The Furobiker

London Diaries

2016-07-19T16:13:00.000+05:30

Ever since I saw Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, I had a dream of going to London because parampara Dad, parampara. :P Finally, last month, I got a chance to visit London for a whole week. I had already begun planning my itinerary weeks in advance, even before I booked my International Flights ;via their very own British Airways! From watching London from the top of London Eye to doing posing for London Thumakda in front of Big Ben, everything had been planned in detail and so began my tour.

After surfing the internet for various tourist packages, I decided on buying Hop On Hop Off bus tour which covers most of the London attractions. As soon as I got on the bus, I saw a hoarding Baker Street. Being an avid Sherlock fan, I immediately got down and went looking for 221B and to my amusement, 221B had been converted to The Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Baker Street

221B Residence of The Sherlock Holmes

The Sherlock Holmes Museum Source: VisitLondon.com

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Sqaure

After spending time at The Sherlock Holmes Museum and Madame Tussads, I resumed my journey on Hop On Hop Off bus towards central London. I reached Trafalgar Square which is built around the Charing Cross. Many celebrations takes place at Trafalgar Square, including Christmas and New Year. I saw various places like St Paul Cathedral, Big Ben, Tower of London and river Thames. Thames river has various bridges over it - Tower bridge, London Bridge, Millenium Bridge, Westminster bridge, Waterloo bridge are some of the bridges which I visited during this trip. St Paul Cathedral is a beautiful Anglican cathedral.

St Paul Cathedral

I also took ride on the London Eye for which there were huge waiting lines. I waited for more than an hour for my turn, however, as soon as it began, it was one of the most amazing views I have seen. Being on top of London and to be able to admire the view is an ecstatic feeling altogether! After completing the London Eye, I began my ferry tour on river Thames. It flows amidst such beautiful architecture and our guide was a hilarious one who explained everything in extreme detail. I crossed a lot of the bridges on Thames during my ferry ride.

Her Majesty Theatre

London Bridge

London Eye

Big Ben

I visited a lot of museums while in London like British Museum and National History Museum which seemed ery insightful regarding the British history. London Dungeon is a hi-tech haunted house which you must visit only if you have a strong heart! :P

Tower of London

Very close to the Big Ben are the Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster. The palace has a beautiful view - a most serene one. Around the Thames are a large number of restaurants which offer beautiful view of Thames with cool, calm winds. I sat there for along time enjoying the cool breeze. I specially love the Tate Modern, an art gallery restaurant with a view to Thames.

Palace of Westminster

While returning on Hop On Hop Off buses, I got down to my final stop - The Buckingham Palace. I wasn't lucky enough to witness the Changing of the guards as it starts at 11.30 am sharp. However, the trip provided me with enough memories to last a lifetime.

Buckingham Palace

Healthy Sugar-free Kheer Recipe with Sugar Natura!

2015-11-30T23:27:00.000+05:30

आज सुबह से ही मौसम सुहाना था हॉस्टल में इम्तिहान के बाद चिल कर रहे थे दोस्तों का प्लान बना की हर कोई एक एक डिश बनाएगा और मिल कर मजेदार पार्टी करेंगे। समय तय हुआ की तीन घंटे बाद जोसफ के रूम पर सब इकठ्ठे होंगे। कोई पकोड़े बना रहा था कोई पनीर टिक्का पर मैं ठहरा पंजाबी कोई भी पार्टी बिना मीठे के कैसे पूरी होगी। तभी जीतू का ख्याल आया वो तो मीठा खायेगा नहीं, फिर सोचा कोई नहीं आज अपने दोस्त के लिए स्पेशल खीर बनाता हूँ। शुगर फ्री नैचुरा से बनाता हूँ खीर ताकि वो भी मजे से स्वीट डिश का आनंद ले सके और किसी को स्वाद में डिफ़्फेरन्स भी न लगे। यही तो खास बात है शुगर फ्री नैचुरा की, कि स्वाद से पता ही नही चलता की इसमें आम शुगर यूज़ की गयी है या शुगर फ्री। फटाफट दूध चावल वगैरह निकाले और खीर बनाना शुरू किया। आइये आपको भी अपनी इस लज़ीज़ खीर को बनाने की विधि बताऊँ।

सामग्री :-१ / २ कटोरी चावल (बासमती )

१ लीटर फुल क्रीम दूध

छोटी इलाइची (पीसी हुई) १ /२ चम्मच

सूखे मेवे बारीक़ कटे हुए। बादाम भिगो कर छीलकर कटे हुए ( इच्छानुसार)

७ से ९ गोली शुगर फ्री नैचुरा की

विधि :-चावल को बीन कर साफ़ पानी से तीन चार बार धो कर थोड़ी देर भिगो दें।

कुकर में चावल, थोड़ी सी पीसी हुई इलाइची और थोड़ा पानी डाल कर २ सीटी बजने तक गैस जलाये रखें। फिर बंद कर दे।

भाप निकलने के बाद इसमें फुल क्रीम दूध डाल कर दूध के उबलने का इंतज़ार करें उबाल आने पर कूकर का ढक्कन बंद करके सिम गैस पर २० से २५ मिनट तक रखे रहने दे। ध्यान रहे की इस दौरान प्रेशर के साथ कहीं दूध कुकर से बाहर न आ जाये। तेज प्रेशर होने पर गैस बंद कर दे फिर थोड़ी देर बाद गैस फिर जला कर सिम पर रख दे। इस प्रक्रिया को दूध के पिंक होने तक चालू रखें।

इसको करछी से जोर से चावल के दूध में मिक्स होने के लिए चला लें। फिर इसमें शुगर फ्री की गोलियां दाल कर मिक्स कर दे। ताकि खीर रिज़ी हुई बने। एक बात यहां ध्यान देने वाली हे की शुगर फ्री डालने के बाद यदि आप उसे गर्म करेंगे तो खीर पतली हो सकती है।

खीर को डोंगे में डाल कर ऊपर से सूखे मेवे डाल कर गर्म गर्म परोसें।

माँ अंत में ठडे से गर्म दूध में थोड़ा सा केसर घोल कर भी डालती थी पर मैं हॉस्टल में केसर कहाँ से लाता आप डाल कर बनाये तो स्वाद और बढ़ जायेगा।

एक राज की बात बताऊँ मेरा दोस्त जीते तो खीर को खा कर धन्य समझ ही रहा था बाकि सरे दोस्त भी खीर की तारीफ करते नही थकते थे। और में इस बात से खुश था की मेने जीतू की पसंदीदा चीज़ शुगर फ्री से बनाई इससे उसकी मीठा खाने की इच्छा भी पूरी हो गई और उसकी सेहत पर भी कोई बुरा असर नही होगा। मैं ईश्वर से सदा उसकी अच्छी सेहत की कामना करता हूँ।

Make delicious meals every single day with these cooking apps!

2015-08-26T15:20:00.000+05:30

Are you fed up of cooking the same dal and roti every other day? Do you want to spice up things a bit and serve new dishes to your family and guests? Or maybe you want a bit more help to help you earn the title of a cooking expert among your friends? Cooking apps have become a hit these days since one can browse through thousands of recipes and have the comfort of experimenting within their kitchen. In this fast paced life, a few people have time especially working women and men who are fond of cooking new dishes but have shortage of time to travel and take up cooking classes. Here are three cooking apps meant for amateurs as well as experienced ones:

1) Big oven -

Holding over 35,000+ recipes, Big oven gives you the opportunity to try something new every day and delight your senses! It has been download more than 11 million times and has earned various names for itself such as “"Best Apps for Foodies," "Best Apps for New Moms," and "Best Apps for Eating In" by PC Magazine, TIME Magazine, and The Huffington Post and ranked "Readers’ Choice, Best Recipe App" in 2011-2013 on About.com. You can find new recipes for food as per your favourite cuisine and lifestyle and even stay organized by storing all of your recipes at one place. So the next time you have guests coming over at your home and need a new recipe to serve them lip-smacking food, browse through Big oven and start making a new one under minutes. There are many recipes here that require use of specific electronics. Don’t fret if you don’t own one. Get for yourself at discounted prices using Snapdeal coupons available on CashKaro.com and also get handsome cash back.

