Blog 083 - Blah

And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

"I can't think of anything to say except...
I think it's marvellous! HaHaHa!"

It has been a long time since I wrote something over here. The weather in Bangalore has become pleasant and hill station like; Chilly breeze and afternoon drizzles. My office terrace cafeteria on 11th floor is a wonderful place (if you leave aside the food.) overlooking the football stadium but still something is a miss and it will take a lot more than a blog post to figure out…

Chasing Numbers – An x percent hike, a magical y percent score in that damn expensive exam and a bull run with a z percent increase in those crazy scripts.

Numbers matter but it becomes a rather strange proposition when your entire life is defined by rise and fall of numbers. I always wanted to buy an aquarium of my first salary and three-and-a-half-years at work and I still haven’t been able to buy it but at the same time I end up spending an x amount bidding for a so-called profitable IPO which, in the end I didn’t get any allotment either.

And the DSLR keeps getting appended to my to-buy list.

And I end up picking money-management over happiness?

Crazy.

Bad Procrastination – There have been pictures to click, exams to be taken, blogs that should have been written and so many wonderful things that should have have been done (the softbox experiment is still incomplete...) and I managed to keep myself away from all of these.

The very reason I shifted to Bangalore was to move away from a comfortable life and here I am satisfied being comfortably numb or have I become happy with this mnc-corporation type of life?

Waiting for someone or something to show you the way…

Coelho, Erich Segal, Floyd and Photography – I admit this has been the saving grace. I wonder how empty life would have been without these.

Resolutions - December is here with her task to wrap up the year. I love making New Year resolutions and have been making resolutions right since my school days. For year 2007 I had written myself an entire document (maybe, I was missing pspl style documentation :P), objectives 2007. I know it sounds stupid and I did not end up doing most of the things. This year I plan to keep it short and post it as a prime numbered blog post.

I am already excited about 2008. I would be starting the year with a week long vacation to Pune. Azhar will be in Pune for a month long vacation. It has been so long since we last met and will be traveling to Mumbai to meet PG.

Will take the most expensive exam of my life in Feb. And the three figure score that I receive will clear up a lot of things and if not it will at least mark an end to my post graduate examination stints.

Phew! It is has been a long boring post and to end it with a Floyd phrase –

And everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

Listening to – Brain Damage/Eclipse ~ PF ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZSi02uccrc

Blog 079 - Celebrating Cricket - T20 Style

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world

They say, ‘Impossible is nothing’ and team INDIA proved it right! Yes, we are the champions – of the world. A story scripted in Johannesburg for generations to tell.

Like every other Indian, I have been soaked in these moments of pure ecstasy. Right from the thrilling bowl out to the six-in-six Yuvraj moment to the final winning moments, Misbah scoops, Misbah tries to be a hero, Misbah is caught by Shreesanth!

As Harsha Bhogale puts it up – India has truly been the destiny’s child, out there to seek redemption. And I am sure T20 has won a lot of hearts and purists too!

Tomorrow team India arrives in Mumbai and a rousing welcome awaits them, The team will parade all the way from the airport to the Wankhede Stadium in an open bus, which will be followed by a felicitation ceremony.

Deserving felicitations for deserving champions but will BCCI be brave enough to let this young team take on the mighty Aussies (After all we are the young, fearless India) or will it just be restricted to felicitations and a strong bench strength?

India take on the Aussies in a 7 ODI series. Bring it on Aussies, lets see what you have got!

Images taken from ICC World Twenty20 Website

Blog 073 - Read My Mind

It's past midnight but you can't sleep. Listening to the same song over and over again. 'Kafka on the Shore' and 'Read my Mind' sums up a lazy yet beautiful weekend :)

I never really gave up on
Breakin' out of this two-star town
I got the green light
I got a little fight
I'm gonna turn this thing around

Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?

The good old days, the honest man;
The restless heart, the Promised Land
A subtle kiss that no one sees;
A broken wrist and a big trapeze

Oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you go, can you read my mind?
-Read My Mind


"... Once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed
to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is
certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in.
that's what this storm's all about."
-Kafka on the Shore

Blog 071 - Quarter-Life Crisis

I have have been reading this and re-reading this. Whosoever, wrote this, got it all so right.

Extract from Quarter-Life Crisis -

You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

...

Read the entire article over here.

...

Blog 067 - Frames of Mind, 2007

Bangalore Photography Club presents, "Frames of Mind, 2007" Looking forward to visit it.

Venue and other details -
From 8th to 10th June at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (near Chalukya Hotel) Race Course Road, Bangalore-5600 001.

