The Schedules of life

Just back from watching the world cup inaguration match.. Germany vs. Costa Rica.
Twas my first experience watching football with people of various nationalities in a foreign land. The pub was good, the screen was big, people around seemed to be enjoying the match, and one could overhear the expert comments flowing alongside the varied brands of beer at the tables.
Manuel, my German friend is happy the Germans won 4-2, 2 solid long distance goals, show that the German offense is pretty strong even with Michael Ballack , being benched due to injury.. The problem everybody saw pretty clearly was the sub standard nature of their defence, as of now it looks that if they dont strengthen their fortress, the bigger teams are sure to take a heavy toll.

My Dad has mailed me the Fifa World Cup Excel Sheet with the comprehensive goals and points tally charts, schedules and groupings, it will be more difficult to catch the proceedings in India, since most of them will be late night hours.. But who cares..

I have browsed to the schedule itenirary and earmarked the must see ones.. Lets see how it goes.. I am still the eternal Argentina favorite.. though I must admit , Germany, Italy and Argentina my three favs have fielded some of their weakest teams ever..

Around 8 hours from now, at about 4 in the morn, I would have to board the taxi to take me to Dublin airport. Thats a pretty bad schedule itself, cause I really am not in a state to wake up at 3 in the morning and feel good about it. .What simplifies things is ofcourse the fact that you have sunlight here by 4:30.. so maybe the unhourly feelings are a bit diminished .. The next flight is from Frankfurt., and thats the closest I will get to the World Cup. I dont know how it would be at the airport , maybe noise crowded and electric, but then , am internally wishing one of my flights develops a techinical snag and then the German authorities have to hand me a day long visa and a ticket to the next game..

Maybe that would also save me a day in Delhi.. where the Mercury levels are still hovering around 40.. Here in Dundalk, Ireland.. its around 18 -22 degs.. are people are already oooh-aah ing at how hot it is.. I just hope I can tackle the extremes being climatized to the Cooler climes of Bangalore.. Summer visits to Delhi are always a bad idea.. but then anything is okay for your loved ones..

Not the usual blog that I write , but the mind is in the I , ME , MYSELF state , an average of 14 hours a day of work the last 5 weeks takes its toll doesnt it.. I am sure all will agree.. I have enjoyed , my weekends.. been to Dublin, yeah, yet again, but also roamed about some sections of the west coast of ireland.. some of the loveliest places I have seen.. I guess that has saved me from the extreme exhaustion.. or the kind of numbness I am feeling now.. Yesterday it will till 2:30 am.. working hard to run my software.. to make the electonics respond, to make the huge machinery chug, and hum and rattle. and all in all get favorable results..
It has been tough and I cant say I am fully satisfied..The target was to meet the major milestone, a Phase end , and I have surpassed the scheduled end dates by a long way.. but no one in my team can complain about lack of effort atleast..

Its 1 week in Delhi.. well 9 days. My old bedroom and my Mother's cooking awaits me..
I need to recharge , to reinvigorate myself.. to just come back to life.. Probably just take it easy for some time.. Just do nothing..

And when I am done by that time. it would be time to face the world again ..


Currently on the jukebox -
"Ram Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayi.. Paapiyon ke Paap dhote Dhote " !!!!!!! (its actually a lovely song.. hear the esraaj tune up with Lata's voice)
- Ram Teri Ganga Maili - 1986 - Lata Mangeshkar / Suresh Wadekar.. (Ravindra Jain)

The heavens ... at County Donegal , Ireland

At the Glencolumbkille Slieve League cliffs..




Sheep at Kilcar , Donegal..








Somewhere in the middle of nowhere




Bad attempt at a Dil Chahta Hai style shoot in Carrcik / GlenColumbkille





County Fermanagh, beside Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, UK





Looking below the 350 m cliffs ..








Staring at the Atlantic , (its past 9 pm now )

Mere yaar ki shaadi.. .( And I wasnt there)

16th April 2006, Ranchi





The Long Wait..














There she comes..












Yes.. I finally made it :)






















God save her !!















Its my turn , its my turn !!













"No Kislay, not so early !!! Dont get any ideas , I am not looking at you "













Pose for the respective side Camera Man

Back in Ireland

12 days of delaying,
Innumerable phone calls to the consulate,
Dozens of flight re-schedules,
Many apartment rebookings,
Countless delayed meetings,
Getting drenched in the 2 hour Bangalore rain,
Broken down conveyances, Overcharged Auto-Rickshaw Bills,
7 hours of waiting at Delhi Airport with a pathetic Air India Breakfast and the ever increasing heat,
2 hours of standing at the Frankfurt Lufthansa Ticketing column for Reshesduling my missed connecting flight,
and a 6 hours delay in reaching my apartments later.....

I am back in Ireland.

Bangalore's dream residential complex??

Since the last 3-4 months , I have been roaming the interiors and outskirts of Bangalore hoping for a good deal for my own chunk of land in the Goldmine called Bangalore..

From 3 bedroom houses, 30 kms away to 80 Lac Penthouses, from 9th floor apartments flats that give you a panoramic view of the IT city to houses that can allow a sneak-peek into the neighbor's bedroom 3.5 feet away..

The Pool side at the Palm Meadows

Sometime in the middle of this, my attentions shifted to owning land, and maybe building my dream house myself.. but here too the stats are very crazy, the deals far more vague and dangerous and the lack of visible cues that surely add to the discomfort. You were used to seeing the owner talk tall tales of Land appreciation and unbuilt 80 feet roads to Metro stations to Circular City Rail faster than the Bangalore Development could even imagine. The best part always used to be the castle building exercise of any plot right in the middle of nowhere, and you would end up arguing 15 or 16 Lacs beside the cow that would be cheerfully enjoying the conversation, with a tuft of grass it would have just denuded from your to-be-property, in its mouth.

"Tavern Something"?? Dont remember the name

Language problems, Tall Promises, False claims, Mental hassles, or just the distance of it all, made me think, of a prebuilt house, at not so close , yet close portions of the city.. The work's still in progress, and to tell the truth ,
the trials and tribulations havent lessened by an inch, yet when my company wished me to attend a conference in Palm Meadows, one of the first and poshest Row House, 50% utility land residential complex, believe me, the conference agenda was the last thing on my mind, when we entered the club house for Breakfast at 7 am

real..

Palm Meadows is barely 2 kms from Marathahalli. Maybe around 15-20 mins from the airport. This is not an advertisement or real estate review blog and I am sure you would find dozens of links on the net, there are even blogs of people talking about their homes. So I will spare you the cost / benefit analysis and other paraphernalia.

Anyways, 2-4 crore villas are surely out of reach for the non-genius next-doorlike, non-industrialist lineaged, non decades-expat experienced, dermatologically "brown" classified like me. But the day long experience was worth it. The place looked like the proverbial Hollywood celeb locality, and though I ve seen farm houses or Posh localities in Delhi, but this had the additional flavor, the typical
Bangalorean setting. Lovely spic and span houses, with manicured lawns and trees bending on the weight of their blossom. Clean pedestrian Walkways, and Driveways, with precision planted palm trees, and villas all around you with the similar architecture/feel bringing with it a sense of one-ness. Even Bangalore's typical cumulus cloud setting that you normally overlook during your everyday motions looked picturesque.

"Sorry, Sir - This is a without permission photo of your place.. "

We started our conference on time, and the tea sessions and the food were pretty good, though the wireless internet connection wasnt the best you would find and intermittent power outages (which would make you switch to the energy saving light profile in the club house) made you realize that sometimes even the rich and the powerful cant escape the pressing common problems of the nation, well atleast in some minimal way.

What immediately strikes you though is the stark contrast which the place shows you. You have these multi-millionaire villas and CEO residences, yet , the place is filled with the worker men, in their thatch-settlement garbs, working accross the road, mowing the lawn or just maybe standing outside the gate. Where ever you saw, there were splendid villas, yet the people , were just workers going about their work, doing some chore, or just standing in attention, the odd Hero Cycle commuting beside the parked cars, as if it was a world where houses ruled humans and made them maintain themselves, where the houses were fashion worthy and the people out of it :) and it was the most conspicuous aspect.

