Bengalooru Baadshah

Valentine's Special

2010-02-15T19:07:00.001+05:30

Had a good weekend - Friday was a holiday on account of Siva ratri. Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan (Malleshwaram MLA) and boys had arranged for cultural programs all night at Malleshwaram grounds. I probably would not have attended the programs, but for Neela (my cousin.) She was participating in 2 of the dances. I wanted to shoot a video of the dances. So 9 of our family members went and enjoyed the programs. Kuchipudi, Kalaripayattu, Folk Dances, Stand up comedy and some more dances.

Saturday was basketball, followed by breakfast with Shailu at Egg Factory.

On Sunday we drove to Shimoga where we had a pooja at Mattur for our family moola devata Lakshmikeshava. We drove to Tunga Anicuttu after this. In the evening was the inauguration of Gamaka week at Gamaka bhavana. Chief Guest was Eshwarappa (State President, BJP.) He announced that he will do whatever it takes to increase the prize money for Kumarvyasa prashasti to 3 lakhs. The program on the first day was by my father - the piece was slaying of Bakasura. It was Ashwini's first time. She enjoyed it thoroughly.

So it was a totally cultural weekend. Hoping for a house hunting weekend next!

Cheers!

Sep

Done with CAT

2009-12-01T18:28:00.002+05:30

Its over

It was boring

You have to wait (sit in one place) 2 hours before you reach the tutorial stage

Then another 15 min... Then the exam for 2 and a 1/2 hours

The system can improve. Not so much technical, as in personnel at the place. It should not be such a big deal to handle 100 people in a session in a centre (at least the Vivekananda one was small)

No server / virus problems thankfully

Well... back to work...

Cheers!

Sep

See yay tee CAT

2009-12-01T12:12:00.002+05:30

I am giving CAT this year (today - in an hour) after putting it off
for ever - 3 years to be precise. I still don't know why I am giving
it. I have no desire for an MBA degree. I don't even think I can clear
the exam given that I have prepared only for 0 seconds.

Its just that I want to get over with this stuff once and for all. If
I am honest with myself I don't think I will ever do an MBA degree.
But I guess I do want to give CAT. Not for the qualification into any
college, but because CAT is a good exam. It is going a rough
transition no doubt, but I hope the standards of the question forever
remain what I have heard about it.

Higher education and I are a love story that never happened. Looks
like it won't happen.

As far as learning goes, I am still learning lots of stuff at work.
Invaluable experience, which can't be substituted with bookish
knowledge. But can fundamental knowledge through self study and
coaching by a teacher ever be substituted by ad hoc experience?
Doubtful.

I have to figure something out. I still am young. So I have time on my
side. At least 6-7 years. Till then will get some "hands on"
experience"

Cheers!
Sep

Movie Reviews

2009-10-17T12:23:00.002+05:30

The General's Daughter -

A 1999 movie with John Travolta (of whom i am not a fan) as an army detective, tracking the murder of a powerful general's daughter. I enjoyed the movie although its not exceptional. It boils down to "women in the army" and "trade off between career and personal life."

The Crying Game -

A 1992 movie with Forest Whitaker (he is a damn good actor!) and Stephen Rea (i have only seen him in V for Vendetta apart from this one - he is the Inspector there)

Turns slightly weird, but a good movie overall. Based on IRA , the Stockholm Syndrome , and quite a few other interesting concepts. There is an interesting story in the movie, which Forest Whitaker narrates (Don't worry its not a spoiler) I quite liked the story.

Maverick -

A 1994 movie starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster, a thorough masala movie. It is worthy of being made into a South Indian flick. Enjoyed it. Though, don't expect to exercise your brain too much on this one.

The Brothers Bloom -

A 2008 movie starring Adrien Brody (of the Pianist fame) which starts off quite sharply but fails to take off. The movie is not smart enough. And the characters are not convincing enough, not even the cute Rachel Weisz who plays the part of an eccentric & rich orphan does the trick.

But a watchable movie overall.

Tell No One -

A 2006 French movie - the story of a man who has lost wife (his childhood love) and after 8 years is framed for murdering her.

Suspenseful and neatly done. Liked the movie. Watch it if you have the patience.

Glorious Movie

2009-10-03T09:57:00.003+05:30

Watched Inglourious Basterds yesterday night. Loved it!

By far the best character in the movie is that of a SS Colonel - Hans Landa. You cant help but enjoy this cunning, diabolical and talkative Nazi prick. Brad Pitt does a good job heading the "Basterds", who are a bunch of Nazi scalp hunters in German occupied France during WWII. The opening scene is extremely cold-blooded and has the usual Tarantino long conversation and weird shooting angles. It works!!

The music through out the movie is bang on appropriate and hooks you to the shot at hand.

Although the violence in some scenes is a little difficult to take, it was a wonderful movie with a feel good ending. There are two main lines in the movie - One of the Inglorious Bastards, the other...... go watch the movie!!!

Merry May

2009-05-27T18:39:00.005+05:30

IPL is over. It was fun fun but also a little shady. Reminded me of WWF matches.
Apparently bookies had huge losses. So we know who the matches were not being fixed by.
I supported the Bengalooru Royal Challengers. Unfortunately my team lost the final. Cursed "Uppu thuppa" for the stupid batting in the last over. More cricket coming up in June.

Bangalore's weather is beautiful nowadays - Rains occassionally, but is cloudy for most parts.
Sunfeast marathon is coming Sunday - I am not participating this time. Would be a logistics nightmare if the turn out is higher than last time. They are still not closing registrations.

Basketball has resumed. Every weekend in Malleshwaram with the Kumaarrs.
We played at IISC for 3 months. But of late the watchmen are not letting us. Does not matter if the courts are empty and no one uses them anytime of the day/week/year . Losers.

K3 was in town for a month. Achar is still here. Ashwin is coming. All faarin re turn kumaarrs. So weekends busy too.

Not seen any new movies of late. Looking forward to watching Wolverine and T4.

Anyway busy May...

Cheers!
Sep

New Year

2009-01-01T20:13:00.003+05:30

My blog begged a New Year post. Any post in fact!
So here goes...

2008 - If at all you make my biography you would call it the year i got married. Not yet felt like i am married though. I like my new roommate - Ashwini keeps the room clean (my half too!) Refreshing after my last roommate. Lifestyle changes: things that came into my life = Hindi movies, things that went out = Books. Otherwise it has been unlike what everybody threatened me married life would be like. Enough of that.
This year i got the opportunity to learn a lot of new stuff and do some good work. Thanks to my colleagues. Learning from books is fun, but learning hands on is so much better. It is indeed a pleasure. I enjoyed it.
Bigger things than me and my marriage happened in 2008. 26/11, global meltdown. Somethings good too. Bhindra's gold, Indian cricket.

2009 - Wish list includes better health, keep up the learning curve, read a little more. Well, wish lists remain just that unless i go and do something about them.
So wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous 2009 am away on my new year's journey...

Cheers!
Sep

Stormy September

2008-09-18T07:59:00.002+05:30

Everyone knew - it was described as a slow motion train wreck by one colleague - that the world of Investment Banking would come crashing down on (who else?) Investment Bankers. They also dragged down several other financial institutions. The who is who of Wall Street are now on the streets. Till recently one of the highest paid and most extravagant these pinstriped , business class executives are now at the eye of what could be a total melt down of the entire finance industry.

Investment Banking industry rewarded star performers with incredible packages - unmatched in any industry. But how were these stars chosen? Those that raked in the highest money for their employer, by hook or crook or MBS, were those that were most rewarded. No one asked if they took crazy risks to achieve those returns. Those guys who passed on riskier opportunities because they had a little foresight or had a lesser stomach for risks (or were plain sane) never made any bonuses.

An organization is its people. If a Math wiz comes up with a way of securitizing and selling risky assets to people under a AA rating, his boss oks it in the hopes of cornering a big bonus, and a sales guy unthinkingly sells everything his colleagues throw at him, what can be the consequence? Tragedy!

