think small

one topic. two girls.

2010-04-10T23:14:00.004+05:30

I am feeling a little intrusive to write this post, because it discusses people and their choices in life. But this thought isn't going away from my mind. So, I might as well spill it up here. The topic is career. In past few days, I came across two girls who have made me think. So, let me go ahead and do the dirty job.

Girl One

It's Sania Mirza. Well, don't fret, yet. Enough has been written, read, heard, and seen about her during the past week. No, I am not going to talk about her wedding, though in a way I am going to. I am only thinking of her career. Experts and critics have already written her off. Is there any tennis left in Sania? That's a question only Sania can answer. Whether she will be successful in the future or not, she at least ought to be trying and doing her bit for her game, and for her career. I see that missing. She has been doing everything else, but anything to do with tennis.

True, she's injured right now and out of the game, but one can't help but feel Sania is far too away from tennis circuit and not likely to return. If you ask me, her marriage could have waited. But then, it is her decision. But even before all this drama happened, Sania was much of a glam icon than a sports icon. We can blame media for giving her extra irrelevant attention and that it spoiled her. But when I do that, I can't help but think of other icons who get media attention as much Sania gets. Take Bollywood girls for example. Don't they live in 24x7 media attention? But look at the focus they have. Looks like Chopras and Basus and Kaifs make better poster girls for a career woman.

Today, all of us focus so much on our careers. And Sania isn't just another girl, she is the one who has made it in tennis when there were few people (specially women)playing it in India, she represents minorities. We all wanted her to make it big. We cheered even when she lost to a Maria Sharapova or a Serena Williams in the first round. It would have been nice if she came across as more focused about her career. Sania loses the opportunity to inspire others.

But then, yes, it's her life and she has freedom to live it the way she wants to.

Girl Two

I met this girl a few days back. As that was our first meeting there was a round of hi-hello-what-is-your-name-what-do-you-do. This girl said she is preparing for the Civil Services exams. And that interested me, because there are so few people these days who try to get government jobs. Thanks to IT, private jobs are in fashion now. So, I struck a conversation with (rather quizzed) the girl. I asked her why she wants a Civil Services job, and the answer was interesting. She said it's the only job that has 3 Ps - power, pay, and prestige. Though I am very fascinated with that answer, it brought one question to me. What is it that I want out of a job? All of us just want one thing out if it - money. Most of us want job satisfaction too. Some of us want our work to make difference to people. Some want fame. Some of us might want few other things. But power and prestige? I hadn't thought of those terms being associated with job, blame it on my limited thinking. She also said it has been her dream since she was in second standard to get into Civil Services (read: she is very passionate about it). Very mature kid she must have been, I don't think I even had brains when I was in second standard. She asked me if I wanted to a technical writer when I was in second standard. Sure, I didn't, but then, I didn't want to be anything when I was in second standard. Now that I have become a technical writer, I like it. It doesn't mean I am not passionate about my job just because I didn't want to be a technical writer when I was in second standard.

Getting back to the girl and her Civil Services dream, she also said Civil Services officials are most respected. They have the ultimate power. That even if a CEO of a big corporate goes to a village they will not respect him, but they do respect a 'Collector'. This sounds a little off for me. May be because I like entrepreneurs and think it is great to be one. Villagers might respect the Collector, but it isn't the person they are respecting, it's the post. Also, villagers would not respect a CEO because they would be ignorant about him. Just like they wouldn't recognise Tom Cruise.

She said she has been trying to clear the exams since last 3 years. And, that's all she has been doing for the past 3 years. She holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering, but she does not work, because she is pursuing her Civil Services dream. Now, that worries me. I am aware that preparation for Civil Services exams take a lot out of you, but spending a whole year just to prepare for an exam seems like luxury. I recently read an article about the difference between being passionate and being stubborn. I wonder which one this girl is. In my opinion, she could have done at least something till she got into her dream job. Be it a small time job, a voluntary service, or pursuing a hobby.. just anything.

I asked her what she would do if she doesn't get the Civil Services job. She is so sure that she will get it, she hasn't thought about what she would do if she doesn't get it. She said she has 4 more attempts left, and she'll keep trying for next 4 years. Sounds like a plan. But, if I do a little negative thinking, if she doesn't get into Civil Services, she would have wasted 7 years of her life. Seven prime years of her life, years of her youth, her most productive years where she should be doing a lot with her career. But then, she seems to be very positive person, unlike me.

