Mumbai Train Travel Myth & Cheat Codes

Season Ticket
Always see to that +2 stations are covered from your actual departure and destination stations. Most often the crowd will permit you to get down in the next station only.

Time
Always reach 30 mins earlier to the station. You will not get into the very first train that comes in the platform.

Fast Train
If fast train does not halt at your destination station and halts in the next station, go to that halting station and travel back. There is no harm in it.

First Class / Second Class
It’s a myth that First class is better than second Class. The number of first class coaches is only 2 or 3 in a 12 coach train. By permutation and combination they get crowded more than the second class.

Learn gymnastics
There is balcony travel in both fast and local trains. Soon there will be special tickets issued for that too. You got to wear electric proof clothes for that. Government will soon consider opening up FDI for the same.

More cheat codes are welcome.

Issued in self interest by tripleR

Living with Terror

Mumbai siege has shaken the entire nation for sure. Living in this city for the past 1 year this is my first encounter with terrorism. People who had felt that they have an undying spirit to face terrorism or natural calamities like rains like in 2006 are fed up now. The own sons of the soil feel tired of living. At an individual level every one wants to live a peaceful life with their family and that lies their priority on top of their emotion for the place they live in.

Coming back to the situation in Mumbai, its seriously shocking to know that the terrorists have entered into the city from a point which is the tip and considered as gateway of the nation and there was literally no security set up in that place.

The tip of the city is at buzz with media reporting the action live from the ground. This is a different type of attack and a shocking one too for the citizens of the state. In simple words there was complete unrest for the people of the city since the incident occurred.

While writing this I recollect what Barkha Dutt of NDTV was told yesterday while she was reporting live. The statement was “This is usual in Kashmir. We see it daily over there.” and may be this happening for the first time in this city had given us a shock in the spine.

That statement is true and Kashmir witnesses these everyday where battle go on for 3 to 4 days. So what is the solution to curb these or at least face these with minimum damage? The terrorists are said to be highly motivated that they have come only to damage and they very well aware of losing their lives. Where does that motivation come from for them? Who had trained them?

When 2 terrorists with weapons are visible, 100-200 of them frighten and run for cover. Even the one with a low range weapon runs and weeps rather than fighting with what he has. Seeing those commandos in action I remember my training days with the TN army battalion unit and I felt if a SLR / LMG or a Sten is given I would have gone in the field live. Now that confidence in me comes from the training I have had and that’s what is I feel has to leveraged to every individual.

All schools and colleges should have NCC as part of their curriculum. Basic weapon training should be given like the first aid training. It becomes necessary for at least a city like Mumbai which faces terrorism frequently. This does not mean everybody should use a weapon, but it means that they should be trained to handle the situation with confidence. The situation would have been different if the people in Taj or Trident were trained and skilled in handling these types of terror situations. The damage would have been less and the operation would not have lasted so long. The nation needs more solid individuals.

The commandos fighting there also have families and they too have their life to live and it’s unfair that 200 commandos alone fight for a whole city. I feel one man from every household should be equipped to fight against terrorism and crime in the place they live in.

My deep condolences to the family of the departed souls! May the souls rest in peace.

Vision

Vision is the ability to see the future at present.

In simple terms it’s the ability to look forward. We look forward with your eyes and he/she who sees the future in the eyes at present is a perfect visionary. I had a vision for the vision.

It was posted in futuristic a year and a half back.

Now, the idea seems to be adopted. Meet Tanya! Tanya lost her eye in an accident and had got a prosthetic eye. She, with approval from her doctor has called upon engineers to build a camera for her fake eye. And the amazing part is she has got specs for the cam to be installed like DVR capabilities, MPEG-4 compression and so on. You could check out her blog at http://tanyavlach.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/call-for-engineers/#more-201

No wonder, this could also become a fashion statement. People would donate one eye and have the cam installed. The future is not too far. Tomorrow is your near future.

kaathalinal maanudarku kalavi'yundaam
kalavile maanudarku kavalai theerum
aathalinal kaathal unarveer ulagatheere
athuve ivvulagin thalamai inbam
--bharathi

the above means

love makes human bonds
those bonds drives away pains
so my dear people, feel love
as its the eternal bliss for humans
--tripleR (for bharathi)

Food

I had visited the north Indian restaurant chain Rajdhani recently. The food was such rich in quality and quantity and at the most, the coordination which the office bearers displayed in serving food amazed me. If you happen to see the restaurant, please don’t miss the food. A sneak peek of the thali is there for you.

Thanksgiving

Nothing beats a good food for a thanksgiving. Not necessarily for a thanksgiving, but for every occasion I guess. Every ritual and ceremony from birth to death accompanies a feast in any part of the world. That too in India nothing beats a thali food. Although pizzas, pastas, burgers and other fast foods have come into picture a thali food is always a delight.