For details refer to Events Bangalore.

Blog 061 - Quote for the day

I came across these beautiful lines on one of the web blogs. Did some Googling to know more about these lines and came across some of 'Robert Cavett's' inspirational quotes and philosophy.

While I can run, I'll run,
While I can walk, I'll walk,
While I can only crawl, I'll crawl,
But I will always move ahead.
~ Cavett Robert

Cavettism's

a) If its to be it's up to me.

b) If we believe in something strongly enough, we are a walking climate of positive acceptance. People can refuse words, but they can't refuse an attitude.

c) Everybody has a big sign on them that says, "Make me feel important!"

d) It's amazing how much people can do when they divorce themselves from concern over who gets the credit.

Read more on Cavettism.

Robert Cavett

...He began a career as a platform speaker in the early sixties and in 1972 was given the Golden Gavel Award by Toastmasters international.
A great speaker, he founded the National Speakers Association in 1972. Read more over here.

Blog 059 - My Visual DNA

My Visual DNA :)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Blog 053 - 'Wrong Decision' - Paulo Coelho

Extract from Maria's Diary before she decides to risk a comfortable life to take a plunge into the unknown..

Wrong Decision

Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back where I came from because I didn’t have the courage to say ‘yes’ to life?


I made my first mistake when I was eleven years old, when that boy asked me if I could lend him a pencil; since then, I’ve realized that sometimes you get no second chance and that it’s best to accept the gifts the world offers you. Of course it’s risky, but is the risk any greater than the chance of the bus that took forty-eight hours to bring me here having an accident? If I must be faithful to someone or something, then I have, first of all, to be faithful to myself. If I’m looking for true love, I first have to get the mediocre loves out of my system. The little experience of life I’ve had has taught me that no one owns anything, that everything is an illusion - and that applies to material as well as spiritual things. Anyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever (as has happened often enough to me already) finally comes to realize that nothing really belongs to them.

And if nothing belongs to me, then there’s no point wasting my time looking after things that aren’t mine; it’s best to live as if today were the first (or last) day of my life.


Extract from Maria's diary, 'Eleven Minutes' - Paulo Coelho.

Blog 047 - What I learnt at photography school

What I learnt at photography school – Composition

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." - Ansel Adams

Have you ever wondered why some pictures with same subject generate awe whereas some remain in your personal album, unnoticed? Of many factors that make a good photograph, Composition is one of them.

Anand Sharan sir shared some tips and rules regarding composition. These were collected over time from different resources. I am putting these down for ready reference.

1. Background makes the picture.
2. Keep your picture simple and build it around a central theme.
   
3. Give importance to that which is important.
   
4. If movement is involved it should relate intelligently to the rest of the picture.
   
5. Hold the picture upside-down (If symmetry is involved).
   
6. Learn to shoot with your head and heart.
   
7. Try to have references to indicate size.
   

Blog 043 - Travelogue : Mysore

“… Tiger Tipu.” He had a thick south Indian accent and was pointing his finger to a stone structure. People had their eyes glued to the window. I was half asleep. I had thrown up a couple of times last night and was wondering why I was taking this bumpy ride.

“Tiger Tipu” it took a while for the words to settle in. Flash back was instantaneous – the school history textbooks, patriotism and all the glorious stories. The Mysore trip was 'ON' for me!

Mysore is a beautiful place. And has a story for every tourist’s eye. There are temples for one’s seeking divine intervention, history and stories of patriotism and betrayal for the erudite, Nature for the philanthropists and shopping and all the other stuff that makes a complete holiday package.

But somehow everything seemed so phony. I fidgeted with my cell phone trying to punch numbers to call imaginary people.

Our first place of visit was ‘Tiger Tipu’s’ death place. Srirangapatna – Tipu’s capital, the place where he valiantly fought the British and the place of his martyrdom. We progressed our way through the ruins once destroyed by British and now neglected by the authorities.

Photography has been one of my latest free time activity. Mysore was full of beautiful subjects. I loved to click the various architectures’ - the temples, the church, the palace and feel the different emotions expressed by them.

Our next destination was, ‘Chamundeeswari’ temple beyond the Chamundi hills. The road that leads through the Chamundi hills is scenic and beautiful.

I got a chance to shoot my first real time portrait on the way to Chamundi.

The Mysore palace was next in line. The story of grand riches, betrayal and different styles of architecture.

Overwhelmed would be a small word to describe my state of emotion. The paintings, the carvings the wall, the gold decorations. Maan, I would love to give up everything and be a
travel guide to Mysore palace :)

Our final destination was Brindavan garden and we squeezed amongst the crowd to get a glimpse of the musical fountains.

