The Melting Pot

Just Ride ...

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:28:00 +0000

A few weeks back, my Yezdi mechanic told me -

"Saar, don't feel bad about what I am about to say , but there is no such thing as perfection in our Yezdi bikes - even the factory bikes had a long list of items to crib about ... you are chasing perfection which never existed - just ride it Saar... "

Of course I know - I mean , of all people I know - especially about the Yezdi...but still it set me wondering - when was the last time I "just rode it " -- on any bike ?

Can't recall it in recent times on any bike - there's always something to crib about - wonder what it takes to "Just Ride..." ?

Mobile Office Mail

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:49:00 +0000

Is access to information anytime, anywhere always a good thing ? I don't think so. Specifically, I am talking about email. More specifically, office mail.

There was a time when having instant email access on your phone was the domain of the "Blackberry" elite. Post the 3G revolution almost anyone can have email access on their phones. And that is probably not so good.

While working on a project in which there is a big time difference between our time and the clients location, the need to be able to respond immediately was having very high value. Though we had worked out that we can only extend our working hours a little bit to ensure that there is overlap between our working hours, I wanted to go the extra mile for the client. And so I went in for a 3G plan that allowed me to respond to the client via mobile mail - ALL the time.

Yes, for the first few months, I was so happy that I can respond to all the official mail in spite of not being in the office. It gave me my team the ability work without my physical presence as long as they got the information from me via email. There is no need to wait for me to be back in office. Response times are vastly imprived. I could send them notes,documents,images so on all without having to visit the office.When I am on vacation and there is a crisis, I can communicate in real time and solve issues without being there. Great!

But as time went by, I noticed that I was always checking if I had office mail on my mobile. And on many occasions there would be no mails and I would start getting worried. Maybe my inbox was full. Maybe there is a connection error. I would switch off/on the 3G network, or send a test mail to myself to ensure my mobile office mailbox was in working order. Sure enough it was ok most of the time. But the addiction to checking the inbox remained - it became a headache actually. I was not comfortable if I saw an empty mailbox for a long time. What if we have a crisis, what if I need to back to the office ... maybe there is some bad news. Constant worry.

Then there is the other kind of worry - so we have worked our backsides off for the last 2 months stretching ourselves to 12 hour days on weekdays and working 8 hours a day over weekends on some occasions - under such conditions the last thing you want to see is an office mail when you go back home detailing some other stupid problem that arose AFTER you left the office. It can be quite deflating. It just steals your peace of mind since you are always flooded with information and there is no time to rest.

I figured that the solution to this second kind of worry was to not to open the mailbox at all when I decide to take some time off or logout of work. But then there was the third kind of worry - how long can I keep away from the problems ? Not checking my mailbox doesn't mean there aren't any mails and hence there are probably some problems in waiting. I am only delaying attending to them and probably that is not the right thing to do. So then I am still worried about what mails I might see when I open the mailbox !

The only solution is to stop receiving office mail on mobiles and go back to the good old days' idea that once you log out of office you are available only at the start of business hours on the next working day. Yes. I think that should be the right way to do it. Otherwise you can never have piece of mind. Leave the team an "emergency only" number and get away from it all !

Classic Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:55:00 +0000

This wednesday could have turned out to be a real adventure ...

I had ridden down to Vijayanagar on my Yezdi Classic to meet a friend and then proceeded towards Yeshwanthpur to get it fixed by a mechanic. As usual I had left my wallet in my office backpack - like most techie people I carry a bag to office and all my stuff is in the bag including the wallet - lest a sudden downpour causes some serious damage ;)

Having realised this, I checked with my friend to see if he was carrying some cash - and he wasn't either. Since the mechanic is a very good acquaintance not paying him on this visit wouldn't be a problem but its a bit embarrassing....

Picking our way through the ridiculous traffic, we landed up at the mechanics place - stomach growling over the roar of the half muffled Yezdi. Now that is a problem. We didn't have any cash to eat anything ! Being a regular to the area, my friend took me to a small eatery and had 2 "Khali Dosa"'s per head on credit basis (!) .... which satisfied our hunger pangs for now.

By then the mechanic had opened up the erratic front end of my bike and was down to some serious business. It was already past 9 PM and then our good friends at BESCOM decided it was time for some load shedding. Lights out. Work halted. We had no option but to while away our time chatting about all things mechanical and Yezdi. Finally, the power was restored at 11PM and the good mechanic finished up on the front end in a jiffy.

By then we had also noticed that there was hardly enough fuel in the bike to get back home ! Here we are at 11.30PM in the night having to to ride back at least 20km with almost no fuel in the bike and no cash in hand. Once again we got out of trouble since the mechanic gave us 50 bucks for fuel (!!!)...what next ? Find a bunk !

At 11.45 PM there was hardly any petrol bunk still open for business and we seriously dreaded getting stranded somewhere. If that happened it would have been a right royal EffUp. So we started looking out for ANY open pump - no luck and soon enough the bike started sputtering . Oh god ...what a predicament !

To add to the excitement, my friend wasn't wearing a helmet and we went past many cops - one of them did stop us but didn't fine us for not wearing the helmet - he was only checking for DUI and more interested in a guy who was driving with a "pickup girl" in his Innova.

All said and done, with probably just 100 ml of fuel in the tank, we landed up at the Sheshadripuram Circle petrol bunk and refuelled for the grand total of Rs 50 - forty five for fuel and 5 rupees for 20ml of shit 2T oil.

I was just wondering, in case the cops had fined us for not wearing a helmet - what would we do ? Who would believe our story that, two working guys, rode all the way to Vijayanagar with no cash or wallet in hand, ate dosa's on credit basis, borrowed 50 bucks from a mechanic who also fixed the bike, and then were trying to find a petrol bunk to get refuelled ? Too tall a story to believe .....

Anna-giri and the youth

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 03:14:00 +0000

So I wasn't at "Freedom Park", neither did I take part in any of the long marches or demonstrations during Anna's fast - but that doesn't mean I don't support the cause. Or the movement. I have nothing against the way in which the protest was carried out - in fact I quite like it that Team Anna as it is known gave the GoI a real kick in the guts .... but I do have one gripe....

Thousands thronged the streets, took part in the demonstrations and posted great slogans on Facebook, Twitter etc. The shameful thing was to see so many of the youth go there just to be part of the "occasion". Occasion my arse. You should be there to lend a voice, to show your support and be sure of your convictions.