2) Lunchbox -

The new generation of kids is the fussiest when it comes to eating food. They are always loaded with new ideas and pranks to avoid eating home-cooked food. It’s an increasing concern for parents as their kids are depriving themselves of proper nutrition on a day to day basis. Maybe a new twist in their eating habits and lunch boxes can help you make them eat properly while including all the needed nutrients they require for their growth. Lunchbox is one such app which will help you do so. It has a lot of recipes that are easy and quick to make which are also packed with rich proteins. No more confusion over deciding what dish to make today for your family! If you are in need of new lunchboxes for your kids, shop for cute ones at affordable prices using eBay coupons present on CashKaro.com.

3) The Photo cookbook -

If you are someone who learns things better the visual way, “The Photo cookbook” apps will make you a brilliant cook. You will be in awe of the gorgeous and mouth-watering photos posted over here. And they are not blurry and photos taken over in a hurry. The pictures are captured by professionals and each of them is sharp, clear and enticing! You will be taken through different steps with a picture assigned for each step helping you grasp things easily and quickly. The app has over 60 recipes in categories of fish, meat, vegetarian and desserts. The four categories have 15 recipes each. There’s also a search bar for you to search for recipes as per your needs. Baking scrumptious sweets is now just a few steps away with this app by your side.

Chilli Red Sauce Pasta: A Chilli Recipe

2015-08-19T00:01:00.001+05:30

Ever since I moved to hostel, cooking which was my worst nightmare has now become my daily reality! After all the classes, you back to your room tired but still have to cook your own dinner! Phew! The other day I stumbled upon Delmonte Gourmet Pasta and thought of giving it a try. Ever since I bought it, I have cooked a lot of different pasta recipes including salads. But today I am presenting to you my favourite amongst all - Chilli Red Sauce Pasta recipe - I like chilli food a lot and thus, this my most fav recipe. Give it a try and lemme know if it;s hot enough for you? ;)

Recipe:

Servings: 2-3 people

Preparation time: 7 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Equipment needed: Strainer, Pan, Spatula

Ingredients:

Delmonte Pasta Gourmet Pasta Spirali: 2 cup

Oil: 2 tablespoon

Onion: 2 small

Tomato: 4 small

Capsicum: 1 small

Garlic Cloves: 2-4 (finely chopped)

Ajwain/ Carom seeds: 1/2 teaspoon

Tomato Sauce: to taste

Green Chilli Sauce: to taste

Red Chilli Sauce: to taste

Salt: To taste

Recipe:

1. Add 4-5 cups of water, one teaspoon oil and half teaspoon salt to a pan and keep it on stove. Wait for the water to boil and then add 2 cups of Delmonte Pasta Gourmet Pasta Spirali in it.

2. After it has boiled once, keep it on simmer for 5 minutes more.

3. Then drain out the water using a strainer. Afterwards, wash it with cold water.

4. Take 4 small tomatoes. Cut them in half. Add 1/4 cup water to it.

5. Using a hand blender, make a tomato puree.

6. Take another pan. Add oil to it and put on high stove. Add ajwain/carom seeds to it.

7. Add onions to the pan and saute them for some time till the color changes slightly. Then add finely chopped garlic cloves to the pan.

8. Add finely chopped capsicum to the pan.

9. Saute on sim for 5 minutes.

10. Add tomato puree to this pan.

11. Stir for 1-2 minutes.

12. Add tomato sauce, red chilli sauce, green chilli sauce to this mixture. Add salt and red chilli to this and stir properly.

13. Add the cooled pasta to this mixture. Mix properly. Let it cook for sometime on simmer for 2-5 minutes.

14. Take it off the stove and serve hot.

Try it and let me know if you like it!

Ink by Inch - a concept tattoo studio

2015-07-11T05:51:00.000+05:30

“Ink by Inch”, is a concept tattoo studio creating custom designs specialising in intricate, traditional and pointillism (dot) work. The studio engages in creating improvised concept designs in dot work and intricate traditional work inspired by Indian murals along with employing elements from Polynesian, Thai, Japanese, Celtic and Nordic designs. Dot work tattoos though being a popular concept in Europe have not been widely practiced in India – primarily because of the intricacies involved and the time taken compared to the conventional shading techniques.

The studio strives to align people who like getting inked towards the concept of custom art in tattooing which has not been duly explored in India. The aim is to understand the clients’ needs, their reason for getting a particular design and providing them with a custom concept.

Rohit (the artist) at Ink by Inch with a background in medical profession and corporate experience has been following his passion for art for over a decade. He specializes in sketching and painting on various media including canvas, t-shirts, etc. His work was noted and appreciated across a number of media and artist groups. Designing custom tattoo designs for friends and clients and his own love for tattoos drew him closer to the art. Rohit was intrigued by the intricacies of the art form and the concept of living canvas as a medium. He went ahead and started his apprenticeship under one of the oldest renowned tattoo artist in India and worked towards exploring new tattooing techniques and forms. He is also part of renowned art and tattoo artist groups on various social media platforms and constantly engages with international artists to share ideas, explore and create new concepts.

Rohit created “Ink by Inch” to provide an experience in professional tattoo art to clients in India – customized art while using high standards of sterilization; ensuring proper client awareness and education; utilizing the best of equipment and high quality inks that are used by renowned artists worldwide.

So if you are based in Delhi or are visiting Delhi and want to get yourself inked using some traditional tattoo techniques and have a design that is custom built for you – Call or Whatsapp “Ink by Inch” on +91 9811705696 to share your ideas and book your appointments

You can also reach “Ink by Inch” via email inkbyinch[at]gmail[dot]com and on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/inkbyinchtattoos . Website http://www.inkbyinch.com/

PS: Rohit is an old friend of mine, and all the information given above is provided by Rohit. Ink by Inch is responsible for the accuracy of the information provided above.

RewardMe: २१ आवश्यक ट्रिक्स बचत की

2015-07-08T20:56:00.000+05:30

Source : NavaBharat

महँगाई के इस दौर में मुझे RewardMe की साइट पर एक बहुत ही फायदेमंद लेख पढ़ा। "२१ आवश्यक ट्रिक्स जिनसे हम बचत कर सकते है बना यह नोटिस किये कि हमने अपनी दैनिक क्रियाओ में कोई बदलाव किया है" - इस लेख के कुछ टिप्स मुझे अच्छे लगे जिनमे से कुछ इस प्रकार हैं :

१. खान पान वाले हिस्से में से फ्रेश सामान खरीद कर फ्रीज कर लेना। मैंने अपनी माँ से कहा कि सीज़न की सब्ज़ियाँ जैसे की मटर खरीद कर, छील कर, उन्हें फ्रीजर में रख लेंगे तथा जब बाजार में मटर १०० रू किलो मिलते है तब हम अपने फ्रोजेन मटर का उपयोग करेंगे।

२. इसी तरह स्टोर्स पर एक या दो दिन पुराना दही जो ५०% कम रेट पर मिल जाता है खरीद कर स्वादिष्ट कढ़ी बनाई जा सकती है।

३. वस्तुओं का पुनः प्रयोग करना चाहिए। इस तरह हम वस्तुओं की बर्बादी को रोक सकते हैं। पुराने कपड़ो से थैले बनाना , बच्चों की छोटी जीन्स से शॉर्ट्स बनाना, कपड़ो को मिल बाँट के पेहेनना, सूट के पहनने योग्य न रहने पर उनकी चुन्नियो से सुन्दर कुर्तियां बनवा लेना - पुनः प्रयोग के कुछ उदहारण हैं।

४. स्वयं की सफाई वाले हिस्से में से शैम्पू कंडीशनर व् बाथ जेल आदि की बोतल में थोड़ा सा पानी डा ल कर एक बार प्रयोग करने लायक सामान निकल ही आएगा।