When I further pressed the unpleasant question, she said she would try and turn one of her interests into her profession - photography, writing, or something. I thought the girl was naive and dreamy. To add a bit more information here, she hasn't done anything serious to pursue her interests too. She has time now, she could have done a course or a degree in one of those areas. To add to my pessimist image, I asked her if she knows that it's very difficult to turn hobbies into professions.

I think I am a little concerned and worried about this young girl. Of course, 3 Ps sound good and positively she'll get to them, but 'what if?'

~*~*~

Questions remain in me - Why do we work? What do we want out of our jobs? How much should we do for our career? Isn't every job respectful? Isn't every job worth doing it? And worth doing well?

a relationship story

2010-03-07T02:06:00.010+05:30

Ah, well. Here is a story about much cliched, ever preached, and never practiced term - customer service.
I relocated to Hyderabad a month ago, from Bangalore. I had an Airtel postpaid mobile in Bangalore, and was quite happy with it. So, when I was preparing to shift, I thought I would continue with Airtel in Hyderabad as well. So, like a loyal customer that I was supposed to be, I called up Airtel customer care (another cliched term, who cares anyway?) and was soon talking to Anjali. I told Anjali the whole story and she listened to me as if she is my best friend. I wanted to know if they have any process where a customer gets transferred from a state to another, with least amount of effort required from the customer. Anjali thought for few seconds and then politely told me that they don't have anything like that, and that I will have to get a new connection in Hyderabad like anyone else. She, in other words, told me that me being loyal to Airtel for 4.5 yrs didn't at all matter and didn't gain me any mileage with them. Fair enough, I said, and dropped the call.
Cut to Hyderabad. Picture a train reaching a station, and the screen filled with 'Hyderabad Railway Station' board. Sorry, I am poor, and I work for a poor company, so you can't afford to picture a flight taking off and landing. Let's call it the austerity drive, sounds much elite that way. Well, let's get back to our story. I held on to my Airtel mobile connection, as if it was my last piece of memento from Bangalore, I loved Bangalore, after all. In the meantime, I also felt quite generous towards this Mittal guy and donated some extra bucks to him. Roaming charges, you might want to call it, if you are tech-savvy.
Finally when I got the address proof letter, that precious piece of paper which stated that I am not homeless in Hyderabad, I went to Airtel *Relationship Center*. Because you know, they don't give mobile connections to the homeless. You rather be a terrorist than being a homeless, because somehow terrorists always get mobile connections. Let's get back to the *Relationship Center*. I was greeted warmly by Imran there, he sure had a nice smile. I repeated the whole story that I had told few days back to Anjali. He too thought for few seconds and gave the same answer that Anjali had given me. He told that I can raise a request for canceling my Airtel Bangalore connection and get a new postpaid connection. I told him about my plans of getting a broadband connection. He took down my phone number and promised to put me across to their executive.
Murali called me the next day, Imran hadn't forgotten to pass on my number to their executive, Murali. He said he was the broadband guy, and was rearing to cater to my broadband needs. I was much happy, things are rolling on, I thought. Murali asked me where I lived, and I told him. He thought for few seconds, and told me in sad tone that they didn't have *feasibility* to provide broadband connection in my area. That made it sound like I am living in the dirtiest slum in Hyderabad, though Murali was kind enough to try and reduce the effect to minimum. I also appreciated the usage of word feasibility; that was corporate stuff, and you got to agree with those who use jargon.
I was back to ground zero, without mobile connection and broadband, left just with an address proof letter. I had to do something about it, now that I had stopped feeling generous towards that Mittal guy. After few clicks on the computer and few steps out in the Hills, I was standing in front of a Tata Indicom store. I held on to my address proof letter, and got in. Soon, I found myself sitting across Fareed. He was more scared than I was, not of me, but of his boss and of his deadly deadlines. He was nice to me, and within minutes I was carrying speed! Photon+ was the solution to my broadband problem. Sensing a bigger prey, Fareed asked me if I needed a mobile connection too. That was the test of my Airtel loyalty. To reel me in, Fareed shoved a piece of paper in my hand, I had one glance on it and I knew it was time to call it quits with my long-time friend, that Mittal guy. This Tata guy was asking less of my money to give me a mobile connection than the Mittal guy ever asked, Tata Indicom tariff plans were awesome! Fareed was kind enough to come to my house the next day and give me the postpaid connection. Not that he was great at serving his customers; he was bothered about his target achievements, and didn't want to let me go at any cost.