Shame on people who called on the youth to be part of a historic "occasion". Shame on all those techies who bunked office and went over to Freedom Park so that they can pose with their buddies for photos to be shared on FB later - a way to claim more popularity. In short - so many people used the movement to milk some PR and while you obviously expect it from the Neta's, Babu's and the Media, it was pathetic to see some of the youth trying to score some brownie points on social networks through these antics. FU guys.

Now, I feel rather good about myself not being there.

Clearing the cob-webs

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:45:00 +0000

The last one week has been very hectic. Lot of running around, lot of work, lot of tension ... very little downtime !

The only relaxation I got was by spending a day with the bikes. Well at least I got some downtime - coz I spent the whole day cleaning and lubing the machines and ended up pretty tired. So much for relaxation.

But its been a while - since I cleaned any of these beauties.A couple of them are literally covered in cob-webs in my garage !

Started off with the oldest of the lot - the 81 Roadking and spent a good amount of time getting off the rust and muck from the underbelly. She did startup on the third kick (been in cold storage for over a month) but not before a few violent kickbacks. Recently the point-set was changed, might be that the tune is not in sync. More work this week then !

Next was the 82 Classic. Ah - the bike for which I broke my own promise not to buy another Yezdi. I haven't been riding her at all since she has developed a terrible grinding noise coming from the engine and its no fun to ride like that. Lubing and dusting done, took her for a spin - the front suspension is jammed. Hard. Tight. Zero movement. And another bike in a wrong state of tune. More kickbacks. Sigh - this one needs an open heart surgery some time soon :(

Looking around I realised that I hadn't run my friend Vasu's Roadking for about 10 days. Took out this bike which I like to call the "Clubman". It kind of looks short,stubby and very much reminds me of a neanderthal caveman with a clubin his hand. Its got an awesome beat to it - which is what enchants me.

No air and low fuel. Sigh - more work. Took out the foot pump and had a hard time filling up the tyres with air. Refuelled from one of the other yezdi's and took it out for a longish run. Music to my years. It runs on a Jikov which needs some tuning as well but the real problem is the clutch setup - needs to be opened up sometime next month.

It was already mid-day now and I still was only half way though. Had a look at the ZMR - low fuel, engine oil change pending and bike really needs a wash. Fork nut needs to be tightened up and so on .I passed it up. Just not having the enthusiasm to do it now. Maybe for another weekend.

That left the R15 and the 96 Roadking. Chose to do a complete check on the latter - decided to get it refuelled (again!) with Shell and went there with half a litre of 4T oil. After waiting in the Q the asshole told me that he didn't have 2T oil. Miffed. Refuelled using only 4T oil - came home, drained half that fuel into another Yezdi ( the joy of having bikes with a big appetite ! ) - ran out to Shell again, this time with my own 2T oil.

Clean the pipes - done.
Clean the rims - done.
Lube the bike - done.

Light diesel coating for underbelly - done.

I got a pair of mufflers fit into this bike recently, and boy, doesn't it transform the bike ! The bike has run about 1600 km without mufflers ever since its enginer was rebored. It was terribly loud. Too loud. Vulgar. And to be frank - its all show and no go. Putting the mufflers back has made it SO smoooth and SO much quieter. I am really enjoying this feel now- though there is no technical explanation for it entirely, the RK with a good pair of mufflers feels like it just got a catcon exhaust (ala RX135). Pulls neat and linearly. Another 1600km to go and then lets see how this baby can run !

Got rid of the OE design round indicators and stalks and put the Shogun ones (spare set) and the bike looks really neat now. A few minor things are still missing on the bike - the rubber cover over the nipples opening for the fork is something I haven't found in a long time.

Finally the R15. I dont remember the last time I rode this bike. After the last service, it has run maybe just 200km. And I got a call from Yamaha folks for the next service :| I am pretty sure they are interested more in the Rs 400 odd they charge for lubing+engine oil change rather than anything else. Might drop it off on Tue but wanted to check it out anyway. Again - no air, another round of puffing and huffing on the foot pump. checked engine oil level - Shell 10W40 it is - top it up, idle for a few min, then took a small ride. Not impressed. Somehow this bike has lost its charm on me. Feels odd to handle- not sharp like before, and the engine feels too noisy. Its hardly run 4000Km. Got a tank guard on , didn't bother to clean the bike or lube the chain - must do before next ride. Kind of a damp squib to end the day.

It had been quite a while since I spent so much time on my bikes - the whole day almost. It meant I was away from office mails, calls and tasks bugging me on usual weekdays and weekends. That was a welcome change. Because come monday, the routine will start again. Its been a long week and quite tiring - need some good sleep tonight to see out the next week !

Michael Schumacher 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:11:00 +0000

Most of the people have been questioning Michael's decision to return to racing. After a very poor season in 2010, this year was supposed to be make or break. I quite agreed with this back then, and I agree with it now. The only change is that, Michael might have reached the tipping point for his decision - to continue or not beyond this year. And I think he will continue.

What happened last year was a combination of things - a 40plus top racer coming back into a highly competitive field, in a sub par car, with a highly motivated and extremely fast team-mate, new rules, new everything and most importantly not enough testing. Given all that, Michael was not too bad, but you ought to wonder why risk his rep and endure this nonsense ?

What has happened this year is that Michael has found incremental steps, race by race, session by session to a level where you expect him to be qualifying right behind Nico Rosberg. Thats not bad at all because Nico has been very good in qualifying - with the tyres and one lap pace. Michael is almost matching him here and has of late been able to beat the young wunderkid. Thats good. Because, Michael is the ultimate "race" driver and at this age, with tyres not yet being 100% to his liking, he might not be pulling fast ones every time in qualy. But he is getting better at qualy - thats for sure.

The races have been very good. Canada was excellent. Spa was excellent and the last one @ Monza was perhaps the best. It was, as one of the of head-honcho's of Mercedes said, "purest" racing. Schumacher has lost none of his racing instinct and it was good to see him not averse to giving our "hot-headed , genX champion" Lews Hamilton a thorough schooling for 20 odd laps.

