Time to Fade...

26th December 2004 - 26th December 2008!

Time to Fade one of the deadliest natural disaster of our lifetime : 4 Yrs
Time to Fade this Grief Stricken Picture : NEVER

Was quite surprised not to see any tsunami anniversary related news today!

Twittering Around...

Glad to be back after a hibernation of 2 months or so!
Much has happened since my last visit here...be it personal or public domain!

Hope to get active again!

ps: Finally joined the twitter community. Just like emails/messengers/blog/sms...this is for here to stay and be part of our daily life!

@twitter.com/iganguly

Being Nostalgic...

Ya devi sarvabhuteshu buddhi - rupena samsthita
Namas tasyai, Namas tasyai, Namas tasyai namo namah.
(To that goddess who abides in all beings as intelligence : Sautaions to Thee...)
The new Durga Protima of Bengali Association of DFW

This is probably the first time during the past 10 years, I am feeling quite nostalgic during this ongoing Durga Puja. And the sole reason for that is city's Bengali Association which marked their 25th anniversary, put up a grand celebration and it exceeded all the expectations I had! It was 50 hours of sheer fun, Get Togethers, catching up with friends, addas, attired in traditional dresses, offering Pushpanjali, delicious meals for 3 days (basically no cooking at home!), Chanting Mantras amid rhythmic beating of Dhaks (drums), and each evening cultural functions and witnessing one which included legendary Usha Uthup too. It was so close the way we used to have it back then. How can I not feel nostalgic...

As I grew up in Hindi Mainland, the way we enjoyed Durga Puja was significantly different than what my cousins from Calcutta experienced. So while they had to wait for 6 longs days, thanks to Navratri, we started visiting different pandals right from the very day after Mahalaya. Then we were also "lucky" to take part in Dandiya/Garba dance each night, which they missed for sure. But the bong inside me was always eagerly waiting for the "shashti" evening (the 6th day) when our own Railway Institute will put up the newly brought statue of Goddess Durga in our very own Mandap thus starting 4 days of sheer festive excitement. Now this "bengali" Durga unlike Navratri ones, always comes (along with her 4 famous God Kids) riding a lion instead of a tiger..a distinct feature-difference to find if it is a Bengali Puja or a Non Bengali one..FYI).

Now based on the bong population of the city, or depending upon how many bengalis can stay "cordially together" for a certain amount of time, there might be more than one Durga Puja involved in the town. And as I was lucky belonging to that type of city where 4 such committees took pride in their existence, our next 3 days would be spent mainly on shuffling from one to another for Anjali, Bhog or even Orchestra/Jatras (theaters) and other cultural events. Even the most conservative parents would become quite liberal and their teenagers will bask in the glory of 4 days of uninterrupted freedom from domestic rules and regulations! But mind it..all these inter association friendship and all...those were just till the Navami (the 9th day). And on the 10th day which would also be the Visarjan, Immersion day( known as Dusherra too!) we are back to our core committee. All the camaraderie shared with our rival associations for past few days are suddenly vanished and thanks to that mysterious substance on that sorbet, gulped secretly minutes before immersion procession would begin...even a person like me was all out to shout and ready to fight with the members from the other club. Contentious issue varied from deciding the stoppage times on various spots on procession route, performing brotherly duties (rather showing heroism), settling old scores or even arguing whose protima will be honored to get immersed first. And then elderly members from both groups would come and make the settlement among these young hot and "quite influenced by now" blood. Yes...All in the backdrop of the Visarjan, Crackers and one final Dance with the Dhunuchi to impress the departing Goddess(es). Finally coming back to the empty pandal with a sombre mood, riding in that open truck with slogans of "Aschey Bachar Aabar habey" (next year again!) it would be time to get the "shanti jal", sweets and official inauguration of Subho Bijoya.

So though sad with the sudden void of activities around the empty mandap, for many of us the celebration would still continue for couple of weeks more....as in bengali tradition from that day till Diwali if you visit someone's home you shall be rewarded with Mishti Mukh (sweets!).

Subho Bijoya to you all!!!

Mojo of Mohit Chauhan!

Mohit Chauhan: He is certainly not new to Hindi Music. But I guess in last one year he became more popular than he was probably as the lead singer and guitarist of the once popular band called Silk Route, which unfortunately was officially dissolved last year. My recent experience of this soothing voice (after Dooba Dooba of Silk Route) was few months back with this song "Guncha"..from Main Meri Patnee aur Woh. What an incredible, unique, soft and romantic voice!

And finally now, looks like he is the must have singer for all the music directors be it A R Rahman, Shantanu Moitra, Preetam or even the talli-talli Anu Malik!

"A Great Revival and Very Well DESERVED"!

Enjoy My Top 6 from Mohit Chauhan Collection!

Marking The Day!

When watching "Cinderella Man" of the finest Depression Era movie, few weeks back, didn't realize that we are in the brink of one. This afternoon with DOW falling by around 800 points we are for sure entering another.
It will be scary yet interesting to see how the future unfolds!

Sajjanpur - A Movie Par Excellence

What a Great Movie Mr Benegal has made. It has been years for sure I have experienced such a great classic Hindi Movie and it will be in memory for years. Each and every minute of this movie is excellently crafted, superb performance from every single cast, be it the the main characters of Shreyas Talpade, Amrita Rao or select and super-impact appearances of Ila Arun, Divya Dutta, Yashpal Sharma and others. All delivered their career best performance I think. Multiple story plots based in a simple today's village near Satna (Central MP! could easily associate with), awesome music with few nice soft numbers, crisp dialogues in local dialects, bone tickling hilarious from start to end, human emotions and yet delivering some important social points...and the latter is so subtle and well weaved into the storyline...a mixture of all this probably puts it par excellence! Reminds me of Hari Bhari from the same director 8 years back....but the social message he tried to convey was way too heavy for many. A friend of mine, whom I had recommended that (as a prank, of course!) is still pulling his hair and waiting eagerly to settle the score but yet to find something which can beat Hari-Bhari.

I am sure this is one of the best work of Shyam Benegal. And unlike HariBhari this time it is going to appeal the masses. Elite and Common both.

In short...this is the "RAAG-DARBARI" of celluloid! HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Not So Presidential...!