We as our custom perform a ritual every year for our dead father or mother. My dad used to do the ritual for his mom and dad. The ritual is a type of thanksgiving for our parents for raising us and also has a emotional attachment as like asking forgiveness for our mistakes done when they were alive. It takes about 3-4 hours. There is a short and shorter version also available for the same which will get over in just 20-30 mins time. But, in the either case food has a role. In the shorter version, 2 of poor fellowmen are given food for the day. The longer version also has the same with some pujas attached to it. My dad opts for the original longer version (He should have been a bad son I guess. LOL…JFL) He is the 7th child in the family. Huh! (My grand dad is great). Although the remaining 6 might not be present for the ritual, whoever is able to make it does or they accompany. All my dad’s siblings join him on that day.

That day we have our food only after the ritual is over. My stomach would feel the hunger much before the ritual starts. No way! Even if my dead grand dad would excuse me, my dad would never allow me to eat. I would be lying in the kitchen and my mom would laugh at me. Aunts would offer something to eat fresh but their brother, my dad would give a furious look at them. And alas, the moment of end would arrive and I will be the first to keep my hand in the food. Believe me; even with that much hunger I cannot finish the whole meal. It would have varieties of dishes spread over in a banana leaf and those are available only on that particular day. Uhhhh!!!…. The feast remains in my eyes!

Rama and Krishna missing

Accidentally happened to see new versions of Ramayana and Mahabharata in television. Somehow, couldn’t find the charm of the epics in those. Probably I feel the actors aren’t doing justice to the roles, especially the lead ones. I remember Ramanand Sagar’s and B R Chopra’s version of the same getting aired in Doordarshan which had made people involved into them. I would believe that was how it had been live years ago. Such were the actors’ performance and I have heard the actors would show such discipline while performing. The lead actor in the role of Rama and Krishna were Aryan and Nitish. They never committed to any other roles while these episodes were on. So, people would relate these actors as real Rama and Krishna. On the whole, it was a thoroughly religious time in homes whenever these episodes went on air.

The present versions lack those. The actors are visible in pubs and when you see them in the roles of Rama and Krishna, the passionate gods for crores….; it just drives crazy in head. I thank God that there are no new versions on the life history of Jesus Christ or Allah.

Champions

Phelps is definitely a phenomenon. 2008 Olympic game has made him a champion.

Abhinav is also a proud champion. 2008 Olympic game has made him a champion.

So are many others in different walks of life becoming winners. While reading about the Olympic medal winners I happened to read something about champions which was very much true.

Champions are not made at the event/big game. They are made in the quiet hours, during the practice times, while they are silently preparing, stretching, sacrificing and dreaming.

A factual fact it is. And it means that you and me are also are champions in life. How many times would have we silently prepared, sacrificed things and we still keep on dreaming. We are too champions in our own league .

Phelps is someone living in the other part of the world. Abhinav lives in the other region of our country. But even if we don’t know them personally, their achievement inspires and makes us proud.

There is a champion who is in his attempt to enter into the Guiness in my office studio. I know him, he is my friend. It makes me feel elevated when I know that he is attempting a Guinness record. He is RJ Dheena. He already has a record for him and on has started his way to break his own in the BIG 92.7 FM studio, Chennai.

Let’s wish him ALL THE VERY BEST!! Its gr8 to hear that someone whom we know very well is attempting to get his/her name in the Guinness books right!? It certainly urges us too achieve.

22 August

This day will be one of the d-days’ for techies like me. For a simple reason that iPhone is getting released in India. Apple is always a pioneer in inventions and not less to say, all the ‘i’ products are of exceptional brilliance executed. More than that the iPhone comes with 3G features loaded in it. India has just framed its 3G policy.

It’s obvious that 3G will turn around our way of living. It is told that a 3G enabled phone works in the background when you are sleeping. For eg: It searches and suggests you the best feasible route from one place to another within the city which has less traffic while you are sleeping. Interesting isn’t it!! Just wait for the day…

It couldn’t be better

Friendship day again and messages were pouring in. Although I don’t like the formality of sending messages marking the occasion, I was replying to all who had greeted me. The whole bunch of 10 days went on an enjoying spree with friends pouring in from all over India.

Working till 9 PM, roaming in the streets and dinner around 12 in the night, sleeping at 2 or 3 AM, again waking up again at 8:30 the same day and starting to work was the schedule for the past 10 days. Yeah it was tiring and hectic but with friends around I guess it did justice to a perfect friendship day and week long celebration. It was not a friendship day, I would call this as friendship festival which comes very rare in lifetime

28/7

அடாது மழை விடாது பெய்தாலும்
விடாது தன் கடமையை செய்ய
அடாது புறப்பட்ட என்னை படாது
படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை! படாது
படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை!

--புலம்பல் சித்தர் இராசாராம்

I had seen in news that people in this city are scared of 26/7 as that was the date; the city became paralytic due to heavy rains two years back. (It has become a fashion now – 26/7, 9/11 and so on…)

So obviously, with something to chew on, media reported that people were haunted by 26/7. What a story to chew on! On 26/7, there was a message from Met Dept. saying “Intermittent rain or thundershowers with possibility of heavy to very heavy rains in parts of city and suburbs”. The cloud was dark at 12 noon before I read this message. After reading the message I looked at the cloud elevating my head at 90 degrees. Alas! The cloud got cleared and there was sunshine. Met dept could be the best astrologers. But, they have studied science. That night it started to rain and did not stop for 2 days. It was a very good rain.

