One of the most embarrassing things one can ever do is to step into Koshy's among the literati and the foreigners with a friend who owns a pair of half pants(fine... shorts!) and wears the same to the aforementioned venue. The looks are quite enough to make the faint hearted squirm. ("Erm..who the hell are these people who just walk in with colorless shorts! These North Indians who come from nowhere and just think they can walk into Koshy's where the rest discuss Chomsky and Bertrand Russell..I ask you..")Thank God the friend had no idea of the legend of Koshy's and we both walked in with cheerful aplomb. The place however, is awesome, and is quite enough to make the creative juices flow and salivate. Food,service, ambience- A high! One can never get bored of going there. Just to chill back, listen and yet drown out to the chatter with some soothing stuff and think about life,death in all its entirety..
P.S Ponmagal Vandhal from ATM is on repeat mode for some 30 times now. Long time no hear.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Pappu can't vote saala
After a very long time, something that made me crack up with the sheer audacity and satire of it all...
And this appeared in the Times of India Bangalore edition, on 31st March 2009! Heights of freedom of expression, now I know what thee means... And bleed India echoes the sentiments of India youth with the loser PappuRaj passing off as a victim of satire and pity, much like the victims of Pink chaddi campaign. Indian youth is going places.
Link to be loved: http://bleedindia.com/index.html
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
To do list
I've been loving the complete random purposelessness of life. :)
Read Keep off the grass yesterday. Surprisingly, I loved it. So many unanswered questions for the tormented soul.. And such good theories. I actually felt stoned reading it. Loved the uncomplexities of life.Loved Sarkar in the book.However, found the ending too corny for my liking and the last sentence did not in any way justify the title of the book. It was all too obvious that the author(Karan Bajaj) did the reverse psychology-- named the book first, and wrote about it. Hell, there is no mention of him hating weed anywhere throughout the book(infact he thrives on it happily), and yet the title and a feeble last line of the book says "Keep off the grass", just to keep up with a well known gardening caveat.
There are sooo many books that are patiently awaiting their turn to be cheerfully perused by me, but then as Laziness and Procrastination are my best friends, I never seem to get around to reading most of them. So, I am issuing an ultimatum to the self so that I have some goal in life.
Books:
1. Kindly finish the 2nd half of Snapshots of Hell which you started reading in December.
2. Please read Stiff Upper Lip,Jeeves and The inimitable Jeeves which have been collecting dust since June.
3. What about The inheritance of Loss, and The White tiger, which have been so kindly gifted by friends?!
4. The library copy of The guide to Entrepreneurship.
5. Entry from Backside only *sigh..When?*
6. Married but Available by Abhijit Bhaduri.
7. The A-list of B-Schools which is to be grabbed from the cousin.
8. The book by Lance Armstrong(It's not about the bike) which I shall read sometime in life.(Priority:Nil)
9. Books on Financial Investments.
Phew!
Read Keep off the grass yesterday. Surprisingly, I loved it. So many unanswered questions for the tormented soul.. And such good theories. I actually felt stoned reading it. Loved the uncomplexities of life.Loved Sarkar in the book.However, found the ending too corny for my liking and the last sentence did not in any way justify the title of the book. It was all too obvious that the author(Karan Bajaj) did the reverse psychology-- named the book first, and wrote about it. Hell, there is no mention of him hating weed anywhere throughout the book(infact he thrives on it happily), and yet the title and a feeble last line of the book says "Keep off the grass", just to keep up with a well known gardening caveat.
There are sooo many books that are patiently awaiting their turn to be cheerfully perused by me, but then as Laziness and Procrastination are my best friends, I never seem to get around to reading most of them. So, I am issuing an ultimatum to the self so that I have some goal in life.