Indian banks have an exposure to assets of some of there sinking American counterparts. Indian IT industry is heavily reliant on the American financial services industry. Indian management grads have been chasing these banks for years. FIIs have had a huge role in the Indian markets bull run. They will be under pressure to withdraw. Liquidity the world over is low despite repeated slashing of the PLRs. Funds have been unable to raise money. Those that have raised do not know where to deploy them given that everything is crashing around them. Distress is flashing (bright red and neon lit)

One possible good thing that could happen is that Investment Banks could become more efficient as a result of the shake down. In what ways, is anyones guess. Leaner and meaner, they would be more demanding than before. I Bankers have there jobs cut out (or cut down?) They will have to do a lot of "re-structuring"

Amen
Harsha

August Rush

2008-08-29T20:40:00.002+05:30

Traffics been merciful last few days in Blore. Maybe the intermittent rains kept away two-wheelers like myself while not being heavy enough to block traffic. Or maybe i have been lucky.

I complete one year at o3 Capital. Never realized it was so long since i joined. Time has flown.
Also significant is that we are moving into our new office next to Garuda Mall. A new year and a new office. Good stuff. Same old me. Good stuff again :)

Been slow on the movie front. Not many movies. Just 4-5 last month. Random ones.
Batman was good. Wall-E was good. Managed so far to not see Bachna ae haseeno and Singh is King.

Been reading Cold Steel - good book. Listening to Raghu Dixit - great music.

Played basketball last weekend. Hoping to again this weekend.

Life is good :)

Cheers!
Sep

Jaane Tu and other movies

2008-07-07T09:10:00.000+05:30

I liked Jaane Tu. 'Low load on the brain' movie. A bit longer than necessary and slightly slow in the middle but it does not take itself seriously. Acting is not great. But the ''everyone's caller tune'' at the beginning kabhi... is a good number. Genelia is cute. Jiggy the piggy is funny. Paresh Rawal is himself. Watch only if you have a history of liking masala movies like main hoon na or om shanti om.
Other movie i recently liked was gone baby gone. Good movie.
Batman-anime was fun. Short and has batman :)
Revisited Hero with Ashwini. Killer movie.
3 movies i intend to watch are kung fu panda , wall-e , iron man. Hope they live up to their hype.

Cheers!
Sep

BIAL

2008-06-05T11:09:00.001+05:30

The Bangalore International Airport has come under a lot of stick for delays, in-efficient baggage handling and lack of connectivity. Somehow it didn't seem that way to me. It was quick and smooth. The commute was a tolerable 40 minutes (at unearhtly hours) and the flights were on time. Only complaint is against toilets with soiled seats and without tissues. Hope they rectify that soon. And if they can iron out operational chinks, the airport should be a success. Fingers crossed...

Cheers!
Sep

Bangalore Traffic

2008-06-02T09:32:00.001+05:30

Who does not crib about Bangalore traffic? Even I, who commute 30 min to work can't stop going on about it. What is wrong with Bangalore traffic? One is the infrastructure. Narrow, potholed, flooded roads, ever changing one ways, bad directions, weirdly designed under passes and flyovers (totally not impressed with the 'magic' near cauvery theatre) - everything that can be wrong is wrong.
Then we have us. Roads dont make the traffic. Frustrated, smog - doped, irate, impatient, reckless, cursing, spitting, speeding Bangaloreans (Bengalooreans?) make up the maddening traffic. Everyone seems to agree we have no public sense , we are highly insensitive and we have a high degree of tolerance to breaking the law. I don't want to get into the numerous follies we all commit, but i just want to point out that if everyone of us 7 Million Bangaloreans flaunts traffic rule just once a year, thats a 1000 violations an hour give or take. What can traffic police do in such chaos?
Well, there is a problem which everyone of us is aware of. But apathy is a way of life for us. No one is going to do anything until one day Namma Bengalooru goes into a massive grid lock - a cardiac arrest of sorts. Until then... we commute... we curse... we crash...

Sigh
Sep

Whats in a name?

2008-06-01T11:12:00.003+05:30

Changed the Blog name. Read an item shared by Mechy on google reader - about Phantom. Realised that Phantom reminds me so much of Mechy's quake alias that i can't imagine the actual comic book hero phantom whom i used love so much as a kid anymore. Well quake was one of the few things so many of us kumaarrs loved so passionately. We were quite attached to the game. My alias was Sepsis. Realised my blog has little to do with quake. Also Bangalore takes up my time quite a lot nowadays. Hence the change in name. Baadshah is more a play on Kannada slang. It goes with my name. Harshah... Shahstry... you get the drift.

Cheers
Sep

Republic Day - i didn't notice it...

2008-01-27T21:20:00.000+05:30

Republic as an adjective means "a political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in modern times is usually a president" according to one of those online dictionaries.
It was on Saturday. Did not realize. Maybe every public holiday we should spend time discussing the significance of the holiday for a couple of hours. Would help...
Will i do it next time?
Don't know. Will try.
Sep

Every Chinese product is a "Nano"

2008-01-18T10:28:00.000+05:30

Brilliant article on LiveMint

I think inefficiency is an Indian way of life. Lets hope it changes.

Sep

Sledging

2008-01-05T21:23:00.001+05:30

I do not know what transpired between Bhajji and Symonds/Ponting. But I do know this, the Australian cricket players have admitted to using sledging to intimidate opposition. And I think if they can pass comments on Indian players, their wives and mothers, their stature etc… then any comment passed on them, their race, their monkey-like appearance should also be taken in the “spirit of the game.” Bad sportsmanship to go running to the umpires. I would never have imagined the tough Symonds crying “Mummy… Bhajji called me monkey :’(”

If the Australians did it to distract the Indians, well all I can say is they are bad losers. India was indeed in a great position and probably would have taken this test match if Steve Bucknor was not half-blind. That’s all right, lady luck did not smile. But would Ponting have complained if Australia had scored 500 and India were at 136/6 ?? I don’t think so.

As far as the two teams are concerned, Australia is by far the more professional team. Well maybe they are the best team in the world. But like all other things in this world, India is the flavor of the moment. Sachin is a better batsman than Ponting. Kingfisher is cooler than Fosters. And I am loving the way Kumble is taking the fight to Australia… “Mind and body, Heart and soul” :D

Cheers
Sep

Kumaarrs and kumaarrgiri...

2008-01-01T09:51:00.001+05:30

Above is a congregation of kumaarrs... at mallespura...

What is kumaarrs?
Who is kumaarr?
What is kumaarrgiri?
Questions i have been asked and have never been able to successfully answer.
Although it was definitely made popular by the engineers of NITK '06, it was started by our one year seniors. Kumar is probably the most common name in India. It is sometimes a first name. But most times it is used in conjunction with other first names, Ranjan Kumar, Rathan Kumar, Praveen Kumar.
Kumar being such a common name, we started out with the idea that calling someone a kumar is taking his identity away. Its basically calling humans human. Nothing special. Plain. Vanilla. Not derogatory mind you. It just sounded good. Kumar became kumaaaaaarrrrrr. It sounded better. All of us started calling each other kumaaaaaaaaaarrrrr. In the course of time, we began to collectively refer to ourselves as kumaaaarrrsss... Once we graduated, rami formed a google group "kumaarrs"... It was immensely popular and registered activity which measured 10 on the Richter scale. The rest is history...
Thats about the origin. But what exactly does it mean? How is it used?
Kumaarr is characterized by
1> self-goals (classic example - tukaram...)
2> foot-in-the-mouth (classic example - katri )
3> lack of ambition (debatable - some are entrepreneurs )
4> inherent laziness (classic example - rami )
5> a tendency to call all and sundry "kumaarr"
6> a tendency to call people by nouns created by suffixing "son" to the adjective, which is generally a taunt/insult/kutching (classic example - teammate-dating-son, love-story-reading-son... )
7> bad dressing (classic exception - blue-eyed-kumaarr who is fashion concious :D )
8> middle-class sensibilities
9> nowadays a bulging middle (classic example - Sathya... )
10> KUTCHING - Well this is as big a phenomenon as kumaarrs. I refuse to digress, leaving it for another day

There are more... Each kumaarr is a combination of one or more of these characteristics
I am sure many more descriptions and details can be painted by my kumaarr friends.
I am occasionally referred to as DTS kumaarr, marriage kumaarr etc... but mostly i am called senti-kumaarr.
Although i generalize kumaarrs so much, they are a unique lot.
They are the highest concentration of potential, when they meet together in CTR/MTR/garuda mall etc... but so also of sheer lack of motivation.
Anyway, if you had the patience to run through the whole blog, you are either a kumaarr or in the words of the legendary signature of kumaarrs "you have been kumaarred"
Adios!
Sep

Wishing everyone a great year ahead...