There was criticism that he was weaving - c'mon people ! Michael has always been driving on the edge and I dont think he ever did anything that warranted censure. His famous "chops" are not on show...just yet. When they come out, I am sure he will be rapped on the knuckles but lets enjoy the racing and stop bitching. People like Webber (who just dropped the ball and the championship at Monza) should stop whining.

Ultimately, the story of Schumacher's return might well depend on the last few races this year. You can sense that he is getting to grips with the system - the tyres,the car, the rules, the pace of things - everything. And I would be happy to see him beat Rosberg a few more times.

Mech-speak...

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:54:00 +0000

ಸಾರ್.. ನೀವು ಈಗ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ರುಚಿ ತೋರಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೀರ ! ಈಗ "change" ಮಾಡಿದ್ರೆ ತುಂಬಾ "rough" ಆಗಿಬಿಡೊತ್ತೆ !!

(Sir, you have given it a taste of the stuff - if you change now, it will become very rough).

Ahem. That sounds like somebody talking about a meat eating creature - once it has tasted blood it wants more of the same !

Yet, this is exactly what one of my Yezdi's mechanics was saying - that having run it with one type of engine oil for a while, if I change over to a different type, it would make my engine rough. Technically - he was right considering the differences in the oil that I planned to use, but the way he said it was very funny - he made it sound like it was a creature which develops a taste for its prey !

"ರುಚಿ " indeed !

"Why are you obsessed with motorbikes ??"

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 17:58:00 +0000

Probably heard this a million times. A million million times.

Friends, family, relatives.... everybody - they all have the same question :

"Why are you obsessed with motorbikes ??"

Its not just the question itself, but the way it is asked - as if you are doing something crazy, which rankles me sometimes.

Motorcycling is much less about logic and reason as it is about spirit and freedom. Unless you feel it for yourself, its not worth explaining. If I tried, it would fly in the face of the so-called "accepted logic".

To quote an example, a long time ago when I was a fan of the CI engined bullet, I happened to be checking out some second-hand bulls for a friend and we chanced on a pretty good bike. A bit pricey but not too bad. As our negotiations with the gentleman continued, he came across as a person who was a genuine bullet buff. The way he spoke of the bike, its characteristics, his riding style, etc clearly he loved the bike. The most revealing thing though was this comment he made "Sir, my office is 38km away. I work for about 10 hours a day. After a long hard-days work, hopping on the bike and thumping my way back home is actually a big stress buster - that is what this bike is for me - it relieves me and gives me freedom - you feel good while riding it".

As I said, people will start saying, he was just talking up his bike, that nobody who is actually stressed out can hop onto a bike and feel refreshed. Not to say that riding a bike has therapeutic effects, but point is that, real bikers love their machines because it gives them a sense of freedom and joy which is not always explained with logic or reason.

Of course, if your bike was a piece of shit, and would choke and stop after every 1km - worse if it wouldn't start easily at all, there is probably not much joy to talk about. But real bikers are romantics and a strange breed. Whether its their blinding love for the machine or not, in these faults and painful experiences, they find admiration for the machine. Its like a flawed beauty to them. And they wont give up on it just yet. Because all it takes is one good ride on the machine to feel good again.

People laugh it off and again logic doesn't hold ground entirely, but its true that each bike even of the same type has a nature / characteristics of its own. This is especially true for 2 stroke bikes and bullets which are tweak able and can be tinkered with till no end. Over a period of time you know very well if the bike is going to run well today or not. You make out from the way it starts to life, the way the engine runs, if things are good or not. While that statement might mean to say that a bike changes characteristics on a daily basis - its not true. What I mean to say is that generally speaking, after some time, you will get to know the machine well enough to be able to "feel" it rather than treat is as some piece of mechanical junk. It takes time of course but you will get there - and then the fun starts.

There is so much more to motorcycling than just "ride". The "ride" is a key component of owning a motorbike but to think that, by buying a swanky new sports bike with a hefty price tag, you become a biker is entirely wrong. There are no requirements or achievements or grades to be fulfilled before you can call yourself a biker. At the same time, just riding the latest and greatest is not the definition of a true biker.

Sure, one call always brag to be a "biker". If you ask me, its not about having all the best and greatest bikes that make you a biker. Bikers share some common attributes - usually, these people have had more than their fair share of mess-ups with their bikes. They would have lost a lot of money,spares and time on things which would seem mundane,ordinary or even downright crazy to other people. They would scour the city for ages to find that one small part which gives them the feeling of completeness. They probably have their quirks about fuels and oils. They spend a considerable amount of their free time with their bikes. A spin-off of that is that they probably have their family and friends complaining about their "obsession" and not spending enough time on other things/people. So on and so forth. So what does it boil down to ? How do you say somebody is a biker at heart ?

Maybe you cannot. Maybe you shouldn't. Suffice to say that somewhere along this journey, the so called "biker" will have a flash point where you realise how much you have put into this - the time,effort,sweat,tears,blood (believe me you can cut yourself bad when you try to be a grease monkey at home ) and money that has gone into making this mechanical contraption an object of pleasure. So much passion, so much ambition. The physical convergence of all this is this machine standing in your garage -and you just watch it and think about these - and then you understand why you are obsessed with your motorbike.

That is the day, your spirit roams free and you feel freedom has a new meaning. Don't ask me why I am obsessed with my motorbikes - because I can't explain it to you.

FIA clamps down on blown diffusers

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:32:00 +0000

The FIA has rightly decided to ban this nonsense. For those of who watched the Monaco Grand Prix 2011 on ESPN/STAR in India, you would have heard Steve Slater and Gary Anderson talk about how the cars sound so different with the blown diffuser bullshit.

I hate it. All motosport buffs will tell you that one of the things that appeals to them a lot is the pure bliss of hearing a high performance machine on full chat. Pure - unadulterated mechanical sound. None of those - fart like cutouts and chatter from Traction control, off throttle blown diffusers etc.

Also, one wonders what were the safety implications of having the engine put out gases even when the driver was off throttle ? Whatever it was, I am really happy that as early as by the British Grand Prix 2011- F1 will no longer have off throttle blown diffusers and cars will start to sound like they should. Hopefully !

And for those of you who want to sample what a proper F1 engine should sound like, here is the once mighty Illmor Mercedes Benz F1 engine :

2011 Grand Prix du Canada - Pre-race thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:49:00 +0000

Its fair to say that the Canadian Grand Prix is a popular event amongst everybody in the F1 fraternity. Another of those mid-season fly-away races, it has given many exciting races till date.