A view from the top

Even before you enter the premises, you go through low-economic zones and then across a small railway line.. the middle- class slums- Huge cities being constructed by Purvankara overnight, columns and columns and columns of 20 storey - ish apartments, stacked one after the other, which are maybe selling for 40 lacs a piece without any visual assurance of any supporting infrastructure, roads or schools or parks or community centres, and here just 1 km and a wall away, was this peaceful, picturesque setting, a BMW here and a merc there, with 3 helpers and gym or pool and the garden to sit and breath the same air that the construction workers breathe as they sweat about building a like minded dream house of some other resident of the city, and within his strength and finances.

My mind was occupied in the intricacies of the task at hand in the seminar, but then, I took some time away to click some photos and collect some from others.

Mr. Gopalakrishna at the conference

On the way back, waiting for our conveyance to start back to our destination, as the sun was speeding its downward journey, I looked through the bus window to see a father collecting dozens of tennis balls and throwing them to his 3-4 year old daughter holding her racquet across the astro turfed lawn tennis court. It was Saturday evening time and it seemed the realization of one of my dreams itself, the setting , the place, the pastime , (even the cute little kid ;-) ) . Though maybe heritage, color, overseas bank balances , or exponential successes arent my forte.. though maybe the 40 Lakh apartment on the 6th floor still seems an expense too many, on seeing those dream houses, thankfully my dreams and wishes didnt undergo a reality check , that evening... They still are the same, :) and I am still striving for them.. Wish to realize them, somewhere... someday...

Currently on the juke box - "Dry County" - Bon Jovi..

The Real Youth Icon... ....

Sania, Anju, Dhoni , Dravid, Sidhu, John Abraham,Priyanka Chopra, some Abhijeet Sawant, Vijay Mallya, Narayana Murthy ((??? Duh), .. whatever.. Watched some Music Channel advertising about its doling out Youth Icon Awards the other day.. They encourage you to vote for who you think is the best icon of current India.. Not a bad exercise, and if this really is an unbiased / non politicised/ bit-scientific poll then I would definitely like to see who emerges the winner.

Through most of my student life , there has only been one Indian icon the whole of India used to look forward to.. Sachin Tendulkar. We were used to watch with bated breath, each shot he played, each movement he made, each four he hit or even each ball he bowled. I have banged plastic bottles together with the junta screaming "Saaachin Saaachin " , me and my friends have danced when he proved his genius with the Two centuries versus the Aussies in Sharjah, we have tested each other's mettle on the minutest of details of his cricketing career, it was almost a shame to not know the critical stats, his averages, his records and his glorifying moments. From the century amongst the ruins in Perth in 1991-92 , to his bowling in the Hero cup to his captaincy to his overtaking records to more recently about his change of batting styles, to injuries, nothing more could instigate passion, joy, cheer, wonder, disappointment, anger, frustration and pride throughout the whole nation.


So have the scales really changed?
Maybe they have , I dont see the same euphoria generated by Sachin anymore. Ofcourse, long gone are the days , when the dismissal of Sachin meant we had to switch off the TV Sets . There are many more people to do the job, win it for India, with him, or even without him.. There are many more swashbucklers, more technically-correct batsmen too, more finishers of the game, or just more people to cheer on..

Nowadays, the charm of cricket is not the same, for the teenage generation , as it was maybe a decade before.. There are far more avenues for entertainment or otherwise, and cricket many a time does take a backseat.. Its therefore logical that we look forward to icons from various circles of life (apart from the conventional cricket and films spheres) , and this also signifies the growing health and power of our society.

But, has it really changed that much?

"Even off the field, the "Master Blaster" has come to symbolize the qualities all middle class Indians - and advertisers - love: shy, reserved, humble, a loving husband, a doting father. He is not only one of the most outstanding cricketers in the world today, he possesses qualities that distinguish all great champions - sincerity, determination and an indomitable drive to excel. Tendulkar's appeal cuts across all ages and transcends boundaries,"

You might find huge cheers for our girl Sania, but do you really view her as the role model?
Do conventional good looks, huge scientific achievements, 30 horses and a billions heavy bank account, or just 6 pack abs make you the role model for the nation?
Does the new found wit and sense of humor easily override a once slapped murder charge?
Or does being the odd honorary member or President of a jazzy Task Force (where you did nothing when you were earning the pounds) qualify?

According to spokespersons in Fiat

"In Sachin Tendulkar we found the perfect brand champion. Sachin is dynamic, full of life, young, energetic, dependable, a winner and a true role model. This fits our product profile and complements our endeavour to present the new face of Fiat India to our customers.’’

Its another thing to compare the Success of Palio's launch by Sachin and the Failure of the Versa Launched by Amitabh, but the analysis is far too complex.

Anyways, all this is fine. Each individual has his / her own perception at looking at things. Interests, aims, age, region, money and education of the individual himself are critical factors that make him/her decide his role model. Moreover, you can have multiple icons / role models , cant you?

The amusing factor to me however is that, inspite of these multiple luminaries, that the young ( and the not so young look forward to..) nowadays, the pecking order when it comes to Corporate/Market salebility and Brand quotient has remained the same all these years . The three biggies still rule the roost.. Amitabh, Shahrukh and Sachin.

I would guess that maybe the corporate think-tanks know the real benchmarks for a role model, themselves, they know what appeals to the masses really, who excites them, instills emotions, or who is the most convincing to the masses when it comes to your product.

Which is why it is Sachin and Sachin only , repeateadly, after all these 16-17 years, after back problems, tennis elbows and shoulder surgeries and accusations of not being able to play the same way he used to anymore, of his transformation from the demi-god to the error-prone and hence a normal human..

Maybe as they say, Sachin is not just a multi-brand ambassador , he is himself a brand.

Its amazing how much Sachin still earns off the field, It all started with 1992-3 Action Shoes ad with Kapil with the endorsement fee of Rs 100,000.
Others like Fiat, Britannia, Pepsi, Visa, MRF, Boost, Philips, Colgate, Adidas,TVS followed
TV Channels ESPN-STAR Sports (Rs 120 million) and Sahara cashed in. Lifestyles, Food , clothing, all industries have tried to reap in their harvests, in more ways then one, examples like a 60% stake in Tendulkar's are known to all.

The Multimillion Dollar Contracts??
1995 - 2000 - WorldTel, Mark Mascarenhas - a $7 M (Rs 30 Crore in 5 years)
2000 - 2005 - WorldTel, Mark Mascarenhas (Renewal) - $17 M (~Rs 100 Crore for 5 years)
2006 - 2009 - Publicis Groupe (World's 4th largest Advt Company) - $40m for a 3 year Contract -extensible to another 3 years.

All of these deals have invariably two basic things in common - of being the biggest ever endorsement deals of their times - and ...

and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

A New Addition to My Family

Well , Two of my friends accounted for almost 10 hours a day of my time the last..
2.5 years.. Guess what, a new one joined them last week..

Behold, My New T43 Thinkpad .. :) The left one :) .. Me's pretty happy..

The typical specs that you find in laptops now.. but then its the lightest laptop in its size and peers that I could find..


Cool Stuff, No?


Currently on the Jukebox - "Soldier of Fortune" - Ritchie Blackmore, Candice Night - Blackmore's Night

The day Bangalore burnt - My view on Dr. Rajkumar's funeral frenzy

Here are the scenes I saw and heard on TV..

a) A Traffic Cop with a totally crushed lower leg.. The first three words are important. A Traffic cop.

b) A Police Beat cop being mercilessly thrashed by a mob.. TV Camera crews exactly posted at vantage locations to shoot all the action.. three people pinning down a policeman while the fourth aims a mid sized rock on his head.


c) A Police Mahindra DIV right in the centre of the Kanteerava Stadium.. It first shoots a Tear gas shell on a till then peacefully queued up crowd , mind you.., where some people are wanting to get out of line or something.. the crowd scatters ... it then immediately shoots another shell right in the direction where the crowds were fleeing.. The result? Utter Pandemonium., Frustration, and of course Retribution.

d) Tyres burnt In JC Road, Bellary Road, Malleswaram, Rajaji Nagar, Wilson Garden, Double Road, Residency Road, Corporation, Majestic, Sanjay Nagar, even Sadashiv Nagar.

e) All three sons of the actor crying almost hysterically, the younger son pleading over the microphones to the crowd to allow the procession to pass peacefully so that they can complete the rituals on time. The wife of the actor pleading on state television of keep calm. A Pitched battle between rioters and policemen just 100 meters away from the main vehicle. The truck carrying the tricolor wrapped body Not even an inch spared by the crowd while burying the actor.. Again TV Crews lapping up all commotion. Three sons return 5 hours later to complete the rites. TV channels claim, Rajkumar bid adieu with "full state" honors.

f) CM of Karnataka, saying on national television "Ohh this will pass as soon as the funeral is over. Right now everything is under control. I dont see any problem. We dont have enough cops since most of them are attending duties in Kerala and Tamil Nadu"

g) The whole media and cine fraternity turn up to show condolences. Lakh strong Crowds throng just to catch a glimpse of the dead celebrity.

h) A woman is walking with her child With the rest of the mob. The mob nearby tries to over turn a Tata Sumo. They succeed and are in the process of disintegrating it. The woman decides to join the fun. She leaves the child watching, smashes the window of the sumo.. Nothing is shown after that but I suspect the child was taught how to do it too..