I strongly believe if Palin becomes the VP (and later President...as it might be only heartbeats away) she needs to emanate a tough impression when meeting foreign leaders and their media, much tougher than what she is now doing to democrats, and her own country's media shall stop showing the delicate and flowery side of her to the world, and the staff must remind the meeting dignitaries about REFRESHING their "harassment" course .

I was sort of amazed and shocked to see that she got her "first" significant foreign experience today from none other than our own neighbor President. It will be anything but just falling short of "Flirting". Now how that looks, considering he being a president just few weeks old only, Head of an Islamic Republic State and last but not the least enjoying this "status" for none other than his own martyred wife..not even a year right?

A Very Non-Presidential and Non-Sharif Gesture!

Z: “You are even more gorgeous than you are on the (inaudible).”

P: “You are so nice. Thank you.”

Z: “Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you.”

[A Z handler tells the two to shake hands again for the cameras.]

P: “I’m supposed to pose again.”

Z: “If he’s insisting, I might hug.”

Driving by the Eternity

The one good thing about my recent job change is the oppurtunity now I get to spend a good amount of time behind the steering wheels on the way to office. For the past 15 years it happened so that my work place used to be just minutes away from my home. Be it by walk, taking MRT or driving. Indeed a strange coincidence and labeled as you-lucky-one by many. Now all that changed earlier this year when I, like many others joined the workforce who need to commute daily. Though my commute time is mere 20 minutes (one way), compared to past 2 or 3 minutes, at first it seemed huge but over the time I started liking it and now I really don't want to reduce it even by a second. I look forward to it and perhaps this this is the best way I can start my day with!

Just for the same reason, I don't take highways, where there is always a chance to beat it by 3 to 4 minutes further, but I prefer going through the lanes and bylanes, slowly driving through speed restricted school zones, crowded office areas, passing through the Main street's congested business area, driving cautiously by the Police Headquarter of the city, and then occasionally cruising parallel to a dart train for a while. But the best and most important part of my ride is the last 7 to 8 minutes...when I drive by the huge sprawling cemetery. This is the biggest funeral home of the city. As soon as I cross the red-light on the Main Street and Restland drive, the previous hustle-bustle suddenly disappears into a nice serene and calm atmosphere as if there was a big filter on the junction and that had just absorbed all the activities of regular life. It is unbelievable how my mood and thinking changes instantly. Invariably and daily I would see fresh flowers being put by the loved ones, or workers putting up a tent for some last services probably, or sad and somber people wandering near the main gate. For couple of minutes there is nothing else..but calmness and solace!

This whole thing for some weird reason gives me a very soothing feeling..thinking about the inevitable which is bound to happen without fail. It is an assurance and guarantee that Yes...Finally at the end...I too will be part of this Peaceful element, when nothing else shall matter. I would switch off NPR's morning edition or Glenn Beck's yelling on anything "liberal" ..and for next few minutes I am no more interested in upcoming presidential debates or trying to understand the nitty gritty of Credit Default Swaps or even the deadlines of project.

And then there is another stop sign and crossing that, once again I am back to the active street as before, entering my office and waving the ID card to the now familiar and smiling security guard. Like a toggle switch my mind is now absolutely cut off from the previous thoughts and I am all keen to start my day in the most enthusiastic way possible...and more so very keen to go back to home afterward to my eagerly waiting two loved ones, and spend another wonderful day with them.

I do not take the same way going back.

Treading Backwards...?

Looks like whatever effort the stalwart CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya painstakingly put over last 7 or 8 years to put back the "renaissance" city (always my weakness) and the state back into the world map...is going down the drain too fast.

First Tata, then Infosys...now Satyam and DLF too? If trend continues Rajar-Haat might soon turn into Kangaal-Haat. I dont think we can blame the CM, his policies or his government but it his own party and politburo members who needs to be blamed. After all they are the one who condemned Buddhadeb for speaking against the traditional CPM-Weapon called "Bandh and Gheraos"..Per them even thinking like that is anti-communist. Recently read somewhere that Buddhadeb has done well as Deng Xiaoping with his economist reforms but now he what he needs to do is a "Gorbachev" for a Prestroika to his own party. He is indeed the right man in the wrong party!

..... And then there is another one..a very special and effective one...equally responsible for this backward treading...what can I say better than this "cartoon" which I recently came across.

For the non-bongs:
"You did not marry when it was time for you, didn't start a family, elo-melo'ed your own life, and now elo-melo'ed the country too....my poor baby"
What is elo-melo....Well you dont have to be a Bong to get that!

Bipartisan

I cant be biassed towards one...So if I can see "Morphed" Obama, I sure can find Palin look alike too. And I am not talking about SNL's Tina Fey....!
Only, in this case for the latter I also need a different hair do and a pair of "kawasaki 704" !
Agree?

Maverick ???

Sheer Maverick!

• When all the news channels are discussing about LIPSTICK while election is mere 50 days away
  
• When I realize the "Lipstick on a P.." is a much accepted English Phrase. By the way my vocab also has a brand new word in it now "Haberdasher".
  
• When the Presidential Election suddenly becomes all about one Vice Presidential candidate.
  
• When the VP Candidate gets more coverage than rest of the 3 Combined..and certainly is overshadowing the own party's presidential candidate.
  
• When the same potential VP laughs about "Reading the RIGHTS to the convict", and mocks on "Community Organizers" amid cheering of crowds. Unbelievable...
  
• When the so far common phrase "Soccer Moms" gets replaced by more hip and trendy "Hockey Moms"
• When the would be VP is also referred as "One Heartbeat Away" President.
  
• When I come to know that other than Bikes, Kawasaki also makes Eye Glasses.
• and Finally....When I hear that Dinosaurs are nothing but Lizards of Satan..

It is unbelievable how things turned around since that Birthday surprise...though I will remain doubtful if this much of turn around was really foreseen by Maverick himself. After all suddenly he is not in lime light as of today. Whether it is going to Help or Hurt only time will indicate, but whatever it is, are not we fortunate enough to witness the "First Time Ever Happened" event in American history..be it the President or the Vice-President.

Congratulations!

If you are still reading this post..then Congratulations.
You did survive the BigBang....scheduled to happen in less than an hour from now.