2008-01-01T09:22:00.000+05:30

2008... Yet another year... I am 24 years old... already bored of celebrating new years... or for that matter deepavali... Actually there few things i am not already bored of.
Only good thing about these occasions are the holidays i get.
I have no resolutions for 08... None that i am not going to break that is...
The breakable ones include sleeping early, getting up early, working out everyday, reading a lot of good books, not getting angry at trivial things.
Since i have already broken the first three, i don't think they can be resolutions for the rest of the year. Anyway, without further ado, i wish you, a great year ahead... a year full of joy and jokes and love and learning.
Cheers!!
Sep

Mini Me

2007-12-30T19:36:00.000+05:30

When i was a kid, i used to be happy all the time.
I never used to cry, or talk, or demand anything.
Just smiling all the time. When i got up from sleep.
When i took a bath. All the time. So much so, my
parents had gotten worried and shown me to the doc!
They thought i might be mute or really stupid.
Guess it was the second one :)
Wonder when i turned into the present frown face...
Sep

The most outrageous thing

2007-12-28T00:01:00.000+05:30

Mint referred to this blog. Thought i would share it with you.
I think one of the most outrageous thing today is violence in the name of religion.
Other things that incense me include reservation, corruption, crime, my own apathy to the going ons in this world. Ya i am angry at my own callousness... I just don't seem to care enough...
Sigh...
Harsha

If i were to run a school

2007-12-27T23:36:00.000+05:30

Had written this long ago, discovered it in some folder and pushed it to my blog.
One of my complaints about our education system is that it never teaches/promotes/encourages thinking. It is always the teacher who is right. What the teacher says is what we must do. I don't ever remember being told to think on my own. Never once were the words "Think for yourself" or "Think about it" uttered to me. Unbelievable!!
If i were to run a school i would definitely have an hour or two everyday for physical exercises (optional) and an hour or two for thinking. When i say physical exercises i mean to include working out/ sports / games / aerobics, whatever the infrastructure permits and whatever the students want. That is the easier half.
The other half, the thinking bit, is tougher. I think the only way you could teach thinking is by promoting expression. The rules for the thinking class would be something like this.
1> You are free to do whatever you want, including walking out of the class
2> If you want an audience the school shall provide a person (teacher)
3> A maximum of 20 marks to be awarded by the student to himself/herself at the end of the course in assessment of his/her thinking in terms of quality of thoughts. Each student is free to come up with his/her own definition of quality and free to rate himself/herself against this definition
4> A maximum of 5 marks is to be awarded by the audience appointed by the school. The involvement of this person in your thought process is a must to gain these points. This involvement can take various forms like a discussion, a reading of a written work, appreciation of an artistic expression or simply an observation of actions. The marks are at the sole discretion of the person appointed
5> To the extent possible involve others in your own thought process as this promotes and provokes insights into your own and others' thoughts. But this should not be at the cost of the other person's interests

One hour or two of this would probably be enough to gauge at the end of the year, how the system could be better tweaked to be used to apply to all other forms and disciplines of learning.
If you were wondering what the marks were for, it is because of my inability to think beyond the system of education i have inherited and imbibed :D

Cheers!!
Sep

Terrorism

2007-12-27T23:14:00.000+05:30

I was really sad to hear about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
No i did not know her personally. Just that she was another person killed by mindless terrorism.
There were dozens of people alongside her killed too.
We read and hear about people killed by acts of terrorism all the year round. But when the person is well known, it reminds you of how evil the cold-blooded act of killing someone in the name of a cause is.
Terrorists are as much a product of our system as are we. They are the by-products actually.
Humans are only human. We are flawed. There are varying amounts of negative qualities in all of us. Greater in some. And when a critical level of evil combines with talent, the villain is born. The progenitor of the mindless dummies, who sacrifice themselves and others at his altar. It might be in the name of religion or politics. But the final purpose is to satisfy his need for power or wealth or maybe something abstract like spiritual causes.
It is my belief that we think rarely. And in those rare moments, what makes sense to us is what we believe at all other times... blindly. According to this theory, we are most vulnerable to suggestions of an evil-minded genius when we think he makes sense. Good and bad are not always based on discretion. Some things you just know in your genes are bad.
Terrorism is bad.
Killing is bad.
Political suppression of rights of the people is bad.
Whats happening in Pakistan is bad.
Sigh...
Harsha

The Vantage

2007-11-16T22:13:00.000+05:30

I live in old Bangalore. It is highly residential. And more than half the people here, have been here for a couple of generations at the least.
I was small-talking my neighborhood shop-keeper a few days back. In the middle of the conversation it stuck me that the bloke knew me since i was a kid. Like forever. Then it occurred to me that he knew every single kid on the street. In fact he knows the grown ups too! Not just in my road in a fairly large radius! Well ya i catch on very slowly.
But look at it this way. The most relevant opinion about how the city has been changing in terms of lifestyle and taste is not of the suave socialite/fashion designer/ celebrity, but of the friendly neighborhood shop-keeper. A guy who has sold Lifebuoy (the brick) to the Chinese animal sopie thingy nowadays has seen the whole evolution across choice in day to day items and in volumes and in spending power etc...
He enjoys a great vantage. He sits at one place for thirty years and life moves in front of his very eyes. He enjoys a static view of the dynamics of cycles and phases and growth of the society.

Guys who conduct surveys should spend more time on experienced shop-keepers, rather than individual customers in order to gauge longer term trends. Well, i think so.

Cheers!
Sep

Pepsi My Can

2007-11-16T22:01:00.000+05:30

Ya, one should keep an open mind. After having lectured k3 on this infinite times, i am aware prejudices are easy and most times unnecessary and in someways wrong.

But please forgive me this one prejudice. IF I FIND A CHAP DRINKING PEPSI IN THAT MY CAN STYLE OR WHATEVER SH%& STYLE IT IS I GET PISSED OFF. Whats the point in trying to drink with a grip which is not comfortable nor is it cool, since you are mimicking a stupid add anyway, nor is it firm, so it can slip and wet your expensive shoes.

Idiots.
I found one whole gang of kids doing this.
No idea why it seemed terribly stupid and irritating.
Must be a psychological under current in my mind. Maybe i fancy Bipasha and so am jealous of Ab Jon and since he endorses that style i hate it! naaa i don't fancy her.

Never mind.
Sep

The Landmark Forum

2007-11-16T21:45:00.000+05:30

I don't want to be taken to court by them.
So will keep this simple and non-descriptive

But here is some info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Landmark_Forum

Makes for an interesting read.
If you want to know what it is all about, meet me personally.
If i act over-excited tell me to calm down and tell you what happens and not what i think actually happens.

