurnelle hodidu alle hospital sersidrante"

"amale rajana real estatu ella mari avara duddu baddi sameta togundu ondu FD open madidrante"

'zzzzzzzzzz'

"ayyo maligbitidare!"

Movie Reviews

2006-06-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

These are reviews of the films featured in the International Film week-Karnataka,2006.

L'enfant (The child) :

Release:2005

Genre: Truimph of human spirit

Links: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456396/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053168/

A day in the life of kind of videography-shaky camera,abrupt cuts following the protogonist, filmed similar to 'Man bites dog'(1993). Full credit to the directors a.k.a writers Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne for an alluring story.

Jérémie Renier as Bruno has portrayed the dispassionate small-time crook to brilliant detail. One of the best performances I have seen. The story begins with the couple's child being carried to his daddy (busy at work ;)) by Sonia, the mother . Sonia (Déborah François) is thrilled to have a baby. Bruno is reluctantly happy. On a baby stroll before it's official christianing, the father sells the baby only to find his wife faint at the news.

The reminder of the film sees the reformation (so it seems) of the crook after failing miserably at an attempted theft. A movie which closely parallels Bresson's "Pickpocket"

Rating: 4/5

Les Invasions barbares(The barbarian invasions):

Release:2003

Genre: Existensialist,Drama

Links: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338135/

The movie is about a man in his sixties on his death bed.He has been a hedonist all his life;has bedded many a women in their prime (features candid confessions about their sex lives) only to have ended his marraige. Both his kids brought up by their mother,are settled in life now.The son,a successful financial consulatant based in london, has contempt for his father but turns up on receiving a call from his mother about the news.

The movie focusses on the father-son relationship and on a higher level a life of decadence which may be interpreted as 'The barbarian invasions'.Also shown is aloofness of relationships.For example, the mother of a junkie regrets not having been with her when she needed.Raises questions of existentialism.

A good watch.Only that esoteric mentions of historical events in the movie annoyed me.

Rating: 3.5/5

Namaskara

2006-06-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

Often, I feel the need to maintain a dairy to record my life. This is probably it.