28/7 – the rains did not stop. I had no interest to stay home too. Half drenched, reached office and was working curiously. There was a mail permitting for early pack up due to the rains getting heavy and water logging in the roads.

I was feeling good about the rains pouring and got scared about reaching home too. Man holes were brimming with water. Few out of those were throwing out water as like a fountain throws. Water was splashing from both the sides in the auto rickshaw. If I had drenched half by rain, the remaining got drenched by the splashes. At one point the auto rickshaw stopped and had to take another one. Althrough the way, its 2 stroke engine was screaming dorrr tak tak... dorr tak tak…tak tak dorrrr... Driver was cribbing “eh kya baarish hai yaar…itna pani road pe…” I couldn’t help him to continue the conversation. All I wanted that time was hot bhajji, pakoda and chai. Hmmmm...

Finally, reached home after a long time and then was this another surprise. The cloud got cleared again and it stopped raining. Huh!!

அடாது மழை விடாது பெய்தாலும்

விடாது தன் கடமையை செய்ய

அடாது புறப்பட்ட என்னை படாது

படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை! படாது

படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை!

I see the clouds outside now. It’s getting dark and drizzling...

Some times, some lyrics of songs will get reminded in the head just like that. Without any reason, irrespective of the situation around, it keeps on playing in the background of our mind.

One such song which is playing right now in me has these lyrics;

ஒரே கனா என் வாழ்விலே... அதை நெஞ்சினில் வைத்திருக்கேன்
கனா மெய்யாகும் நாள் வரை உயிர் கையில் வைத்திருப்பேன்
வானே என் மேலே சாய்ந்தாலுமே நான் மீண்டு தாங்குவேன்
நீ என்னை கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சினால் நிலாவை வாங்குவேன்

and it means;

One dream is seeded in my heart
I shall hold on my breathe till it’s realized
I shall stand up again even if the sky falls on me
And I shall tame the sky if you love me a little…

This is from the title track of the movie Guru. Wanna Listen!?

p.s: kindly excuse for the incorrectness in the translation

Opinions differ

I had a new picture of mine shot with coolers, uploaded in Gmail and Skype. Obviously, as it was mine, I thought it as cool. That’s my opinion. There was another: “You look like captain of blind men association”. Pretty upset! Uh! There were others too: “You look like a rock star”, “You look cool”. Well fine, good enough to rise up.

Same way, each and every thing in life has multiple opinions. They may not be the same and they don’t need to be too. I write this with an opinion to share my opinion about opinions with the reader and there might be readers who might have an opinion that I write scrap.

My opinion is, wasting 24 hrs for a travel is not worth it, instead I would spend double the money and reduce the travel time by 20 hrs. My parents’ opinion is to travel peacefully 24 hrs out of everything rather than spending double the money.

My opinion about a song is that it’s a feel good, gives a soothe feel when down and I kept that as my caller tune. There were more people who copied the tune from me. Opinion did not differ on this. There are also people who felt my previous tune better than the current one.

The restaurant which was decided for dinner had different disagreed opinions amongst us and we had to choose a new place and got our taste sense spoiled. The previous place which had different opinions would surely have been better. Differences in our views and no view too hurted us that night.

These are examples on simple things in my life. There would be similar ones in yours too. It doesn’t matter whether we have a good or a bad opinion about something, but it does matter on how we communicate, understand, accept and action them. Hope our opinions don’t differ on this. Anyways, what I think on is how these opinions shape around to make decisions in our life and my opinion now is that I leave the thinking to you. Yeah, I understand and accept your opinion that I have to stop with this here…

Baap Ka Beta: Ek gaun mein Ek Kisaan...

Lagaan

Last year I was trying my best to file tax returns online. Many said that it wouldn’t work out. I wanted to prove them wrong and was hanging on to the IT website for over a week. For me, if I would do it I would feel as if I have achieved something and also, I always like to give a try to the undoable (pls don’t look for the word in the dictionary). My self learning process started on it as usual. In fact that was when I learnt about the nuances of tax and filing them using ITR-1. Last date was close and without any option left, I had to fill up the ITR-1 form by hand and stand in the long queue to submit them. Still, I was restless and hunted to find out what went wrong and how in the online process. Alas!! I found out. It was a silly thing. The system I was using did not have the updated version of Acrobat reader and as a result the form did not get saved properly and did not get uploaded in the site. If the reader would have been updated, I could have overcome the pessimists. We tend to overlook small things while aiming for BIG!

I have filed my returns online this year. It took just 10 minutes including filling up the form. I just remembered how it happened last year!!

Naked brain

An intriguing topic…isn’t it!? It’s about how our brain is exposed to many on a daily basis. Somewhere in the post, you will also note the amount of area vacant in my brain.