४. ऑफ सीजन में सेल का फायदा उठा कर जैकेट्स व् गरम कपड़ो पर ३०-४० % की बचत तो की ही जा सकती है। इससे हम अच्छे ब्रांड के कपड़े कम दाम में ले सकते हैं।

५. सबसे ज़्यादा फायदा तो मुझे अपने मोबाइल पर नेट प्लान बंद करवाने पर कंपनी के तरफ से दिए जाने वाले डिस्कोउन्ट्स से मिलेगा ऐसा लगता है।

६. मेरे घर का वाटर हीटर जो १२० डिग्री पर ही चलता है माँ को बिना बताये काम पर सेट कर दू तो बिजली के बिल में बचत कर सकता हूँ।

७. रेगुलर tubelights का उपयोग न करके LED बल्ब्स व् tubelights का उपयोग करना चाहिए क्योंकि वो बहुत काम बिजली के खर्च में अधिक रौशनी प्रदान करती हैं।

सच में ऐसी छोटी छोटी बातें जिन पर हम आम ज़िन्दगी में ध्यान भी नही देते हमें अछि बचत दे जाती हैं। इससे हम अपने दैनिक खर्चो में से छोटी छोटी बचत करके इस राशि को अन्यत्र उपयोग कर सकते हैं। RewardMe इस तरह के अनेक फैमिली लाइफ पर प्रस्तुत करके हमारा फायदा करवाने की डिशा में अच्छा काम कर रहा है।

RewardMe Theme: Best from RewardMe.in

I am participating in the ‘Ready For Rewards’ activity for Rewardme in association with BlogAdda.

RewardMe - मैडिटेशन के ६ आसान तरीके

2015-07-08T20:23:00.001+05:30

Source: CoccoYammy

जब से बड़ा हुआ व कुछ समझने लगा तो यही पाया कि मेरी मम्मी सदेव किसी न किसी बात पर हमेशा चिंता में रहती थी। कभी जो हो गया उसकी चिंता कभी आगे क्या होगा उसकी चिंता। हमेशा उनके चेहरे पर चिंता रेखाएं देख कर सोचता कि मम्मी हमेशा चिंतित क्यों रहती हैं। हद तो तब हो गयी जब उन्ही के विवाह की २५ वी सालगिरह के अवसर पर पार्टी में मज़े लेने के बजाए इसी चिंता में इधर उधर भागते देखा कि कहीं कोई बिना भोजन ग्रहण किये न चले जाए। बार बार हमें भी यहीं कह रही थी कि सबको पूछना कोई नाराज़ न हो जाए और पूरी पार्टी यू ही बिता दी उन्होंने!

मैंने मन ही मन सोचा कि मम्मी की इसी आदत को मई अब छुड़ा के ही दम लूँगा। तभी मैंने RewardMe की साइट पर मैडिटेशन के ६ आसान तरीके पढ़े और जुट गया कि मम्मी को किसी न किसी तरह मैडिटेशन सिखाए ताकि वो चिंता रहित जीवन जी सके। जब मैंने उनसे इस विषय की तो मम्मी कहाँ हाथ थी। "अरे बेटा , मेरे पास कहाँ टाइम हैं , असल में मेरा ध्यान नहीं लगता" जैसे बहानो से मैडिटेशन करने से बचती रही लेकिन मैने उन्हें इस लेख में लिखे आसान ६ टिप्स दिए कि आप सिर्फ ५-७ मिन्ट के लिए मेरे साथ बैठ कर ध्यान लगाओ। इतने कम समय के लिए तो वो कोई बहाना भी नही बना पाई। ध्यान करते समय मैं उनके फोन बंद कर देता था। केवल अपनी सांस के आने व जाने की प्रक्रिया पर, अपने पैरो से सर तक हर अंग पर ध्यान देने की आदत बनाने को कहता था। लेकिन मेरी माँ तो माँ है, बीच में ही आँखें खोल कर कहती कि मेरा ध्यान नही लगता, मेरे मन में अलग अलग विचार आने लगते हैं। कभी बीच में ही उखड जाती कि मैं इतनी देर नही बैठ सकती। धीरे धीरे उन्हें इसमें आराम मिलने लगा, वो खुद ही सोने से पहले मुझसे कहने लगी कि चल मैडिटेशन करते हैं। और इसका असर उनकी पर्सनालिटी पर भी दिखने लगा। उनका गुस्सा एवं उनकी चिंता थोड़ी काम होने लगी।

कल मेरी बहिन की सगाई के मौके पर मैंने माँ को हर्षित हो कर हर रस्म में भाग लेते हुए देखा। उनके चेहरे पर चिंता की रेखाओं की जगह ख़ुशी और रोमांच नज़र आ रहा था। फिर मैंने मन ही मन सोचा कि कल सबसे पहला काम यही करना है कि rewarme के इस लेख लिखने वाले को धन्यवाद दूँगा।

RewardMe Theme: Share Your Expertise!

I am participating in the ‘Ready For Rewards’ activity for Rewardme in association with BlogAdda.

#SniffSniff Nivea Men Deoidorizer

2015-06-15T19:31:00.000+05:30

In my last visit to Delhi, my car had gone for servicing so I decided to try Delhi's latest mode of transportation these days - The Metro Rail! As soon as I entered the metro station, I saw a blast of people running in different directions. I felt pretty lost considering Paris' metro stations are so empty relative to this. Anyway, with a scared expression, I entered the station and tried to look for the correct platform. As soon as you enter the metro, you feel a very peculiar smell, more like rotten something, being very dominant in the coach. I thought it might be from a particular person but whichever way you turn your head, it gets worse. Body odor - the biggest problem of traveling in Delhi's metro in scorching heat. Everyone drenched in their own sweat and I don't think anyone used an effective deodorant! By the time you reach your destination, the only thing you wanna do is go back home and take a bath in scented water in your bath tub! My sister travels in the buses and she says the problem is even worse there as everyone gets in the red AC bus and it gets suffocating due to excess number of people!

Blogadda also raised this issue in a comical video by Suresh menon and Jose Covaco (Link). They started a #sniffsniff activity related to this problem. I was one of the shortlisted bloggers who got products daily pertaining to #BanBodyOdour and had to guess the final products. I'm using my investigative skills to uncover the mystery of #SniffSniff at BlogAdda.

Day 1:

The package had a man's face with clothes clip on them. A very welcome note to describe the most prominent problem of our city's heat - Body Odour! If we don't find a solution to this problem soon, we might just have to use clothes clip on our noses for our survival!

Day 2:

I received a tiny jute bag today with coffee beans inside it. Coffee has been known to curb bad odours effectively but I think even holding this bag close to my nose won't suffice in Delhi's local transport. I guess after few minutes only, the beans will also smell like people BO! (yuck!). I can't spoil my precious coffee beans! But I'm guessing the final product might be a coffee flavoured deodorant!

Day 3:

I got my parcel a bit late today but it had the perfect solution - a mask! I can't stop people from spreading the disgusting smell but I can surely save myself from inhaling it. So I tried to get in a metro again that evening to go for a movie show. After about 3.278 seconds of entering the coach, my mask was lying several metres away from me as the crowd pushed me from all directions and a guy's hand just made it fly away! Phew!

Day 4:

I finally got a solution for the problem - Nivea Men introduced India's 1st Body Deodorizer. I tried it and just one application stops your body from producing odour throughout the day! I would gladly like to recommend it to everyone who uses the local public mode of transport. Please for my sake, just use it!