Was it interesting? YES - lots of food for thought
Was it useful? NO - personally no. but a majority claimed to have benefited from it
Is it worth the money? YES - 5k
Is it worth the time? NO - It was 3 days. 1 day would have been ok
Did i enjoy it? NO&YES - first 2 days death only, 3rd day interesting
Is it logical? YES - It is successfull, hence the proof
Should you try it? YES - same reason why you should do sky-diving. To experience things first hand

Cheers!
Sep

Buttery & Spiced pancake :D

2007-10-12T09:16:00.000+05:30

Benne Masal Dose at Sri Sagar a.k.a. Central Tiffin Room (CTR) is a good example of quality doing all the marketing for a product. This blog is not about the marketing. It is about the product.
Anybody who has lived in and around Malleshwaram, Vyalikaval, Rajajinagar, Srirampura would have eaten a dozen per annum minimum (if you have not, go and have one NOW.)
It is a brilliant piece of art. It is as smooth on the outside as Hemamalini’s cheeks (the ones on her face… don’t know what lalu meant though…) It is roasted in butter to a deep golden crisp but somehow manages to retain its softness on the inside. Add to this the alu gadde irulli playa (potatoes and onions) which even katri can bake decently enough to be relished and you have a “no one can eat just one” recipe. BUT most people can’t eat more than one at a time since it is so rich. I can manage two plus a filter coffee (I am semi-gluttonous.) It costs 17 bucks. A moderate price for something which is mouth-wateringly good (jollu sursing in kandu)
In case you don’t know where it is, it is tucked away in a corner on Malleshwaram 6th cross, opposite the ground. Go, eat, enjoy.
Cheers!!
Sep

P.S. Not for the weak of heart :D

SR Bommai

2007-10-11T20:32:00.000+05:30

Schools had a holiday today as a former CM of our state passed away.
Blame it on me, I hadn’t heard of the person.
Blame it on the system, I never needed to.
I don’t know about this particular person, but are our present day politicians worth knowing about?
I don’t think so. I don’t think anyone thinks so.
I am yet to hear about role model politicians in any country.
Ya my GK is bad. But hey don’t the Americans proudly proclaim that their president is the most powerful person on the planet? And look who gets to sit on that title. George Bush :D Gimme Kalam or Manmohan Singh any day (Don’t mention Prathiba Patil please)

What is it with the system, humans have designed to govern themselves, that makes it suck so much? The system is to have the person whom the majority want, in a position where he can make the max difference. Sounds reasonable. Can anyone come up with anything better?
Not sure.

Where do you see a concentration of quality in our country?
IITs IIMs IISC… (students are one aspect and teachers another… but that is for another day.) Am sure you can name a lot of software companies. (ya these are all i can come up with. I have a limited purview)
Whats the commonality?
I would say meritocracy.
The people who are capable of doing what the people in such places are supposed to do get into these places.
To get into NAL you are expected to be qualified in a certain way. To get into the police force you are expected to be qualified in a certain way. To be in the defense you are expected to be capable of certain things.
What is different about the government?
What the hell man, have a minimum standard for elected representatives too! Why should there be absolutely no need for our politicians to have anything positive about them?
Will someone explain it to me?
Sigh…
Sep

"Dorling"

2007-10-11T09:49:00.000+05:30

My good friend Jagadeesh Kini once taught me a lesson I am yet to forget (blogging it before I do ;) ) For those who don’t know him, he is a classmate of mine from NITK. He actually knew Electronics. And shared with me a liking for teaching. A couple of years ago I met him at the bathrooms on the first floor of 8th block. He was waiting for his water to heat up so he could bathe and I was in search of any water so I could bathe. I happened to tease him that he was fragile (or something to that effect) since Surathkal is hot and humid enough to let you take a bath with cold water itself. All he said was that he could take a cold water bath but he would not like taking bath and would find it tough to drag himself to do it the next day. Although I don’t have the same view about bathing ( I mean I would bathe no matter what ) I think what he said made a lot of sense and I find it applicable to other things time and again.
For example working out at the gym. If I don’t like it on a particular day, I find it tough (mentally) to go there the next day. I find many reasons (rational & sensible) why I should not go.
Anyway, I hope someone found this useful. I for one have been able to use this one tool to understand my rationalizing of what i earlier thought was sheer laziness.
Or maybe I have got it totally wrong.
Either way whenever I realize I am just trying to avoid something because of a bad previous experience (even mildly) Dorling’s (That’s what we called Jagdeesh) lesson comes to my mind. And it helps me understand.
Thanks dude.
Cheers!!
Sep

Winds of Change

2007-10-10T10:06:00.000+05:30

T20 = Gully cricket. Invented by Indian kids in the 1990's. Played with a tennis ball and MRF bats :D Sticks and stones were used as stumps. Bails... huh? Fielding restrictions - runs & fielders only on the off side or the leg side due to lack of fielders. Double side fielding or batting side keeping. Last man batting or single side running. Double side run out. Pitch or full (catch.) Throw or bowling. Full toss inside someone's house out. Extras - no. Overthrows - no. You could call it a different ball game :-)
k3 an i often used to carp about how no one plays cricket on the streets nowadays. When we were kids it only used to be a count of how many matches we played. Because without question we played everyday. Also read DK's blog . He fails to mention me because he and his younger brothers could never fathom the weird action i had learnt from a legend on my road, Gautham :-)
It was not a surprise India won T20. I still can't get over it though (I bet you can see from my blogs.) I grin everytime someone talks about it. What if Australia thrash India in the one-dayers, I don't give a damn. "You missed your chance myate. T20 is where it belongs... the nation of gully cricket" :-) :-D
Cheers!!
Sep

Why do people blog?

2007-10-09T23:03:00.000+05:30

10 reasons ( 9 reasons + no reason :D )
1> Knowledge sharing
2> It is the latest form of literature
It is going to be studied as a part of history, arts and sociology courses. (May already be)
3> To discuss
4> To opine
5> To rant
6> To vent their anger
7> To pour out the sorrow and grief within
( to get rid of negative energy from within the soul :P )
8> Time pass / nothing else to do
9> In-thing/trendy/others-do-it/pseud
10> Just for the heck of it..... No reason.
There probably are other reasons I am incapable of thinking/cooking up right now.

Why do I blog? I like talking and giving fundae. I think I accept that the only forum that might have any interest in what I have to say is one which does not see me or know me or hear me :D Na, just kidding. Guess mine would be because someone reads it. I blog for the reader, not for me. Ya Ya… I am serious.
Cheers!!
Sep

P.S. Why do you blog?

I am a dreamer... I dream my life away...

2007-10-09T22:55:00.001+05:30

Man... What a pic... (notice the jet trail)
I have a tendency to start dreaming when i see good pics.
For instance this started me off on a weird train of thought (sic :))
I started imagining myself to be a part of the story in which Sir M.V. apparently noticed a change in the sound pattern the train was making and pulled the brake chain, thereby saving the junta.
Not sure it is true.
Anyway i imagined i was in the same compartment as him and started arguing how he could not tell whether it was a change caused by a dislocated track somewhere ahead or because of a change in the curve/speed/hardness of the ground/the passing of a bridge/shift in the winds etc...
I know i am nuts.
I spent maybe 60 seconds on it before i snapped back to reality.
I am feeling terribly frank and honest. I would never have admitted to this had i been in any other mood. I may remove this blog in the future.
Cheers!!
Sep

Our room

2007-10-06T06:37:00.000+05:30

We used to live in Room 54 on the ground floor of 8th block at NITK, Surathkal. This used to be the messiest room in our block (Although Shetty contests that his was worse... He has no proof. Hence i win.) Sweet memories of this room. All entirely attributable to Quke 3 Arena. Maaaan... Used to play and play and play and play.... Tireless warriors fighting for supremacy. I miss those days. Hours of dueling. Sheer stamina. We had time to burn. Burn we did.
Never again is it going to be. We have come to a stage where we consider time an expensive commodity. Like all good things it's time is over sigh... Sep

Consumerism

2007-10-06T05:44:00.000+05:30

I found this article relevant to all kumaarrs
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/disposablesociety.asp?partner=basics

We have purchasing power and absolutely no idea how to spend it.
Ashwin bought Vogue glasses for 8k... No idea why :P
I think Sudhaam does a lot of it. Clothes.
Gaali too. Of course MK.
Me? Ask K3... :D

Those who live with their parents, have the luxury of low expenditure.
That causes an irrational mode of buying in some.
Some fare better... Won't mention their names :D

Cheers!!
Sep

Copper Chimney

2007-10-01T22:55:00.000+05:30

Had been to this restaurant called Copper Chimney - top floor of Bangalore Central. We ordered tomato soup. They served us something made in ash... Must be the water they use to rinse their chimney. I think we ordered tandoori gobi. It was sour. Not just sour. It reeked of some weird smell. The other starter was palatable. Not tasty. Just edible. Main course was some stuff cooked in a lot of oil and ash. Oh the whole place smelt of cigarette smoke by the way. I think they like to live upto their name... Copper Chimney. But i want to eat in a restaurant not a chimney. Or a blast furnace. And when i asked to talk to someone about the food they served they promptly cut 20% on the bill and said it was because the food was bad. So we were charged 80% of 1763 for some crap they dished out. No one came to talk to us. Only finger bowls. And we left. There were folks waiting outside to get in. We Indians are socially highly irresponsible. I am very Indian. So are my friends. None of us warned them of what was waiting for them inside. Let them suffer too.
Anyway moral of the story: Copper Chimney SUCKS.