Here is what I saw
1. A bus being stoned . An office window smashed, A Huge Angry procession, of people , chanting slogans.

2. Huge columns of Smoke billowing from a place where I later learnt was a fully functional Petrol Pump ( Or Bunk as is called here..)..

3. Loads of stones. and tyres.. People roaming around in columns and columns of bikes stopping every other passerby. Many of them had CamCorders.. and Digicams.

4. All Public vehicles, rickshaws and cars had huge posters of Rajkumar pasted

5. The first two days have no cable television to the homes. apart from Kannada channels. THey show nothing but Rajkumar's funeral telecast, his songs, mob battles and celebrities expressing condolences. From Friday , there is not a single channel showing Rajkumar, all start beaming movies and completing their soaps and game show commitments.





Here were the road side comments I heard..
a) " People were beaten mercilessly . They had to retaliate"

b) " Its an emotional issue. He was our most important icon symbolizing Kannadigas, their culture and ethos.. It was mishandled. "

c) "These are basically Tamilian hooligans. They wanted revenge for Rajkumar not supporting them on the Kaveri issue"

d) " These kind of things happen in Mumbai and Delhi too. Crowds can transform into the same demonic form anywhere in the country or the world in such times of distress. Didnt riots happen in Madrid and Paris? We see belfast in flames every other day. What happenned after Katrina? "

e) " This is the worst of Bangalore I have seen in 58 years of my life here. I liken it to the Tamil - Kannada rioting of the mid 80s. here"

f) " These are people who have come from as far as 300 kms.. They had to be given a chance to see their idol. Instead the police was oppresive, the organizer sloth, and the government un-sympathetic."

g) "We Kannadigas are very emotional people. We are a bit different from all others. Its not right to say bad things about whats happenning now. "

h) "You should have seen his resolve when Veerappan kidnapped him. He is the only actor who has repeatedly shunned political careers,or economic gains . He has worked for the upliftment of Kannadigas and preserving our culture. Annavaru (Big Brother) is a jewel for us "

i) "Its said that 100 people immolated themselves, when MGR died, if they really were fanatic fans like we have in Tamil Nadu they should have done that.. and so why burn other's property? "

j) "I am just happy I enjoyed two holidays"

k) "He died a natural death. He had no problems. He is already so old . Why on earth did these crazy rustic kannadigas have to make such a hullabaloo , damage state property, bandhs costing crores of private and government losses by the hour. ??"

l) "Crazy Piece of Sh*t. What a shame. They should have given shoot at sight orders when all this started happenning"

m) "He is greater than Amitabh Bachhan. He deserves the Bharat Ratna. "


Here is what I learnt/ have to say
1. Rajkumar was a colossal cultural icon. The Most important one for Karnataka. A career spanning from 1951 onwards with more than 230 films. A thespian actor, theatre personality, a notably humble soul and a helper of masses with a huge contribution to the average Kannadiga's lives as a role model. In a regional context, its very hard to map him to a national personality who has had such a tremendous impact, especially when societies in south india , have a very very high priority for films , theatre, and cine personalities in their everyday life, when it comes to social , communal or regional education, upliftment, changes or advances. Cine Stars are the biggest of the biggest role models in south india , and in that view its a huge loss.

2. Karnataka has a state flag? yellow and red horizontal stripes? I never knew any state had a State flag before. Or maybe all of them do :) . All crossings in Old bangalore do have these flag posts and all such flags were in half mast. The crowd had hundreds of such flags.

3. You cant build a mega city in 5 years with 100 multistoreys, Forum or Bangalore Central and expect the culture/environment to be that of one. Atleast not in India. Believe me, the 4 metropolices have far more population, area, industries, diversity, and ofcourse malls. (unless you think IT is the only industry that exists in the world) So please accept that there is still a long way to go. What people lament is that for the kind of investment that flows in this city and for the kind of taxes we pay, there is zilch infrastructure. You have swanky buildings, created by some MNCs , who suck back the cost of those buildings on their Indian 2nd grade workers within half a year.. and create flowery names of social organizations who do nothing but crib at the infrastrcuture.. "Look at Delhi and its law and order and roads now.." is the typical refrain. But apart from the roads and the other visible , tangible improvements that you want. perhaps the more important improvement is that in the mindset. Are you geared up to live in a megacity within you? Are you the real cosmopolitan? Why do we have Bomb Blasts and Water Loggings in Mumbai and the city still manages to get in shape by the evening? What makes the aam junta care for the public transport or government property in Mumbai? Why do they queue for buses or have a sort of method in their madness? (leaving aside Shiv Sainiks and the underworld of course).



4. Its not about the Tamilians or the "Northies" who have polluted Bangalore as some like to say. 5000 famililies a month's influx is not a joke and just more apartment houses from Mantri or Sobha just doesnt suffice. Your culture needs to adapt too, upon your exisiting one ofcourse. I can mention many things which can be bettered from the social aspect, but then I am a small individual, I believe I am underknowledged too and its too big a thing for me to comment on. Moreover there are similar serious negativities in all cities and states of our country.



For the Tamilians or the "Northies", just paying the taxes and blame passing isnt enough too.. Most of the outsiders treat the city as a step city. just the source of their income and nothing else.



5. Its a shame, this vandalism and all. Maybe this was just a rare occurrence , a sudden blip or But spare a thought for the extent and rapidity of collapse of law and order and the other aspects of administration . There was no sense of how to manage huge unruly masses, the police force really looked miniscule. I still feel , that the number of the policemen wasnt the real issue. They were as chaotic in their approach as the mob. and most of the city looked as if it was taken over by some rebels. Anyone could have done anything.. Whats more the politicans and celebrities were totally exposed and just protected by a single ring cordon of policemen most of the time. I dread at the thought of how easily any terrorist organization could have taken advantage of all that , had it had foreseen that high risk people would be exposed in such a way.



All these are my comments, entirely personal, so fellow bangaloreans, and Kanadigas, please vent your ire only on me, and not on my twin "super class"es of Northies or Non-Kannadigas

An accidental revisit to a loved song..

Today, somewhere in-between my office work, recollecting past experiences, envisaging future plans, and living the routine of life.... I accidentally stumbled upon one of my most loved songs of all time.. I heard this after maybe a year or more.. (what the heck was I doing?)...
Amazing lyrics coupled with probably music worth making it one the best 10 English songs of the last century, just love the start, the crescendo, and Edge's typical strumming.. ..

See the stone set in your eyes,
See the thorn twist in your side.
I wait for you....

Sleight of hand and twist of fate,
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait, without you....

With or without you....
With or without you....



Through the storm, we reach the shore,
You gave it all but I want more
And I'm waiting for you....

With or without you....
With or without you....
I can't live with or without you.

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away

And you give, And you give.... And you give yourself away.


My hands are tied, my body bruised
She got me with nothing to win
And nothing left to lose.

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give, And you give.... And you give yourself away.

With or without you
With or without you, ohho...
I can't live
With or without you.

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you
With or without you.

U2, I salute you..

Hogenekal ... Yercaud...... (and Bimbo) ...