Black is Beautiful #WhatTheBlack

2014-07-27T23:17:00.000+05:30

Another day, another contest! This time it is #WhatTheBlack contest from Blogadda! And the funny part is, we still don't know who is sponsoring the same! Though, the sponsoring company does seem pretty much in lourve with black color! :D My money would be on a shampoo company! Ghane, mulayam kaale baal, khile khile matwale baal! :P

You guys must be thinking - why sudden outburst of contest related posts on this blog? Let us take one step back and remember the post, where I talk about my admission into one of the best MBA colleges in Europe. Now THAT renders me unemployed, impoverished and jobless at the same time! Hence, I am highly driven to participate in the contests in the hope of winning a nice iPad, as I, for sure, can not afford to buy one myself ! :(

So, coming back to the topic, #WhatTheBlack contest is about 5 black things that you desire and why! So here goes my list:

1) Black Gaddi: I have spent a large part of my life working and travelling in Gurgaon. And trust me on this, I haven't ever seen such a large congregation of black, exquisite, elegant mean machines in a such a small place! Whenever I am able to afford EMIs of these beauties, I am very sure I will definitely go for a black one! Yeah, and a driver too, it is really difficult to keep black cars in their factory finish shine!

2) Black watch: Just look at this watch and let me know if you don't feel like breaking your screen in the excitement to grab it!

3) Little black dress: I have no idea what that is! Its just that my wife keeps asking for it, so I think it really must be something important for beautiful people! :D

4) Black fountain pen: Yeah, I am one of those people who is in awe of fountain pens! It has been years that I went anywhere without my fountain pen. Every single day, I open online shopping websites and look at nice, costly pens, with gold plated tips and what not! Sigh! In my dreams I often see the scene from A Beautiful Mind, where everyone gifts Nash his/her own pen as a mark of respect for getting a Nobel!

5) Black Iron Man Suit: This desire is from fiction category on TV. I would love to own an iron man suit, and that too in black color! You bet, I will polish and shine it every single day, and protect it from getting scratches on Delhi roads! (by keeping it in my lab, I suppose) :D

So that's that! What are you upto? What would be your guess on who do you think is sponsoring this even focused on black colored objects?

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

Zest up your life

2014-07-20T20:53:00.000+05:30

This post is a part of the #ZestUpYourLife activity in association with TATA Zest and BlogAdda.com

Finally, it is a contest that broke me out of my slumber! :D

I was cleaning my personal email box after ages, and I saw an email update from BlogAdda about TATA Zest contest to write a blog post about five things or experiences that zest up my life, and I said to myself - why not!

PS: I didn't know what Zest means, and wikipedia came to my help! In short, "Zest is defined as living life with a sense of excitement, anticipation, and energy", for full clarification, refer to the link.

Coming back to the original topic, following are my five things and experiences:

1) Running - Yes, plain, simple running. Weather with the wifey or alone, but running / jogging gives me immense feeling of relaxation and happiness. I love the feeling of blood rushing through my body after i complete my jogging session. It is a out of the world feeling, probably an adrenaline rush of some sort. I guess, only runners will understand the feeling.

2) Gadgets - I love buying gadgets. Weather I use them or not that is a different issue :D. But seriously, I like the concept of different gadgets for different things. Kindle for reading, laptop for presentations and excels, a Samsung tab for Facebook and twitter, Phone for talking and quick updates, and an X box for games! Thats probably all the stuff I use even before I have left for office in the morning! :D Next on my list is Fitbit / UP for activity tracking. Phew.

3) Driving - Kind of obvious from the name of the blog, right! If you need more proof, you can check my previous post, when I got a TATA Vista D90 to review (link). LOL. I am so good at self promotion, sometimes I think, do I really need an MBA? :D

4) Food - I remember an old dialogue of mine - butter is better, more butter is much better. Fried, oily, buttery stuff - I love it! Whats the point of eating grass and leaves! You have only got one life!

5) Internet - Yes, I am one of those people who are easier to reach over whatapp or email rather than a phone call. Slowly, I have become very choosy in terms of picking calls from unknown numbers, but my corporate job has taught me that turn around time for any email is 1 hour. Period! :D So yeah, internet is my lifeline, starting from the morning newspaper (ahem) till wishing good nights on whatsapp! :D

So that's all from my side! Now its upon you guys to coax TATA guys to take me to goa! :D VROOOOM!

How I Met Your Mother - Finale - Lost Forever !

2014-05-03T16:50:00.000+05:30

Patient Kids: But dad! It's been nine long years, and all you talk about is your incomplete love story with Aunt Robin! In a series named - How I Met Your Mother!

Ted: Yeah! But...

Carter Bays and Craig Thomas: Oh please! Didn't you notice that in the last scene of the finale, the kids seemed to be of the same age as they look in all the couch shots, which were shot at the beginning of the first season!

Patient Kids, Ted and the Audience: !!!!

I can write a long 5,000 words article on why I think there could have been a better ending to the show - where Ted and the girl, who looked like a baby produced by combining the genes of Lilly and Robin in a test tube, lived happily ever after, Barney and Robin rode into the proverbial sunset, and Marshall becomes the judge of the European Commission and Lily an art connoisseur, somewhere in the busy streets of Paris!

But then, let us take a step back, and think about the reason that we all were glued to this show for nine long years. For me, this show was about imperfections, about life of 5 friends in their twenties, trying to explore their way through the mazes of life. Every episode was about exploring different layers of the personalities of each character! It was the life of five friends, who were managing their careers, love life, goals and most importantly their friendships through thick and thin. They won some of their battles, and lost some, and that my friends, is what life is all about.

There are happy endings, there are sad endings, there are imperfect endings, and then there are endings which happen in real life! More often than not, real life is never 100% tilted on one side. At the end of each era of your life, if you contemplate, there would have been achievements, disappointments, happiness and a craving to have achieved a little more. And that was my feelings about the finale of HIMYM.

As most of the audience of this blog is Indian, it will not be inappropriate to use a hindi movie reference! As soon as I was done with the grand finale of himym, my first thought was - Dude! It was Kuch Kuch Hota hai all over again! The protagonist loses the real love of his life in an attempt to chase the surreal, finds and marries whom he thinks was the perfect life partner. And then the lady dies post they have kid(s), followed by him chasing his first love ... ! Ditto!

I was not very disappointed by the ending, but the pace at which they ended, trying to tie all the lose thread was just bizarre! It required much more than that for a perfect couple, that Barney and Robin were to just separate! And the dying of The Mother!

Ted being Ted, would have definitely passed through each of the five stages described by the Kübler-Ross model before even thinking of embarking on the journey of narrating the long winding story to his kids! But then, it was a good angle that they included where Ted and Tracy didn't marry for seven years because - they were busy being happy as the way they were!

Anyhow, all things good, bad, or even Legen - wait for it - dary come to an end! On that note, I will leave you with an image, which will forever remind me and probably you of this show!

Ted Mosby's Yellow Umbrella

Drumrolls.... !!!

2014-04-18T11:55:00.001+05:30

... and here is the good news

Was about to create this poster, but found the exact same on Google images!! :)

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom — Review

2014-02-05T23:28:00.000+05:30

I use Grammarly's grammar corrector because of you know, Grammar Nazis!

I think its time to accept that Mitch Albom is slowly rising on my favorite authors list! After reading his The Five People You Meet in Heaven, I was eagerly waiting to get my hands on the next in line -Tuesdays with Morrie! As a side note, there are many more books by Mitch I haven't read yet, so just in case you are thinking hard about my birthday gift, get the hint! *wink*

Although Mitch's book do sometimes feel like those self-help books (which I abhor), but the simplicity of the conversations, and the similarities with common life incidents depicted in his books make them stand way apart from any other genre. Tuesdays with Morrie, on the similar lines, is about a student and his teacher.

Morrie Schwartz, a sociology professor dying of a big named disease is contacted by his favorite student from yesteryears - our Mitchy boy! and then starts the series of meetings between the Mitch and Morrie discussing a dying man's thoughts, regrets and lessons about life! The professor's views are neatly divided into chapters about death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness and a meaningful life.

Though a little on the preachy side, the book at the very least pushed me into thinking about a lot of things which I take for granted in real life. However, the irony of the book is, why did the sociology professor had to wait till the time he reached his deathbed before pondering about his life and all its important components! He practically spent his entire life researching about these components in other people's lives! :) Guess our Mitchy boy didn't get a 740 on GMAT!