Ok...this time we were lucky but 4 years, 3 months and 10 days...who knows!
By all symptoms around the world "The EndGame has already begun"!

Meanwhile lets enjoy the remaining days...and the upcoming and getting interesting day-by-day presidential election...and take it for granted that things may look distorted now onwards.....after all LIGHT does bend inside black hole...and thanks to Hadron Collider...even if survived from complete annihilation it may happen that we get few side effects of it.

Spooky Coincidence

I am sure I am not the first/only one to notice this weird coincidence

Obama / Biden '08

Now how much that sounds familiar to the name of that person hiding somewhere in northern part of Pakistan....Chilling isnt it. Good dose of topic for "cult" groups!

Anyway, looks like Obama's VP announcement using Text Message to Regd. Supporters, scheme backfired as CNN and Fox are already Confirming Biden as his choice much before the anticipated SMS which is expected to land on cellphones across the country any where between Thursday Night to Saturday afternoon...Building the anticipation and Hype and making media crazy. Probably that's what the campaign wanted...but what happened to that promise to thousands of supporters that "You will hear it First...as a personal touch".

Lesson learnt: Never try to prolong a "suspense" more than necessary....it may just backfire!

A Blot in the name of Bhadralok"ism"

I just cant help myself. I am in love with this song...so since last few days if I am listening anything..it is nothing but this. And then suddenly something strikes me this evening while coming back home..(and of course the thought process triggered while listening the same in background). Whats so special about this catchy one... Is it really that worth. Look at my age, maturity, social status....and does it anywhere match with that? It has "road chaap" words like "Talli, Whiskey, Soda, Munda, Mushtanda, Kake and what not". It has no lyrics, Full of suggestive and double entendre...but still I have gone complete "talli and fultush" over it. Is it just the theme, the music, the beats or is it the way it has been produced and the final outcome which to me sounds awesome (I have not seen the video, so cant comment on that part or say looks awesome and I doubt it will). I am sure I am not alone in its fanclub...but if I look at my band of brothers whom all I expect to see. I know the answer very well...and the producers of this item number know it well too for it has been targetted to that class. I also know that there might be many people like me who probably love it but will be quite reluctant to admit it..after all it belongs to that certain "class" and then who is not afraid of being judged by what we say, listen and what we like....so I dont blame.

Can I proudly recommend it to someone.."You know..you must listen to it..its a great listening pleasure". I cant. It does not use literary Hindi or Urdu stuff in it. It has no philosophical theme. It has no musical value. It will be erased from our memory after few weeks...It does not emanate sophistication..It is meant for a certain audience. It is certainly not for the regular main stream..that middle /elite class...For the society me and you belong to.

The more and more I think of it...more I fell into this self realization process. It is not only this song..look at the theme/topic of my Blog. I have and I do read regularly so many blogs by others. All of them carry weight..the substance. They make you think something. They discuss highly intellectual stuffs sometimes, philosophical, spiritual things. Even if they discuss Poetry/Movies/Songs/Books that will for sure belong to something which you will feel PROUD to recommend. It leaves you with a feeling of an accomplishment. And then I look at my years old poor Absolut Timepass...which discusses Chitrahaar, An actress' biography, compilation from youtube, of for that matter funnyordie website (really funny, I labelled that as techie stuff..for a change!) and last but not the least a "shit processing center named after George Bush". ..Oh God..Is it me? I guess it is.

After all it is nothing new. Reminds me of one old incident...when I was probably 12/13 years old. We were planning to attend one of my cousins marriage in Calcutta. Those days..Calcutta was not that cosmopolitan (read Hindi aware). So we three brothers from the core Hindiland, were always treated with "respect" and cheered by the younger generation (as we were fluent in Hindi..ie spoken language of "Bollywood") but much with "Sarcasm" with the older generation as we cant even recite Tagore (to show respect lets say "Thakur" to show some originality). Anyways...as is generally common during a bong family function...songs/recitals were very much in place and expected from all brothers/sis of the new bride on the marriage night..called "basar ratri". It is pity to see the newly weds who are already exhausted and stressed out are FORCED to remain awake till wee hours and tolerate these family cultural show. So that being year 1983/1984 I was keen to show my talent too...that too in chaste hindi..and with the latest two hits. I still remember those songs...they had very simple lyrics, chartbusters of that time,and of course easy to sing. So I literally pen it down painstakingly listening from the radio over many broadcasts, memorize and rehearse it many times and even do a dress rehearsal with the my two younger brothers as audience. Things look perfect. And then on the d-day when my turn was up, I performed. I performed well I guess, as got few clapping from my fresh new bro-in-law. Songs I had "intelligently" chosen were both marriage based suiting the occasion, were "Shayad Meri Shadi Ka Khyaal from Souten"..and then my backup song (rather "one more...one more please" item) was "Gangaram Kunwara Rah Gaya from JeevanDhara". Looking at half of the audience was already asleep, and though there was no "one more plz request" I shamelessly sang the second one too...after all I had put an incredible effort preoaring for my moment of fame.

Next day over Morning Tea/Biscuits in the marriage pandal..I do see a serious discussion going on with my Father in the center and lots of elderly relatives in and around him, lecturing him. Could not stop but sneaked in, only to find my previous nights performance was being discussed...and they were appalled to see how could an intelligent young "bengali" boy is going downhill..who sings cheap hindi film songs instead of Abritti (poem recitals) or rabindro sangeet. The hatred was not for "hindi" rather the sublime subject and theme and utter mediocrity of my selection of songs. Even a hindi version of "Hemanto" or "Manna" would have been perfect but a song discussing a proposal over tea invitation and few animals going on a marriage procession "barat" that was too much to digest. Now the target himself being there, attention shifts from my Father (who may have already done a bad thing by moving out of Bengal) to me and I am given a full lecture on the Pride/Culture/History of great Bengal folks and how must I change my likings. Well that was the day..I realized Point Blank that I cant belong to Bhadralok category ever....rather I might be a blot to that.

PS: Thanks to Blogs...I am free to share my opinions "freedom of expression" here.......saying kudos and cheering for Main Talli Ho Gayee's music composer now "in" and "famous" Mr Annu Malik. Now that needs Guts...isnt it!

Golden Jubilee!!!