However, its easy to forget that not so long ago the Canadian Grand Prix actually faced the axe and a lot of negotiations happened behind the scenes to get it back on the calendar as a firm entry.

Fast-forward today and you see the media hyping this as one of the most exciting races of the year. True, it has the potential to be a real hum dinger but then, what is it about the track that it has seen such adulation yet repulsion at times ?

The track itself is not used all through the year and can be quite dusty and dirty at the start of the weekend. It is also very bumpy at many places and the kerbs very difficult to ride over. But most important of all is the fact that there are no high speed corners and most of them are jump-hop-clatter chicanes between shortish and straightish stretches.

Then there are two long straights - the back straight from the hairpin into the last corner and the main straight down the start finish line. In terms of downforce, you are probably looking at a low drag low downforce spec for a dry race. Most of the slow speed chicanes exit into straightish sections which need excellent traction out of the corners - mechanical grip is high priority here.

What all this means is that a car tends to eat up its tyres - even faster if you dont have a good mechanical setup - as the downforce is already absent. And that brings us nicely to the biggest determining factor in a dry race - TYRES.

In the DRS-KERS-SLICKS era, managing tyres has been the biggest issue and since Montreal is punishing on tyres - especially the rears, this will be a race where the team that can best spread its pace over least wear will have an advantage.

Not so long ago, in fact since 2001, we have seen that overtaking at Montreal was possible but not any easier than at the other tracks. Who doesn't remember the repeated abortive attempts of Ralf Schumacher (BMW-Williams F1) on Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) in the 2001 race. Ralf had better tyres (Michelin) and an immensely powerful BMW engine which was clearly pushing that Williams a lot quicker on the back straight than the Ferrari. Blame Ralf, but with DRS/KERS, he would have made a pass within a couple of attempts. As it turned out, he did pass Michael but only in the pitstop poker.

And that is my point about tracks like Montreal - DRS/KERS/SLICKS have changed racing to an extent where previously difficult tracks have now become great shows for overtaking. F1 has for too long been a sport where overtaking was a rarity. DKS (DRS+KERS+SLICKS) has changed it - for the better.

In qualifying, Vettel obviously squeezed his RBR in T1 and T2, and despite not having the grunt of the other engines, his Renault powered RBR slithered down the straight without losing time and put him in P1. We also know that RBR have not had the same pace in the race as in Qualy so given the small gap between RBR and the rest in qualy we can expect a much closer race between Vettel and his chasing parties.

Ferrari probably dont have the best aero but they have a solid engine and a great driver in Alonso - so we can expect the Spaniard to hustle Vettel if the car allows him to. Massa pulled a good one and he might yet be a factor in the race and is like a wild card - if Alonso trips up he will be there to seize it.

The question mark is on Webber - he had KERS issues, he didn't run in FP3 and a little more fuel than needed in qualy. Yet he was only .4sec down on Vettel in qualy. Great lap ! But can he get a good start and maintain his position or even better it ?

Hamilton and Button bitched about their McLarens not being quick enough - maybe its true, but what about the admission by Martin Whitmarsh that they are running a wet weather setup ? That explains the tall gearing and slow speeds down the straight.

If there was anybody else who could spice up the show at the front, it would be the two Mercedes drivers and the two Renault drivers. We could see an epic scrap between McLaren,Renault and Mercedes. Mercedes have been quick - including Michael , here and the Renaults are not too far behind. If McLaren dont show pace in the race, they will have a hard battle on hand against these teams.

I think, the weather is not much of a factor for Alonso or Vettel. How much it helps the McLarens is the question mark. both drivers are good wet weather racers so it depends on whether their gamble really pays off.

If I were a betting man, I would place a lot of money on Alonso !

Visual Studio 2010 - very slow to save projects : a fix to end this problem

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 29 May 2011 16:11:00 +0000

"Visual Studio 2010 is a PIG".

I didn't say that - its probably one of the most frequently heard remarks about VS 2010 on the web. I dont agree with that coz I haven't had any lag issues with VS2010 - until last week.

I have been using VS2010 for like about 9 months now and this is the first time that I hit this problem. I don't know why it hadn't happened to me in the past but in the last week has been a real torture.

Whenever I save a project in VS2010 - it was taking like 15-30 seconds to save the solution. In the mean time I would not be able to click on any other tab/file on VS of course - doing so would give me the annoying Windows7 indicator that the system is busy and the background on VS would become opaque - begging me to wait before it is ready.

Initially I thought it might be related to some CDN links or script references in the head section of the ASP files but then I saw that even for a small change in markup - like changing the text on a button and then saving, the result was the same ridiculous amount of delay.

Today was the last straw. I spent a good 30min investigating this issue and finally some search on the net threw up this invaluable link :

Fixing VS2010 slow save problem

Specifically - "Clear out the project MRU list" is the one that has been reported widely to improve performance - same here. It did the trick for me !

Read me.

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Solving ASP.NET "Invalid postback or callback argument. Event validation is enabled ..." Error

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:48:00 +0000

The "Invalid postback or callback argument. Event validation is enabled ..." Error can crop up in many different situations in an ASP.NET application. I was having this issue whenever I clicked on the "Previous" - "Next" buttons for pagination in a telerik Radgrid. After some R&D on the net, I tried to add a RadAjaxManager with the following settings, and voila ! it works !