I finished the book yesterday evening, and was pondering upon a very hitting sentence in the book ''I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it.''! And then within a few hours I read the news about Satya Nadella becoming the CEO of Microsoft. Now, I am not drawing any comparison here, but just look at the picture below (from msft website):

I insist you open it in a separate window and view higher resolution version. We see a 46 year old Nadella, a 58 year old Gates and a 57 year old Balmer. What struck me here, was the frail, old looking Nadella who is the youngest of the lot!

Let's not digress! So Morrie and Mitch meet up for the next sixteen Tuesdays and discuss fundamental issues of life, while Mitch is making notes, and as a result we got Mitch's final thesis for submission to his best teacher, known as a book called Tuesday's with Morrie!

The book is pretty thin, and unless you savor each and every word slowly, you will exhaust it in leisure read spread over 2-3 days! I was craving to read few hundred pages more of such simple conversation between a teacher and his student, but alas, it ended too soon!

Do give this book a chance if you get time! It is a must read, and a long time keep in my book shelf! (Buy from amazon India)

Dhoom 3 - Every Magic Trick Has Three Parts

2013-12-22T20:11:00.000+05:30

In case you are a movie buff like me, you must have guessed a lot of content of this post just from the title! However, in the interest of everyone else, let me just put this alert!

Since you are still reading, I am almost sure you are one of those people who will not be spending a bomb watching this in theater. Dhoom 3, as per my expectations, was just going to be just another franchise movie - and as it goes with the franchise movies, no one gives a shit about the story! Franchise movies keep on reaping the benefits of the one thing that ticks with the audience and keep of repeating it till the producers or the audience gets fed up.

Obviously, in Dhoom franchise, the thing that ticks with the audience isn't either Uday Chopra or Abhishekh Bacchan - its the bikes! PS: Somebody needs to tell Uday and Abhishek that! In a nation, where every middle class youngster driving a 125cc bike thinks himself to be a super biker, I guess YRF really hit a goldmine!

However, you see the new guy in the poster below? He made every bit of an effort to make people not hate the movie! You know, people say Aamir reads scripts and doesn't do meaningless films. Also, people say Dhoom movies are totally baseless, storyless and full of crap! You mix these two and you get Dhoom 3!

There are some things so stupid, that you start believing that its another Chennai Express, and then there are oh-so-Aamir-esque intense scenes, that they take you somewhere else!

So, Aamir does reads scripts; its just that he doesn't watch English movies! Ab English movies me to stories hoti hi hai, to wahi se chori kar lete hain!

The dark knight - So the movie starts in a sepia tone, with an old Jackie Shroff fighting the biggest villains of modern era - banks! - and then goes ahead and kills himself! Suiciiiiiiiide! Aamir khan grows up suddenly, and turns into - guess what - Joker! (The Clown)

The Prestige - Every magic trick has three parts, first the writers watch an intense and acclaimed English movie, second, they blatantly copy the plot, third, they add an emotional flood to it, and voila! Dhoom 3! The whole movie pivots around Aamir's double role! That's how he does the famous trick - Vanishing from spot 1, and appearing at spot 2, in less than 10 seconds!

Transformers - A BMW bike, which can run on road for more than 30 seconds without killing people - contrary to the popular opinion of BMW machines in India. And then it suddenly turns into a water scooter (yeah, the same one we ride in Goa), and then into a submarine, and then into a boat and then bike.

Oh, and there are 3 other key people in the movies - The first one is an american, with the most ice cold expressions I have ever seen. I guess his previous profession was being the CEO of Lehman Bank - he wouldn't have flinched a bit before firing 10,000 people in an hour! The second one is a hot american chick, but then there was no time for writing dialogues for her. She just mentions in her introduction - I have Indian friends, so I know a little Hindi!

And then we have Katreena - trust me on this, since they showed Eli Avram on TV, Katreena looks a 50 year old lady, who was once very cute ! Not much dialogues for her as well, but they gave her some tattered pieces of clothes, so that no one notices the acting and dialogues !

The only saving grace, and an amazing effort at that was Aamir's double role! Aamir, without any change in looks, has played two separate personalities so bloody well, that in one scene he transforms from Sahar to Samar and the difference is so very visible in microseconds, that it completely blew me away!

As it is visible from the movie poster, it is Aamir's movie, with everyone else supporting him - except from Physics and Logic that is.

Overall, I will give the movie 2.5 stars, but will not stop you from watching it once - only for Aamir!

Oh, and as it happens with each Dhoom movie - Instead of being caught by Uday Chopra, each villain prefers to rather die by jumping from a cliff!

Hello World

2013-11-23T13:52:00.000+05:30

Before you ask, yes! Busy people do not blog regularly!

I visited this blog, yes my own blog, last weekend, after a gap of close to two months! Between home, office, Gurgaon jams, Yoga classes and GMAT applications, I barely get time to manage a 5 hour nap each night! And you know what the sad part is? After writing hundreds and thousands of words and putting in so much of effort, the first college you apply to sends a rejection email! Now I feel how Tushar Kapoor must feel after each movie! :(

Anyhow, as King Khan says - Jab tak hai jaan, jab tak hai jaan!

Past three-four weeks have been exceptionally bad, both on the personal and professional front. Life, through its own screwed up ways, has taught me some serious lessons during this time.

At any point in life, always be prepared to start everything from scratch!

You might be riding high on the seventh sky one day, and the very next day, you find that everything is gone to zero. Zilch! Everything happens so fast that you don't even realize that what was happening was real, or what that is happening now is real.

Its like inception, but in real life! :)

But then, a man's gotta do what he gotta do! So lets start afresh with - as they say in programmer's language - Hello World!

How to read a good book

2013-10-05T11:08:00.000+05:30

Everyone in this world has their own style of reading - some people read too fast, some read too slow, some speed-readers read vertically instead of horizontally, while the remaining are just plain lazy and take years to complete a good book!

I have been discussing this with several people, and basically skimmed down to two broad reading styles which people follow - the first one is followed by Mrs Furobiker and the second by yours truly!

Addicted Reading - Yes! That is what I call the first style of reading, which my wife follows. When she picks up a book, she just can't keep it down till she reads the end credits! I have seen her finishing those huge Harry Potter books in just one night (to be precise, from 8 pm on day one to 4.45 am on day 2!). I have seen a lot of friends following this style of reading, where they are completely focused on the book, and want to finish reading the book in max two or three sittings!

Frankly speaking, I have also used such method of reading, but only with text books ! Start one night before the exams, finish it on the morning of the exam, and then go and vomit on the answer sheet! :D

However, I have observed that since the past year or so, I have moved on to a different style of reading.

Savoured Reading - Yes, that's what I call my style of reading. I have come to believe that there are a plenty of similarities between a good book and a 30 year old, single malt scotch; hence, both of them should be treated with similar respect!

As with single malt, you need to pour 10 ml in a crystal glass. It is not to be mixed with either water or ice. Then you shake your glass a bit, and then inhale the aroma that has been captured in the barrel for 30 years, while reading about the goodness of the malt on the bottle information sheet. Only after you have familiarized yourself with the aroma, you take a small sip, and let the scotch settle in your mouth. You roll it over your tongue, and feel it inside your mouth before letting it pass down your throat, marking your food pipe till your stomach!

A good book, in my humble opinion, deserves a similar treatment!

First, you tear away the packaging to get the feel of real paper in your hands. Then you flip swiftly through the pages, while breathing in the fragrance of crisp, newly printed paper. You should then always read the preface written by another classic author/editor. All classics have a preface written by some distinguished editor. Never glance through the summary at the back of the book. That tawdry summary is for the schoolkids.

Post that start reading the book, but then take a break post 10-15 pages or one chapter as designated by the author. Close the book, and your eyes to savor the beauty and the deep meaning of the thoughts penned down by the author. Reflect on your opinion on the author's point of view. Only when you have completely absorbed the hidden meanings of the lines, pick that book up to continue.