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
- In the Shadow of the Moon

The dreams of yesterday are the hopes of today and the reality of tomorrow.
-Robert Goddard

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the the universe.
— Albert Einstein

Happy 50th Birthday!!!

Cool ...A small FISH has "JUST" been Served!

Seeing Google challenged is NOT everyday affair. So this Monday (28th July 2008) becomes really COOL to see that happen, when cuil got launched few hours back and claiming that it searches 3 times more web page than Google does.

I tried, looks OK, but NOT "compulsive" enough that I will start "cuiling" rather than "googling" with immediate effect. But then who knows...It took a while from shifting to Yahooing to Googling 8 years back. I am also happy that it will let the Google to retain and keep working on its competitive edge..which probably it was not finding anymore from Microsoft or Yahoo!

What I liked about Cuil (pronounced cool) is the way it categorizes the results. What I did not like is my name search gives ZERO results. Also doing a quick search using terms "Ahmedabad blast" gave disappointing result for Cuile. So for me ..it still has a long way to go! But once they fix these small issues it will be interesting to see which big fish tries to eat this "small fish" first.

Salaam Bombay!!!

Little did I have an idea that an offbeat conversation I took part in last weekend at a friend's party..is going to keep me busy for an entire week. It was about Radios/Transistors..how vital role it played when we were growing up..be it elections/sports or even sheer entertainment. And just then somebody mentioned Radio Ceylon....and yes you guessed it right. How can we not talk about Amin Sayani the greatest voice ever heard in Indian radio and Binaca Geetmala the numero uno Radio Programme of the country till TV replaced that wonderful medium in mid 80s!

So though the conversation soon was taken over by more demanding office gossips/controversies while sipping Mohitos, but I was still stuck on those moments of Wednesday 8-9PM and continuous fiddling with those short wave knobs. FM was still unheard..and Chitrahaar was still only for privileged ones. Maybe it was the effect of Mohito, by the time I was coming of out of the party I had already decided how to spend my next free hours. I was little surprised to see that there is only one website (bollango.com) which is maintaining a playlist of Binaca tops, Wiki is not complete and only one website (bollywoodsoundtracks.com) which posted an html page.. and yes NONE in YouTube. Surprising isnt it!

So now you know what I was busy for past few days.....AND..Good things ought to be shared !!!

So here I am presenting the First Ever PlayList in Youtube "The Official Binaca (later Cibaca) Geetmala" (1953-1994). Then as GOOD THINGS shall never come to an end, from 1995 to 2007 another playlist (what Binaca would have chosen had it been still ON) and Finally My own PICK for 2008!.

So enjoy over 6 hrs of the best of the best, 4 generations of Hindi Film music, enjoyed equally by our GrandParents and now by their great grandkids and while doing so...also lets experience and appreciate the wonderful transition Bollywood goes thru over this 55 years...be it from B/W to color, or the actors/actresses, the singers, the style, the dress, the looks, the ambiance, the mood, the technology, the direction, editing and last but not the least The Lyrics...Wao! What An Incredible Journey..And Still as Addictive and Alluring as it was then...UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Enjoy! (I had a better player, but this youtube bug is causing issue, this is a workaround for time being)

Binaca GeetMala (1953-1994)





...And If Binaca Would Have Continued (1995-2007)



..... And the My Pick for "Sartaz" Song (2008!)

Celebrating 39th Anniversary

I plan to celebrate this day by watching "In the shadow of the Moon" presented by Ron Howard (appolo-13 fame). This one is a documentary released last year and since then won so many acclaims and rewards. Going by Internet Buzz....it seems this is the best film ever made on Apollo Moon Landings. The best part it seems there is no commentary to it in the background (like usual documentaries) rather it is narrated by in a chronological order by those eight men..who had actually put their foot on Moon!

I am looking forward to it. The only "disappointing" thing is Conspiracy Theorists are still as active as always. It is hard for them to understand that Faking a Moon Landing will be Much More Difficult task than actually going there. There is NO DEARTH of McClellans afterall (which is good) !

The WORD Game...

The N word...
Will Rev. Jesse Jackson be still called "reverend" after using the N word....and moreover where N is no more a Color stuff this time, but an Anatomical stuff....and most importantly if that belongs to the would be most powerful man in the world! Well I fully sympathize with Rev., for he is mere Mortal human being like us..and can surely use the N, S or F word for that matter..but uttering that at a place with live Microphones? Mr Jackson...You must "look before you speak".

The S word...
A R Rahman is great. He is indeed Versatile. He is always experimenting...But to experiment with four letter S words in the most catchy songs he composes...Well it is little bit harder for the parents especially if you have a kid who has an extra "affection" for bollywood songs. So though we could manage Rubaroo well..by skipping the S word right at the beginning..but in his latest chartbuster (Pappu Cant Dance..) no chance of skipping it! By the way this movie (jane tu jane na) is full of regular S words too...and it becomes difficult to exlpain a three year old how come they are escaping scot free even after speaking those dreaded words.

Cake Time!

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!!

Lets Celebrate with this lovely Song and Paintings

T H A N K S for your Visit(s)

Da Vinci Code...Revisits!

Since past few days was coming across the reviews/interviews etc regarding this new book called "The Last Patriot" which is hitting stores today. Author is Brad Thor who has already a NY Times Bestseller ("The First Amendment") under his belt. I have not read him so far .. but looking at the review and hearing the buzz...it seems his new book is going to cause a stir (and few Fatwas) for sure!

The theme seems very much like Da Vinci Code...just change Christianity with Islam. Though an work of fiction but the author claims that it is based on true facts. So just as in Da Vinci, here prophet Mohamed on his last days "said" something...which if revealed today will be catastrophic for Islam and the highest authorities will go to any extreme to stop this American Navy Seal hero from trying to go to the root and making it public. And in this backdrop Brad says he gives many of startling true facts about Islam and Quran and its history so far unknown to majority of us! Based on the author's interview, I came across this "interesting link" which if true, makes us believe that what the 3rd president of this country Thomas Jefferson dealt with 200 years back..is no way different than what the current US presidents are dealing with!

I am eager to see what more true facts it is going to give us...and finally if it can be as gripping, revealing and shocking as Da Vinci Code or just a mere copycat version of one of the most thriiling novel world has seen so far.