I went straight to Airtel *Relationship* Center after Fareed left, and raised a cancellation request. Imran flashed the same warm smile, and saved embarrassment to both of us by not asking why I wasn't taking a new connection with them.
There I was, with a Tata Indicom phone in my hand and speed in my computer. Happy ending? Not yet. Poornima called me the next morning. She introduced herself as Relationship Executive from Airtel. I was about to say that I didn't need any relationship advice, but she didn't give me any chance to speak. She demanded to know why I cancelled my Airtel connection. I told her that I relocated from Bangalore and wasn't rich as Mittal to keep a roaming connection forever. She said she is offering me a 'relocation package' where I get to keep last 5 digits of my Airtel Bangalore number and only first 5 digits would change, and she could send an executive right away to give me the connection. Just imagine, a relocation package, man!! She also told me that I was their valued customer and they didn't want to lose me. Just the stuff I wanted to hear. Sad it was that I wasn't destined to be loyal Airtel customer any longer, and sad it was that Poornima was just a bit late. I just laughed a sad laugh and said bye to Poornima.
So sad was I that I had to disappoint Poornima, I kept thinking about the whole thing for quite sometime. I was just thinking, why Anjali and Imran didn't know about this relocation package and only Poornima knew about it? Either it is their top secret or only Poornima works sincerely for Airtel. Funny it is, how the retention process starts only after the customer puts up a cancellation request. It is commonsense that a normal sane human being can't live without a mobile phone and they would get another connection before canceling an existing connection. Why don't they - Poornima and Anjali and Imran and Mittal - think about it? Isn't this a flaw in the process? Why can't they equip their Anjalis and Imrans with the knowledge of all the packages they have?
All said and done, I don't think Mittal will miss me much.
~~~
ps: Some names have been changed. No, not for protecting their privacy, I am not that nice to them. Just that I have bad memory.

people

2009-09-23T01:37:00.008+05:30

Photographing people has been a fairly recent thing. I am trying my hands at it, and liking it too. Here are few clicks.

If I were to caption this picture, I'd call it 'thinking woman'. I like the intensity in the girl's face. I feel the picture portrays strength, courage, and intellect. I wish I could avoid the noise in the background and the foreground.

I like the curious eyes, and the messy hair. But for my disappointment, the mother of the kid found out soon that I was clicking pictures of her daughter, and promptly dressed up the kid, burying all the charm under talcum powder and neat hair.

Yes, the guy is a looker. He's the only one who manages to look cute and handsome at the same time.

I like the dreamy eyes, specially when I know that this girl, daughter of Srilankan refugee parents, dreams of becoming a doctor. Hope her dreams come true.

This is when I learnt to take black-n-white pictures in my camera. Nemo is a real sweet kid.

ps: all these pictures are taken from real far and none of the subjects were aware that they were being clicked.

.. poem lovely as a tree

2009-09-15T01:38:00.014+05:30

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

These are the opening lines of famous poem Trees by Joyce Kilmer. Looks like my camera has a taken a leaf out of Kilmer's book; it loves trees these days.

This one has been my fav picture for past few months; I like the silhouette effect.

I think that I shall never see
a billboard lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all.
- Ogden Nash

I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.
- Willa Cather

Actually I was trying to capture flowers this spring. But some bare trees got my attention; they were not conforming to the season at all.. they looked so good though.

Kilmer's right, only God can make trees.

As the poet said, 'Only God can make a tree' -- probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on.
-Woody Allen

* * * *
While you are at it, check out Trees for Free.

Check out Last call for the ridleys? | Tata can save the turtles

2009-03-20T10:11:00.001+05:30

I want you to take a look at: Last call for the ridleys? | Tata can save the turtles

moments with a good friend

2009-01-13T12:40:00.017+05:30

And the good friend is my camera. I am spending a lot more time with my cam these days, and enjoying it. I don't know if I am getting better at photography, but who cares! One of my dear friends keeps telling me that I am very good at it, and I am not bribing her to say so.

Here are few pictures that I have clicked recently. I like coming up with captions for my pictures.

Rays of hope

Looking back before looking ahead

The sky is the limit