Here is the crucial part to be added to the page :

<telerik:RadAjaxManager ID="RadAjaxManager1" runat="server">
        <AjaxSettings>
            <telerik:AjaxSetting AjaxControlID="radGrid1">
                <UpdatedControls>
                    <telerik:AjaxUpdatedControl ControlID="radGrid1" />
                </UpdatedControls>
            </telerik:AjaxSetting>
        </AjaxSettings>
    </telerik:RadAjaxManager>

And Here is the full code :

<form id="form1" runat="server">
    <telerik:RadScriptManager ID="RadScriptManager1" runat="server">
    </telerik:RadScriptManager>
    <telerik:RadAjaxManager ID="RadAjaxManager1" runat="server">
        <AjaxSettings>
            <telerik:AjaxSetting AjaxControlID="radGrid1">
                <UpdatedControls>
                    <telerik:AjaxUpdatedControl ControlID="radGrid1" />
                </UpdatedControls>
            </telerik:AjaxSetting>
        </AjaxSettings>
    </telerik:RadAjaxManager>
    <div>
        <telerik:RadGrid ID="radGrid1" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false" Skin="Web20"
            AllowPaging="true" AllowSorting="true">
            <MasterTableView AllowPaging="true" AllowSorting="true" ShowHeadersWhenNoRecords="true">
                <Columns>
                    <telerik:GridTemplateColumn UniqueName="ckboxSelect" >
                        <HeaderTemplate>
                            <asp:CheckBox ID="ckBoxSelect" runat="server" Visible="true" onclick="checkAll(this);" />
                        
                        </HeaderTemplate>
                        <ItemTemplate>
                        <asp:CheckBox ID="ckBoxItemSelect" runat="server" />
                            <asp:Label ID="lblPartky" runat="server" Visible="false" Text='<%#Eval("partky") %>'></asp:Label>
                        </ItemTemplate>
                    </telerik:GridTemplateColumn>
                    <telerik:GridBoundColumn DataField="col2">
                    </telerik:GridBoundColumn>
                    <telerik:GridBoundColumn DataField="col3">
                    </telerik:GridBoundColumn>
                    <telerik:GridBoundColumn DataField="col4">
                    </telerik:GridBoundColumn>
                </Columns>
            </MasterTableView>
        </telerik:RadGrid>
        <telerik:RadCodeBlock ID="radCodeBlock1" runat="server">
            <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
                function checkAll(obj) {
                    
               
        }
        
            </script>
        </telerik:RadCodeBlock>
    </div>
    </form>

Code-Behind

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using Telerik.Web.UI;
using System.Data;




namespace RadGridClientSelectColumns
{
    public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
    {
        protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            if (!Page.IsPostBack)
            {
                DataTable dtSourceTable = new DataTable();
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("partky");
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("col2");
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("col3");
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("col4");
                dtSourceTable.AcceptChanges();


                for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
                {
                    DataRow dtNewrow = dtSourceTable.NewRow();
                    dtNewrow["partky"] = i.ToString();
                    dtNewrow["col2"] = i.ToString() + dtSourceTable.Columns.IndexOf("col2").ToString();
                    dtNewrow["col3"] = i.ToString() + dtSourceTable.Columns.IndexOf("col3").ToString();
                    dtNewrow["col4"] = i.ToString() + dtSourceTable.Columns.IndexOf("col4").ToString();
                    dtSourceTable.Rows.Add(dtNewrow);
                    dtSourceTable.AcceptChanges();
                }


                Session["Source"] = dtSourceTable;
                radGrid1.DataSource = dtSourceTable;
                radGrid1.DataBind();


            }
            else
            {
                DataTable dtNewsource = (DataTable)Session["Source"];
                radGrid1.DataSource = dtNewsource;
                radGrid1.DataBind();


            }
        }
    }
}

Elation and disillusion. The elusive road trip...

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 04:35:00 +0000

The last major road trip had been a very ill prepared quick ride to Mangalore on the KZMA-R. That was almost a year back. And that was on the Karizma - probably the most reliable bike in the country. Hence the lack of preparations and checks didn't leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere.

It has been such a long time since, that I was elated to join the BJYMC riders for their Southern Raid 2010. As it turned out, it was a complete rout from my perspective. Riding on one of my Roadkings which I had bought recently ( with a so called "sealed engine - std bore" ) I hardly did any check overs leading up to the ride and paid a very hefty price for it.

We got as far as Krishnagiri and just as I climbed over a flyover my engine seized - pretty badly. Game over. After a couple of hours,200 ml of engine oil down the tank and lot of cursing later, I limped home on the same bike covering 130 odd km in 3 hours. Opened up the head and saw the piston - it had the name "Ambika" engraved on it :| Sheesh..what a total ripoff

Following this failed attempt to ride my yezdi on a long road trip, I signed up for the second outing with BJYMC - a weekend ride to Coorg. And it was another disaster. This time round the mistake I did was to use some cheap oil which was readily available near my place. The oil was full of muck ( as I found out later when I came back home ) - I hadn't checked and just poured it into the tank in a hurry on the day of the morning after refueling. Somewhere near hunsur, the bike packed up. The carburetor was already suspect and over that the jets were blocked and despite getting it cleaned repeatedly, it was of no use, the bike would stutter and stall every half a km. Disillusioned, I again limped home taking 4 hours or more to cover the 150km.

Thats two trips that have come a cropper on the yezdi's. Its still my intention to take one of the yezdi's on that elusive long road trip.....maybe I will take on of the two favourites next time.

1996 Roadking

1981 Yezdi Roadking

Destroying the legacy of a famous racing marque

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:24:00 +0000

This is just daft. It beats me as to why the Chapmans would want to side with a malaysian based Co. that is rumoured not to have the financial clout to implement their worldwide racing program - let alone achieve their goals in each of those series.

And they want to build their own engine too - Sigh. Utter crap. Bollocks.

Even a dumbwit who watched the 2010 F1 season would have told you that Lotus Racing deserve to carry on this rich heritage and not people behind "Lotus-Renault" as it would be called in the future. Brainless. Its an absolute shocker.

I just hope that Lotus Renault hit a trough next year and then we will see the resolve of Proton Car Co. in seeing it out. I am rooting for Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne. I am pretty sure Dany Bahar is just another motormouth.

The mechanic's favourite line ..

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:22:00 +0000

" ನಾನು ಇದ್ದೀನಲ್ಲ ಸಾರ್ ....ಯಾಕೆ ವರಿ ಮಾಡ್ಕೊತೀರ ??? ! "

Translates to :

"Why do you worry Sir, when I am here ??? !"

Sigh. Yes. That is why I worry - that you are here : last time around you said the same thing and I limped home with a seized engine....

The "Team-orders" saga....

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:26:00 +0000

The dust is settling on the shenanigans of the German GP. Ferrari have escaped any further punishment - and thats quite disappointing - shocking to some.

There are two problems here :

1. The amount of money involved - especially the sponsorship deals with blue chip companies - is so huge that a team cannot afford to have incidents like the one we saw between the two Red Bull drivers in Istanbul.

2. The amount of TV patronage is so huge and the money comes from TV audience ..and the sport - the teams and the sponsors can ill afford sustained low viewing figures.