It certainly seems worth $13...and is going to be my next purchase from B&N.

Simply Unethical...and Unacceptable

Guess what the above sewage plant is to be called soon...."George W Bush Sewage Plant".

I have read a similar incident before. During Vietnam war, to show their anger against USA (or show support to their communist brothers in arm), the City of Calcutta renamed the street where US consulate was located . So overnight Harrington became Ho Chi Minh Sarani (street). But then what can be expected against the city which holds the record of longest serving (and still...) "democratically" elected communist party....So I understand it.

But now, the city of San-Fransisco voting for the above sewage plant to be named as "George W Bush Sewage Plant" is too much of "democracy". Instead of Bridges, Highways and other National Monuments this Elite leftist city thinks this is a befitting farewell gift for Bush. I am sure like me, many are not going to like it...You can make mockery or insult to an individual but doing that to the President of Your Own Country...I fail to understand it !!!

One Two Three Four

Dedicating this song to mark the occasion of my first gas filling with $4.00 / Gallon from that Chevron Gas station on the way to my work! A RED LETTER DAY indeed!

By the way...I find this Feist Choreography Awesome....Or is it Camera Trick....Whatever...End Result is Impressive!

One Two Three Four by Fiest

Welcome...FIREFOX-3!

My first post using this new browser (just few hours old now). Was eagerly waiting for it since past few days and finally it is here. The look and feel is not significantly different....and I am still browsing and experimenting with few of the smart, cool and "safety" features. . Already experiences the built in spell checker (for web forms,blog post), tagging web sites, New Zoom Feature, Pause and Resume downloading.....I am liking it already (there was not even an iota of doubt though). With hindreds of other new or enhanced features, developed over last 3 years by 1000s of developers/users....it is going to set a new bar for any web browser (read IE).

Already 2.9 Million downloads have taken place since it was launched this noon....and within next 12 hrs (India, China and part of Europe are just waking up...) it certainly will well exceed the 5 Million Goal set by Mozilla while trying to set A Guinness World Record.

Already did my part in helping reach that...downloaded in both work and home PCs.....and now back to exploring more of the new features.....may be an Online Shopping and check out its Instant ID Favicon....!

Ominous Signs...

12th May 2008 : Deadliest Earhquake hits China

1246 miles SouthEast and 18 days later....
1st June 2008 : Magnitude 6.8 strong earthquake: Offshore Between Philipines and Taiwan

1000 miles Northeast and 13 days later...
14th June 2008 : Fatal Earthquake strikes Japan

How much time it will take that Massive Beast to Travel 5000 Miles further East....?

Let us hope The Huge Pacific in bewteen pacifies it......!!!

The Man With One Shoe

Webster and Oxford must be preparing to add this new word in the future editions...I think they will probbaly, and it will go like this.

Hypermiling: It is a technique of increasing vehicle's gas mileage by making "behavioral" changes in the way one drives, thus allowing to save on rising gas prices.

I came across this word for the first time this morning (thanks to NPR)..though a little research shows it is being discussed well among the enthusiasts for over a year or so.

As the gas price is soaring towards $5 per Gallon, there are many innovations, forums, groups being formed to tackle the crisis at the common users end and new words are being coined, tips and tricks being discussed. Hypermiling is one of them. And for this particular Hypermiler group from California (which NPR interviewed) they proudly showcased their mileage numbers..and analyzed that with what the reporter got in his trial run. It was amazingly more than the double.

Now there are so many tips and tricks...some of them are Risky (like following closely a 18wheeler on the highways to save on wind draft) , some can spoil husband-wife relation (like dont hunt on for getting best and the nearest to the mall entrance parking spot, or prefer parking face out, so that you save on by NOT reversing back and turning needlessly), some are ticket prone (like NOT doing a complete STOP on stop signs) but the one which I could not stop myself from laughing out loud was,

"Not wearing shoe on the accelerator foot to feel the pressure of the pedal more accurately"

But I guess I wont be the one who will be laughing after filling up my gas tank..... but it will be that "The Man with One Shoe" Hypermiler !

A CONTROVERSY In Waiting?

Since past few days I was following the trailer of the upcoming movie "Love Guru" starring Mike Myers (Austin Power fame), and I cant help myself but am too eager to see how it will be received by Indian audience..more so the groups like Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal....and various other religious institutions of the country. This film seems has all the potential to create a stir in Indian Media as well as demands for bans and protests from many Hindu institutions worldwide.

Watching without any bias...and on the lines of Austin Powers and Shrek, it appears to be a 100% fun and comedy movie with many known names in its cast (Jessica Alba, Ben Kingsley, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson and many other stand up comedians)..but the humor comes at the heavy price of making fun of one of the oldest civilization and religion of the world...and it will be so difficult to digest for many.

Last night Mike Meyers appeared in American Idol final (well , and seeing him doing a stint from this yet to be released movie...which Myers himself mentioned as a "SHAMELESS act of Movie promotion" during one of the highest viewed television event of the year), this film is slated to be a Popular Hit this summer in USA for sure...but right now I am waiting what happens on June 20th when this movie is going to be released worldwide and raise the age old but too familiar question of " What is the proper LINE between Entertainment (or to be precise.. Freedom of Expression) versus Religious Sentiments".

Paying Homage

It is always difficult for me to forget 21st of May. You can say it is that pointers and links thing when one event links to another and such that a chain of events are formed, you remember just one and one by one all of them start playing in your mind. In a similar way as a by product of some absolutely different episode in my life, 21st May 1991 is so difficult for me to forget.

One of the most sensational day in modern Indian history probably, when Rajiv Gandhi, both loved and hated, was brutally assassinated. It is really unfortunate that he could not see India..as of Today. But I think it was he, who had started that transition process for the Modern India..be it technology, liberalization or globalization.

The sheer inexperience, immense popularity, expectation and tremedous power (remember 404 seats out of 506 in Loksabha, with BJP securing just two in 1984 election) and ofcourse the ever present CONGRESS COTERIE around him certainly cost him dearly in his first term (1984-1989), but just by the time he had started realizing that, started learning from his mistakes one by one, and was coming out of that DreamWorld to the RealWorld, his life came to this sudden end on this day! Indian Voters were all too eager to give him another chance in 1991 elections.. It was not even 2 years of National Front (the alliance of the unlikes of BJP, CPM,JD) and people were already tired of them, but that part of chapter was never destined to be written probably.