I took the road less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Innocence sparkles too!

Studious sage

Life

Melancholic monk

*~*~*
This is my attempt to get back to blogging. Hopefully, I will succeed.

random notes of a morning

2008-02-04T15:56:00.002+05:30

# A very bad and scary dream wakes me up early.
# RJ Vasanthi Hariprakash isn't doing morning show anymore.
# Trees chopped at CMH road for Metro work. A sad sight.

Take heart, shri.

the kite runner

2007-12-20T19:34:00.002+05:30

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the most heart-wrenching, appealing tale I have read in recent times.

It has mixed emotions in it, in every sense. It has the innocence of childhood, real sorrows of the world, there are relationships, a lots of them, strong ones and weak ones.

I liked the vivid imagery it pictures about the happy-life at Kabul pre-Taliban. I could get the picture more clearly as I have lived in Iran, and those Persian phrases which pop-up in the book were familiar because of the Persian I had learnt back in Iran.

This book has some amazing twists in the story. And they are handled wonderfully well. It also has strong characterizations, even the smallest of character is shaped well, they sure are going to live in your head for long time even after you put down the book.

Well, it's a sad book. Because world isn't fair to all people.

toastmasters speech - 4

2007-12-18T14:10:00.002+05:30

I did my fourth speech at Toastmasters club last Sunday. Speech objectives and guidelines for this speech is titled 'working with words', which means the speech should use good, simple, easy-to-follow language; it should also use literary devices like similes, metaphors, alliterations, and dyads and triads.

Keeping all this in mind, writing this speech is quite tough, specially for me as I am a technical writer; I am always expected to write in simple language and avoid flowery words.

So, I came up with this over-the-top and exaggerated type of subject for this speech, which gave me scope to achieve the speech objectives. In my speech I tell my audience how I fail to come up with a speech.

* * * *

1, 2, 3... Full stop!

It was a nightmarish nightmare. It was like desiring to see John Abraham in your dreams and dreadingly getting Shakti Kapoor instead. It was like finding a desert all of a sudden amidst western ghat's evergreen rain forests. It was like getting to know that there won’t be masala dosas served in Bangalore’s darshini outlets anymore.

I was dejected, disgusted, and devastated. I had fallen short and failed, no matter how fervently I tried. The news gave me bigger shock than the one Rahul Dravid would’ve got when he got to know that he was dropped from the one-day series against Pakistan! No matter how hard I tried to hide the fact, it kept popping up in my mind… just like Amitabh Bachchan’s ads pop-up in every other TV channel no matter how hard and quick you press buttons of your remote control.

Toastmasters, the fact is... I am... a 3-speech toastmaster. I couldn't come up with one more speech! I just couldn't write a speech no matter how hard I tried! It looked like I could anything else... I could look as good as Deepika Padukone; I could make more news than Rakhi Sawant; I could even grow taller than Husna Ayesha[1], but... I couldn’t come up with one more speech! I was, I am, and I will be a 3-speech toastmaster! I could even bear a 21-day fast, but not this tormenting truth!

It was tough to take terms with the truth! All the fun and frolic in my life faded away. The otherwise-evergreen factors in my life - enjoyment, excitement, entertainment – their existence evaporated. Whenever I went, whatever I did... this fact that I'm a 3-speech toastmaster hit me on my face all the time, like Himesh Reshammiya's voice. I started feeling more miserable than 'Sanjay Saawariya Bhansali'! I no longer could enjoy pan-fried noodles at mainland china – the tempting tasty thing I love more than my life.

Even coffee didn't give any kick! My days were as miserable as days in office when the vending machine was out-of-order! Roar of a tiger I heard at midnight during a trek didn’t interest me either, it only indicated that even an animal could get more vocal than me. In the menu cards of restaurants I kept searching for words to use in my speech. Even a movie at gloriously grand gold class didn’t bring down my grimace.

Well, you might want to know what I did to overcome this problem. Ask me what not I did! At times I took a crystal clean white sheet, wrote the title of my speech on top... underlined it, made a flowery box around it, overwrote it using another color pen... and I wrote the lyrics of ‘dard-e-disco’ underneath!

Some times I would come up with a great opening, write it enthusiastically... but then my mind would go as blank as Rani Mukerji's world in the movie Black. It felt like Sehwag, hitting fours and sixes in the first over, and then getting out cheaply at gully in the second!

Someone once told me ‘you can get a speech topic everywhere, even in a casual conversation with your friends’. So, I started watching for words when my friends spoke to me. Soon my friends started avoiding me; they said I was worse than an irritating LIC agent!