Hogenekal Yercaud Travelogue
Place 1: Hogenekal Falls
Place 2: Yercaud
Some Pictures taken during the trip


Till Thursday :Bangalore:: Pawan sends pics of Hogenekal falls..
Says... how would you like to revisit scenes from Ashoka? or try for yourself the famous, river boat evening scene in "Dil hai Chhota sa - Roja" ..

Archan agrees... its worth a visit.. Mridul proposes greater grander things, Mudumalai, Ooty, etc. All Agree, Plan put in place, Relatives and friends informed, (BackPacks and Other Gear fixed )..

Friday 2300:Queen's Road:: Mridul rents a car from Irfan Rental, a Grey colored, swanky looking, Tata Indica Diesel, He said he had tried for less mean machines like Santro or Swift , but that was his lucky day.. Car has just a few artistic contours on its body, showing a pretty colorful past.. but then even the moon has spots, aint it? Spots a flat tyre on his way back home.
Saturday 0450:Near Airport Road:: Mridul starts from home to pick up Pawan and Archan. Flats another tyre. Drags it to MG road where he gets the first mechanic at 0530 hours .. Pawan and Archan reach there for "moral support".

Saturday 0700:MG Road.:: Car's Ready. We are Happy. Lighter too by 550 quid.
Saturday 0730:Mysore Road::.. We leave Bangalore finally.

Saturday 0740: On Mysore Road Highway:: Mridul hits a 75 kmph. Car starts to wobble. He hits 80. Car WOBBLES..SHAKES.. SCREAMS. Comparisons to Unmentionable things are made within the car premises.. Car is christened "Bimbo" by Mridul..

Realization dawns.. Car wheels and our trip both have to be realigned.

Mid - road discussion analyses the pros-and-cons.. Cancel trip and sleep in peace is the first choice. But a 1K diesel investment cant be left for zilch.
Pawan , fishes out the contingency plan. Good ol' Hogenekal... "Didnt I tell you before?" All agree..



Saturday 0900 hrs: On Hosur Road: Changed setting from Mysore Road to Hosur Road. (Dont know what transpired in between since I conveniently slept off) Roads are all the same... anyways... The POA? A) Mridul to drive like the tractor driver on the highway.. B) Reach Hogenekal and take it from there..


Saturday 1230 hrs: Lunch Had. Toll Given . Entrance Fee Given, Admission Fee Paid, Parking Charges given, Camera Charges Given, Bridge Crossing Charge Paid, Spot climbing charge levied. Pho....... What the heck... We ARE at Hogenekal..

Saturday 1300: Hogenekal Falls:: The Falls are nice. The weather is cool, We forget the past, just climb on rocks to pose for the photos.. then take a Roja Boat ride.. , its a portable boat.. fits easily over the boatman's head. a sleek invention I would say. No, trailer trucks or other gear required Its light , yet can be seen to accomodate 15 people.. Its perfectly circular, and boatmen do artistic manoeuvers , that can make an F-16 green (which it is in our neighboring country tho.. ), doesnt come with the warning of not to touch the edges, cos the black coat (yes yes, like the Columbia shuttle) can come off into whatever youre wearing.. Mridul finds out to his dismay.. and isnt much amused when the boat guy suggests that a petrol wash to his new t-shirt is the only way for such misadventures ..



We are all amused tho, by the Jumpies... The 4-5 year old cliff divers.. they would try to grab your attention from the cliff tops.. calling "Saarrrr Saaarrr" and waving their palms to show 5 bucks.. and the moment you approve.. dive down to the Kaveri waves below.. Both the Canon SLR and the Sony DSC-W5 greedily lap the action..

Saturday 1500: Hogenekal Falls:: Splash Time.. We find ourselves highly underprepared for this.. since the other boat thats at the section of the falls we selected has made it a community bath center. Every body is busy applying shampoo, soaps and whatevers onto themselves and others, the environment smells of LUX soap and frankly thats disgusting.. We let them go..

Pawan and Archan enter the main water fall section with the aid of Boat guy. Small fishes nibble at our ankles.. Its pretty scary at first but you get used to it.. I guess they only target the ankles to try get something from the disturbance created by our foot movements on the rock bed...

The water fall is overwhelming.. at the center you can breathe perfectly.. but still feel short of breath.. the water has a huge force and it feels as if it wants to push you.. down.... its cool.. its refreshing.. and its exciting.. but for the sight of the layer of Lux soap scum left by the community bath at the adjacent pool..

Next is the turn of Mridul, We scare him off with the talk of the fish bites.. and he howls upon his first contact under water.. he comes out of the water.. and vows not to enter it again.. not even with the help of Boat guy. All the fish are disappointed.
<>

Saturday 1500: Hogenekal Falls:: V for Vigilance Archan SHOOTs a Vigilance officer, fishing at a totally public place in between a scenery. The Vigilant Vigilante promises to unleash a vendetta on Archan using his contacts , with "Do eu naauu .. yu yi yam?" "Yi yam Vigilance Obizzerrr. Youre naaaa sapo to take peeeks.. "
Pawan and Mridul argue to on the morality of applying the Hutch ad motto to a public tourist place.

Anyways.. 2 hours at boat rental seem a comfortable time to view the beauties of the site , especially when not much water frolicking and soap scrubbing is involved.

The other thing which the natives swear by here, is the Tel-maalish or the Oil Massage .. I had a look at one of them... Enter bear hairy, pitch black, long moustached, lungi adorned , Tamil swearing, pachydermic humaniod.. French Masseur with the lavender touch? Eh.. Not quite.. Navratna Lal Tel on the Pehelwan ka haath? A bit more like it..



Its fun tho to see people close their eyes while the massage fellows operate. , 30 people atop the rocks.. some one sleeping, some one just standing, some one dancing his belly.. some one with a new weird posture..

We dont try the massage, maybe thats why the Lux Soap and the Sunsilk Shampoo isnt much required. What we also dont try is to have a bite back at the fishes.... Loads of fisherwomen at every trail selling fried fish, just caught on the banks, natives actually feast on the fish, and you might be tempted , cos I belive they sell in huge numbers and are fresh.. but you put a step or two back when you see the masala , the dressing and the oil on the pans.

Its past lunch time and the only thing we try there.. is Good ol' melons. We three manage just over half a melon, as the size is pretty pretty huge.. and at that stage, I guess any form of kand-mool,lakkad, patthar, (vegetarian of course) is welcome..

Pawan and Archan are a bit wet from the inside, due to loads of water frolicking ofcourse.. its a bit uncomfortable and annoying as any experienced waterfall campaigner without the required toiletery equipment (read large enough towel to cover thy ass), expecting a changing room in an Indian tourist setting would know..

Saturday 1600: Hogenekal Falls:: 1st destination Done and Dusted.. Where to now? Somewhere during all this, Mridul develops a liking for Bimbo, and even begins to term the ride as a "pleasurable - experience" .. Seeing this confidence , also somewhere during all this, Archan browsing and tearing simulataneously the Bible travelogue, Outlook's 52 weekends out of Bangalore , chances his eye on Yercaud, which ,so they say has earned the sobriquet , the poor man's Ooty, and reads out the particulars verbatim to the audience...

The Audience is excited, Mridul has a vested interest in that his school, Montfort's branch is located there.. and has been pretty well documented in the travel catalogue as a must visit place as well..

130 odd kilometers dont deter the trio , and they yank Bimbo, to start chugging towards the hills.. Its decided, No return to Bangalore for the night. Instead, we tent-up at a plush resort when we reach, and chillax the blues away.

Saturday 1840: Omalur, Salem:: ::
Mridul really drives this like a tractor.. and he is good at it.. we enter the city.. cos thats the only way for the climb to the hill station.. and its past twilight.. so were a bit worried about reaching the hill station on the climb..
Pawan does his math calculations.. 4.5K Feet.. from about 800 to 1000 odd feet.. thats pretty steep..

Saturday 2100: Omalur, Salem:: ::
Steep it was.. . as the MSL signs on the steep slopes say... its pretty dark on the climb.. and Bimbo has reduced from a tractor to tortoise (whatever could be even slower in vehicular terms) .. Hurtling trucks on the way downhill dont help the cause.. and its pretty worrying since we all know that the tyres arent in John Abraham health.. and sing huge opera sreeches at every turn..

Mridul steadily climbs up and up.. It gets cooler and cooler.. the lights get visible from below. and spur us on.. 1.5 hours for a 25 km climb is not that bad, is it?