Books:
1. Kindly finish the 2nd half of Snapshots of Hell which you started reading in December.
2. Please read Stiff Upper Lip,Jeeves and The inimitable Jeeves which have been collecting dust since June.
3. What about The inheritance of Loss, and The White tiger, which have been so kindly gifted by friends?!
4. The library copy of The guide to Entrepreneurship.
5. Entry from Backside only *sigh..When?*
6. Married but Available by Abhijit Bhaduri.
7. The A-list of B-Schools which is to be grabbed from the cousin.
8. The book by Lance Armstrong(It's not about the bike) which I shall read sometime in life.(Priority:Nil)
9. Books on Financial Investments.
Phew!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Corporate Philosophy
So, here am I, happily blogging away in office.(Oh but it's just after lunch--break time before the work starts again.) None of my teammates are around(I had an early lunch) and I cheekily keep vacillating between this window and my image when anyone comes near my cubicle. Image being a VMware Windows simulation which is right now hopelessly lost, as it suspiciously self-destructs itself, leaving a poor female software developer clueless here. A teammate is sitting opposite me and appears to be in deep concentration, peering in almost shameless reverence at the code on the screen. I suppose this is the right time to talk about a day in office.
I reach office at generally 9:30 in the morning (sometimes later, but generally never earlier.)This is after an ordeal of a ride on my Kinetic Marvel, which is soon to retire from this kind world. Or so I think. The moment I am in a tight spot between two lorries intent on crushing me, Grandpa Marvel comes to my rescue by responding to my attempts on accelerating the vehicle.Phew. I reach office surviving the monstrous bumps at Manyata Park (these bumps are not just to stop terrorists,but kill them too.) A quick hi to my teammates. I get down to business, which involves reading my outlook mail, signing into gtalk and checking the people who are online. These were my friends last year in college, and right now we are business associates, who join orkut and facebook for business networking. Generally very few are online.I suppose this is recession too,albeit in timings at office.I then proceed to check yahoo mails,gmail and orkut and facebook, each for roughly 5 mins. I am no secretary nor social butterfly, so my inboxes or friend requests generally don't catch out of bound exceptions.
The rest of the day involves doing some sort of work for a hapless coder here. Working on an image, trying to see whether the dlls are present, or whether the codes that I write will work, and in the midst of it all, have a quick chat with the mentor about the review of Perfume the movie, pictures of places visited and past lives.Crack jokes and become the same with teammates.Chat on gtalk with the 2-3 friends during the lazy hours of the day about life and things like that. I switch to checking out facebook and orkut at periodic intervals,once at 9.30, then at 1.30 and the last at 5.30, merely to check out latest pictures or profiles to see who wore the shortest skirts of the season or who drank more and made a great deal of it by getting comments. "Oh--we were so sloshed--that's why we look like this right now." Ever saw a mirror, dearies?
At 6 pm, I breeze out after quick byes on gtalk and praying that my job will be there the next day too.Sometimes it gets late too, but then I love it when there's work, ordered chaos and general bonhomie with my teammates and my office friends(no, not colleagues). It makes me feel a part of the organization, however a speck I may be. There are days when I miss college, and the cheerful irresponsibleness of it all. There are days when I feel listless, when there are no challenges and when I feel, why tech and me? But then, I continue to be grateful to God that he has given me at least a job, and that I am making a difference in some way. The place where I work is definitely one of the best, with its people friendly HR policies, the chilled out atmosphere and yes, the friends that I have made. It is time to move ahead, and think about the corporate world. Challenges aren't made externally, they are there if you choose to have them. And I do hope that life is always going to be an exciting challenge for me. So that I can finally say that I have lived,and not just existed.
P.S Lovvve Masakalli from dilli-6. The lazy drawling of Mohit Chauhan...Sigh.
I reach office at generally 9:30 in the morning (sometimes later, but generally never earlier.)This is after an ordeal of a ride on my Kinetic Marvel, which is soon to retire from this kind world. Or so I think. The moment I am in a tight spot between two lorries intent on crushing me, Grandpa Marvel comes to my rescue by responding to my attempts on accelerating the vehicle.Phew. I reach office surviving the monstrous bumps at Manyata Park (these bumps are not just to stop terrorists,but kill them too.) A quick hi to my teammates. I get down to business, which involves reading my outlook mail, signing into gtalk and checking the people who are online. These were my friends last year in college, and right now we are business associates, who join orkut and facebook for business networking. Generally very few are online.I suppose this is recession too,albeit in timings at office.I then proceed to check yahoo mails,gmail and orkut and facebook, each for roughly 5 mins. I am no secretary nor social butterfly, so my inboxes or friend requests generally don't catch out of bound exceptions.