I searched for ideas in every nook and corner of my world. I started looking for one-liners and anecdotes in the hoardings instead of enjoying a Milind Soman or a Kunal Kapoor picture! I suspected my own sanity when I realized that I was looking for vocabulary even in a Shahrukh Khan interview in TV! Newspapers, magazines, movies, and even Ekta Kapoor serials... I desperately searched everywhere for inspiration... in vain!

Friends, I have to live rest of my life with this fact that I'm a 3-speech toastmaster, just like Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi live with an Aishwarya Rai... sorry, Bachchan dump. They say ‘failure is the stepping stone for success’. But for me, this failure is like an elevator stuck midway while I’m in it. I can only take heart to say that this horrendous truth is a humbling experience. On the face of this earth, I am going to remain a 3-speech toastmaster.

* * * *
[1] Husna Ayesha is a tall girl among the audience.

* * * *

Speech was very well received. People appreciated the references and examples I used from the world of cinema, cricket, and food.

My mentor had warned me that this speech doesn't have a 'message' or a 'take-home value', but I argued with him saying I want the speech to be fully entertaining, not preachy at all. My friend Smitha rightly points out that 'message of this speech is that every speech need not have a message'. And I so agree with her :)

gifts

2007-11-26T15:30:00.001+05:30

ScienceWoman has promised that she will send a gift for me. I'm pretty fascinated about this; with the idea that someone I haven't even met is going to send a gift for me all the way from the US.

You can get a gift too. here's is how:

Within 3 months, I will send a tangible, physical gift to each of the first five people to comment here. The catch? Each person must make the same offer on her/his blog.

I feel this is very interesting chain. Hope you find it interesting too.

greenish encounter

2007-11-20T17:11:00.001+05:30

I am lazy to write another trekologue, but here are few pictures from my weekend trek at BR Hills.

This one is my favorite, the lonely tree.

Dew drops on web..

This is where we stayed.

Shot this from behind the window mesh of the house, i feel it's a cool picture.

* * * *
BR Hills is in the border of Karnataka-Tamilnadu, in Chamarajanagar district. This was Veerappan's core area when he was alive, so this particular trekking route is now called 'Veerappan trail' or 'mystery trail'. This forest has diverse wildlife. This region is famous for Soliga tribes, natives of BR Hills area, and Dr. Sudarshan, who worked for the welfare of Soliga tribes.

everything "ok"

2007-11-10T14:13:00.001+05:30

I am in kinda trance, having watched Om Shanti Om(OSO) on first day. It's sheer magic. Die-hard critics might not be impressed, but who cares. This movie is for people who are enthu about bollywood, people who can enjoy the fun, people who love SRK, people who love drama. In short, it's for people like me and Farah Khan.

This is the biggest movie I've ever seen. It's way too big! It celebrates bollywood, be it 70s, or 2007. Having set the reincarnation theme in backdrop of bollywood, Farah gets every right to pay tribute to, and make fun of bollywood. The beauty of the movie is she does both the things in very very agreeable way. It's star-studded; literally all stars of bollywood are shown on screen, from Manoj Kumar to Vidya Balan. It's a joy-ride, only way to sit thru it is to enjoy it.

I liked the way today's stars made their appearances in the film. The award ceremony sequence in the movie is a definitely a laugh-riot, thanks to Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan. Akshay's 'Return of the Khiladi' is the most enjoyable part of the movie. Farah doesn’t even spare SRK in her leg-pulling session, his movies are mocked too, watch out for 'Phir bhi dil hai NRI', and 'Main bhi hoon naa'.

The much hyped title song is worth all its hype. 31 stars together in a song, it's feast for a bollywood buff! I wanted to count the number of actors in the song, but lost count half-way thru, entire crowd in the cinema hall was cheering and whistling thru the whole song. I specially liked Shilpa Shetty, Tabu, Sanjay Dutt, Mithun, and Rani Mukerji. Most of the girls are clad in sarees, look stunning.

Coming to performances, Deepika Padukone is one of the great things in OSO. You can’t stop yourself from letting out a 'WOW!!' each time she comes on screen in a new costume. She is gorgeous. But the good news is she acts well too. As a yesteryear superstar, she's all elegance and grace. She doesn’t have much of screen time in the second half of the movie.

Shreyas Talpade is neat. Arjun Rampal is too good-looking to play bad man. Kiron Kher is over-the-top and filmy, but that's intended. 'Maa ka dil kehta hai' sequences between SRK and Kher are way too funny.