Today on his 17th death anniversary I would like to share an article , I came across few weeks back...and I feel good about the way his son has started his journey...slow and steady, carefully avoiding the pitfalls his dad could not....and I am sure this Journey is Going to be a LONG ONE and he has a LONG ROLE to play in Indian Politics!

90 minutes of that "Milion Dollar Smile"

Today I created my first playlist in Youtube.

And if the date is 15th of May, and I am going to create my first ever Youtube player it is no brainer in guessing about whom it will be. Also I realized it does not look good to break the tradition of something which I started the same day last year (letter).

So here it is, First thought will include only top 5 or so, but as soon as I started browsing/recollecting..the 5 became 10 , 10 became 20 and so on. Anyway decided to put a HARDSTOP on 25. It is indeed a "badee mushkil" task to select few from her innumerable list of performances.

So without further ado and marking the occasion of her 41st birthday I proudly present my collection...a 90 minutes of sheer magical journey with one and only Madhuri Dixit!
Enjoy!

On Mothers Day!

A Beautiful and Touching Song from TZP...!!!

A wonderful job from Lyricist Prasoon Joshi and equally well sung by Shanker Mahadevan.
Below is a translation of the song..Courtesy rakesh048@youtube

==============================

I never say that
But darkness frightens me mother
I never show that
But I listen to you mother
You know everything, isn't it mother
You know everything, my mother

Don't just leave me in this crowd
May not even find way back home
Send me not, this far
Might even not reach your dreams
Am I that bad ,my mother
Am that bad, my mother

When ever Papa take me
And swing so hard, mother
My eyes search you
Think you'l come hold me close

I never tell them
But I control myself mother
Never let come on my face
But my mind is afraid inside
You know everything,isn't it mother
You know everything, mother.

I never tell that
But darkness frightens me mother
I never show that
But I listen to you mother
You know everything, isn't it mother
You know everything, my mother

Girls Gone Wild?

First Katreena, Then Rita Now NARGIS? How come all these big damage causing hurricanes are None but Sweet Innocent names...?

Victims of Nargis: Hundred thousand and rising...!
It pains me realizing how much apathy Burmese Military rulers are showing towards their own people by REJECTING any assistance what was offered. They are slowly accepting it..but crucial 4 or 5 days were lost and that might have been TOO LATE for So Many!

Reliving "Walk Alone" with Usha...

What a better day to "relive" it than 7th of May! The Birthday of Tagore. I was just scrolling through some latest Bollywood albums and was surprised to see this new one...called Love Songs , Y'day Today and Tomorrow (yes thats how it is...the fine prints). I dont think it has also got much press (or did I miss it entirely?), but it seems it has many uniqueness under its belt.

To start with it is an all English Bollywood film, Cast has big names like Jaya Bachhan, Om Puri, Mallika Sarabhai, Lyrics by Tagore (Ekla chalo rey, Ghumer Deshe), Mir Taqi Mir(Patta patta boota boota), Momin Khan Momin (Woh Jo Hummey Tummey Karaa thaa) and most importantly the GranMa of Indian Pop...Usha Uthup is the Music Director (her First?) and also rendred few numbers. She still has that same powerful voice what we were used to 20/25 years back.....!!!

But what good it is if I cant let you listen all this with a sinlge click...So here it is... Njoy..the versatile numbers from Love Songs..y'day-today-n-tomorrow!

Powered by eSnips.com

Dont Stop The Music...Rihanna to Rajni?

Rajni and little superstar (1 million hits and growing)

Rihanna's Dont Stop The Music (52 million hits and growing...7th most viewed in YouTube)


Oh YouTube....You must be renamed to YouAwesome!

Morphing.....?

Barak Obama:
As smart and intelligent as Siddhartha Basu OR as excellent speaker and powerful actor like Kay Kay Menon?

But something indeed is common in these 3 gentlemen....Dont You Agree?

For You.... Suran!

It was the first day of May 1984 when I last talked with Suran.

I knew him hardly for four years...but the impact was so strong that even 24 years after , I can vividly remember him, his face, his voice and most of all our intense friendship.

Lets start from few years before. 1980 winter, we, a family of five, moved to this town called Kharsiya in eastern MP. I was in 5th grade then. Baba literally fought for this transfer for our education as well as this being in Main Line (Howrah-Bombay) it was better for his career too. Before that we were in a coal mine town called Kotma which was not helping us education wise, helping tremendously "bad company" wise and it being a Branch line (only 4 passenger trains daily and Infinite number of GoodsTrain laden with black diamond) there was not much thrill or challenge in his job or growth prospect.

Kharsiya (which would later become famous for Arjun Singh's constituency) was a township of around 15k, 80% of them with title holders of Agrawals, serving the local population as well as nearby Orissa's. It took us 3 years to realize that education wise probably it was not a good choice. Anyways...The first impression of this new place for all of us was very good. We three brothers were fascinated to see the Electric Train Engines as our quarter was facing directly the Railway station and we would spend hours discussing them, the models, the factory they were built, when they need servicing and so on. So far we were exposed to Steam and Diesel engines only. Maa had her own reason to feel happy. She used to make sure every day around 4PM she would be standing at verandah to see the Howrah Express which would stop for just 2 mins and the fact that after 12 hrs this very train will be standing at the Majestic Howrah Platform, facing the city where she grew up and all of her family still lives. It was 15 years since she left Calcutta..but still she was very much Home..er..Calcutta Sick I guess. Baba soon became very occupied with the busy Main Line always wanting attention.

Kharsiya had nothing much to offer other than its shops(big/small/wholesale/retails) and cash rich population and their cash rich kids...and also a unique historical Red Bungalow built by Sahibs late 19th century. This was also the so called "Quarter" of ours. PWI-Bungalow as known to kharsiyaites. It was indeed like a palace. Everything about it was HUGE. Big 6 rooms, a palatial Drawing room, all built with classic brit architecture. Had 5 servant quarters. and too big a compound, boundary wall and just after where coumpound ends it also had a cluster of some small quarters mainly for the Gangmen and Trolleymen. And then there was this one "illegal" structure made of earth and woods....Suran's home.