And this is where the tangle is. The spectators at the tracks and the TV audience want to see a "race". Not a pre-ordained drama being played out in front of them. The teams and their sponsors want results and they will not be in a position to jeopardise a good result since there is too much at stake to lose.

Ban on team orders ? How can you ever ensure that there is no covert understanding within a team to implement team-orders anyway ? Nada. Not possible.

Keep team orders ? Yes - it makes things more transparent to the viewing public but that is not what we want to see ! We want to see a proper race. Further, imposing team orders is nothing but humiliating one driver in front of millions of people the world over.

Not a trivial matter this.

So whats the solution ? I am afraid, it appears there isn't a straightforward way to resolve this. As long as Formula 1 has existed, team-orders have existed. Teams will find a way to impose team-orders, covertly or overtly. Its a sad fact. We can only hope that such scenarios don't happen too often and dilute the real racing.

Dell XPS M1530 - Windows 7 drivers

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 04:17:00 +0000

Since Dell seems to consider the M1530 an obsolete model, the chances of getting a good set of working drivers for Win7 are rather slim - nah, make it zilch.

Some good soul has posted info at this link : : 7 drivers for Dell XPS M1530 : A lot of good drivers to be found there ! Thanks mate !

Teachers day

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:36:00 +0000

When you are growing up, its normal to frown upon your parents advice, pass-up on friends' words of wisdom, and dismiss any suggestions by other well-wishers. But there is always a lot of respect when a valued teacher talks to you.

It is really important to have good teachers in life. A "good" teacher need not be just good at teaching academics - its also teacher who can teach you how to live your life. When a teacher touches your life in this way, you know that its something special. And you should always value that gift very highly.

I have many favourite teachers - a lot of them were amazingly dedicated to teaching their "subjects" in school/college and they went beyond the classroom to help me out in academics. Then there those who did something extra and guided me through all other obstacles I faced in my career till date. Both of them are special - both of them are unforgettable.

So a big thank you to all my teachers - who have helped me each time I wandered into the wilderness.

China preparing to maul India again

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:59:00 +0000

This is a matter of grave concern. Recent media reports suggest that China is proactively building up a military offense against India all along the NE as well as in Jammu & Kashmir. The latest news of China being given virtually unrestricted access to PoK is extremely alarming.

China has been very aggressive with its neighbours. Recently there was a spat between China and Vietnam over the EEZs in their oceans. Its not the first time that China has acted harshly towards one time friends and so called "allies". For all the gloating they do about helping their "neighbours", China has always made sure to cash in when the time is right. The only nation yet to find out China's dastardly intentions first hand, is Pakistan...but the writing is on the wall.

China has spread its military influence all along its eastern and southern boundaries - and beyond onto the high seas. Each and every nation that has opposed their activities has been snubbed and threatened. It continues to threaten Taiwan and tries to suppress any Anti-China movements there. It supports North Korea in all its unlawful activities. It has been widely reported that chinese factions supported Maoists and anti nationals in Nepal ; succeeded in overthrowing the Govt there and has installed a puppet as the PM.

When Sri-Lanka was in dire need of aid after the Tsunami, China stole the march on India and went beyond providing just immediate relief. They have engaged the Lankans on long term projects and have gained a foothold by spending lavishly on joint economic and infrastructure undertakings. Chinese ships intruding into Indian oceanic territory near the Andamans is a regular story for a while now.

In Bhutan and Bangladesh, the chinese have setup cozy environs for "co-operation" - economic and diplomatic in nature is their claim, but the fact is that all the yen being pumped into these nations - which are neighbours to India too - is nothing but a kind of investment in the future. Steadily, the chinese are gaining the right friends to take on India. Having had pakistan in their pocket already, and with Nepal and Bhutan virtually on their side ( shameful how the GoI has let Nepal turn anti-India in its general outlook) ; China is looking to surround India from all sides.

We have not even started talking about Burma. A military dictatorship ignored and snubbed by the world (though a large number of nations including India continue to provide it with different kinds of "aid") - where do you think its getting all its money from ? What about all its military hardware ?

By actively engaging Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, China is now close to completing the groundwork required to put its "encirclement of the opponent" - plan in place. Reportedly, the Chinese have long been at work on this "encirclement" plan and it doesn't seem far fetched. Militarily, its not so impossible to imagine that if there were to be a war, then for sure, Pakistan, Bangladesh,and Burma will be very likely to side with the Chinese if they were to be drawn into the battle for whatever reason - either coercion by China, or otherwise.

India doesn't have the military capability to take on China and Pakistan in one go. And if you add the extra load of Burma and Bangladesh then its a very bleak scenario. Think about it. China desperately wants to annex the NE Indian states. Hypothetically speaking, if Burma and Bangladesh squeeze the "chicken neck" region while China and pakistan engage India on the NE, Northern and Western frontiers, India will be stretched beyond her limited abilities to defend herself. It need not be a long drawn war- just a swift move - a big push lasting a a month is enough to get India on the back foot.

China has invested in the Karakoram higway since the 1970s. They have developed infrastructure in the NW and Western parts of Pakistan. They have built up world class roadways all along the South Eastern Border with India. If need be, they can transport their military hardware to these forward posts within 48 hours. They have got all the resources they need - in terms of infrastructure, military might and economic might, and favourable allies - to take on India - anytime, anywhere.

On the other hand, India as a nation - a great democratic nation, is caught up in its own internal issues to such a large extent that it has time and again ignored the warning signals from various authorities - defense experts, intelligence sources - both its own and from other countries, warnings from its own armed forces etc and today finds itself on the backfoot and in danger of facing another assault on its sovereignty.

Dont be delusional. Apart from a few Advanced Landing Strips that have been "re-activated" along the North East, and apart from the Su30 MKI squadrons being position in Tezpur, Assam...India has done precious little to counter China's fiery expansion. We have pathetic infrastructure on our side of the border. The BRO which maintains these roads are working flat out but we have not got anything to show for it. In case of an attack, it would take weeks to transport tanks and heavy artillery and major troops to forwards posts at high altitude. This is a report in the media recently - a report comparing capabilities of the Indian and Chinese armed forces. While the chinese have access roads right upto the border, the closest road access on the indian side was said to be at least a few km away. And, most of the troops and hardware would have to be airlifted. Its so discouraging to hear this. What chance do we have ?