Infy, Mysore

2007-10-01T15:06:00.000+05:30

To say I was blown away would be a gross understatement. Infosys Mysore sparkles. It gleams. It shines. It is maintained extremely well. It has an army of foot soldiers polishing it every second of the day.

Not only is it just about the maintenance, it is the facilities it offers the “students.” They are software professionals fresh out of college and it is another University campus. All the sports facilities, theatres, shopping centers, you name it they have it.

They have an excellent training program from what I have heard. It is extensive and they have a rigorous system of tests to make sure the folks study. Good stuff.

Nice place for people who have time. The Infy freshers don’t. So I guess it is just for eye-balling and showing off to the relatives and friends who visit them.

Anyway had been to Chamundi temple too. No inclination to talk about the amount of money that goes into this “industry” of worship. I guess richer the god the more powerful and famous he is. No need to earn it through the old fashioned methods of miracles and incarnations. Neat.

Cheers !!
Sep

Boredom

2007-09-28T09:21:00.001+05:30

Nowadays residential apartments are coming up in every area in Bangalore. They come in all sizes, shapes, colors. They are selling like hot cakes too. But still, the competition among developers is stiff. They need to come up with creative solutions and offer something extra to the discerning customers. You can’t sell a sophisticated IT professional just a roof over his head. Locality, safety, themes varying from Spanish to Arabian have all been packaged and sold by some of the more enterprising people.

Integrated townships are the in thing nowadays. Developers offer not an apartment or a villa but a new city(some claim a village) within the city. An example is the Brigade Gateway that is coming up in the region which formerly belonged to Kirloskar. Along with a place to stay, these places offer all the amenities required for day to day life. They include commercial spaces that are rented out as office space, schools, hospitals, shopping malls, parks, clubs, fitness centers, theaters and what not. Your every need is what they claim to fulfill. Only your every need.

Would you buy one? Would I buy one? Apart from the obvious reason that I can’t afford to and the prejudice of a man who has lived in an independent home all his life, there is one other reason that I can think of to not buy an apartment in such an integrated township. Boredom. I know it sounds far-fetched and ridiculous. But I have this feeling that given a choice to re-live my childhood, I would not choose a township. Every softie in Bangalore knows life is about 52 weekends a year. If I were to stick just within the 100-1000 acres (ya 1000 acres!) of a township, how many options do I have? Well at least 10 different things to do. So in a year I end up doing every one of those around 5 times if not more. Ridiculous logic I know. But what I am saying is how many years will I be interested in shopping at the same place? Not too many I am sure. I already am bored of the 3 malls I frequent in Blore and it has hardly been a year.

You get the drift. I don’t mean living in an independent house is interesting by itself. It just offers you an infinite number of things to do since you haven’t paid for anything yet :D unlike in a township…
Well depends really on the person. I don’t like apartments. Others do. And so on… the argument continues… :D

But one thing I am sure of is boredom is the next big thing. Once it finds a cure for AIDS and cancer, the medical fraternity will turn its attention to the pressing problem of keeping mortals occupied for 60 years… one minute at a time (attention span you see!!) Of course they’ll call it some XYZ syndrome. Or they might call it psychopathic depression. But it is all the same. Boredom.
Bored of writing for now.

Cheers!!
Sep

P.S. If you can beat boredom (other's not urs!) u can beat Bill Gates!

I thank all the hindu's who supported the Indian team and whose prayers saw India through... !!!

2007-09-26T21:02:00.000+05:30

As I child I used to be a god-fearing Hindu Brahmin boy. I rattled off Sanskrit hymns everyday. My granny had taught me. I had one for the morning, one for the night (my sis Jyothsna had taught me that) one for when I was afraid (of course I never used it!) one for parents, and I don’t remember how many. I knew whole chapters of the Gita by heart. I knew Rajaji’s Ramayana and Mahabharata verbatim. Had read them countless times.

I don’t think I ever thought of a god back then. Nor did I think of religion. I just did it unquestioningly. I had even performed Ganapathy pooja when I was in 1^st standard. Yes, prodigal.

For some unknown reason my thread ceremony was never performed till I reached 10^th. And then it was a per functionary thing since my right hand was fractured (the story of how that happened is the one katri likes narrating so much… he has 14 different versions of it… upgrades with every re-telling) I never did sandhya vandane... not for a single day. But long before that I stopped all the chanting and mumbo-jumbo. I don’t think there was any particular reason, but I never uttered any of that Sanskrit stuff again. I just totally was alienated from that world or any thoughts about it. No temples, no pooja, nothing.

And then one fine day, someone popped me the question. Was I a theist or an atheist? I think the person who asked me had been newly introduced to those words and just wanted to try them out, since he paid the least interest to my answer. My answer was I had never thought about it.

But then I did think about it. For all of 10 minutes. And decided… Its much cooler to be an atheist. And so i was…

What is an atheist supposed to do? Believe in something? Pro-actively disbelieve something? I know a standard theist would have some respect-showing periodically. To whosoever concerned. Rama Krishna Allah Jesus. An atheist has what? Only a posturing that he is not a believer and the defense that there wouldn’t be such suffering the world over if an all powerful entity existed? I guess i am a bad atheist. I don't even know what to do about it.

Anyway this isn’t about me actually :D What I set out to say, but rambled unsuccessfully before was about the Paki captain. Shoaib Malik said “First of all, I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world” or something to that effect. I am sure he did not think much before saying that. It must have been a combination of bad English and a fear of the Islamic fundamentalists that put those words in his mouth. I think we should forgive him and not dissect the psyche of the fundamentalist with him as the case in point. Tough times for Pakistan and Pakistanis. Especially those who lost a world cup final to India. So let the poor fellow go. Let him take care of his family.

Religion...
Sigh...
Sep

Commute - etummoC

2007-09-26T09:56:00.000+05:30

Being one of those who are not obliged to drive their own vehicle, I have time on my hands while commuting to work… at the back of an auto or in a cab. I fill this time in different ways on different days.
Sometimes I turn off… mentally. That’s when I go to office in a drowsy state. Kinda drunk (not really sure that’s true.)
Sometimes I call up friends and do some catching up. Messaging is exorbitant now, since I am using a post-paid connection. Just imagine the following conversation:
Harsha: Lo magane…
Jayyu: Yenla nan nenap maadkonde…
Harsha: Kelsa irlilla random msg kalisde… ning hoytu…
Jayyu: Gottittu #$%^... Irli helu yen maadide weekend?
Harsha: Innenu... mane avar jote suttadings... neenu?
Jayyu: yenilla maga... Saturday manenalli biddidde... Sunday boysella Samarkhand hogi lagaisadvi
Harsha: ogay... maja hodi... sigona next weekendu...
Jayyu: ok ok... ondu phone hodi... tata bye...
Harsha: sure... bye...
This would cost me 5 bucks plus additional cost to the person at the other end. On the other hand the same conversation by phone would have cost 50 paisa since it would have lasted less then a minute. Actually it would have cost me 5 bucks since we would have talked for ten minutes; nevertheless you get the point…
Sometimes I get out a pen and paper and chalk out the future of the world… India... or maybe sometimes Bangalore… Nothing smaller, mind you! :D
Sometimes I dwell on the past. Of the ten years in my living memory. Life for me started from high school. By that I mean problems and pressures and responsibilities. Prior high, I was a happy ball of meat. No issues with “life.” TV meant cartoon network. I was not particular about watching it though. I had a continuous supply of books (Brothers and father are bibliomaniacs. One brother is a Professor of English, which means he gets paid to read novels and books, which he does not need to pay for and on top of that he gets to give fundae to junta on the stuff he reads… sigh...) I had one friend from school, Katri… and Su and Gautham near home.
Cycling used to be a past time forced upon me by Su. Also used to play numerous games which children nowadays have no clue about (unless there are virtual versions of the same, but they have Chinese names anyway.) But no all this was too good to last. I entered high school. Well that story is for another time. Suffice to say the complicated life of Harsha Shastry started. Pre-University whooshed by. NITK happened. Goldman Sachs – some great memories. Thinking back is good. What is life but a bag of memories? You collect so much to put in it, it is worthwhile to see what’s in it once in a while.
Sometimes I sleep (courtesy movie watching previous night.)
Sometimes I even work but most times I just observe people commuting with me. Those that are driving to reach somewhere they need/want to be, have an intense concentration. Those that are like me, sitting in the back seat always look blank. I wonder if I look at them blankly as well. Not unless the other person is of the opposite sex and particularly eye-catching. No, if it were a guy I just make a count of the number of blanks I saw… blank++.
Well anyway I sometimes wonder why I blog? No clue. Or why someone else would read my blog. No clue. Why would the daily chronicles of someone as boring as me be worth a read? No clue. Well anyway, there you are. For the first time while commuting, I blogged. Since my commute takes at least 40 minutes, it must be a long blog :D