We reach Yeracud and find it exactly like how all South India Hill stations look like.. a Lake, a few shops.. a few estates and tall tree covered roads.. Pawan and Mridul liken it to Kodaikanal...

A couple of enquiries and a wrong way later.. , we reach the properties of Grange resorts , a pretty green , small Estate.. that was suggested... the receptionist, knows we're more or less decided on staying there so charges a premium, tho far cheaper by the other hill station standards...

Saturday 2230: Yercaud:: ::
Dinner's done.. and its pretty good.. we wonder how all we order gets ready in a jiffy even when the restaurant was closed but just opened for us..

There is a cat at one of the tables as we set to dine that livens up things...

Everyone tries to relax.. a warm bath.. a Couple of calls here and there.. watch some news

Battle the mosquitoes and Sleep Sleep Sleep........

Sunday 0830: Yercaud:: ::
Wake up, get Ready and break your fast.. Archan goes for a small trail inside the resort tho with not much to see..



The first destination ofcourse is the Montfort school, its the typical old English Catholic with the Victorian architecture buildings offices and otherwise, but augmented with 4-5 basket ball courts, 8 tennis courts, 3 football fields in one, 2 cricket grounds.. etc.. atleast thats what appears first to the visitor...
We spend a good amount of time looking at the school.. Mridul has his fill of pictures..

F1 news trickles in and Alonso has won again.. with Kimi second..

We then amble to all the "Points" in Yercaud.. like any typical Hill Station. .they are the viewing places.. They are funnily called "Seats" here..
we Visit the Ladies Seat, which offers a lovely view of winding road ascending the hill and of the plains below..
Then the Gents Seat, which is higher than the ladies and Pawan remarks that it was made so that the Gents could have a look down on all the Ladies assembled.. their own as well as the others' ... We nod our heads in approval.. ;-) .. Children's Seat and Rose Garden are kicked out of the schedule..

The Botanical Garden is closed which is a big disappointment..
We visit an Ayurvedic Research center though.. and buy aroma herbal perfumes, medicinal oils and even hair gels.. .They all seem , look and smell great..

Next is a visit to a cave temple, its the Town diety, we pay our obeisance. This is also the highest point of the hill station which also has a huge plateau.. Yercaud also has bauxite mines.. and there are some open mines that can be seen as well..

All this stuff makes it afternoon time and we head back to the town side..And we have done far better things on Saturday to go for a stupid boat ride on the lake.. so we trash that from the agenda...

Sunday 1505: Yercaud Descent:: ::
We begin our descent hoping to reach Bangalore by 9 ..
Talks veer from Rang De Basanti songs.. to Business Opportuniites in Rural India .. The Laptop has kept us entertained off and on during the trip. We keep it shut during the descent.

Sunday 1700: Crossed Salem and Towards Bangalore:: ::

Late lunch at a road side dhaba.. Gobi ki Sabji , Dal , Roti and Dahi.. with Pepsi.. Personalized TV Services too.. Not Bad..

Sunday 1800: Highway:: Car Stalls::
Sunday 1830: Highway:: Car Stalls!!:: Right in front of petrol pump.. Enginner Yanks and Pushes some buttons and says it should be good to go..
Sunday 1840: Dharmagiri:: Car Stalls:: Again in front of some truck garage or something.. we call up the mechanic , but there is no sign of him for minutes.. the car just restarts.. and we get on the road again..
Sunday 1900: Outside Dharmagiri::Car Stalls ::
We have had it.. We arrange a road shop to bring an engineer.. he arrives in 10 minutes.. We push the car to his garage.. He says the Filter is filled with dust or something.. We joke and resign ourselves to fate... Mridul takes pics of us in the garage..

Mechanic fills 5 litres of diesel and somehow gets it started..
By this time.. all of us have started treating Bimbo with respect ...

Sunday 2015: Mechanic Shed:: We start again for Bangalore

Sunday 2100: Over Toll Tax Maintained Highway Stretch:: Car tyre bursts apart at 80 kmph ... 3rd time in 2 days..
We fix the tyre...

Sunday 2300: Somewhere 30 kms out of Bangalore:: Road side Dhaba dinner ..

Monday 0020: Mridul' Place:: Reach ..Bangalore.. Get to bed by 2.... Time to get back to the Garage was 2300 hrs. Mridul's ID card and Passport is with them.. but we arent prepared to shell much xtra money... we decide to give the car the next day..

Monday 0920: Bangalore::
We travel to our homes and get ready... Mridul drops me to my office in the same car..

Monday 1000: Bangalore::
Car stalls again with Mridul alone this time.. Didnt go even 4 kms (the max distance of Queens road from my office)
Mridul is no mood to talk.. You dont want to mess with him now..


Tuesday 1200: Bangalore:: Mridul has done our accounts and the hisaab kitaab... We are relieved .. Life is back to normal...




Currently on the Juke Box - "Huzur is Kadar Bhii Na ... - Masoom"

Another of my working hard photos

People,

Here is me working so hard last year (behind the comp), they decided to put me in the Annual Report !!

;) he he ! just kiddin!

Cheers!! Its a lovely day here in Bangalore

I couldnt agree more - Aamir on today's media overkill

"
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, smarting over the panning of his film "Mangal Pandey", says the fourth estate should be the watchdog of society - not its lap dog.

Because they want more advertisements, they are destroying what is a very important part of the society - news reporting. It is wasting important national space that should be used in a more productive manner," Aamir said, breaking several months of silence in an exclusive interview to Tehelka newsmagazine, during which he spoke at length on the state of the Indian media.

This is for the first time any actor has dared to do so. He said it wasn't just the cynical decimation of the professionals or the intrusion into the deeply personal matters like his divorce and remarriage that irked him, but the misplaced emphasis on sensation that was cause for worry.

"Because they want more ads, they are destroying what is a very important part of the society, and that's news reporting. It is wasting important national space that should be used in a more productive manner," said Aamir whose recent release "Rang De Basanti" has turned out to be a blockbuster.

Aamir feels that as a public person he should voice his opinion because news reporting is a "matter of national concern".

"Unfortunately, media barons and top executives are too fixated on short-term dividends to square up to the larger picture," he maintained.

Talking about his current release he said that despite the expected media interaction that the film's release demanded of him, he couldn't bring himself to deal with "this kind of people... this monster that the media had become".

Aamir said he shunned the tinsel press even when he was just a beginner.

"At that time, the mainline newspapers never reported films, there were no hundred channels, only Doordarshan - so effectively you were cutting yourself off from fans if you didn't speak to film magazines. I understood that, but I chose to do what was right."

Even today, he feels the same about the press because the core principle of journalism - that of being a watchdog - is being violated.

"The media is meant to be the watchdog of society, not its lap dog! Some restraint you have to show, boss," Aamir maintained.

Commenting upon the sting operations he said: "Sting operations are admissible if they are governed by public interest. But the non-stop 'absurdity' of mainstream media content - be it the Salman (Khan)-Aishwarya (Rai) tapes in Hindustan Times and The Asian Age, or Channel 7's faux interviews with myself, or the India TV sting on Shakti Kapoor, or alarmist file footage of the Mumbai floods for the second round of monsoons that hit the city, or poaching on an ailing Amitabh Bachchan, has forced me to stop reading and watching most papers and channels."

The actor, who finds both Hindi and English media guilty of overkill, prefers watching Doordarshan.

"At least one is spared the theatrics, deep sighs, wiping of tears and background music," said Aamir.

"Some news channel has to get up and say I am not indulging in this. It might lose viewership for the first month or so, but it will establish that it is not indulging in all of this, and I am sure people will come around."

The actor said: "This is where even channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN, who set them up to be different, have not made the mark."

He said that trivialisation or degrading of news is something he won't take and feels in something as sacrosanct as news reporting, commercial priorities must take a backseat.
"

St Patricks Day Pictures!!

Here are some pictures of the St. Patricks Day parade held at Dundalk, Ireland on 17th March 2006.


The Boy Scouts in Red

This Band was awesome !! Loads of Synchronized drumming and a bit of brow beating!

Small Kids with the Aliens on Earth Theme. The costumes were very well designed..