There was a group of 7 or 8 kids similar to our age group then, and we all became friends very soon. But even in that friendship and even in that little age it was not hard for us to see that we 3 brothers always were getting that extra attention and a special treatment be it from them or their parents. I guess we used to enjoy that importance which came with the fact we were sons of PWI Saahib. Out of this group of 7 or 8 kids, I had one special friend, Suran. One year younger to me. But he was the gem among the rest of the group. Suran's dad died years back in a railway accident and since then his Mother with 4 of her kids (2nd son being Suran) was staying in that single room hut with no elecricity. No Railway officer even from Headquarters ever thought of asking them to move away.

Suran was extra talented..be it study, sports, or just his honesty, simplicty, ever smiling, humble yet so sharp and smart. Soon he became favourite of my parents too. He was most welcome always at our house..the rest of the kid gang felt jealous of him. He was the one who used to get all my books/notebooks/uniforms etc as he was just following me by a year in the school. Me and him would sit with Baba in the evening for long listening the current events, or hear the famous english stories. On sundays we would spend time outside on Badminton (baba did make us a court) or inside playing Chess or Monopoy. At the same time when with the gang we also enjoyed equally the marbles, hideNseek or just running on the street with cycle tires. There was a special bonding with him I shared..he knew that too. Even in that age,11/12 yrs old we would often go for a long walk besides the train tracks talking about school happenings/future / sports/ movies/girls..whatever comes to mind at that age. We would behave as if we two are discussing very mature topics sitting in Platform benchs. But we also lived our childhood fantasies when we both used to go out for a hunting session...laced with specially made clay stones (as after hitting ground it would give an effect of explosion with a small cloud of dirt), bow-arrows, sharp edged sticks etc...huntings for the lizards and sometimes imaginary animals. He was the most learned in that community. On many summer nights he would read the comics (Amar Chitra Kathas) to the people there. Puran, his elder brother was already working in a Detergent factory and his mom was there in the tobacco farm nearby (Another thing Kharsiya was famous for). He had an younger brother as well as a sister and he took care of them while his mother and brother were away. All of the community as well as we had very high hopes on Suran. For them he was a miracle boy.

Early 1984 Baba was very much determined for another transfer then...and this time it was for the sole purpose of education. Target city would be Raipur this time. Suran came to know about it, he was sad for a while but soon it was decided that he too probably move within a year to Raipur. He was already getting stipend and if hostel is not available he could easily stay with us. We promised to exchange post-cards on a weekly basis.

By mid April, 1984 Baba got his transfer order and first he left alone to arrange things for us in advance. Rest of us were planning to leave by End of May. It was indeed a hot summer that year. Our exams were done long time. Suran as always topped in Class7, while Me and just one more student passed class 8th out of 70 or so students. It was the worst board result of our school but it was also the best as I figured in Merit list..another first for the School and Kharsiya in recent years. Principal, Nayak sir,called me in his room and told me how happy is for me that I am leaving that school and town....and wished me all the best. That was also the first time I heard and came across Lions Club, Rotary Club , "Buffet", "Nutrela"(those soyabean nuggets replacing the meat in Pilaf) and then yes...the word Congratulation. I was sad that Baba was not with us when I was suddenly getting so much publicity! But Suran was there in all the occasions with me...and I was so sure that next year he would be getting all these things...maybe much more.

On the late night of May 1st a small fire broke out in one of the nearby tobacco godown. It was more of a spectacle for us kids as were seeing the frantic try of "adults" to bring it down. I was there with the kid gang, but did not see Suran. When asked his mother where he is, I was told he was down with fever. I dont know whether she asked him to come out, or he came out on his own, I saw him...covered in a blanket, quite shivering in that summer night. He did not speak much but we just exchanged normal talks what might have caused the fire and so. Then we bid good night and we decided that first thing next morning we will go and exmaine the fiery place as if two detectives to find the root cause which all others might have missed. Yes..that was that last time I talked with him.

Around 11.30 next day there was a large commotion outside. And I witnessed the scene which would stick with me for the rest of my life. Suran's mother was screaming literally...banging her chest, others standing still in disbelief, while Suran was lying there in the ground in his blue shirt and khaki shorts. Suran was no more. The heat stroke took him, took my friend away for ever. All our dreams about this miracle kid did not take more than a second to crash. Her mom and Puran took him to hospital earlier but it was too late. I still wonder what he might have been thinking in his last moments..did he feel the end, Did he think about the unfinished task of our detective work. I also had so many questions and what-ifs like "Why did he go out in the sun..when we three used to be shut at home from 10 AM to 7PM", "Did the hospital neglect them looking at their financial condition", "Why they never informed us when he first showed symptom of Loo...atleast he could have stayed with us in fan and cooler..Maybe Maa would have taken him to the doctor a day before". But these what-ifs and questions were to remain unanswered forever.

Something must have happened strange with me as I really dont remember anything after witnessing that heart shattering scene...and what I can remember now is sitting by our window that evening looking outside at the far away smoke rising to sky....as Suran's existence was coming to an permanent end. Though I wanted to accompany him on his last journey but Maa never agreed. Baba would have allowed me for sure and we all missed Baba so much that night.

Neverthless Baba got the news immediately, he preponed his plan, came back very next day and we left Kharsiya Two Weeks Before than scheduled. I never felt so emotionless while leaving a place where I had lived for 4 years.

Suran still lives with us very much...in our memory.

6th Sense And a GPS Feature WISHLIST

It has been quite sometime I visited here...Still some of you are asking me to update on the India Trip Report 2008 and I will try my best in coming days...

Actually many things happened for past 3 or 4 weeks...For Some of you know and some do not.
For the ones..who don't:

I have switched Job. At a Different company, Working on Different things and with Different groups of people With Different Tools and all....ie there are so many "differents" compared to my previous one. As it was a change during the recession, change from a place where I was well settled and changing to a type of work which will be new to me...you can guess ..I was apprehensive and sentimental about leaving the place where I had memories of 8 long years. But then as they say sometime or other you have to embrace changes and see and try it out. So I did. Can only wish for Better!