The rest of the day involves doing some sort of work for a hapless coder here. Working on an image, trying to see whether the dlls are present, or whether the codes that I write will work, and in the midst of it all, have a quick chat with the mentor about the review of Perfume the movie, pictures of places visited and past lives.Crack jokes and become the same with teammates.Chat on gtalk with the 2-3 friends during the lazy hours of the day about life and things like that. I switch to checking out facebook and orkut at periodic intervals,once at 9.30, then at 1.30 and the last at 5.30, merely to check out latest pictures or profiles to see who wore the shortest skirts of the season or who drank more and made a great deal of it by getting comments. "Oh--we were so sloshed--that's why we look like this right now." Ever saw a mirror, dearies?
At 6 pm, I breeze out after quick byes on gtalk and praying that my job will be there the next day too.Sometimes it gets late too, but then I love it when there's work, ordered chaos and general bonhomie with my teammates and my office friends(no, not colleagues). It makes me feel a part of the organization, however a speck I may be. There are days when I miss college, and the cheerful irresponsibleness of it all. There are days when I feel listless, when there are no challenges and when I feel, why tech and me? But then, I continue to be grateful to God that he has given me at least a job, and that I am making a difference in some way. The place where I work is definitely one of the best, with its people friendly HR policies, the chilled out atmosphere and yes, the friends that I have made. It is time to move ahead, and think about the corporate world. Challenges aren't made externally, they are there if you choose to have them. And I do hope that life is always going to be an exciting challenge for me. So that I can finally say that I have lived,and not just existed.
P.S Lovvve Masakalli from dilli-6. The lazy drawling of Mohit Chauhan...Sigh.
Friday, January 16, 2009
jhopadikutta crorepati
Slumdog millionaire was the first ever movie for which an Indian has won the award for the best music composition. This honor went to AR Rahman. In fact, this movie can pretty much be known as a Bollywood movie since most of the cast and crew were Indians. Danny Boyle was probably the only white guy around. And it has gone on to make history by grabbing eyeballs and four awards in various categories at the Golden Globes , which are known to be the forerunners to the Academy awards. So in all probability, Slumdog might become a Plumpdog with loads of awards in its kitty.
I saw it few days back and yes, I liked it a lot too. The scenes are very realistic , for a director who has only done research and not lived in the underbelly of India. It always used to be the case that foreigners generally only see the perfumes of India and not the stench that comes with it. The rich and riotously dirty colors and hues and smells are too pungent for anyone who has not grown up in India. Indians from all walks of life have definitely tasted this bit of the the Great Indian Middle Class. It permeates through every pore. It enters one's living room and remains there. In the sofas and in the children's school trophies.
The movie showcases how a person rose from the slums to win at a contest that gave away 20 million rupees. That is, 2 crores. This amount is definitely more than enough for someone's educational aspirations, and a comfortable level of living. It would definitely have been a dream come true for Jamal Malik(Dev Patel) who got both money and love on the same day. That's one thing that one doesn't see very often but happens on a regular basis in Bollywood movies.
Most of the scenes are very well shot, with the camera always in motion, never still, giving one the impression that they are also a live witness to what is happening. It gives the movie a realistic and very cosily rustic feeling. The slums are portrayed as they are actually are. Dharavi has a slum locality, to put it mildly and it was well portrayed. The cheerful horrors that the small children in slums undergo is shown, though not the entire picture. All in all, the movie definitely lingers in one's mind, thinking about the situation in India and the horrors and the aspirations of all these Indians...
But there's one thing that the foreigners who have loved the movie are forgetting -- The whole of India isn't like this! Just because we won the golden globes and the booker prize for those creations that showed the worst of India, it doesn't mean India looks like this all the time. This is one part of a country which is fast developing and doesn't make way for those who cannot survive... In no way does it indicate that other countries offer better lifestyles for their citizens. It just means that this is just one scenario which we Indians can understand and identify with. It does not represent India as a whole. If we Indians watched Letters to Penthouse and read Archie comics(source:The Inscrutable Americans), do those movies represent America as a whole? Obviously not! There are layers and layers in every society and the same applies to India. Perhaps, if corresponding layers were to be considered, their net incomes, net expenditures, lifestyles and states of mind were considered, then the American and the Indian would, perhaps, be at par... Maybe the Indian even being a few notches higher, due to the satisfaction obtained from the small pleasures of life.