Dont know the names. Tweedledum - Tweedledee? :) Loads more cartoon characters.. Not the Disney stereotypes tho.

The Dundalk Deep Sea Diving Expedition or some such thing.

The Kilt Club?? These were the professional perfomers, the rest were just having a good time

Cute little girls marching away in unision. Please bear in mind the sub zero temperatures

Its a shame...

This is a mail from a colleague and friend, that I received some time back, It shocked all cheer and joy out of me that morning .. Read on..

"
Hi,

My wife got scanned at Sagar @$0!!0Z at her 6th week and baby growth was upto mark. At that time the gynaecologist gave her a hormone drug which was consumed by my wife for 2 weeks. The scan at end of these 2 weeks shows that growth stopped after 6th week. There was an abortion due to this.

Name of the drug: Progesterone.

The following link shows that this medicine shall not be used during pregnancy.
http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/pro1639.htm

When asked the doctor for clarification the answer given was "I do not know what is written in the Net about this drug. It is not wrong and generally it will be given to test tube babys." !!

There is no logic or proper answer given by the doctor why this medicine was prescribed for a pregnant lady who is doing quite well. My wife also told the doctor that she does not have any complications or isssues.

Its a really horrible situation in my life.. .........
.....
..... and now she says reason for zero growth could be that the foetus itself is weak?

So I thought it was worth sharing this with you guys.. Its better we re-check the usage and problems of all such drugs before we start consuming them as prescribed by any doctor...

"


While in 5th century BC.. Hippocrates had written something which could be translated roughly as
"I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art."

Most modern changes to the omnipresent and the most important document in medicine
the Hippocratic Oath have intelligently removed explicitly saying this , maybe since the drug companies could be peeved, or maybe cos it doesnt go with the modern times where you can just "get busy" before lunch and do a nip n tuck in the evening, and marvel at new tech or woman power.. but they do show something like

"I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks."


So tell me, doctors and surgeons, therapists and cologists and the alike, though I am a zilch in Medicine or anything that relates to it, though I couldn't tell between Campose and Lactose, or a -plasty from a -etomy, and therefore shouldnt have the guts to stand against the 10 years of hard work and sleepless nights you all put in..

Do you think our hospitals , our clinics, our wards, and research buildings can be called places built for humanitarian cause? Or they are core professional factories of work.. similar to what all others go to too with tiffin boxes and files?
Do you think its right to equate a doctor to a priest or a holy soul? Or its more like "Hey we're just plain humans dude.. We do our job like ya.. make mistakes, do it good.. earn our bucks.. share a pint or two with friends and go home to wife.. "
Do you think your knowledge is special to all other professions? Cos your risks, your gains, and your successes operate not on human society and worldy things.. but humans themselves?

I know (I think) there is nothing wrong in answering either way for any of the three questions.

But it will be the ward-boy who will think twice before applying his son to the hospital where he works, as his son might return home with his weight reduced by a kidney's.
Maybe, I dont know, and maybe its better to apologize before this provocation, but do most doctors mostly prefer announcing their credentials , when they visit another of their brethren, cos the fee could be waived?
My dentist needs x-rays of the same tooth, twice in 3 months, (each copy has a lifetime of the current consultation), ofcourse 100 bucks dont pinch me, but 7K worth of tests surely bothered my friend when his 4 year old was diagnosed for recurrent fever at Man**pal, and I am not even starting on the charges during Hospitalization there.. and oh - B . T. W., the tests ended non conformative.
My medical insurance coverage certificate has letters smaller than the ICICI ATM list printouts on what are the terms and conditions on the backsheet.. Maybe, 50% of the cases wont even be eligible claims under my coverage.
People actually save 10 Lakhs per person on post retirement medical plans.. (am I a bit short here? or far ?)

All this is fine.

Yes. Fine.

But, is it really ok to be lax with ANYTHING that concerns a new life? Was it really not worth it to have learnt more about the drug as a doctor maybe, rather than see the utterly broken face of my friend that I saw, from across your desk?

So is the Hippocratic Oath you took just a meaningless relic and a moral science exercise ?

I am sure, Its Not.


My first instinct was to tell him to sue the blo**dy ar*es , but it didnt take me long to realize that from what he had lost, nothing really would have provided much consolation, financial benefit, the the least of all. Maybe we Indians dont know the way of earning fast bucks. We need a couple of john Edwards like millionaire lawyers and politicians, someone who can make us a buck or two, for such tiny medical malpractices you see, but the Indian system will just ruthlessly shred your peace apart, emotionally and financially if you even attempt so..

I dont know folks, maybe the drug was right, maybe it wasnt, the hospital is empowered , enough to handle such petty cases, as the people who guessed the name right would know.
I have heard huge stories of selfless doctors, Big degree holders who just settled in a remote village , and accept a a dozen chickens or just a hug for pay. I have seen cheerful doctors who make complex things look like fun and old nurses who still have the zeal and cheer , when they enter wards they have been roaming, cleaning, nursing for decades. The internet tells me of how huge a success are the Polio and the AIDS campaigns.. and the amount of work done by footsoldiers, doctors small and big, and the government, things that can be envied as the biggest acts of volunteering, initiatives and sacrifice for humanity causes, across the world.

But I am sick of the way the medicine profession and industry is turning up in my country. I am sick of the overcharges, the bad drugs, and the apathy . I am sick of accepting it as our fate and I am sick of seeing the value to life and humanity vanish in moment when you enter these spic and span , fashion decorated hospitals, and see the old man queuing up at the specially placed ATMs from banks around the world at the ground floor, while the formally dressed head nurse scowls at him for being slow. They look like Death Chambers more than places which give , nurture or protect life.

And I have absolutely no clue what to do about it. I am just too small to make a change. Maybe I'll just write this blog entry.

Back at Ireland

Here is me back at Dundalk, Ireland. There is me apartment and therez me car. :-)

Its been two weeks here, and there are two more to go. While most of the time here has been spent in training, and other logistics, its going to be the real issues and work that is to be done this coming fortnight to really serve the purpose of my trip here..

Its a pity I had to miss all the Puja week festivities last week, just because I had to sit through some dumb software training manuals, but then thats life. Whats assuring is that I would be home for Diwali, with my parents. This time we are planning to squeeze a weekend outing to any of the lower hillstations, or even to Chandigarh / Amritsar etc. and return just before the onset of the harsh winter, but then I hope its not just one of the plans which enjoy their lifetime just in your head, and never get materialized. Cos, all these 4-5 years, whenever I reach Delhi its always a helter skelter trip, schedules are tight, got to visit them , and do that job and everything.. and by the time you realize you can maybe relax, its time to say your goodbyes, and return to Bangalore..

Ireland is as green as I saw it last, which is what I love about this country. Lesser winds this time around, but then the climate is always damp and soggy, which is a kind of a put off, you kind of miss the sunshine back home. One of my Irish colleagues had been to Bangalore mid Septemeber, and when I had asked him what he had done for his first weekend, he had said
"Among other things , enjoyed the sun at my room balcony for 3 hours.." . I understand why :-)

The people are very warm though , even a bit "noisy"sometimes , if-you-know-what-mean !! :) . And plus there is loads of places I have to see in this country, I am planning a trip to the west coast with my colleagues, the country isnt that big.. so hope to cover a good portion in a couple of days. The car is okay , its a Rover 45 this time, and though it looks better and has more space than the Opel Astra I had got the last time, the MG cars I have driven can never seem to match German, or Japanese counterparts in smoothness and other car handling standards. The apartment is okay, has a good nice lawn on the backside, and since its very close to the Technology institute , there are loads of young college students staying together in the neighborhood.

Evenings are boring though, especially Television programmes quality can at best be called "sub standard". I had to fight myself into not taking the new Cable .. especiallysince 60 Euros is a bit too much, but nobody had said the cost of living was cheap. Other things are costly as well, and its not like the 5-7 kgs of Hersheys and a couple of Jackets, books or clothes I could pick up in the US, for my friends and relatives, just a 250 gm packet of Toblerone costs 10 Euros.

All this is understandable since not much of the consumer stuff is produced locally, everything is procured from outside states, and I somehow think "Euro" -ization of the country has helped it tremendously. But, you can see loads of development going around, high speed motorways and airport terminals etc. , people are generally, well to do, unlike our Asian countries., there is good social order and .