I usually take a week to 10 days to complete a book these days; sometimes even more based on the quantity of pages or the quality of the writing. Also, these days, I don't mind throwing out a book in between if I find it distasteful.

So what type of reading style do you follow?

Banaras

2013-09-09T09:39:00.000+05:30

If given a choice by a Genie, in terms of both time and place, where would you like to go?

With standard 95% confidence levels, I can bet my Boss's (or whosoever decides my appraisal numbers) life on it, that the answer will be one simple word - College! What a time it was! No money, no responsibilities, no work, no formal clothes to wear, and in some cases not even having a bucket to be able to take a bath daily! :D

PS: Since my family reads this blog, so I am willingly omitting the parts about beers and babaji ki booti! ;)

With the same feelings at heart, few months back I took a long detour while coming back from a family trip to visit the baap of all touristic, religious and famous places in India - Banaras! Which also happens to be the place that holds my alma mater in its lap - Banaras Hindu University!

But you know what - after spending a good half day in the holy city, I got utterly bored! I roamed around the ghats, the temples, the roads and bylanes, university areas, classrooms, hostels - but got no emotional response that I was waiting for! Zilch! There were strange faces, new kids, and random visitors roaming around the places, but not a glimpse of the faces I was looking for!

I didn't understand what I was looking for, or why I wasn't happy. But I wasn't!

Today, when I saw the Indiblogger contest by Yatra.com, especially the key headline, "If you could take your family or friends to any place on the planet, where would that be and how would you make your trip the happiest one ever?", I realized what was missing! My Friends!

So yeah, If I could, I would take the entire chunk of people that were present in 2007 back to BHU, back in the same settings, as if Yatra.com is a time machine! Now as some of the pokey readers would ask - Why the nerds, and why not just the friends? Simply because any experience at any place involves both the good and the not-so-good things! You know, as they say, Delhi gaye aur traffic me nahi phase to kya khaak Delhi gaye! :)

Just going back to the place as tourist will be good, but living the life as we used to live will make us the happiest people alive. You know, there is a difference between visiting the famous Assi ghaat as tourists just at the time of evening aarti, and sitting whole night on the ghaats just because you have nothing else to do, are poles apart in terms of experiences!

Khair, dreams are dreams. But if I get a chance to relive just a few of my college day moments with my friends, I would certainly like to spend some time in the following places:

Hostel - Four years, three hostels, four different rooms! I vividly remember each of my hostel room, and its location in the three hostels along with the rooms of most of my friends! Rajputana is 1st year, Vishvasaraiya in 2nd and 3rd and Vishvakarma hostel in the final year! The funny thing is, even after so many years, mess Maharaj (cook) And hostel workers still remembered me with face and name during my recent visit!

Rajputana Hostel

Limbdi Corner - It was THE hangout place of IT BHU. Located at the corner point of the roas joining Girls hostel and Classrooms, there could not be any better hangout place ;). Some of my Delhi friends in BHU used to call it Priya Cinema of Banaras! :D

Limbdi corner

Assi Ghaat - Did you guys watch Raanjhana movie? There is a scene on the steps of Assi ghaat. In the background, near the steps, you can see a board painted on the wall - Pizzeria! How I miss that place. We used to visit that place specially to eat its Apple Pie!

Aahar Vihaar - The only place which provides cheap food, and allows you to get your own booze! We had to go through small, water filled bylanes to reach this place. But worth the effort!

Cinema Halls - I miss those days, when we could buy Balcony ticket on the day of movie release, and that too in black for less than 50Rs. These days, almost half my monthly salary goes in buying a gold class movie ticket! :(

Last but not the least Mechanical Department - Where we forcefully spent a lot of hours, gaining attendance, so that they don't throw us out! :D

What days man! Even writing about the places made me so nostalgic... I got so many pics in this old post! I wish Yatra.com could really arrange such a trip!

A poster ..

2013-08-20T23:01:00.000+05:30

.
... at my G M A T coaching had this

Ring the bells that still can ring,

Forget your perfect offering,

There is a crack in everything,

That's how the light gets in.

Think about it! How apt!

I am very sure Leonard Cohen didn't had a competitive entrance exam in mind when he wrote this song! By the way, I was just thinking - aren't all the competitive exams are just about testing how good are you at cracking that particular exam and not how intelligent you are?

More on this later.. right now, very busy in writing essays! Any tips will be appreciated!

Chennai Express - An honest review

2013-08-11T23:08:00.000+05:30

Let me get this out of the way, if I had to give a rating to Chennai express, I would give it a 3.6 on a scale of 5. According to me, it is not as horrible a movie, as the so called Twetterati or esteemed critics are claiming it to be. Now, as with everything with life, you have two choices - either close this page, and move on with your life, or read on to understand why I think people are following a herd mentality to judge this movie.

Yes, there are some flaws with this movie, and the biggest of all is the lack of sub-titles for the part where Tamil language is being spoken. Apart from that, I guess you will get almost everything you expect from a Rohit Shetty and Shah Rukh Khan movie! If you went looking for a strong story line, and a class acting in this movie - I think its you who is stupid, not the guys who made this movie!

Now, it may be that I liked this movie a little bit more than others, because of two fundamental facts about me - I am a die hard SRK fan, and the love of my life is from Hyderabad. (though, technically Hyderabad and Chennai are hundreds of miles apart in terms of both distance and cultures, but then I could certainly relate to many sequences in the movie!)

This movie, if I may, is similar to Rainbow Surprise doughnut - The base is something completely different, the filling is going somewhere else, but then you mostly eat it for the colorful particles sprinkled on the top! The movie is very similar in this regard - there are so many typical (and funny) SRK moments sprinkled in this movie, that it reminds you of the whole two decades of worth remembering SRK moments! And surprisingly, SRK looks pretty young in this movie - at least compared with his recent appearances in IIFA and some small time TV shows. On top of it, SRK was back as Rahul, and yeah, the movie has that grab-my-hand-to-catch-the-train-scene 5 times in a row! ;)

Deepika padukone, no doubt, sported a horrible south Indian accent in the movie. I think at some places it was more irritating than Deepika Padukone herself. But then, overall, her acting made up for what she lacked in the accent. I think she was better than SRK in most of the intense scenes in the movie.

The movie is shot in beautiful locations down south. I never knew Rameshwaram was such a pretty place - it is definitely on my must travel Indian locations list now! That reminds me, I am yet to visit the backwaters of Kerela as well! It has been on my must visit places since past 3 years!

If you have seen any tamil movies (i have seen plenty with subtitles, while I was in BHU), the madrasi don and his goondaas will not seem out of place humor to you, neither will their hacking knives! The big muscled goondas are shown in their full tashan, with scorpios and all! BTW, I don't think any respectable goonda up north would ever ride a 12 lakh ki scorpio!

The music is hit and miss! While some of the songs seriously get on your tongue, there were couple of them, which could have been easily ignored! Tera rasta choodun na, was a total surprise!

Mehebaani Nahi Tumhaaraa pyaar maangaa hai

Tumhein manzoor hai, tabhi toh yaar maanga hai

Gairon ke dar se, tere shehar se

Hai kasam rishta todoon na

Tera rasta main chhodoon na

And that temple scene, where SRK carries Deepika for over 300 steps, was much more deep than you could imagine from this movie!

Overall, I would say the movie is definitely a one time watch, and is not as bad as people are portraying it to be! People, specially on twitter and facebook, tend to follow herd mentality these days, I believe.

Just to get more RTs and Likes, they will try to write what people want to read! These days, not many people have got the guts to write what they really feel! If you like a movie, God damned, just accept that you liked it! No two people in the world have got exact same tastes, and for starters, I am not one of those who will not write what he feels - even if the whole world thinks I am wrong!

mint-o Ultramintz Review

2013-08-03T22:00:00.002+05:30

First things first - I am reviewing mint-o Ultramintz as a part of the Product Reviews Program at BlogAdda! In case, you want me to review any product or service for you, feel free to use the contact form!