Being overwhelmed by the architectural beauty, Brindavan gardens was a sort of anti climax. But nonetheless, Nawab & I got some beautiful pictures of water fountains.

It was 31^st December; the bus started its journey back to Bangalore. And when the world was busy saying ‘Happy 2007’ I was half a sleep. Vivek (Nawab) shook me and wished me ‘Happy 2007’ I wished him back. Wondering what being happy means.

2006 ended on a good note for me.

More pictures can be viewed at Mysore Trip photos.

Blog 041 - Thought for the day

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Read the complete speech, 'Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen.)'

Blog 037 - Calvin and Chain Letter

Calvin : Look, I got a letter I'm supposed to copy and send to 20 people for good luck.

Hobbes : It's a chain letter.

Calvin : It says, "A man in Denver made 20 copies and the next day he got a raise. A man in Seattle broke the chain and he went bald."

Hobbes : Ha! You believe that? These letters are for superstitious nincompoops. Throw it away.

Calvin : "... and a dumb kid like you listened to a friend and got run over by a cement mixer."

See the expression on Hobbes face.

Blog 031 - K750i and random thoughts

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance five-hour phone conversation

Past few months have been weird; since I stopped calling dentist or rather she stopped taking my calls. And since then my k750i has been everything – a FM radio receiver, a media player, an appointment scheduler, a camera, a notepad, a camcorder but a mobile phone.

I love my k750i (Sony Ericsson k750i). It is one of my most prized possessions. And I am enjoying the new role, ‘The 2 Mega Pixel Life’. In fact I wanted to name my blog, ‘The 2 Mega Pixel Life’ and capture moods of Bangalore but then decided against it. ‘Animated Emotions’ suits me rather well.

I still love to capture the moods of city, life and faces. Some of these pictures can be viewed at - http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepluginguy/

Some k750i facts –

Around a 1,500 photos clicked using K750i were uploaded on Flickr yesterday.

Around 213 users.

k750i is ranked 2 among Sony Ericsson camera phones.

k750i on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/cameras/sonyericsson/k750i/

Sony Ericsson on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/cameras/sonyericsson/

Blog 029 - The Problem with Programming

Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of the C++ programming language, defends his legacy and examines what's wrong with most software code. A two part interview on Tech Review

Read the interview at Tech Review.
Part 1 : The Problem with Programming
Link : http://www.techreview.com/InfoTech/17831/

Part 2 : More trouble with Programming
Link : http://www.techreview.com/InfoTech/17868/page1/

Blog 023 - On Travel, People and Patience

‘One hour at a Railway Station’

I loved writing such essays during school days. Anxiety, Last good byes, Bon Voyage, Fear of a new place, Eye contact with a beautiful stranger, the train pantry cars and the list goes on and on. Perfect recipe for 10 on 10 essays.

Do I still love visiting a railway station? Well, I don’t know. At least, I did not like waiting for my train on Bangalore railway junction. Dirt, crowd and hassles far away from things written in my school essays.

Last week, I spent a lot of time traveling. Bangalore to Pune, Pune to Surat and so on. But this time I had different observations. One’s that can be ignored at once but I feel like writing a blog on it as I have nothing more exciting to do.

On Travel

I like traveling by rail. It is so different from air travel. It is fun to see unknown regions slowly give in to known places, as anxiety turns to joy. Starring out of the window till it becomes pitch dark and nothing can be seen at all. Standing by the door and letting the cold wind hit me. The sensation is awesome the numbness caused by the wind and along with it the fragrance of a new place, emotions raring to fly as swift as the wind, inspirational!

Air travel is boring, 35,000 feet above is too high to feel anything the small blocks of land below look the same. Beautiful air hostess and their phony smiles. It reminds me of beautiful things left behind and now can’t even be seen as everything appears same, small blocks of blue, brown and green.

The only good part is the cloud formations. Pure white, it reminds me of those fairy tales. Jack and the bean stalk, a whole new world waiting outside the atmosphere.

On People

Travel presents an opportunity to witness a panorama of people. Beautiful and ugly, tall and short, rich and poor, people ready to fight and people ready to tell their life story to kill those aimless moments of time. People who abide by law and people who love to abuse it.

Yes people who love to abuse it. There are instructions all over the place, ‘Don’t smoke in train’, ‘Use a dust bin don’t litter around’ Rules are for safety, for good. And yet every time they are broken and ruptured. And then you see people who complain that the country is going to the dogs!