Anyways.. hope to finish all the work and head for home soon, for a week long rest. Am even starting to miss my 1/2 an hour Sudoku solving everyday morn. Would meet my parents after a long time as well..

Currently on the jukebox

"Vaishnav Jan to Tere Kahiye Je - Lata Mangeshkar.. "

Mangal Ho.. to Iqbal !

Watched the movie Iqbal with Mridul last weekend at the Forum, Koramangala. And I urge everybody who can find time to have a look. It worth a one time watch, and reassures you that Nagesh Kukunoor still hasn't lost his touch of producing refreshing cinema. It tells you that maybe all the shying away from limelight and purposefully deglamorizing yourself from your Page 3 peers does in fact keep your vision unpolluted, and maybe helps in better film making. Way to go, Nagesh.

Just a fortnight ago, I had watched my hopes on Bollywood finally doling a good (read 1 year post-production , 6 month edited, 4 year hiatus worthy) product dissipate in thin air when I saw Mangal Pandey - The Rising. The only things I could take back from the film were Amisha Patel's long tresses and the awesome jugalbandi of Kailash Kher and Sukhwinder Singh on all the 3 renditions of "Mangal Mangal ho ". What do I say about Kailash, he is one of the top 10 in my list of people/ things to watch out for in the next year. (For more details, maybe some other blog post later). But the rest of the film was surprisingly passe. Aamir is expected to do that bit in his performance, but 'twas nothin special. A R Rahman DISAPPOINTED, Rani looked a misfit in the role and I think totally out of place in "Main Vari Vari". For the lovers of the "Queen" it might help comparing the song with Madhuri in "Kahe Chhede More" or Rekha in "In Aankhon ki" to put things in perspective.

I was also disappointed at unnessary bloating up of certain issues which the director found very important to portray in that light to try and bring the audience closer to the period of play. Bhang being drunk left-right and center, an English man fighting 100 men to rescue a Sati widow, a English lady viewing a Kaneez-sale where the seller tries to hoist up the skirt of a girl to show whether she is still ...

Overall a mediocre screenplay and non powerful characters for the main few actors of the film, giving it a sort of patched black and white look, as if the director is attempting to give the characters a mellow outlook as well as trying an instigate some kind of building of pent up patriotic emotions etc. For me, it was unsuccessful in both accounts. Another hilarious thing was that Tantiya Tope comes personally to request the services of a regiment in far away Berhampur, West Bengal, and pleads them to start the rebellion since they are the only ones capable of tackling the British might ! Ha ha ! The good factors though are an aim to establish the opium trade cycle, not much of a detour on the final happennings (except for the public hanging) and maybe yes, the performance of Toby Stephens playing Captain Gordon.

Anyways its a difficult ask to be close to "history" when even historians are unable to ascertain whether he was really our first freedom fighter or just a crazy guy who ran berserk and was elevated to a hero.

For an exact textual version of Mangal pandey's trial and the events, this one is good
http://www.chapatimystery.com/archives/univercity/the_trial_of_mangal_pandey_i.html

I would term Iqbal as an exact invert film to Mangal Pandey.Its not a masterpiece, you can view its flaws, but its a very refreshing film. Mangal Pandey was an attempt to glorify a hero, whereas Iqbal starts from commoner's poor background roots. The closeness of the film to fields and farmlands, a common village household and everyday life firmly establishes the setting.

Iqbal, the protagonist, is a deaf and mute, but never once does once Nagesh attempt to stir up the pity or the sympathy factor. He is the underdog, is a handicap, but that doesnt affect the flow much, he is scolded by his farmer father, as would any normal one to his lazy 18 year old, and since there is no different behavior in the whole film , and you actually end up forgetting that this guy is deaf and mute at some parts of the film.

Low budget films cant afford an year of editing, so there might be fallacies alright. They cant afford Symphony and London Orchestra celebrated Music Directors like AR Rahman, dishing 5 stellar songs.. but Iqbal was impressive on the music front too.. "Aashaayein" the theme song played throughout the movie was pretty good :) both me and Mridul loved the guitar strumming and KK's high pitched powerful voice rising in crescendo to the background chorus. Lovely song.

The most important aspect was its handling of a sports based theme. The story is about Iqbal, a small-village boy who for years wants to make it big in cricket, about his love and passion, and how inspite of all the shortcomings, facing adversaries and difficulties, he achieves his aim of securing a place in the Indian national side.I dont think apart from Aamir Mangal Bhuvan Khan, anybody had the guts yet to meddle with such a over obsessive and emotion packed subject to the Indian audience as cricket. 5 years ago I had heard Saurabh, my friend, calling me from outside the now defunct Liberty cinema in Delhi saying,

"The junta is dancing in the aisles man !! Each shot Bhuvan hits, the cinema goers are applauding and cheering as if Sachin has pulled Shoaib for a four in a Indo -Pak final. Lagaan is a sure hit! " ..

Nagesh Kukunoor's "Iqbal" doesnt stir up such emotions but tackles in right earnest the modern sport and its politics, and ofcourse in a sensitive way. You have a closer to life setting, and all the common problems that make sports only for people gifted enough to have some leisure time in India, but more importantly , it displays a perfect emotional setting, between a mother and her son, the sister and the brother, the coach and the student. All the relations have been handled with finesse. And augmented with expert performances for sure. Naseruddin Shah is wonderful, tho he didnt make for a good drunk.. :) , Shreyas Talpade is wonderful as Iqbal, most importantly has a lovely bowling action !! Girish Karnad is a usual masterly perfomer, but the best performance is Shweta Prasad (found the name from the internet) playing the school girl sister. This film is half Iqbal's and half hers, and she performs the role to such perfection.

Iqbal also delves into the power of dreams, the scenes of how the lad's mother and sister support him , about his haystack made enclosure where he hides his Sportstar cut cricket icons evoke good memories in any of us who have grown throughout our childhood playing the game everyday for hours and hours and hours.

While I know that this film wont be a huge hit since it doesnt have the good old 500 films and 600 adverts Shahenshah Amitabh Bachhan or the 45 year old college goer Rs 2000 perfume branded Shahrukh Baadshah Khan, its definitely a better movie than some of what these giants of the industry keep giving out for the Indian audiences to rave about and fill the coffers of the producers. If not much, the filmdefinitely caters to an audience that prefers watching realistic films, maybe makes you wonder aloud whether this is our Munaf Patel? or our Irfan Pathan?

Keep it up Nagesh.

On the personal side, its cricket there as well !! Both watching and playing.. I have been doing my 3-4 hour sessions of cricket with my colleagues every saturday and that has definitely helped reduce the side handles a bit !! For sure :)

And have been utterly overjoyed with Ashes.. ! 3 nail biting matches at Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Trent Bridge ! England at their very best battling a resurgent and resilient Aussies and leading 2-1 at this stage. Wouldnt miss the last one at the Oval for anything, who cares about the Ind-Zim-NZ tri series !

On the Indian front Sania goes into the 2nd round match today in the US open.. ! Not bad. ! What say?

And lastly for the Bangalore Boys ! Whenever you watch a movie at the Forum and have dinner plans, make sure you go to Grameen at the Raheja complex and book for your comfortable time, beforehand. Thankfully the manager honors 3 hour ahead reservations.

Whats more funny is the look on the crowd's faces who are waiting for say 1/2 to 1 hour to get a table and you just arrive at the scene , mutter your name and are ushered in immediately , a la - VIP !! Ha ha !! Have done this twice already !

Thats all for now ! Phew !!


Currently on the Jukebox --
"Urzu Urzu Durkut" - Yahaan - 2005

What 'Pujo' means to a Bengali - Vir Sanghvi's article

It's always hard to explain to somebody who does not live in Calcutta what it is about Puja that makes that period so magical.

Before I came to live in Calcutta in 1980, I was only dimly aware of the significance of Puja. I knew the boring facts and figures, of course. I knew what proportion of annual retail sales took place during the Puja period. I knew that the city shut down for the whole week. I knew that at ABP - where I was soon to work - telephone operators would, strangely enough, take the trouble of coming to work, only so that they could receive incoming calls, shout 'Pujo', and then hang up on irate out-of-town callers.