My today's post or sharing is on a very different subject though. It is about my 6th sense...(Premonition?) and to combat it, it is about a FEATURE which I miss in my handheld GPS.. I doubt ( I am not aware of it atleast) if this simple GPS feature is available in any other models. Maybe it exits for highend models. I don't know. What I am looking for is, it shall WARN/BEEP me at a predefined (user fed) location .I know there are systems which warn for radars, traffic conditions, sharp turns and on..but what about user getting the control of coordinates where to make it beep.

WHY?

Well.. 3 times out of last 10 drives back from work, I missed (or did near miss) a STOP sign. The same STOP sign..Yes The SAME. 1st was accidental, 2nd was coincidence..3rd was NOT...and something is telling me (that 6th sense) 4th will be also there! Weird feeling isn't it? Twice I was lucky once I got an angry Honk. Maybe it is the location of this sign, may be the time or maybe something "unexplained" every time I become oblivion of that approaching sign.... I wish my GPS would warn me whenever I am about to approach it!

A very simple firmware can do it I guess. This feature can be successful in so many day 2 day applications. You are traveling by a train and ask it to warn it when it is one station before your destined station...No need to put an alarm in your clock only to realize it is still 1 hr as train is running late ( a perfect real life example from my India trip). It is like directly being dependent on "space" domain rather than "time" domain. In today's busy and hustle bustle life wont you feel good if while driving you suddenly hear "Hello, you are within 0.5 mile of your best friend's place". Say whom you have not seen for many days...you might think why not drop for a cup of coffee. Or it can also Warn you "Attention, you are close to the place where "A person you want to avoid" usually hangs out". Wont you have a SMILE after day longs work if it says "You are approaching the place where you had your first Ice Cream with your first crush"..aka "Dil Chahata Hai" style. There wont be shortage of usage of this feature...I can say that for sure.

Bottomline:
"OUTSOURCE from Brain/Human Memory to The Firmware/Flash Memory of Handhelds". Let your Body and Brain ENJOY the benefits of offloading tasks.

When I shared this with a good friend of mine, he laughed off and then looked at me seriously asking "How many days more you are alone...When your Family will be back?". But I did not feel bad...Did Galileo ever..I wonder?

--
Disclaimer: This post has nothing to do with the fact that now I am working on Handsets and their success and acceptance in our everyday life is my company's ultimate goal!

April Fool...Google Style

Every year Google "celebrates" in its own way. This year is NO EXCEPTION.
I was eagerly waiting to see the "creativity unleashed" from the google team.
And I think so far these are the two items..there might be more.

Google April Fool 2008 #1 (virgile mission)


Google AprilFool 2008 #2 (custom time for gmail)

Happy Fools Day!

ig

India Trip Report - 2008

Come back soon....to see snippets from my 6 cities in 6 weeks India Trip!



See you Soon...REAL SOON

The latest from Improv Everywhere!

FREEZE...@Grand Central

Power Of Unity

200 Buffaloes vs 5 lions vs 2 crocs..awesome wild life video!

A Promise Well Kept!

Dhyan Singh Must be So Happy Today (Our driver, who first told me about this dream project from Tatas, 3 yrs back and how much he was waiting for it, and today Ratan Tata kept his promise!)
My India Trip Report 2005

So finally the suspense is over. The Rs One Lakhs (2500 USD) is out and already started catching attention. It is nice to follow the news around the world on this great achievement (India: Hub of Frugal Engineering! was one such headline). What I would have liked more is probably a different name than "Nano". It seems hackneyed. Nano is synonymous with Steve Jobs! Tatas for sure could have got a better name.

It is time to see how it is going to impact the worldwide auto industry now. On the other hand...I am thinking there will be a huge demand for it (almost everyone can afford a car now at this price and with easy loans available) , how the production line will meet it,what environmentalists are going to say and last but not the least how the parts of roads (within gulley/mohallas) in cities..which were used to two wheelers only....are going to take it. Some predict Govt. is going to put a heavy Taxation on this segment..but will that be fair when there is no proper public transport alternative and one has to pay heavily for Taxis/Autos and Rickshaws when travelling with families.

Time will tell...But meanwhile full kudos to Tatas for this excellent achievement!

Tiffany...You Are Fired! (for listening to your Manager)

I was waiting eagerly for the "Apprentice" to resume on its 7th season, which it did finally last week. Unlike previous seasons, and as its TRP ratings are going down faster than fast (from #7 ranking on 1st season to #75 on 6th season), this time they changed the format. It was with all celebrities..known unknown not to be asked. Also the deal is the winner instead of joining Trump Empire will be donating his or her prize money to their selected charity. Frankly speaking I wont mind even if they join or keep a share of that as to me many of these "celebrities" may need it...I mean...to me they are NOT top notch celebrity..or maybe I am not aware of them.

Few of them I could relate to are Omarosa ( how one can forget her..from first episode of Apprentice, was surprised she got a status of celebrity already), Stephen Baldwin (actor..brother of Alec Baldwin), Nadia (the gymnast who scored perfect 10 for the first time...remember one TV serial based on her life during our school days..a true celebrity I will say)...and then many others from diff walks of fame (mainly music star, boxing champ, entrepreneur, that British judge of America Got Talents and to add little spice a former Playboy Playmate). This time also the team was formed on Gender Basis..another "first" ?

The first episode was to sell HotDogs on a busy working day in New York. The men's team using their "contact" were able to get about 57k USD (few hotdogs were sold at as high as 10k!). Whereas women's team under the lead of Omarosa who DECLINED to use the "celebrity status..or shall we say sex appeal" rather depended on pure business skills could muster only 17k USD. It has already created many online polls/forum discussion "Is using sex appeal a legitimate sales tactic for professional businesswomen".

To me it was very ironic when she later blamed (and Mr Trump agreed) the playmate Tiffany that she could not use her "appeal" to sell hot dogs....well Omarosa did not you only say that you don't want to use it.Poor Tiffany was just going by what her Project Manager said.

Anyways..to me this is one of the rare occasions when Sex did not sell..to pedestrians on 7th and 34th @ NYCity and to Mr. Donald Trump...at least in this "particular" case! I hope NBC was not "secretly" banking on her for their rating to go up.

Well done Ms Omarosa, you did make news...once again!

--
Celebrity Apprentice is aired on NBC, every Thursday 8 Central (starting 3rd Jan 2008).