When I got the email from Blogadda, I wondered - How are they going to send me mints! My first guess was probably some nearby paan-walla would come and deliver them to my house! Needless to say, the Ultramintz guys fared way above my expectations in this regard! What I got was two royally packed, elegant boxes of Ultramintz, marked with my name and all! Nice!

Inside these cardboard boxes, was a tiny metallic box with mints surrounded by velvet clothing et. al. Ek baar ko to maine socha, kuch badi mehngi cheez aa gai hai - isko khaun ya bank locker me chupa doon :P Anyways, I am keeping the packaging to reuse! Biwi khush ho jayegi packaging dekh ke hi :D

Anyways, as shown in the picture below, Ultramintz comes in a tin box, containing 60 pellets for Rs50! Doesn't the word pellet remind you of Paintball? Which, in-turn, reminds me of Sheldon Cooper!

Waise, the mint is pretty strong! Don't go by the size of the pellet. Its like chota package, bada dhamaka! Probably because of the special peppermint oils from France, which the company boasts of! Kaha kaha se kya kya dhoond laate hain ye company wale! I am not into mints or chewing gums, but this thing surely freezes your mouth and throat man! Just have a cool glass of water after these mints and you will realize what I am taking about!

Comparatively, the mint is better than a lot of competitors available in the market. I am sure, smokers are going to love the mint! Classier to show off, easier to keep in the pocket! By the way, isn't mint a natural line of growth for ITC? Sutta bhi banao, mint bhi! I have always believed that 90% of the mint and chewing gum sales are at the sutta shops outside offices!

Plus, the mint also boasts off being sugar free! Girls, are you listening! ;) I think this is a pretty tempting feature for the people who eat mints multiple times a day, and are calorie conscious!

On the business side, I think its a good strategy to give 60 pellets in one go! Enough to hook a person for a long term! Much better than selling one one toffee, which is a bad strategy for customer retention!

Overall, I think this is one of the better mints available in the market. I recommend that you guys give it a try, specially if you are habitual of eating toffees or gums throughout the day! Plus, since I am recommending it, this mint is going to be the next cool thing in town :D So, don't be the left out kid! :D

On a serious note, I have offered it to few of my close friends and colleagues, and it seems to have been received pretty well! I have gobbled up one box, but the second one is still seal packed! So, in case you want one, and are around me, don't hesitate! :)

When the time comes

2013-07-28T13:39:00.001+05:30

... how would you like to go?

Past couple of weeks have been especially excruciating for me, and my family. It was something very personal, so I would not like to divulge intimate details of it, but broadly it was around pain, and death. More or less, every single one of us concluded at the end of the ordeal, that death is inevitable, but all we can pray to God, is give us a peaceful and quick one.

I, for one, would like God to simply turn off my power supply in deep-sleep when my day comes. Everyone wants to live for 500 years, that's a different story, but still, its good to think about the end once in a while.

Another major lesson I learnt over the period is, and pardon me for my generalizations, doctors these days are no less than ***! Medical profession, over the years, has downgraded itself from a noble cause to a money minting shop! If you want to read technical details of what I am talking about, you better Google for the word 'futile care'.

Basically, with advancements in medical technologies, human beings have not increased their lifespan. Instead, we have provided doctors and medical care professionals with the requisite tools and pumps to keep the person only so much alive, that his/her vitals are being displayed on the observation monitor.

I have seen doctors, and literally good doctors in my humble opinion, change colors and opinions, while talking off-the-record compared with while talking in front of his seniors - who have to sign on his appraisal forms! Basically, instead of giving the patient medical care, the hospitals are built around the model of prolonging the treatment to mint as much room rent and equipment charges as possible!

Oh, and do you know, medical care professionals are given monthly targets in terms of rupees!

This whole bloody system is a sham, I tell you! I have been reading a lot about this sitting outside the ICU and in the waiting rooms for the last few days, and the more you read, the more you will be shocked and disgusted with the ethics of medical professionals these days. (Though, I would certainly agree that there are a few good ones as well, but we can say the same for politicians as well, no?)

Anyhow, as aptly mentioned in this article (must read) about what doctors think their end should be like - There will be no heroics, and I will go gentle into that good night. (or at least I would like to)

New book to read.. After so long!

2013-06-27T23:00:00.001+05:30

So, in case you were living under a rock, you must have heard that Amazon has launched in India. I don’t know about you all, but I am super excited about this! I mean, I love buying stuff online, but more often than not, I am pretty disappointed with the service levels these guys offer!

By the way, do look for coupon codes etc by clicking here to get some additional discount on these websites!

Relatively, I have always been amazed with Amazon (US) website. I ordered my Kindle, as well as Xbox from the same! Super neat ordering, tracking and delivery! Comparatively, most of the Indian daily deals sites, which now offer products as well, sell near expiry date products for a discount!

Anyways, so yesterday evening, I was just browsing Amazon India website, and found Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom! Ever since I read Five people you meet in heaven from Mitch, I have been looking forward to read other titles from the same author!

Mitch has a very different writing style compared to what I have been reading in the past! There is a certain combination of sadness, social message and philosophy in his books. From what I have heard about Tuesdays with Morrie, it is more or less based on real life incidents!

The book is based on meetings between Morrie Schwartz, a sociology prof of Mitch, and Mitch Albom, who at that time was a small time journalist! The discussions were mostly about life, and death - the two fundamental truths of human existence!

Will write a detailed review of the book as soon as I get some free time to open the packaging and read it! :D By the way, did you guys notice - even my recent WeChat entry is also written on the lines of Five people you meet in heaven! I guess Mitch Albom is kind of my favorite author these days! :)

Anyways, it has been so long I read and reviewed a proper book! Guess have to start applying to blogadda’s review program again or else, I will have to spend my own money on books! :P

Till then, adios amigos!

Raanjhanaa - Interesting Movie!

2013-06-24T15:30:00.000+05:30

Like every movie ever made, Raanjhanaa had its own share of hits and misses. And, I must add, the wrongs were pretty bad goof-ups in my humble opinion. But still, a fine screenplay, some classy acting, and a heart-touching love story manages to hide the flaws under the carpet, and one comes out thoroughly amazed and at the same time confused individual.

Most of the movie is shot in the backdrops of Banaras, and JNU. Ab banaras ka to aap jaante hi hain - after Delhi, if I love, adore and respect any other place in the world, that is Banaras. Having spent four glorious years of my life in Banaras Hindu University, their certainly is a special place for the old city in my heart! And thankfully, the movie shows real banaras ke ghaat and galiyan, not like some made up set!

This reminds me of Ye Jawani hai Deewani - bhaisahab, first time in my life I heard that someone shoots the movie in Kashmir and shows it as Manali! Duh!

That Assi Ghaat painted on the walls, nearby a board for Pizzeria! This Pizzeria used to be our one of the favorite Saturday dinner places. It serves a wonderful Apple Pie! I can still vouch for it!

Anyways, coming back to the movie - I would like to give a standing applause to the writers! The story intricately weaves a host of social issues - religions, politics, income divide - and yet maintains the love story that steals your heart away! To add to the magic, the writers have left so many open-ends in the movie, that it requires an entirely different post to examine each and every scenario in the movie.

Plus, *spoiler alert* I never knew Abhay Deol is also there in this movie! This guy is a real charmer! Be it Dev D, or his movie on chalta phirta cinema (i forgot its name, please remind me?). I have always loved his off-beat acting! And the strongest portions of the movie are where Abhay Deol is on-screen! Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor have played their parts well, but then Mr Deol is Mr Deol!

Now coming to the cast selection of this movie - I would certainly go and fire the casting director of this movie. Like right now! With such a powerful plot, backed my melodious music of Mr Rehman, a better cast would have done wonders! If the movie is getting 4 starts with this cast, I would certainly breach a 4.5 or even 4.75 on 5 with better actors.

On one hand, we had anorexic Sonam Kapoor, who has such plastic reactions - a diametrically opposite attribute compared with a true Banaras ki Chori. Maybe she was a good fit to a JNU student Dilli ki Chori, but certainly not Banarsi.