Rather than saying that SRK was great, I would say he was super-funny. He's good in both the parts of the movie, playing a junior artist in first half, and playing a superstar in the second. Dard-e-disco is eye-candy, the scene just before the number starts is real fun but! The way today's directors and actors are made fun of, and 'dard bhara item number' are too impressive.

One of the flaws of OSO might be that you take it too lightly, but that’s one of its strengths too. You might not feel much for SRK's pain, and Deeplika's death. But it's done in such a way that Farah doesn’t want you to feel for the story of the film, she just wants you to enjoy it rather.

Real best thing in OSO is Farah. She's too creative about everything in the movie. Her 'main hoon na' was like a masaledaar, rich meal. I was wondering if she'd any juice left in her after such a blockbuster, but she proves me wrong. Her passion for bollywood is clearly seen in the movie, and her audiences love it.

You'll get the pun in the title of this post if you've seen the movie, but anyways I mean it in its plain meaning too. Deewangi of Om Shanti Om is here to stay.

volga - ganga

2007-10-26T12:09:00.002+05:30

Though I am tempted to write another post on SRK after watching him on TV at HT Leadership Summit, I'll hold that for a while... and I have something equally interesting!

I read a book called 'Volga Ganga', and I am in hangover of that book ever since. Author of the book, Rahul Sankrityanaya, is 'most widely traveled' scholar, wiki says. And that's good enough reason for me to respect him :)

As the title suggests, the book is about the Euro-Asia region, the area between rivers Volga and Ganga. To put it simply, it's about the so-called evolution of human race in this region. If you wonder why I am getting sarcastic about evolution, that's what the book did to me.

It starts with a leaf of life set in Volga banks at 6000 B.C. Then it covers the times after that, seeing the human race evolved, forming communities, having a ruling system called 'ganatantra'(democracy), discovering gold, forming kingdoms, fighting, introducing the concept called 'God', birth of Hinduism, origin of Vedas & Upanishads, birth of Islam, the commercial development, times of Budhdha, Kalidas, and Ashwagosha, times of Moghals in India, East India Company's rule in India, the freedom struggle in India, and so on.

If that sounds like a plain-boring series of historical info, it's not quite that. This book might change your understanding about all these things, specially your pride about the culturally-rich, ages-old civilisation of ours, and the 'Sanaatana Dharma'. This book throws light on the origin of the concept of God, and why it was done. And also about the caste-system in India, and the reason behind the origin of Vedas.

This book is written in episodical form, taking some fictitious characters of each era in the background of historical developments of that time. I found it extremely interesting.

I read the Kannada translation of the book. I guess it was originally written in Hindi. There must be a English translation too.

chak de khan!

2007-09-11T11:21:00.002+05:30

After long wait, I finally got to watch 'Chak De India' this weekend. While it was irritating that I couldn't lay my hands on movie tickets for 'chak de India' for quite sometime, I was happy that the movie is doing well in box-office. It really deserves to be a hit movie!

I was totally lost in the adrenalin rush 'chak de..' gave me, I expected it in a well-made sports movie. But.. when the rush calmed down, and while thinking about the movie, my satisfied mind thought about Shahrukh 'Kabir' Khan's awesome performance. When I come to think of it now, it was totally his movie.

'Chak de..' isn't a typical hero-oriented movie, it's a team-work just like the effort the hockey team in the movie puts in. Actresses who played hockey players also did a good job. I only know them by the characters they played - Preeti Sabarwal, Komal, Vidya Sharma, et al. It seems it was very difficult task to cast the actors for this movie, as they wanted hockey players who can act.

Coming back to SRK, he truly rocks the show. It was typical SRK style, yet very different. This stubb-bearing, strong-looking, yet vulnerable look of Khan really really made him look believable as hockey team coach.

At the end of the movie, there is a moment where SRK does 'meri taraf dekho Vidya' act, while the goalee Vidya is about to face the penalty corner stroke of the opposite team. Somehow it reminded me of 'palatke dekh Simran' act of DDLJ.

I just got glimpses of 'dard-e-disco' six-pack Khan! lllove it.. all the way SRK! Waiting for Om Shanti Om.

toastmasters speech - 3

2007-08-20T11:55:00.002+05:30

I did third speech at Toastmasters club yesterday. The project guidelines are - to speak with sincerity and conviction, and to inform/inspire the audience. I took the speech title from my blog name!

* * * *

Silly little things

“Hey, you are looking very happy today. Did you win million dollars in the casino last night?” Pulitzer Prize winner humor columnist Dave Barry’s friend asked him one day. For which Dave replied, “No, I saw a beautiful painting of a butterfly this morning, and guess what… when I was seeing the painting a real butterfly came flying over and sat on that painting of the butterfly! It was a million dollar sight; I don’t think I’ll ever get to see such sight again. That’s why I am happy.”