All said and done, being an Indian is always a source of pride for all of us, from the Dharavi slums to the posh TajMahal palace and Oberoi-Trident hotels. It's just an irony that while one was hailed, the other was almost razed, and both happened pretty much at the same time. But then, that's India for you. A happy copious bundle of contradictions. Jai Ho!
I saw it few days back and yes, I liked it a lot too. The scenes are very realistic , for a director who has only done research and not lived in the underbelly of India. It always used to be the case that foreigners generally only see the perfumes of India and not the stench that comes with it. The rich and riotously dirty colors and hues and smells are too pungent for anyone who has not grown up in India. Indians from all walks of life have definitely tasted this bit of the the Great Indian Middle Class. It permeates through every pore. It enters one's living room and remains there. In the sofas and in the children's school trophies.
The movie showcases how a person rose from the slums to win at a contest that gave away 20 million rupees. That is, 2 crores. This amount is definitely more than enough for someone's educational aspirations, and a comfortable level of living. It would definitely have been a dream come true for Jamal Malik(Dev Patel) who got both money and love on the same day. That's one thing that one doesn't see very often but happens on a regular basis in Bollywood movies.
Most of the scenes are very well shot, with the camera always in motion, never still, giving one the impression that they are also a live witness to what is happening. It gives the movie a realistic and very cosily rustic feeling. The slums are portrayed as they are actually are. Dharavi has a slum locality, to put it mildly and it was well portrayed. The cheerful horrors that the small children in slums undergo is shown, though not the entire picture. All in all, the movie definitely lingers in one's mind, thinking about the situation in India and the horrors and the aspirations of all these Indians...
But there's one thing that the foreigners who have loved the movie are forgetting -- The whole of India isn't like this! Just because we won the golden globes and the booker prize for those creations that showed the worst of India, it doesn't mean India looks like this all the time. This is one part of a country which is fast developing and doesn't make way for those who cannot survive... In no way does it indicate that other countries offer better lifestyles for their citizens. It just means that this is just one scenario which we Indians can understand and identify with. It does not represent India as a whole. If we Indians watched Letters to Penthouse and read Archie comics(source:The Inscrutable Americans), do those movies represent America as a whole? Obviously not! There are layers and layers in every society and the same applies to India. Perhaps, if corresponding layers were to be considered, their net incomes, net expenditures, lifestyles and states of mind were considered, then the American and the Indian would, perhaps, be at par... Maybe the Indian even being a few notches higher, due to the satisfaction obtained from the small pleasures of life.
All said and done, being an Indian is always a source of pride for all of us, from the Dharavi slums to the posh TajMahal palace and Oberoi-Trident hotels. It's just an irony that while one was hailed, the other was almost razed, and both happened pretty much at the same time. But then, that's India for you. A happy copious bundle of contradictions. Jai Ho!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
My Reunion
So, finally I've started blogging all over again:)
Hope this phase goes better than the last time where I blogged for a year or so. However, I am mighty pleased about my posts on the earlier blog(http://zoyah.livejournal.com/) which spoke more about what India could do to become a superpower, about How I needed to find more meaning in my life, etc etc. It's been- what- 5 long years now since I put my blogging pen down. I really want to get back to it, for the sheer joy of venting out all my feelings.Also, it serves as a great tool for posterity. Not that I am a Sanjay Singhania/Ramaswamy in the making, but then I'd love to look back on my initial posts and say, "Now,was that me?!How immature could I have possibly been!" and cackle to myself.
Yes, I'm gonna love eet!
Hope this phase goes better than the last time where I blogged for a year or so. However, I am mighty pleased about my posts on the earlier blog(http://zoyah.livejournal.com/) which spoke more about what India could do to become a superpower, about How I needed to find more meaning in my life, etc etc. It's been- what- 5 long years now since I put my blogging pen down. I really want to get back to it, for the sheer joy of venting out all my feelings.Also, it serves as a great tool for posterity. Not that I am a Sanjay Singhania/Ramaswamy in the making, but then I'd love to look back on my initial posts and say, "Now,was that me?!How immature could I have possibly been!" and cackle to myself.
Yes, I'm gonna love eet!
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