It's like Christmas, they told me. Imagine Christmas in New York: Puja means that to a Bengali. Others found more home-grown parallels. It's like Diwali in North India, they said. You know, the shopping, the parties, the festivities and all that stuff.

Actually, of course, it was nothing like Christmas; and certainly nothing like Diwali in North India.

Nothing, in fact, can prepare you for the magic of Puja in Calcutta.

To understand what it means, you have to be here.

As the years went on and as I went from Puja to Puja, I tried to work out why nobody could explain to outsiders what it was that made Puja so special. Why was that I failed as completely as everybody else in communicating the essence of Puja? Why did all the time-honoured comparisons not really ring true; with Dushera, Diwali, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and God alone knows what else?

The answer, I suspect - and after all these years, it is still a suspicion, I have no solutions - is that you can't understand Puja unless you understand Calcutta and unless you understand Bengalis.

But if you want a city with a soul: come to Calcutta.

When I look back on the years I've spent in Calcutta - and I come back so many times each year that I often feel I've never been away - I don't remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think of London, I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park. When I think of New York, I think of the frenzy of Times Square. When I think of Tokyo, I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when I think of Paris, I think of the Champs Elysee.
But when I think of Calcutta, I never think of any one place. I don't focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah 'Bridge'.

I think of people.Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and mortars, street lights and tarred roads.

A city is the sum of its people.

And who can ever forget - or replicate - the people of Calcutta?

When I first came to live here, I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody told me was that the city would change my life.It was in Calcutta that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty.

I learnt other things too. Coming from Bombay as I did, it was revelation to live in a city where people judged each other on the things that really mattered; where they recognized that being rich did not make you a better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect.

I learnt also that if life is about more than just money, it is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture, about ideas, about art, and about passion.
In Bombay, a man with a relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta, a man with exactly the same income will not know the difference between a debenture and a dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter. Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world. Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and culture will be in inextricably bound together.

Ah religion!

Tell outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they'll scoff. Don't be silly, they'll say. Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up on a religions festival?

I never know how to explain them that to a Bengali, religion consists of much more than shouting Jai Shri Ram or pulling down somebody's mosque. It has little to do with meaningless ritual or sinister political activity.

The essence of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the pride in artistic expression and yes, the cult of the goddess.

It may be about religion. But is not about much more than just worship.

In which other part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with each other to produce the best pandals? Where else could puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything else? In the years I lived in Calcutta, the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan, Princes Diana and even Saddam Hussain!

Where else would children cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashimi, upset that the Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so much about food, about going from one roadside stall to another, following your nose as it trails the smells of cooking?

To understand Puja, you must understand Calcutta. And to understand Calcutta, you must understand the Bengali.

It's not easy. Certainly, you can't do it till you come and live here, till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your bloodstream and steal your soul.

But once you have, you'll love Calcutta forever. Wherever you go, a bit of Calcutta will go with you.

I know, because it's happened to me. And every Puja, I am overcome by the magic of Bengal. It's a feeling that'll never go away.

Suchana !

SUCHANA

Agar aap bus, train, plane ya kahin se bhi aa - jaa rahe hon aur kisi
mahila/ladki ke hath mein phool, dhaga, chain ya chamakti hue koi bhi vastu
dekhein to turant wahan se bhag jayein.
Ye vastu RAKHI ho sakti hai. Apki zara
si laaparwahi apko BHAI bana sakti hai.

Bharat Sarkar dwara purush hith me Jaari.

:) Wish you all a very Happy Rakshabandhan !

Happy Independence Day Folks !!

Wish all of you a very happy Indian Independence day! Hope we all keep the spirit alive, as it has been all these 58 years.

Once while in 8th standard, I had received a huge poster just before 15th August which contained the English translations of our National Anthem and the National Song written vertically, alongside each other. The publishers were some national society and a copy had been put up in one of our classroom walls. I had been amazed at how beautifully the wordings had been translated, and it had been a re-realization then on how strong emotions even the English wordings stir in you once you read them. Maybe some years later, I got to know of the translator, and it reassured me that it took the genius of Shri Aurobindo to translate the most two important poems of our nations struggle into such beautiful poetry.

I present one before you. The first stanza of vande Mataram, by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, which has the status of being our national song. Its from the irrepressible Anandamath, first published in 1882.


Vande Mataram !

I bow to thee, Mother ! (Vande Mataram)
Richly-watered, Richly-fruited , (Sujalam, Suphalam)
Cool with the winds of the south, (Malayaja Sheetalam)
Dark with the crops of harvests, (ShasyaShyamalam)
The Mother ! (Mataram !)


Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight (Subhrajyotsnam, Pulakitayaminim!)
Her lands clothed beautifully, (Fullakusumita Drumadala Shobhinim.)
with her trees in flowering bloom

Sweet of laughter, Sweet of speech (Suhasinim, Sumadhura Bhashinim)
Giver of boons, Giver of bliss. (Sukhadam, varadam )
The Mother ! (Mataram !)


Wish you all a very Happy Independence Day !!

Whats in store for the city - Bangalore's Comprehensive Development Plan Part 1

Here is what is planned ... by the government, the corporate think-tank and the elite for Bangalore in the near far future.

If they achieve what they plan.. it will make Bangalore at par if not better than any of the Metros of this country....

1. GIS-based property tax system in 2006 ( The new one I am happy about)

The new property tax system that is supposed to see a revenue jump of 50 percent for the State Across 57 urban local bodies (ULBs) and including seven City Municipal Councils (CMCs) and one Town Municipal Council (TMC) of Bangalore, this hitech and first-of-its-kind system in the country will be operational by December, and will be adopted for tax collection in all of Karnataka shortly.

The software for GIS is to provided by Infosys, free of cost.

What the project promises…

a. To gather authentic information for use in collection of property tax Create a map-linked database to enable systematic urban area management

b. Create a basic database that would be useful for planning the growth of urban areas Create an interface with the public to help them access information

c. Ensure availability of data for all Government Departments Create base maps of the city, incorporating all properties and roads


2. The Blue Elephant -> The Bangalore Devanahalli International Airport

The city already accounts for the third largest international flights in India after Mumbai and Delhi. Each company in the IT or the ITES sector has a high amount of foreign delegates visiting the city round the year. I recently met an American employed with Siemens who had been to to Bangalore 19 times since 2002. Equally strong are the Non -It sectors of Pharma, Banking and telecom. While there are more tourists on a visit, there are also more and Business visas for the Indian doing his quarterly trip .

The best news for this is that work on the proposed international airport at Devanahalli has FINALLY taken off after all the tree planting and the bricklaying ceremonies and it will be operational in three years. (Yeah yeah , we will see about a that) ..

Salient Features?
* Its 29 km away from Bangalore, but close to the Hyderabad highway (NH 7?)
* Initally planned to 5 million passengers per annum traffic . Ultimate capacity : 40 million !
* A 4km runway designed to land a Boeing 747.
* 20 aircraft accomodation on the Tarmac

* The Build-Own-Operate-Transfer scheme and Public Private Participation

The Karnataka Government, through the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) together will hold 26 percent of the equity. To sum it up, the airport is a joint venture between Siemens Project Ventures (40 percent), Larsen and Toubro (17 percent), Zurich Airport (17 percent), Karnataka Government (13 percent), and the Centre (13 percent).The State Government has agreed to grant concessions to the
Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the company that is to execute the
project. It is a consortium of the Government of Karnataka, Airports Authority
of India, Siemens, and Zurich Airport, to design, develop, finance, construct,
commission, maintain, operate and manage the airport. The Karnataka Government
is providing 4,300 acres of land for the airport.

* Terminal Building with an air-conditioned built-up area of 55,850 square metres with all modern facilities
* Expansion capability
* Infrastructural Support? a Couple of flyovers and elevated roads planned. A shuttle service to the city.. Not bad.
* What did the Government do?

The concession agreement for land and support from the State and Central
Governments was finalised after numerous meetings between the ministries of
Civil Aviation, Law & Justice, Finance, and the BIAL.

The agreement also contains the rights and obligations of the Central and State Governments, and the BIAL on operation and maintenance standards including monitoring, airport charges, provision of reserved activities like customs, immigration, security, liabilities and indemnities, and resolution mechanism for
disputes.

Its also reponsible for the planned infrastructure development around the airport