Friends, Could I ask you to close your eyes for a moment and picture that scene of a butterfly sitting on a butterfly painting? Does it make you happy?

Well, it made me happy too. There are quite a few things which make me happy. Like listening to a Gulzaar song, a walk in the drizzling rain, fragrance of flowers, glimpse of a cute kid in a passing car… the list goes on and on. I am a big fan of Oscar Wilde, who said “I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.”

One of my friends says I get a glow in my face when I see food!! I accept that I’m a sinner when it comes to food, but if it’s food that makes me happy… so be it! If you ask me to name the most divine thing on earth, I might just say - rum-n-raisins ice-cream at corner house!

As the famous credit card ad goes, ‘there are some things money can’t buy’. How true!! I remember this one particular incident wherein I’d got set of metallic glittering-color gel pens. My flatmate liked them so much that the whole day she sat writing using those pens like a kindergarten kid, trying one color after the other! It was such good a sight that it’s stuck in my heart forever!

Talking about my friend turning into a kid, I got reminded of kids. Have you ever fed a kid? While eating they insist on seeing things like kaaka, doggie, and most favorite of all… chandamaama, the moon!! Funny, we forget to enjoy these things when we grow up!!

Because we think that we have to be serious, and not silly!! Try doing some thing silly at times. Live life unconventionally! Let rules not rule our lives. 'Consistency is the only refuge of unimaginative', I quote my guru Oscar Wilde again. Take an off on a Monday and go for a movie, go for unplanned trips, try glass noodles in the Chinese restaurant instead of that regular fried rice next time!!

Small things… small things hurt too. My friend built a big house by taking massive home loans, and paying EMI till the end of the world! I said fine… as long as it makes you happy it should be ok. But my friend was rather gloomy on the evening of the grihapravesh day. I asked why, she said 16 guests told her the house wasn’t according to the vaastu, and 27 of them didn’t like the color of the paint of the house! Simple thing... but it hurts!

In fact small things hurt more than big things. Don’t believe me? Try sitting on a mountain peak and then try sitting on a needle held upwards, and tell me which one hurts the most!

Well, while talking about small things and big things which hurt, I should share with you my philosophy for life! I know it doesn’t go well with my image to have a loaded thing life philosophy for life but still..

I believe... “Whatever happens in life, happens for good”. My belief only got reinforced when I read an article about the survivors of the 9/11 tragedy. As we all the know blasts at twin towers happened early in the morning, at around 8.45 am. All those people who had silly errands to finish and thus got late to work that day were the one who were saved that day!

A CEO survived because his wife refused to drive their son to the kindergarten, and he had to drive kid to school. Another guy is alive because he had gone out to get donuts. One woman was late because her alarm clock didn’t work that day. One spilled coffee on her clothes so had to go back home to change. One’s kid threw tantrums on the breakfast table. One’s car wouldn’t start, one missed the bus, one didn’t get taxi. The best of all… one was wearing new pair of shoes that day, and developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at the drugstore to buy a band-aid. And… that’s why he is alive today!

Imagine… all these things are little annoying things otherwise. We get irrigated when we get struck at traffic, when the children take long to get ready, when we can’t find the car keys… next time when you get frustrated on such reason, just think… it could be a life-saving reason!! I would rather live with a blister on my foot all thru my life than dying!!!

'Angels are able to fly because they take themselves lightly', said someone. Some people have this heavy thought that they are important... as if the whole world is on their shoulders! I have even seen people who think that “being busy” is a status symbol! Life’s all about stopping for a while and smelling the roses, they say. But I like this poet who said “I have never read a poem lovely as a tree”!!! Aren’t trees as beautiful as roses?

When you get stuck at traffic you might talk about poor governance, infrastructure development failure, lack of fundamental facilities, corrupt system, urban pollution, and demerits of living in IT city. But I prefer to listen to my favorite RJ Vasanthi Hariprakash every morning when the auto rickshaw moves at snail's pace. I enjoy listening to her soooo much that I have started loving traffic jams!

* * * *

In spite of being called 'good speech', my speech didn't meet the guidelines fully. This part is quite tricky. I will have to redo the speech.

my wishlist

2007-08-08T18:10:00.001+05:30