Cheers!!
Sep

T20

2007-09-25T23:34:00.000+05:30

Loved it !!
Who wouldn't? It had what i want to see when watching cricket.
Sixers and Fours... Yorkers and stumps tumbling... Pyrotechnics and stupidity... Last ball thrillers...
And all in short time. 3-4 hours... No break even !!

Katri and my father still retain their stance that test cricket is a better test of skill and mettle.
I say any game is only as good as its rules. Call this xicket and not cricket if you want. And say these are not cricketers but xicketers or musketeers or whatever you want. But who cares?
It was adrenalin pumping action and i enjoyed ever moment of it.

And whats more, India won !!
I had said India would win... but i always maintain India will win (including the last 50 over world cup) so it does not count. I mean statistically in my lifetime of 60 years (hopefully!!) I have to be right sometime !! :D
But India earnt it. They played with confidence.
I thought we bowled inconsistently but the ball was at the right place at the right time... enough times. Pathan and R P were lovely.
Yuvraj was King, need i say more. Never liked Gambhir's plodding but must admit he had a role.
Others chipped in every time it was needed. Dhoni's captaincy worked.

Commentary i felt was sub-standard. Not sure why. Maybe it seemed exaggerated? or was plain wrong half the times? I like Bhogle and Shastri and Gavaskar... But something was missing...

And i read somewhere about ICL and IPL. Got confused. Not clear about whether it was only for T20 or the other formats too. But was happy there was a chance there would be high quality cricket/xicket/musket at the local level too. Would be nice to go watch a good match for 3 hours on a weekend at the Chinnaswamy. No matter who is playing it is good to watch a sport you have played (virtually the only one if you don't include goli, lagori, choor chand, dabba, died, eyes pies, chowka baara, raja rani roarer rocket, ludo, ladder, haavu eni, business, monopoly, scotland yard, and some XT based comp games) all your childhood.

People who enjoy tests must have a lot of time on their hand. Good for them.
People who enjoy one-dayers must have flexi-timings and weekends off. Good for them.
I need T20 to be a cricket fan.

Heard someone say the matches were fixed. What with an Indo-Pak final and the two countries accounting for the max ad revenues and all that. As long as the matches seem to be of the highest quality and India wins, i don't mind. Ignorance is bliss :-) ...and NO i am not a fan of WWF :-{

TT or T20 or xicket or whatever it is, is awesome. It does not need those dancers and all those fireworks. We have Sreesanth for the former and Yuvraj for the latter. I think Sreesanth is nuts by the way.

Cheers!!
Sep

long time no blog!!

2007-09-25T23:23:00.000+05:30

i found time to blog even while working a hundred hours a week at GS...
was jobless at home for a month... watching movies , reading books , TP with friends... and could not muster time to write two lines!! Now again i am busy at my new job learning stuff running around and i find the time blog... man... strange :-)
well since i have nothing to say that could be of interest to any readers of my blog. I stop here... for now... and since i am busy nowadays am sure i'll blog a little more :-)
:D
Shastry

--Life on the Timeline--

2007-05-31T11:56:00.000+05:30

"I guess that's all forever is, just one long trail of nows. And i guess all you can do is try and live one now at a time without getting too worked up about the last now or the next now"
---The Horse Whisperer

Think about it, every present was a future and will be a past.
Every past was a future and a present and evey future is going to be a present and a past.

Every instant has three angles you can view it from.
What do you want to see when you see it from each of those angles?

The past, with fondness?
The present with joy?
The future with lip-smacking anticipation?

Well the doc (ahem, read me) would recommend:
a healthy mixture of bitter and sweet for the memories
a lot of activity and thought with sprinklings of peace, planning and some ruminating once in a while for the now
about the future - a combination of ambition and good intentions...

Bewitched

2007-05-31T10:08:00.000+05:30

....all through the demonstration i was vaguely aware of what was going on, and cooperating with the things the hypnotist said, but this time i decided , "Damn it, enough is enough! I'm gonna go straight to my seat."
When it was time to get up and go off the stage, I started to walk straight to my seat. But then an annoying feeling came over me: I felt so uncomfortable that i couldn't continue. I walked all the way around the hall.
----Richard Feynman

I think we all spend our lives under spells.
I think habits are somewhat similar.
I think we underestimate the power of suggestion.
We all do things we never intended to do... or say things we didn't intend to...
And sometimes we never can bring ourselves to do the things we want to do or should do...

How many times have i told myself i'll sit and study today or that i'll work out everyday and failed to? Countless..
How many times have i wanted to follow up on some radical idea and failed? Countless...
How many times have i done things cos others expect me to even if i don't want to? Countless...

Will someone snap me out of my stupor please...
Whose life am i leading?
Whats happening?
I ain't in control... I rather blame someone else...

sigh...

Nanna vandooru...

2007-04-16T23:23:00.000+05:30

Every summer vacation i used to visit my grandparents. Honnavar, Uttara Kannada. Heaven on Earth. To retire there is all i can hope for. Beautiful peaceful and healthy. Has the only few things Bangalore does not offer. I love Bangalore, dont get me wrong, but i still miss those days. I spent my time there eating and playing with my cousins. I loved the food. And the pampering of my grandparents and uncles and aunts. Cricket was the craze then. We used to play in two sessions. The first started early morning and ended at around 11... The second started at 4 and ended with the light.
I miss the greens the streams the quiet... Sigh...

BBBB - Big Balls of the Bronze Bull

2007-04-16T23:07:00.000+05:30

You would have seen the famous Broadway Bull in most Hindi movies shot in NY... from the front... welll this is the back... ;)
There is a belief that if you touch those big bronze balls with your portfolio, your stocks do well...
And another interesting thing our Business instructor told us was that the bulls butt points to the Bankruptacy Court of America...
He he... fun fact :)

On Holidays

2007-04-16T22:44:00.000+05:30

I have downloaded movies to watch.
I have new books to read.
I have the Net to surf.
I have people to message and call.
I have the option of going for a jog.
I have the option of visting friends.
I could visit relatives.
I can chat with my parents.
Still two whole days of weekend is too much... I feel the need to get back to work.
Crazy i surely am...
I wasn't like this b4...
Somethings wrong!!!
Dammit...

About writing, creativity, job and stuff

2007-04-01T11:02:00.000+05:30

I wonder how many people really do what they love doing for a living. I wonder this because i like writing. But i know i would never write for a living. I like writing when some thought crosses my mind and no one is around for me to bug. Like if i feel strongly about something and i have to put it across but i don't really care to whom.
Imagine you are a story-writer or a comic-strip editor or a novelist or just anyone who is expected to deliver creative stuff everyday consistently. Someone whose work is judged against parameters of creativity, quality and commercial utility by the employers. Although one could say any job (including IT) fits the description in the previous line, i believe its easier when there is some routine work involved, some sort of repetitive job with a little creativity thrown in once in a while. Deadlines that are more weekly or monthly and not really pressing. How much creativity goes into a software professionals work? How much of that is robotic work... A process that needs to be methodically followed?
I wonder now if creativity is over-rated?
Damn it... i am confused now...
What i was trying to say is...
Ditch it...