No need to explain that the brain is the central processing unit of our body which sends signals for action. Can it be believed that our brain inside the skull is read and exposed to external sources!? Marketers use brain scans to grab attention of consumers. A simple online test can tell your personality, a suitably job and even find a perfect date for you. Technology advances swiftly that you can control anything anywhere and everything is exposed. From sex of the baby while in mothers womb to erasing part of memory in the brain, everything inside and outside is read and exposed by technology. What is the extent to which it can carry on? Is it a good sign or a bad sign?

There are AI, bio and nano technology in practice. A nano technology empowered costume can control the temperature of your body. The same can be used to control your EI as well. Few decades back, a common man would have not thought about the background of his emotions with people. Today we talk about stress, pressure, love, lust and things like that. We understand everything in detail, know their causes and sometimes take precautionary measures too. Some call this as learning. When you know about the causes of your actions then you have learnt about yourself, but if others read the same, aren’t you getting exposed!??

Honest Film Making

I was dragged to sit in a 45 minutes session with film maker Mahesh Bhatt. All I knew about him is that he is straight forward. What he spoke in the session was true, but I was unable to decide his words and deeds going along. I don’t bother about that too. That meeting did not actually make a difference except me being away from my desk for 45 minutes without any disturbance. It was unusual to hear about honesty, the real self and stuff like that from a film maker. I have heard it before from the ace director in South India – Maniratnam. I am a huge fan of his work – a huge fan to the extent that I was standing in front of his office for a week after my post graduation wanting to become his assistant.

Back to the topic:- I had felt unusual on what the film makers had to do with honesty. Honesty is not the lead character in the movie alone not getting hurt jumping from an altitude while others die. It is not even only incorporating these. Honesty should be in the script. If a scene is written, the consequences should follow rather than getting landed in a fiction. There are very few honest film makers in the industry and Maniratnam is definitely one of them. His message is clear. He says “You have to fight to attain peace in this world”. That’s a very true statement from him. Gandhiji fought for freedom. The aim was to attain peace and freedom, but it was fought. “Fighting with optimism makes the difference” is the message he has tried to convey in his movies like Roja, Bombay, Thalapathi, Saathiya and Guru. Each one of these was a feast for the senses. They were honest scripts with good imagination.

My question is why do we feel reluctant to act knowing they are true? Why do film makers make and release a movie which they themselves know will not be liked by their fans. Why do they stuff fiction and unnecessary elements in their movies? Twining fiction with a real story is good imagination, but why do the film makers don’t understand that it had to be told in a crisp and short manner? Why an actor does don different roles knowing very well that it will create a bad image for him?

Joke சோக்கு...

One day Lord Shiva decided to visit the earth and try some alcohol. So he changed his get-up and went to a bar and asked the bartender: "What all do u have?".

Bartender:"We have whisky, rum, vodka, gin, beer etc, etc." Lord Shiva: "Let's try whisky first; give me 5 bottles of whisky".

After having 5 bottles of whisky, Lord shiva decided to try Rum.

Bartender was shocked:" Who is this man, after having 5 bottles of whisky, he is still on his feet"..

After having 5 bottles of Rum, Lord Shiva decided to have beer.

After having 40 bottles of beer, he asked the bartender for Gin.

Bartender couldn't stop himself asking him: "Sir, who are you?? I have seen people getting drunk after having 4 glasses of whisky, and you've almost had 50 bottles and you are still on your feet, who are you?"

Lord Shiva: "Kulanthaai… Naaan thaan siva perumaaan"
Bartender: Thoda... Ippo thhaaan mappu yeri irukku!!!

Monsoon

Monsoon has started in this city and I hear that rains are here to stay for the next 4 months. Rains here are not like how it used to be in the city where I lived earlier. This city seems to stand still when it pours and I have noticed it in the past 4 days. 2 days after the season started there was a message in my mobile that the highway road in front of the airport had caved in and traffic was moving slowly. I wonder what kind of road has been laid in front of airport!!! Huh…yeah...it’s going to be tough in the coming days…I am locked up by the rain in the apartment just viewing through windows: the grey sky pouring down. The brat in me asks “How about swimming now?”

Being Optimistic!

Work is very hectic combined with stress and pressure. Every minute there is something or the other from someone related and unrelated to my profile calling up and asking for reports/to report. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon and I was late for lunch. Working hard with hunger without breakfast really hurts the stomach. There was one more colleague of mine coming in after I had finished. I exclaimed with sadness “You are too late for lunch today!?” and he replied back “No. I am early for dinner” and continued “It’s all on how we take things Rajaram! Let’s be optimistic…”

I wonder whether that’s being optimistic or absurdity!

Hanging On...

She looked so much like a lady, but she was so much like a child.

A devil when she held me close, an angel when she smiled.

She always held it deep inside, but somehow I always knew

She's go away when the grass turned green

And the sky turned baby blue.



And baby blue was the color of her eyes.

Baby blue like the Colorado skies.

Like a breath of spring, she came and left,

And I still don't know why,

So here's to you and whoever holds my baby blue now on.



She brought colors to my life that my eyes had never touched.

And when she taught me how to care, I never cared so much.

I try not to think of her, but I fall asleep and do,

And drift off where the grass is green and the sky is baby blue.