Saw a wishlist on someone's orkut profile the other day. That got me thinking of my own wishlist, so here goes a pictorious one :)

small things

2007-07-24T18:14:00.002+05:30

Great things come in small packages, they say. I do agree with that when I see bonsai plants. They look very cute; I feel they are one of the best craft works.

I'm in love with these tiny beauties for quite sometime now. They even figure in my dream-home. When I read about a bonsai garden in some ashram in Mysore while searching for info and planning Mysore tour, I insisted we go there. We did go there, and I loved it.

Here are few pictures.

Can you see sapota fruits in this tree?

Big banyan tree :)

What's more beautiful? Flowers or the tree?

ಶಿವ ಶಿವಾ

2007-07-18T16:49:00.000+05:30

ಇಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆಯ ಹನಿಗಳ ಲೀಲೆಗೆ ಮರುಳಾಗಿ, ಅನಿಸುತಿದೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಇಂದು ಅಂತ ಗುನುಗಿಕೊಂಡು, ಜಯಂತ್‌ಗೆ ದಿನಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಸಲ ಮನಸ್ಸಲ್ಲೇ ಥ್ಯಾಂಕ್ಸ್ ಹೇಳ್ಕೊಂಡು ಇದ್ದೆ. ಇವತ್ತು ಈ ಹಾಡು ಕಿವಿಗೆ ಬಿತ್ತು:

"heart ಅನ್ನೋ ಅಡ್ಡಾದಲ್ಲಿ love ಅನ್ನೊ longಉ ಹಿಡಿದು
ನನ್ನ attack ಮಾಡೋ ಶಿವಾ ಶಿವಾ..

longಉ bangಉ wrongಉ ನೀ ಬಿಡೋ ಶಿವಾ
songಉ singಉ ... ಬಾ ಶುರು ಶಿವಾ
...

heart ಅನ್ನೋ ಜೈಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ love ಅನ್ನೋ ಬೇಡಿ ಹಾಕಿ
ನನ್ನನ್ನು trapಉ ಮಾಡೊ ಶಿವ ಶಿವಾ"

* * * *
ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ.. ಶಿವ ಶಿವಾ!!

thinking with a box

2007-07-11T16:40:00.003+05:30

Shot this at Nepal-Tibet border, beside a busy market road. The boy was actually sleeping inside that cardboard box, by the time I took my cam out and shot the picture, he was getting out.

the boss

2007-07-04T16:01:00.002+05:30

Only Rajni could do that! Look at the kind of hype and excitement the movie created all over India (or should I say ‘all over world’?). All the leading news channels ran main stories about Rajni and the movie on the day it got released.

You know what to expect from Sivaji, if you know Rajni brand. All Sivaji has got is Rajni, Rajni, and more Rajni. Be it his ever-famous one-liners, or his style.. he makes sure his audience is kept entertained thru the movie. He uses chewing gum though this time, replacing his signature style with cigarettes.

Add Shankar’s against-corrupt-system theme, Shriya’s beauty and notable screen presence, Vivek’s outstanding comedy, Rahman’s catchy tunes, and quite a lot of special effects - all this with Rajni brand, and that’s Sivaji for you.

It’s a let-your-hair-down-n-enjoy kind of movie. Expect lots of whistles and shouting in the theater, and be part of it to have more fun. To quote the actor himself, the movie is “cooooool”!

* * * * *
One of my rather-ignorant colleagues asked me over lunch, “ what’s it in Rajni which makes the crowd go mad?” What could I tell him?

superhero?

2007-06-28T13:13:00.001+05:30

While I was glancing through the huge database of pictures of my treks, I found this picture and I thought it looks pretty interesting. I shot this picture at Savanadurga, which is one of my most adventurous treks so far.

Doesn't he look like a superhero who's just landed with a mighty jump? I bet he would look like Krrish if he had that mask on. It looks as if he's on top of the world. Look at the ground below, it looks so far below. And I love the cloudy sky.

* * * *
Actually this is my friend Harsha, just monkeying around on top of Savanadurga.

feline ways

2007-06-26T17:11:00.002+05:30

Cats.. I love them. This wonderful creature never fails to amaze me. There is a saying, which goes, 'Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function'. Cats are lazy and arrogant. They seem to have major attitude, and they can get away with it.

Have you ever watched a cat getting out of house? That's worth a sight. It always walks with it's head high, moves as if it's on an important mission, detests any human being it encounters on the way.

I can go on and on about cats, I am thoroughly fascinated with them. But I will keep it for some other day. I shot this picture in Iran, outside the flat I used to stay. This cat was a regular visitor to us. It's a Persian cat, which is very famous and expensive in India, but this one is a stray cat. In Iran, only stray animals you get to see are cats. They live on garbage, and they look well-fed.

web design

2007-06-25T14:36:00.002+05:30

Another object of my cam's affection. My friend Smitha thinks it's very creative of me to come up with caption like 'web design' for this picture.

I shot this at forests of Goa, while trekking there earlier this year.

holy flags

2007-06-21T16:38:00.002+05:30

I took this picture near a Stupa in Kathmandu.

These colorful flags are seen around Tibetans religious places; they might be having some auspicious importance. I saw these flags in deserted mountains of Tibet too. You will also see these flags in Byluguppe, a Tibetan settlement near Mysore.

My cam is thoroughly fascinated with these colorful objects. Why not.. they make good photographs.

Add-on: You can find more info about these flags here, says Smitha.

my visualDNA

2007-06-20T14:54:00.001+05:30

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™