Our setup along the NE border is so bad that we find out that the Chinese have intruded into our territory only days after they have come, camped and left. We make that out by the markings they leave on boulders and trees, from the cigarette butts their soldiers leave on our soil. Read the reports in the media - its seriously scary.

China has an excellent Naval setup. India is desperately short of submarines. The PLAN (Chinese navy) is far more well equipped and out numbers the Indian navy comprehensively. Their Army is more than a match for ours. Their Air Force is no walkover either. While we like to trumpet our Mirage 2000's and Su 30MKIs and Mig29s - the chinese have ultra long range ICBMs and other missiles that can take out cities like Bangalore and Chennai at will. By contrast, our longest range missile doesn't even reach their first prominent city in the NE part of china.

Taking all this into consideration, and the recent turmoil over Indian Nuclear capabilities, one wonders what chance we have of surviving the impending Chinese attack. While our babus squabble over petty issues and mint money, the defence forces are losing their lives equipped with out dated and nonfunctional hardware. Ultimately the jawans and the comman people will pay the price for this prolonged neglect by successive governments. Its time to wake up to reality that "India-China bhai bhai" is not a viable policy. C'mon GOI show some spine and stand up to China - don't let our country down and shame this great nation with your incompetence to deal with the matter.

No-Kia ....yeh kya hua ?

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:43:00 +0000

Its not so much that Nokia has done something wrong. Actually, what Nokia are/have been doing for the past few years is exactly what has given them market leadership. Probably the trouble is that, when you are at the top, its hard to look out for new innovations ALL THE TIME since the only reference you have is yourself. By the same token, it becomes easier for others who are chasing you to take your position as a reference and recalibrate their program/response.

And so it is that the once unquestionable no.1 of smart phones is now struggling to retain their leadership - no - make that, struggling to prevent slipping down the pecking order. Different market surveys across different regions will (using different parameters ofc ! ) will peg the RIM/Blackberry, Apple iPhone and Android devices as the most popular / best selling devices in some particular order. The common thing about these surveys is the negative outlook for Nokia as consumers have clearly shifted over to more enticing platforms on iOS and of late the hugely popular Android OS. And RIM/Blackberry is not too far off.

Is it an issue with the OS? Hard to say. At least not entirely. After all the same Symbian OS through various iterations has served so very well for all these years. Remember the rave reviews the S60 devices got just as recently as circa 2004-2005 when smartphone market was still very nascent. It started a revolution back then.Symbian was the next big thing.

Its not the symbian has become irrelevant. Fast forward a few years and we have Symbian OS V5 - with touch experience, huge improvements in all areas, yet after the initial hoopla, it has failed to capture the kind of market share that Nokia had hoped for. There are a zillion devices now running S60V5 from Nokia - 5230,5225,N97 XXX, 5800Xpress....the list goes on and on and new phones keep getting added almost every fortnight - clearly an indication that at least Nokia do not think that its the OS thats the problem.

So, if not the OS, then is it the features ? Nopes - wouldn't think so. Compare any contemporary smart phone to a top line Nokia and you will not find any discernible difference in terms of the features - hardware/specs or general device capabilities. They all have multi megapixel cams, video recorders, WiFi, location radios,3G ...the works.

Aesthetics, form factor, positioning, pricing - I would like to group all of these into a single category of variables that probably dont have enough influence over Nokia's current struggles. (But I still can't fathom the plain jane looks of the N8 ! ) .

Whatever is the "experts'" view on this, I feel that there are two big rivals to Nokia : Apple and Google. Apple iPhone with near identical specifications yet with suave marketing and a holistic "services" (like integration of iTunes and other apple services.. a philosophy that has been central to their products) ; and google with basically the entire Googlosphere on your device make a more compelling choice to a consumer today than a touch sensitive Nokia that comes with ... Ovi Music ? (nah...not all models and not all for free) ... Ovi Maps/Nokia navigation ? (jury is out on which is the best navi/maps app on the market) ....and then you see that all of a sudden Nokia is not standing on any kind of "terra-ferma".

I don't know what exactly is missing from the Nokia package but its about time they identify it and play ball with the competition because seriously, in the top line segment of smartphones, you offer an iPhone/Android phone on the one hand and a comparable Nokia on the other to a consumer and he is more likely to pick one of the former.

Michael Schumacher is such a ....

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Just when I was finally starting to admire Michael Schumacher, he has done something dastardly again. Yes - I am referring to his big "squeeze" on Woobens Barrichello at the Hungarian GP a couple of weeks ago. It might be a bit late to talk about it now but this is the only topic making the rounds in the 3 weeks break that the F1 fraternity takes every season.

Here is a link to some newbies who might want to get an idea about what we are talking here -
Schumi's Controversies - a sampler

I think Michael has not changed one bit over all these years. He will do the same "chop" and "squeeze" again this year if such a situation comes up and the only thing different would be that the stewards might actually punish him for dangerous driving unlike in the past when they used to suck upto Ferrari and Co.

The only thing positive from the latest Schumi squeeze was that it seems Woobens finally showed his spine and kept the foot floored - it was nice to see some aggression directed towards Michael. It certainly surprised Michael as he steered clear of Woobens going into the braking zone for T1.

What is required is a few more argy-bargy's by oher drivers : like a few more coming-togethers and a couple more bad races for schumi and then the pressure will show on him. This is a long hard year for Michael....oh dear...maybe he wishes he hadn't come back after all !

Configure WiFi on your Android 2.1

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:27:00 +0000

I get the feeling that anybody who has been on a Nokia or a Windows Mobile phone for a while "might" find it a bit annoying to get the WiFi configured on their Android 2.1 device so that they can connect to their Home WiFi network. I faced the same issue with my Samsung Galaxy S so here is the lowdown :

When trying to connect to the WiFi Network right out-of-the box, after keying in the WEP key and the SSID etc, you might get the "Obtaining IP Address from .......unsuccessful...try again" message. Here is how to fix it.

The problem is that there dont seem to be many options in the "Advanced" section of the WiFi Networks section on the phone to select the "Channel Number" or "WEP Key Number" (in use by the router). The workaround is to set these options to the default values on your router. So go to your hardware settings page for the router and change the Channel Number to its default value (usually "1" is the default value) and change the "WEP Key Number" radio box option to "1" ( Usually you can set 4 different WEP keys to be used - even otherwise select option number "1" and type in your key there).