Studying (further)

2007-03-25T09:45:00.000+05:30

Dont know why but i am averse to it. I like reading random stuff. But studying, like in formal academic studying, i hate. I always blame the system (the great indian education system) for this hatred of mine. I guess i would rather not try figure out if there is something really wrong with me ;) But very few guys i have come across in my life truly like studying. There might have been a Venky or a K3 here and there but the majority of people i have known always expressed a distaste for studying. Various levels of distaste, mild to strong.
The perennial question of my studying further bothers my parents more than it should. They are really old-fashioned and imagine that a guy should always be better educated than the girl he is marrying. And that "promotions" are based on what degrees you hold. Or maybe they think an MBA degree would make me some superman. Or that by doing my MS i'll command a dollar salary in India. I need a better reason than these if i have to overcome my aversion and apply myself to books again.
I feel another two years of studying will be just like NITK. Fun. May not be of any much use unless i do it out of interest. That interest has been wanting so far.
Gali has been trying to convince me i should give CAT. K3 is doing his MS. Ashwin and Rami are giving their GREs. I still have the company of a hazaar Kumaarrs :)
Am wondering how many more days before i get brain washed into wanting to study some more...

The Prestige

2007-03-16T22:31:00.000+05:30

After a long time a movie i found truly inspiring but enjoyed tremendously too...
Didn't read any rave reviews about it so watched it with no expectations.
Gripped me from start to finish. The climax was like an unveiling... it transformed most mundane lines in the movie into something special and significant.
Last time i had this feeling watching a movie was when i saw The Shawshank Redemption.
For me, The Prestige had it all. And it lived up to the claim at the starting of the movie. A claim, not so much made... more like it's subtly impressed upon your mind.

my fav quote: He lives his act.

Maturity?

2007-03-10T18:58:00.000+05:30

Over lunch, my team was discussing what maturity meant. I enjoyed the conversation a lot. The conversation started off in the context of college kids not being mature enough to know what they should be doing (studying!! ;) ) What a new team-member, had to say sort of painted, for me, a pretty neat picture of what maturity is. He said its not just when we are kids, even as we grow up we arent really mature. We always do things that we later realise we shouldnt have done. So its probably wrong to attribute immaturity to kids alone.
So, what does it mean when one says a person is mature or has matured? Well i figured it probably meant maturity is when we are aware of the consequences of our actions and our actions are hence guided by that awareness. Well, so much for my maturity... Blown to bits. I liked describing myself mature. Sigh... I wont make that mistake anymore...

Guru

2007-03-04T19:14:00.000+05:30

I had liked Mani Ratnam's Yuva. I had heard a lot of good things about Guru.
So my expectation was high. Must admit it didn't live up to my expectation. The movie was too melodramatic for my taste. The movie focussed on the wrong aspect of entrepreneurship. Great businesses are not built just by saying no to big offers of take over. There is a lot more nut and bolt that goes into it. I would have liked to see a lot more of the nut and bolt.
But anyway the message of the movie i thought was "India is transforming... The middle class has an opportunity it never had before... The youth need to make use of the doors that have been thrown open to us..." I liked that. I also liked the depiction of Guru as a deeply intimate man, very human, capable of loving, capable of caring. His confidence is really inspiring. The nature of his relation with Ash, really natural. Mithun da was good. Madhavan and Vidya Balan are cute (and unnecessary.)
I wish i could say i am inspired by the movie to become an entrepreneur. That would be a lie.
I am inspired to get an ash and some dowry though :) Anyone listening?

Paapa kehte hain

2007-02-28T21:13:00.000+05:30

Choices my pop gives me:

1>Write CAT
2>Write GRE
3>Write GATE
4>Work for 5 years and see if you like it
5>Marry soon

Obs i choose the last option.... :)
The others take longer....

Its a Sony

2007-02-28T21:01:00.000+05:30

Bought a pack of a dozen Sony DVD-Rs
Out of 8 , 4 have already bombed.
Just fails when i write onto it.
So much for "Its a Sony."

Mobile Phone:
I like the N-series search where it searches both first and second names given pattern.
My Sony Ericsson w950i has the stupidest search system.
The music on it is kick-ass though.
The headphone makes a difference i guess.
Camera is cool too.
Didn't like the size of the N-series phones.
Sony looks cute too :)

SMS

2007-02-28T20:56:00.000+05:30

I like messaging.
It is brief, quick, lasts a longer period of time, is to the point(mostly)
It is cheap(for me)
It makes commute less lonely.
Long live messaging...

Convo

2007-02-26T15:23:00.001+05:30

The Fourth Annual Convocation at NITK, Surathkal. 24th February 2007.
The day The Class of 06 graduated officially.

After much postponement it finally happened. Had a good turn out.

Shyam Patwari. In news and how.... He left everyone dumbstruck with his shocking twenty kilos weight loss. Something to be said about the man's will power. What Pattu wants Pattu gets. I was watching the face of a particular person when he walked into the IE meeting. The both hands to the mouth, eyes wide open, "what on earth did i miss??!!" look said it all.
And there was Arjuna. He came all the way from Singapore for the convo. Really nice.

Our baays went a day before. A bus full of Kumaarrs...
Friday night was apparently interesting. Beach and booze make fertile grounds for senti thoughts.
Rami's "Maga Ranjan neenu marathon kumaarr alva maga, suratkalge odihogi swalpa yenne togondu baa..." to Ashwin's Salman Khan ishtyle... i missed it. again.

Registrations on Saturday morning administered by Mom.
Breakfast had been arranged apparently, no one realised it though.
The convo was professionally arranged. Chief Guest Madhavan Nair and the Chairman Govardhan Mehta put everyone to sleep. We got the certificate labeling us bachelors of engineering. Senate was looking intellectual, for once, with Mysore peta and the ceremonial robes.

Lunch was a crowded affair. The afternoon was spent meeting up with juniors. Some of us giving fundae and some of us getting updates on the college and the juniors career plans.

Evening Achar called an IE meeting. And took everyone out to DC for a treat. I am jealous of the guys. Miss all that. IE rocked.

Chefs for dinner. There were no foot-longs or mocktails this time.

Night at NITK beach. Nostalgia. Wandering mind. Memories. Comparisons of the life at NITK and life in the real world.

Few guys were left behind on Sunday. Me Jayyu Jaggu Mandu Gali Sudhoom Achar Archana Pronitha Mandy Arjuna Phani had breakfast at HOD Sir's house. Very nice of them to arrange for so many of us at such short notice.
Pics were taken. And we took leave. Some time spent at main lobby. Fundu Nisarg Amol joined them.

There was not much to do really. Juniors had exams. Achar and some left in the afternoon.
Only our gang and Shailu's were left in college.

Sunday night. Byes were said. We left college. Most of us are never going to see it again. Some of us might turn up for a re-union twenty five years down the lane.

We didn't even get to feel nostalgic since the Ideals guy not only gave us some tin can bus instead of a sleeper but also shouted at us.

Convo was over.
Some of us might have a few more pages left, but for most it was the last chapter in our story of NITK life.

Convocation

2007-02-17T08:04:00.000+05:30

Don't know how its gonna feel. Last time i was in college on behalf of my firm, it felt like i was trespassing on someone else's property. This time though all my friends (batchmates) will be there. And if all of us are there it'll probably feel like i am back to those days.... those days at NITK. Life in Shangri La.
Nothing much has changed in college. But feels like it is really different. Maybe internet in rooms and tiles in bathroom are different. But thats about it. I mean just because one more batch passed out, it does not mean there has been a revolution in NITK. But that batch was a batch that was from the KREC of yore. The composition of the students, the lifestyle, the customary activities, the addas were not the same as that of today's students. We were somehow different. Or maybe every batch feels the same.
Looking forward to seeing all my friends. Old buddies. Quaking partners. Kumaarrs. Final block junta. PSB. Mom. John D!! The Dean. NC (Heard its been closed :( ) Basketball!! (Wish i could play :( ) The juniors. The first year girls ( who somehow seem good only in first year!!! ) the beach.... sigh....