I don’t understand people or maybe there are some hidden rules written somewhere that I have not seen till now.

On Patience

Instant coffee, ready to eat, broadband connections, it is a fast and furious world. Seconds are precious; millions are made in seconds and lost in milli-seconds.

So am I right in expecting people to wait on their seats when an announcement has been to remain seated? Am I right to get angry when someone cuts the queue whereas I have been waiting for my turn? Am I right to expect people to stop when the light is red?

And am I right to stick to my values and my beliefs and risk to lose it all?

End on an optimistic note.

As flight 6E 105 landed, Bangalore looked beautiful glittering in gold and neon lights. The curves of roads visible from a few thousand feet above full golden lights. Reminded me of Bono’s voice singing, ‘oh you look so beautiful tonight’

Plane landed. Beauty disappeared. It took me around an hour to reach till commercial street from airport on same roads that looked like glittering gold from a few thousand feet above and cost me RS 110/-. Auto rickshaw meters untouched and rules yet again abused…

Blog 019 - Radio Ga Ga - Part I

I'd sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio
Radio.

Incoherent thoughts on the FM scenario in Bangalore…

A home theater system, a DVD player, a set of CDs/DVDs, a pair of cool t-shirts, a chance to meet to a RJ, tickets to a concert and a luxurious flat in New Delhi. If this does not appeal to you then how about questions like do you care? Are you a patriot? Your one vote could make someone win a fortune...

Text/SMS your response to xyz

No I am not endorsing any products nor is my blog post trying to do so. It’s just that for past 2-3 months I have been cruising along through the Bangalore FM frequency range. And it’s weird that all the FM radio stations trying to woo the audiences have tried everything from SMS marketing, to sleek slogans to celebrities endorsing the brand name but good music.

When I tune in to the radio, I want to listen to GNR sing, Mark Knopfler play the guitar, the mesmerizing voice of Bono and to the enigmatic Floyd and not to win a DVD set or listen to a RJ propose on behalf of some Romeo in oblivion to a Juliet residing in his dreams.

Crap. It doesn’t make sense, does it?

Blog 017 - Mosaic Picture

A mosaic picture created using Fd's Flickr toys. Awesome set of tools for Flickr lovers.

Blog 013 - A Race called Life.

Somewhere, somehow,
And I don’t know when
It all began.
Was it for fun?
Or,
Was it for fame?

I saw people run,
Where and for what?
I didn’t know.
But it seemed fun!
So I put on my running shoes
And joined the race.

People crumpled
But I didn’t care.
Beautiful places passed by,
But I didn’t stop
The race continued
And I ran along.

Adrenaline is still pumping
And the race is on.
But I feel lost.
How long?
Or,
How far do I run?

Is there,
A finish line marked somewhere?
A dais set to welcome a hero?
A-Cup-of-Life.
Or,
Do I turn back?
And live life.

Blog 011 - 'C' Day

Two-and-a-half-hours,
A Sunday morning,
A few darkened ovals,
And a destiny revealed.

Like every other Sunday morning, since past 3 months I wrote a mock test yesterday too. The result was same - CATastrophe. If there is something called 'luck' I am going to need a lot of it on 19th morning.

So how will life change post 19th? Everything changes or nothing changes at all but one thing is for sure - Sunday morning's will be boring.

p.s. In India, we can sell almost any damn thing from a Celebrity wedding to a lost cricket match, from Valentines day to Gandhi Jayanti so how can 'CAT ' be spared? The hoopla and advertisement factor surrounding CAT is something absolutely exaggerated and unnecessary to say the least. A long story, I will spare it for some other day.

Blog 007 - Rock N' Roll Dreams Come Through

Remember everything that I told you
Well I’m telling you again that its true
When you’re alone and afraid
And you’re completely amazed
To find there’s nothing anybody can do
Keep on believing
And you’ll discover baby

There’s always something magic
There’s always something new
And when you really, really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through

I heard Meat Loaf for the first time on one of the local FM radio channel and I am completely stuck to it! I have been listening and re-listening to Meat Loaf and it seems as if the lyrics are written specially for me! At times when you are amazed by the futility and feel like shutting yourself out of the world to seek some logic, some answers and they never come up..

Once upon a time was a backbeat
Once upon a time all the chords came to life
And the angels had guitars even before they had wings
If you hang on to a chorus you get through the night

Dull starless night, unanswered questions, deflated hopes and that's when music takes over and heals the soul.

Watch the video for Meat Loaf's - Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through over here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7-i43W4mqw

Read more about Meat Loaf over here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_Loaf