On the other hand we had Mr Dhanush, with a very influential Sasur. I guess the casting director wanted to encash on his viral success of Kolavari D song. But then for me, it didn't work out. His acting was fine, but then this wasn't the movie for him.

Worst case, I would prefer the guy playing Dhanush's best friend to be in the lead role, instead of him. Try to understand the scenario, for the lead character in a Hindi speaking movie, and that too with slight UP bhojpuri accent you go and get a guy, who sucks the feel out of words with his pronunciation! And don't even get me started on the looks.

Jaisa kisi bade aadmi ne kaha hai, USA se mangwani hai to Lambhorgini mangwao, Fiat Padmini Premier to Patna me bhi milti hai! :D Bradd Pitt laate to samajh aata, Dhanush, teer, kamaan, goli to sab aajamgarh me bhi mil jata hai! :D

And, the cardinal of all sins - Banaras pe movie banaye, aue Paan nahi dikhaye? Dhat!

Anyways, there are some sections which are dragging, and some hilarious and/or interesting and fast paced. The movie does has more than the anticipated numbers of twists and turns. Actually, much more twists than I thought this movie could have!

Now just waiting for Pankaj's review of the movie to understand what exactly happened in the last 15 minutes of the movie!

WeChat with Anyone, Anywhere!

2013-06-15T16:57:00.002+05:30

So the other day, Mom, Sis and Mrs asked me to look at the WeChat contest on IndiBlogger, which they thought was interesting enough to take part in! And indeed, it was pretty different from the usual ones! So the objective of the contest is

If you could connect with 5 or more people in a WeChat group - who would they be, and why? What would you talk about? The people can be dead, alive or even fictional.

Interesting, I say! So, who would be the five people you would like to have a chat with? Let us do something different this time. Let us exclude the obvious ones - parents, siblings, spouse, relatives, best friends, Mahatma Gandhi and Hitler! Phew! Read some typical MBA and IAS interview answers, and you would understand why I excluded the last two! ;)

So, in this post, lets discuss about some other, unknown people, who in some or the other way altered your life! And how your life would have been if they hadn't met you at that point in life. So, here are my five...

1) Turbanator - 1993, Nov 25 - A happy-go-lucky boy, from class 3-D, just came out of his school around noon to board his school bus. He was crossing the road, and was little less than 10 seconds away from the familiar secure surroundings of his school bus, when suddenly, out of nowhere a rowdy, over-speeding, typical turbanator West Delhi scooterist hit him from his left side. BANG! 11 feet in the air, and then everything went black! What seemed like some eons later, when passers-by picked up the kid, his leg was broken beyond recognition.

It took him multiple operations and six months of bed rest to get it back in shape! So the 'who' part is pretty clear in this case - the scooterist! Coming to the why part - The kid understands how his life changed after the accident. It took him 20 years to overcome his fear of roads and eventually become The Furobiker. However, he still wonders sometimes - Did the life of scooterist even change a bit post that day? Does he still remember those deadly 5 seconds as the kid does?

2) Miss Hottie, Class 10 - Nerds seldom crane up their necks to look at something except for books. But when they do, you can bet your life on the fact that 'something' would be the most interesting thing in the 100 miles radius. But well, which hot chick ever falls for a nerd! She, instead, falls for the dude than the nerd! I can write 500 pages about the same, and can also prove that this would be the most tragic sad story you will ever read. :P (I think every devdas thinks so) But for brevity, lets cut the long story short, she shot him down for a guy who came to school on a Kinetic Honda and not on a DTC bus. The nerd got angry, and vowed to do something better in life, like IIT or something. :D

So yeah, I would like to add 'Miss Hottie' just to know how is the kinetic guy doing nowadays compared with the DTC guy?

3) The Keacher - Well, Keacher is abbreviation of the Killer Teacher - If you guys read newspapers or whatever the newspaper guy throws on your door every morning, you would know that the following story is a pretty regular feature in Indian engineering colleges, specially mechanical engineering departments: teacher spoils the career and life of a student because he either forgot to polish his shoes or probably took one day off in the whole year. The kid takes his own life and the professor lives to spoil the career of many more such students. But then such cases happen in other colleges, right? Wrong. However, it allegedly did happen in my college as well! Without giving much details regarding the same, for obvious reasons, I can just say that someday I want to confront that guy.

I would like to talk to him once in my life. I want to know how can someone have the courage to appear in the class the next day and act like nothing happened?

4) Durban guy - One fine evening, four friends were enjoying the setting sun on the beaches of Durban, South Africa. Little did they know of the animals that lurk in the darkness that falls after the sun sets. One of the four was an ardent photographer, and hence an SLR was also present in the scene. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a fine native African gentleman appeared and offered to click our group picture. We politely declined. He smiled and walked away. It was complete three minutes till we realized that he just wanted to size the loot, before he returned with his gang. It was the first time in my life, i saw how big, naked and dangerous a knife looks while travelling towards you. All four were hit hard, thrown on the ground and the camera gone.

Well, my mom taught me once - never hate or try to avenge such thieves. Poor guy must have some serious monetary issues, for which he needed the money. I just want to chat up with the guy to know if our camera was of any help to him.

Also, as they say, what doesn't kill you, makes you strong. This incident gave me some serious perspective in life!

5) 40 year old Me! - Just wanna ask - How you doin'? From all the experiences, hardships and good times, what did you learn, and how did you use it in your life to reach where you are? And you better own at least one BMW by the time we talk!

Well, as you would understand that I had very short stints with these five people, (except for the fifth one, obviously) but then if I remember meeting with them in such vivid 70MM reel, then they have impacted me, and continue to do so in a huge way. Because generally, I don't even remember my own birthday some years! :P

So yeah, I want to chat with these 5 people on my WeChat group, and connect the dots that what happened, how did it happen and how was each event in my life related to the previous one!

This post is my entry for the WeChat with Anyone, Anywhere contest by Indiblogger and WeChat.

Fast and Furious 6

2013-05-25T17:41:00.000+05:30

Nature has its own amazing ways.

I have been wanting to watch Fast and Furious 6, since the day I saw its initial trailers. And then I completely forgot about it, till I got an sms of ticket booking confirmation early this week. Turns out, my little sister and wife are much more enthusiastic about exploding cars and explicit insults to the laws of physics, than I am!

Long ago, during the times of Mahabharata, when Shree Krishna was busy broadcasting Gita Saar, there was another saint who went by the name of Baba Furobiker. He predicted, that from now on, there will be only two types of people in this world - Mechanical Engineers, and Sentimental Fools. Ignoring that advice was the biggest mistake of the makers of this movie - these guys mixed the two breeds!!

Although, purists may say that these guys were not engineers, but what the hell! They know much more about cars and engines than the bunch of buffoons roaming around, who call themselves mechanical engineers!

Coming back to the movie - I think Fast and Furious 5 (whatever fancy name they were calling it) set pretty high benchmark for these guys to deliver, but alas, this movie was not able to touch those heights! What was interesting in the movie was there were many more exploding cars and (not spoiling your party) other means of transports. However, the movie dragged a little when the emotional stuff came in.Actually, a lot of emo stuff came in the limited time.

It seems that the director wanted to connect all previous movies and had an intention of tying all loose ends in this one. Not a bad thing to do, but then you should realize that your USP is not a strong story-line, but jazzy exploding cards, hot babes and chase sequences!

The cast is awesome in whatever they do, specially Dom and Brian try to cover up the loopholes in the plot through their amazing acting. Though, Han had a very limited screen presence and importance in this movie. And, not to forget The Rock. The guy dominates the screen whenever the camera is in 100 feet radius of him!

Let us not even get into discussing logic and physics, rather the lack of them, for this movie. This is a pure entertainer, and you need to go with that mindset to enjoy this one. Though, there is a tinge of Bollywood and ekta kapoor that you will encounter while the dead come alive!

Oh, and bonus tip - wait for the end credits of the movie. There is a hint for Fast and Furious 7 that you definitely should not miss!!