And baby blue was the color of her eyes.

Baby blue like the Colorado skies.

Like a breath of spring, she came and left.



Like a breath of spring, she came and left,

And I still don't know why,

So here's to you and whoever holds my baby blue now on.

To you and whoever holds my baby blue now on.

Small but BIG

After longing to own a personal player and with the money saved over months, a walkman is purchased. The model is not available in India and makes it an exclusive one among the other players around. People spend time to investigate the functions of the player and suddenly one fine day the software is corrupted. The files don’t play, songs swap with each other and the player becomes an un-functional device.

It’s sad that a newly bought player after long time goes dysfunctional. It had helped out to burst time and the songs have helped a lot in coming out of tense/stress situations. Suddenly without the player playing it makes feel like one hand is lost. It needs to be serviced.

But, the warranty is not applicable in India. Service cost has to be paid. It’s an unknown cost. There are several other commitments for the money in hand. A thought of sending it back the place of purchase is also there. But there is no one flying to take it. An attempt to repair it is also done but it got failed fearing the costs. Missing the player for a long time and after a wait of over 2 months, it is decided to make it function at any cost.

It is taken to a specialist and had to be examined for over half an hour. Cost based on time spent is calculated, minimum service cost is added to it and total approximate cost is calculated in advance before hearing the big shot.

The player is checked well on its functions and taken into custody. A form is filled on the customer details and card is taken out to be swiped as there is no cash. The card is given in the counter and the girl across the counter poses a “What is this for?” look.

A service bill is asked for the payment and the answer for it comes as “No Bill”. A question rises on how come an authorized service center cannot give a bill for the money to be paid and then comes the reply “You need not pay for this”. Oh! Uh!!

Stop, Watch and Go

Sometimes, somewhere, even in our very busy schedules we tend to notice vital advice from unknown sources. The traffic signal is a classic example. Whatever may be the speed we are driving, the vehicle has to be stopped when it’s red. Red denotes danger. Only when we encounter ourselves with danger or trouble we stop and look into / seek advices. I am not an alien to it. I have a stock of advices with me which I haven’t listened over the years, probably from the day I began to remember.

Some of them were actually mean, some which couldn’t be followed, some not followed (with a purpose) and some completely out of scope. There are also a few which are so true and stays in the brain.

It is last day for one of my many colleagues resigning their jobs. She had written a farewell mail which had the below lines.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it!!

I have no explanations for these simple and straight words from her other than to just hold them in thoughts. Certainly, these words are not the ones to be kept in stock, but to be followed! Also, there is also a fear of losing time or reaching the destination late when traffic rules are followed. Now, it’s all about taking risk to go forward. After all it involves greater risks to achieve great things which we need in life.

Shocking News!

Few things in life affect us positively or negatively at least for few minutes and fade away. There will be no valid reason for us to feel the shock, yet we feel it.

One such news about one of my favorite place in the nation – Madras is that the Woodlands Drive-In has been closed down. That’s a place which madras population will never forget. It’s a place of solitude for most of the people. For sure, your mind will relax going there however the stress is.

I recollect many meetings, decision making sessions, brain storming sessions all happening in that place and people flock to meet & greet. This place located in the heart of the city is full of green and spread over a vast area for over 50 years. More than the food, the ambience is what regular visitors like me are going to miss.

Definitely sad and shocking news to hear!!!!

இஞ்சி இடுப்பழகி...மஞ்ச செவப்பழகி!

Entrepreneur

I guess I learnt this word during my first year in college. I used to wonder why its pronunciation does not start like “Ent…” in entertainment and starts with “Hon…” in honor.

Now I feel that probably this word has an honor in it and that’s why pronounced that way. It also meant only people achieving high profits year after year on their own and getting listed in the top. It’s not so right! Yeah, whomever stands up on their own, be it they achieve profits or not, but have the guts to run a business is an entrepreneur.

I live in the city of money; a city which is a mini nation by itself; a city which sleeps late and wakes up early than the other regions in the nation; a city which shares a major portion of numbers inflated in the nation; a city which makes the business running throughout the nation. So, is each and every individual in this city an entrepreneur keeping the numbers adding up? Yeah if so, what kind of entrepreneurs are they?

It’s the busy and the main railway station in the city. Trains come and go precisely every 5 mins and believe me, every train is overcrowded. You will loose your breath to get in and out. If you think that you are well dressed up with well steamed fine shirts and trousers and travel by a train, you might find them false when you are out from the train. More than that, the well polished, shining shoes of yours goes for a toss. It will look worse than the word muddy would describe. You will feel to howl there.

But! Coming down the station, there sits a man with a small box with a shoe cleaner and a brush. Not that much in quality, but a decent one. Now, he cleans up your shoes and polishes too making them look pretty for the next 2 days though you might not touch it. He does it for a person every minute. So approximately let’s take it as a minimum of 50 per day. He charges 5 rupee per person. I said you…this is a rich city! Now, you do the calculations on the capital, his earnings, and profit per day and do remember 50 is the minimum number he services in a day.