Poetry :D

2007-02-10T22:43:00.000+05:30

A part of him was stolen forever,
a part of him, in wishes, flew...
What he lost he got back never,
but the hope forever grew...

Dandeli

2006-12-26T06:39:00.000+05:30

The baayz: Achar, Ananda, Jaggu, Jayanth, K3, Rami, Ranger, Sandy and Me...
Destination: Dandeli
Duration: Friday evening -> Tuesday morning (22nd Dec to 26th Dec 2006)
Mode of Transport: Rented Qualis
Things we did: River Crossing, Night Trekking, White Water Rafting
Phone numbers: Contact Sandy/ Google it
Tips: Book in advance. Not for hard core trekkers/adventurers. Family fun.

What follows? -> An elaborate and meandering description (more like a diary) of our experiences.
Who might want to read what follows? -> Only Baayz who came there.

The Story:
The plan was to have no plan, in order to make optimum utilization of our time in Dandeli and to save some cash. We all were in the car by 10 P.M. on Friday. Our parents had explicitly asked us to tell the driver to drive slow. Something we did not intend to do. But our parents need not have worried as the idiot we got as driver happened to imagine 60 kph as the Velocity of light and never approached anywhere close to it to avoid possible time travel. The worst part was when he took a two and half hour nap in the middle of the night. Speed-breakers were seen as red-lights. I mean he actually stopped the car just before every pimple of a road-bump. Anyway...
K3 (who was joining us from Pune) waited for us all morning in Dandeli. He claimed to have spent 200 bucks in a hotel that charged 5 bucks for a tea and ten for a dosa... Well what can i say ;) We then proceeded to Jungle Lodges and Resorts to book whatever adventure sports they had to offer. Due to the high number of tourists (an eyeful ;) ) who had come for white water rafting there were no guides left for mountain biking or rappelling or canyoning. Hence we booked a slot for white water-rafting on Sunday morning with an agent called Vaibhav Kamath. Accommodation was found in the nearby tourist lodge. By the time we figured all this out our Saturday was over. It was 5 P.M. by the time we were ready to roam. A couple of localites recommended Sangama, some 10 km from the place where we were staying. (I have to mention that the driver was so slow that we all got down from the car and started walking!!!)
Sangama turned out to be the shore of Kali. Nothing extraordinary. We took some snaps and tried our hand at limbo dancing. Ranger's basket-ball antics were discussed at length and captured for posterity. Having had our fun we got back to the lodge. We met another chap, (agent) Sanjai, who promised us river crossing night treks and outdoor camping. He got our rafting postponed to Monday morning. We got suckered by his smooth talking and agreed to the schedule he drew up for us. It eventually turned out that the only good thing he did was showing us a lingayat mess. The food was superb. "Jolad rotti"s were dispatched with panache. Stomachs full we turned in for the day.
Next day we got ready bright and early. But Sanjai happened to turn up more than an hour late. We then traveled on near perfect roads (at 30 kph) to Horn bill resorts. A natural swimming pool (a section of the river bank was cemented) was offered as a filler while we waited our turn at River Crossing. We swam for quite a long time. Rami perfected his "back-stroke." Genius walked across the river bed. Jaggu showed off his swimming prowess. The others splashed a while. Eventually we were all out of the water shivering in our wet clothes. After a long wait we were taken to an island where we again waited for a couple of hours. What should have started at 10 a.m. started at 2 p.m. I went first. It was clumsy. For the uninitiated, it involves lugging yourself across the river on a rope to which you are attached, at your waist, by a pulley. How graceful can it be? You are trying with all fours to pull on a rope while the river is washing all over you. I made a boo-boo. I described it as humiliating. That was harped upon for the rest of the trip. Anyway, all of us tried our hand at it. Jaggu finished it off in a flash. He is truly at home in the jungle ;) By now we were all terrifically hungry. Jayyu was so hungry, he was silent!! We salvaged the last bits of a lunch at 5.30 p.m. By now we were thoroughly pissed with Sanjai's lack of professionalism. So we ditched him entirely. The owner of Horn bill resorts arranged for us a night trek.
We waited, chatting, on the banks of the Kali. After sunset we left with our guides to the Supa dam. It was an easy trek. We carried a couple of bottles and a lot of food. We were guided by the light from the mobiles we carried. At the end of the trek the scene that presented itself before us took our breaths away. A million stars above us. Pitch-black jungle behind us. The flat surface of the dam back-waters in front of us. The reflection from the moon, the only visible patch on the water. The silhouette of bamboo shoots. The utter absence of human noise. We sat for a while in the dark. Our guides made a campfire. We never got around to sitting around it. We just had the food and "water" wherever we were sitting. Talked about nothing. Soaked up the beauty.
By the time the fire died out we were good to go. On the way back we sang old romantic Hindi numbers. Well i guess we were a little light-headed ;) We reached back by 10 p.m.
Food awaited us. But none of us had any space in our tummies. We stuffed ourselves with whatever we could. The fruit salad was worthy of a mention. We drove back to our lodging and rested for the night.
The next day we got ready on time and got onto our car. We noticed that the driver had tampered with the distance meter. We told him what we thought of it. He gave no reasons. Anyway, we arrived on time at Jungle lodges. While we waited for the Jeeps to leave for the upstream drive we checked out a Punjabi kudi who was sashaying all around the place. She was good. Half an hours drive in a jeep later we reached the take-off point. Me and Ranger were used to demonstrate how to put on a buoyancy aid. I got a longer paddle than Ranger. Aha..!! All nine of us were piled into a single raft with our guide JD ( Guides Pics ) Positions in the raft were Ananda and Jaggu in the front. Followed by Rami and K3 and for the rest the guide said "whatever" order. Then started the best part of the trip. We were given safety drills. What our instructions would be. What we were supposed to do and when. After the crash course we were all allowed to jump into the river. It was beautiful. The scenery idyllic. The water cold and clean. Drifting along with the current, i realised it was probably the first time any of us ever swam in a river. We got back on the raft. After we paddled a couple of times, the guide realised he had over-estimated our Genius. He demoted him not once, but twice. Guess length does not matter. It is the technique :D "Humiliation" (Quake voice) was all that our Genius heard. The Rapids were Grade 2 and 3. The guide kept us excited by crashing us into rocks at top speeds. An occasional over-hanging branch did threaten to take a head or two, but by and large it was peaceful. Given that all other rafts had lesser number of people and included women and children, ours was by far the most capable of speed. The whole trip downstream took us almost two hours. JD complemented on our power and gave us pamphlets advertising rafting at Coorg. We have promised ourselves to do it. I hope it happens.
Once we were done with the rafting, we changed into dry clothes. Got back to our car. Packed and vacated our hotel rooms. We didn't risk visiting anymore places since we knew the driver was going to take a longer time than necessary. We dropped K3 off at Dharwad. Thankfully he got transport home pretty easily. Of course we had to buy the famous Dharwad peda. The journey then passed quickly. We talked "guy things." Like the Life, the Universe and Everything... :D Quantum Theory, Theory of Relativity, Philosophy, Descartes... India and India's future. Politics. Some slept all through. "I like the concept" was oft repeated ;) Amidst "pit stops" we managed to reach Bangalore by 5 in the morning. Everyone was dropped off at their homes. Sandy settled the bills for us. Jayanth did the Math and sorted out the "who pays what?" bit. Achar was leaving for Hyderabad that night. The enthusiasm of Achar and K3 is something to be praised. They came all the way alone to be with us.
This was by far the easiest trip we had been on. It was different and it was fun. I wonder how long we can keep on going away like this. Leaving behind the computers for a weekend and living with friends with not a care in the world. Looking forward to the next time we can do it. Till then... Adios...