Now reboot the router and re-scan on your device. Ta - Da ! No more "Obtaining IP address....unsuccessful" error messages !

Grim fandango

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:30:00 +0000

When Fernando Alonso joined Ferrari there was a sense of anticipation about another resurgence for the prancing horse.

They have won just one title in the last six years. And but for Kimi Raikkonens never say die attitude in 2007 Ferrari would not have won anything.

Since Schumacher left them they have not quite been the same team. Nobody has been able to fill the void of the legend. Although Kimi delivered the title he was never the package that the team wanted and Massa is not championship material yet.
Enter the spanish matador Fernando Alonso. Perhaps the most suitable driver to replace Schumacher. And a double world champion to boot!

Sadly Ferrari and Alonso have had nothing much to show this year apart from a superb win at the seasons opening race in bahrain. Why?

For starters the car seems to be in the upper midfield rather than a front running steed. Its reminiscent of those nineties models that Berger and Alesi pushed and pushed around for nothing but a handful of podiums. This year the competition is tough and the team find its cars biting the dust more often than not in the races.

So the car is not quick enough but what about the drivers? Massa is not going to be scoring any wins this year I think. But Alonso? He has been very scrappy. Making unforced mistakes like destroying his car during practise at Monaco and getting involved in too many long drawn midfield battles losing precious time behind a Toro Rosso etc. Fernando is not doing justice to his team and himself. He is not showing his star capabilities this year. God knows why. I think he might even be trying a bit too hard.

Todays grand prix at silverstone showed up Ferrari and Alonso in poor light. They need to calm down and regroup or else this will turn out to be another long year that they would rather forget.

Movie Reviews : Kites,The Butterfly Effect and Rajneeti

noreply@blogger.com (Sandeep K Ram) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:02:00 +0000

Thankfully, I found some time over the last couple of months to go to the theatres - its been a looong time since I last saw a movie in a theatre - so it was a welcome break.

Kites :

I heard that they spent millions of dollars over two years shooting this film in all those foreign countries. It might have just been worth it had the ending not been so "Indy-style". The middle part is a typical bollywood film of years gone by - almost a filler with mini sequences that you wonder if they are really required. The beginning of the story was kind of OK, in that it has some excitement of a differently styled storyline. Alas, it all begins to fall away about 30min into the movie.

Looking back - I would call it a fizzle. I don't know if its recovered its cost and the people made a profit of it. The storyline - 2 / 5 according to me. There are two instances where you feel sorely let down. About half-way through the film you get a scene in the casino where Kabir Bedi is slaughtering a man for being a "traitor" .. and the way that sequence plays out and the story that follows - is a typical bollywood story of our beloved hero getting entangled in"bad business".

And then there is the ending. Despite all the other let-downs in the movie, if the ending had been more creative, it could have been nice.Instead, it feels like the movie makers felt the film had already run for too long and opted for a sudden death. Probably the ending is very realistic but there was scope to end on a high IMHO. Anyway, both the hero and the heroine die - rather commit suicide and then we see an underwater Titanic-esque reunion of the "souls". Bah. Most people were already in the parking lot by the time these scenes were being played. Disappointed.

The Butterfly Effect :

Ok - this is a very very very old movie. But hey ! I hadn't seen this till last month so just in case somebody wants a review on an old movie :

Kind of sci-fi movie about a guy who grew up having "black-outs" - short durations of time during which he completely blanks out and later comes to his senses without knowing what has happened.. Then they stop for a while. Then they return all of a sudden. The guy understands now that his blackouts during his childhood were basically kind of "slots" in time to which he can go back to under certain circumstances - like when he reads his notes from a journal he started keeping as a child - or when he sees stuff like come photos ? Whatever - the thing is that he tries to fix every mistake or bad thing that happened to him - only to realise that he can't play god and everything has a repercussion that is not what he intended. Finally he makes one last "Correction" and goes back in time to tells his "future girl" to just sod off so that she can live happily ever after - TA DA !!

BORING. Dont watch this movie if you want to enjoy a Sat/Sun afternoon. I rate it as 1/5.

Rajneeti :

Ok. Now I was really really really been excited to watch this movie. And the hype around it was just too much to bear. So I paid a "premium" price to watch this "epic" movie.

Well..the movie starts out nicely. Though the "rain-joy-sleep with man in bed - give birth to (one of the) HERO(s)" sequence is a staple starting point - now a bit outdated. Thats ok - at least the story takes off nicely from there.

Its about the story of politics - of how the different of members of an extended family which runs a very powerful political party bring about their own downfall - well almost. Its bloody, full of hate and betrayal. Shows how men and women can claim to "sacrifice" their values - love and trust in the name of power - politics - money. A good example of something that is ubiquitous in our polity. But it is heartbreaking at times - especially when you see the two young women in this film - Katrina Kaif and the firangi actress who marries Ranbir Kapoor - get drawn into this mess despite their reluctance and then become victims of the system.

At certain points, the film manages to get the audience absolutely hooked onto the plot. In fact, sometimes you start to think about what could be the next "political" development - it makes you think hard a couple of times and thats the mark of a good movie. All credit must goto the characters who played their roles brilliantly.

My choice for the best actor in the movie is Nana Patekar - heck I didn't even know that Patekar was part of the cast. He can overplay his part at times but overall he is the best. Ranbir Kapoor is also fantastic in his roleplay but he can't seem to portray the cold-hearted villain he turns out to be in the end. Maybe its his cute looks and handsome cut that defies belief that he can be that bad.

Didn't have much to say about Katrina's acting - she is the barbie doll here and does about OK. Nothing special. All that talk about this being a woman centric film with a "strong" performance form Kat is just bollocks.She has done well but nothing to rave about madly like the press have been doing.

There are times when the movie feels too predictable. Part of the reason is that the story takes many cues from the Mahabharata. You can almost describe any scene with an analogous episode in the epic. But the ending was the one that was most predictable. Just as Krishna tells Arjuna to kill Karna when his charriot is stuck in mud, Patekar overrides Ranbirs precious little sense of morality and asks him to "finish" the job. Which he does.

Overall a job well done : 3.5 / 5.

Now I am looking forward to "Raavan" and "Raavanan" ...