He owns the work he does, the money earned and if he is not there for a day, there are people who will be searching for his service. Isn’t he an entrepreneur with an honor at his level!?

Peer, Beer, Cheer

Few years back I had written simple lines on life through mathematics. I re-write them now.

add your beers without subtracting your peer; multiply your cheers dividing your tears

I had a verbal comment; that I am a drunkard; even though I was not. I would always defend that I am a social drinker. Now after a long gap like rain hitting on the hottest land I remembered them and thought of those lines being very true. I mean the lines on life through mathematics!! I recount mine and common experiences and wonder how they have meant in our lives as I read them again.

We are always compared with our peer right from our childhood days. I know many parents’ often conversing with neighbors comparing their siblings on food habits, behavior and they reflect heavily on the children in either side which would anyways make no positive progress. Many a times without any reason we get compared to our peer in school and neighborhood. I thought it would stop at a stage probably when education was over and we learn to stand up on our feet independently because all these comparisons are out of fear and a rush that their children should prosper better than the other.

On the other side, out of the blue, children would never mind up those and would exchange the reflections in a café or pub. I used to run away from that kind of so called “advice”. I search for a friend who faces the same and we share our experiences over a cup of coffee if the other friend is a girl and a beer if a boy. Nowadays girls joining in for a fix of vodka with lemonade is a different story. Yeah! As we grow up further the world too progresses much beyond for us to cope up with!

These meetings often happen everywhere at different stages to ensure that we aren’t really left behind as had been tried to be communicated. We involuntarily get used it such that we ourselves start comparing us with others at one pint of time.

All the way it’s the peers who make the differences, and beers helping us to overcome those, along with the same called peer. I wonder how peer and beers have contributed bringing cheers to our life. Long live the founder of beers, and the peer who help us along with them getting helped as well!!!

Women in my Life!

I wanted to write on this topic on March 8 as the world celebrates that date as woman’s day. (Yeah! I too live in this world). I have been inspired, admired, felt secured, angered, distressed, during my relationships with them. They cherish themselves now and often in my memories.

Out of the whole, a few whom I remember today are;

Srividya: the brightest in our class. Whole bunch of boys would feel envy of any other boy speaking to her and she hardly speaks up only to the brightest of the boys. (Would you believe that I was to the brightest? LOL)… that was during my class 1-4.

Vijayalakshmi aka Vijji: She irritated me. A non-stop nonsense who sat next to me in the class and got a tight slap for not stopping. Her father was a veterinary doctor and scared out of the fellow’s warnings I had no choice other than to fold my hands and ask sorry. (Huh! I had to plead to her to accept my sorry). We were in the same class 4.

Priya: She was my friend for just one day. Its very incidental I met her. She and another boy were returning back from school quarter past nine in the morning and I was walking towards school. As we were late the school gates were closed. She started crying that going back to home, her mom would cane. The other guy obediently went back home. I had nothing to do in home and hated going to school in the noon. So, we had to spend out time together till evening and go back home as an obedient boy. This was during my class 5.

Fatty: LOL… Her name is Fathima. I call her fatty. She gets irritated by me often. She was a very sensible girl during my class 6. It was only fun I had with this girl teasing her to the core. I feel bad for those now:(

I forgot this girl’s name. She was in class 10 while I was in 6. Yeah, she was like my elder sis. We were hostelites. She was the topper in school. I used to learn mathematics lessons from her. I respected her for the patience she showed me during the lessons and I topped in the subject and taught my other fellows too. She was also a guide and a very good friend during my hostel days. I wonder how I forgot her name.

Sherlyn: She is a rock solid girl who I have ever befriended with. She showed an astounding confidence towards life and a brilliant girl as well. She missed her mom and dad at a very early stage. Whenever there were in-house cultural activities in the hostel we used to team up. She is the one with whom I went to church for the first time and onwards. I have learnt many lessons in my life from her. She will always be remembered by me.

Anju: I still haven’t figured out what she had to do with me. She was my warden’s daughter. I haven’t spoken to her even a single word but she landed me in trouble making my guardians getting warned about me. Huh!

There are more people whom I cherish and value most. They are all a mixed bunch of characters I have met and socialized. The above said people are not in touch with me and no trace about them too. But they will always be remembered.

co-incidence

Coincidence make me wonder again. I had in mind to discuss about my promotion with my boss and my sun sign read as below;

Quickie: In a casual conversation today, you'll find yourself exploring high ideas and plans.
Overview: You need to reach out to someone who doesn't get it and explain to them exactly what's going on. It might not be easy -- especially if they don't want to hear it…

I am once again amazed by the coincidence and the words were true.

News Analysis for the Day

A few news items which appeared for the day and my irritated reactions to those...

Oxford project: why mankind believes in God
Oxford university is engaged in a research to determine why mankind emcraces God.
we robots have forgotten to believe and embrace the human next to us, but think and believe someone whose identity is at stake.

SC okays prosecution of ex-MD in BPO staff death case
24-year-old Prathibha was raped and murdered by the cab driver Shivakumar who went to her house for ferrying her to the office but instead took her to an an isolated place and committed the crime.

this crime happened in 2005. by this time the cab driver would have forgotten the reason why he is going to be punished. the judicial system is all open to the criminals in our country. criminals should feel hard for their crimes.

RCom buys African firm for $500 mn
$500 mn is pocket money for them...there are nine planets in the solar system...those planets will also be bought first and then the creator of the planets as well

IPL Auction: Players' worth
this game has become pure business...real sportive games have lost their identity in this business...many f****** ppl never realize the crux of real sport

It p***** off to read news items like these!!! Some of them were headlines!!

co•in•ci•dence

Dictionary defines coincidence as "A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged". If you couldn’t understand the definition, pls read on for an example.

I had a perfect plan for a BIG flirt one fine morning. Actually, I masterminded it with a bit of ofcl stuff in it ;). I started from my seat to execute the task. Out of the blue, I was asked for my sun sign by a fellow and he began to read it as below;

Mixing your business with pleasure is not a wise move right now, so if you are thinking of cooking up a romance in the workplace, turn off the heat ASAP! Get back to work, and stop spending so much time at their desk. Invest your energy is something that will definitely help you, not on someone who might distract you from important things.

I felt a huge jerk in my stomach on hearing it. The fellow is not a mind reader too. Unplanned, he read my sun sign that day and it matched with my plan in mind. Slightly disappointed that day I had to sit in my desk by this coincidence. But, a similar coincidence should have struck the other side I guess. Instead of me initiating the task, it was initiated on me. Altogether it ended as a good day coincidentally!

Thought for the Day

Cable damage in Mediterranean Sea had paused me to post. Good to have the net of networks back in action. A thought is hanging over and over on me.

A 2:30 hr movie is better than a book of 230 pages. A picture is worth 1000 words. I am imagining only a few words from the attached picture.

The picture is shot before the chicks were handed over to be killed (alias) culled. Obviously, hard feelings arise to see these little ones being culled. Even though if not, these would be nurtured to be fried or toasted one fine day. Its all part of life for them.

A short imagination from the picture on their unknown thoughts during their last few minutes of life.

(from left)

chick1: that van looks gr8 with other fellows in. we should be going for a picnic!

chick2 conversing with the white chick: this hand is secure and its lovely. but, where are we taken?

white chick to chick 2: hold on to this hand firmly. lets see what it is...

All these three chicks seem to be unaware of what is going to happen to them and in a thought that they are in safe hands without knowing their next move.

Black & White

Dinner accompanied with 2 pegs of whisky had just got over. Power went off. The high grown trees were shaking their heads. It was a breezy night. The breeze compelled for a walk. The moon was glowing at its best. The white rays were sending some messages across. There was something unusual that night.

The moon hadn’t been so bright like that before. I would have walked a few yards. Out of the black, the moon began to grow bigger. The white rays got intense and hit my eyes directly. All of sudden the black became white. Up, down, left, right everything became white. I was standing on a white floor. All I could see was pure white. White White Holy White! It was like the scene in the movie “Matrix”. With a fear filled thrill, cinematically I was expecting the rows of weapons to appear before me like in the movie. But…

In a Jiffy, Just like that!

Most often, before or after writing a post, I muse over for an apt title. Some titles flashing in my mind really excites the idea in it, but nothing moves toward while writing. Sometimes, an entire post would be written in a flow within minutes and takes more time for a title. It’s either this or that. It’s just like that.

There are many things in life just like that. There are no answers or explanations and they happen in a minute. You would have not got the tickets for a movie in the counter and you might be watching a movie which you haven’t heard before. The movie being good or bad is the other part of the story. You would have taken a decision in a jiffy just like that. This post is also like that. In a jiffy, just like that!

Books, Movies & Me

It’s a story of two people who look alike. One is a barber by profession and another is a trickster cheating people and grabbing their monies. The cops are behind this 1 guy and their target become 2, as the barber murders a girl for her dishonesty in their relationship and comes to a conclusion that all girls are #@#@!. That’s till he meets the girl who is in love with the trickster. She is a famous rich personality in the town. She falls in deep shock on knowing the truth about her lover and misses him badly. She settles down all the money disputes of her lovers'(trickster) by selling off all her property and still loves that guy deeply. The barber is stunned towards her love for the trickster. He decides to add on the trickster's list of crime to his and surrenders to the cops. All for love! He murders for getting cheated in love and changes his mind to save another love.

The above is just the gist of the story. The script was simply superb and this has surely gone to my list of classics.

This is made as a movie with title “Johny” – the protagonist in the movie. With good actors in the cast and ecstatic music the movie feasts senses. If this script would have been as a book, I am sure it would have taken me at least a week’s time to finish it. As a movie it was more appealing to understand with good actors in the cast.

Not only to the fact that I sleep over while reading, but somehow I strongly feel a 2:30 hr movie is much better than a 230 page book. I have finished “Nothing lasts forever” and that’s the book I have completed after a very long time and now on to “Bondage”. Definitely, it requires patience and concentration to read books.

Technically Speaking

Prologue

I would like to thank Kishore by giving 100 for the 1 I gave him. But, he is not so generous.

Right from beginning Google has been the undisputed leader in search engine. There is no doubt that oxford would add the word Google to its dictionary database. Such is the brand value of the company. The success of Google is very simple. Yes, simplicity, continuous innovations & connectivity are its qualities. I remember I used to test dial up connections' speed against Google. In this fast paced world, everyone wants information in a jiffy and that’s what Google is delivering. With all the innovations without compromising on quality and speed, Google almost was a revolution.

All these put up together created hype when Google announced about its email service. It was open only by invitation. It became a craze to get an invite. Thousands of internet groups and forums emerged on how to get an invite for Gmail. People were involved in barter contracts to get an invite. I was no different for the same. Yahoo was leading before Google came into picture. Not so tech savvy people were happy enough and contended with a yahoo account. I was not of that type. I was a greedy guy. At least just to show off, I needed a Gmail account. I had informed my entire network who were working in IT cos for an invite. I got involved in the groups and discussion forums for a least chance of getting one invite. Whenever there were discussions on Gmail, I would peep into them to find if I could have an invite. One fine day, Kishore who had minimum knowledge of the technical happenings was casually speaking that his cousin was having an invite for Gmail. Overhearing, I could not resist asking for one. The invite was not too far away for me. At the same time a suspicion arose on whether the unknown person would give me that invite or not. So, I started blowing Gmail trumpet to Kishore and made him get an invite from his cousin. That was easy rather than me getting one from his cousin. I grabbed an invite from Kishore. That wasn’t easy too. A beer was the expense, I guess.

There was an innovation in that too. A new Gmail id had an option of inviting 6 people. I gave three to other friends and used 2 for myself. I created 2 more ids counting the total to 3 ids and 14 invites. I then started to show off. But, the show off lasted not more than 2 weeks, coz I started having additional invites to be given out. It counted 300.

Today, the homepage of Gmail looks like this. I still have 275 invites to be given out. Huh! Anybody there...?

Famous Lines

6/50!! this is the lowest score so far in this class

dont pretend to be foolish

he is stubborn not to admit his mistakes

if he continues the same we will have to discontinue him from this school

i dont know from where you learn all the mischievous things on earth

rajaram, get up from u r sleep

-these were during my school days

sir, can you please leave aside your extra curricular activities and attend classes

rajaram, dont think that you are smart

i suggest you take a sabbatical from my class

-these were during my college days

will you please open your mouth and update on the sales you have done

mr. rajaram, pls stop making phone calls and leave for sales calls

-these were during my sales job

All these lines are uttered on me by different set of people in the schools, college and at my workplace. The beauty is that none of the lines are repeated and they are said by different people. No one had repeated what the other had said. I wonder that I have a multifaceted nature at least in doing mistakes. Yeah. All these were spoken on my mistakes. Some of them are known and some, unknown. I know the mistake I do. Mistakes are bad when it costs people around us. I never do that. When I come to know that it hurts someone, either I stop it or take responsibility. For eg: emptying someone’s wallet in the name of 'treat'. There are few which hurts and costs us. We are conscious enough not to repeat those and our brain automatically stops performing those.

We all do mistakes at different stages of life. Few end at certain stage and few still continue. For eg: not being punctual. Few, we keep doing no matter what happens and even it hurts ourself. eg: smoking,drinking, taking revenge on colleague for silly things and the like. It keeps on going though we know it pains and leaves a mark on us. Eg: playing football with an injury in leg. Those are out of passion and love for something. We can’t stop them. They have no end. They don’t have an end as they mean a lot more than it hurts. Long live those mistakes. Long live my words without any sense.

Back on killing spree!

New Year wishes to all.

Off late I would have completely forgotten that I write and had blogged for over 2 years, until I received a life threat call from Delhi. I swear, believe me, I had a message from Delhi that I would be killed.

2 years back when I started blogging, people used to see me weird as none around me knew what it was. I was in college then. Most of things what I spoke appeared weird (some were actually) and out of current affairs. Some even mocked at me and thought blogs were crazy. I never defend even it hurts. I keep smiling as I know that they will remember me one fine day and come to me. One monkey (keeping the words subtle) out of the bunch who mocked at me has started a blog now. I felt surprised when hearing it and visited the new kid on the block. There was another surprise for me. My blog has been a source of inspiration. Oh yeah!

This happened a few months back when I had stopped writing for a while. I used to feel bad that I was unable to write and had not updated my blog. Few good souls like Alin (fans of mine too) persuaded me to write, but still I did not resume. Now with a life threat from a fan in delhi that I would be killed if there are no updates in my blog, the new kid on the block inspired by me, I am writing this for them. I am very sure that I will get some tomatoes smashed on my face from them for this kind of comeback that too dedicated to them. LOL! I dedicate this post to Susi for getting inspired by me (very few know that I am a visionary, now susi has realized it… [laughs]) and Idly, my delhi fan.

For all those who have been asking me to write again, I am back to kill you all with my writings (actually i am getting remembered and feel to the opening which superstar received on the first day of his latest movie release) B-)

mmmm…i think i should stop with this post here…