My Diary - By Mahesh

BOOK REVIEW - Same kind of different as me

2011-06-06T21:33:00.000+01:00

I reviewed this book for Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program. It is a non-fictional tale about 2 contrasting personalties and their unlikely friendship. The book employs dual narrative - one polished and educated and the other, rough and colourful. It makes for an interesting read.

US trip...

2011-05-01T17:32:00.001+01:00

Visited USA last week. Drove down to Florida from Chicago and visited disney theme parks... Had an awesome time. Some pictures from the trip...

BOOK REVIEW - Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life BY Bryan Curtis

2010-06-03T15:41:00.002+01:00

I reviewed this book for Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program. The book provides a collection of quotes to inspire, motivate and inform people aspiring to be successful in their chosen professional field. The book can be covered cover-to-cover in a one time read but it will take a while to assimilate and put into practice the wisdom conveyed. It makes for a very interesting read. I personally would have preferred more quotations from people in the business arena as opposed to people from the political field. All in all, it is a book worth having in your book shelf and when consumed with doubt with respect to your career, turning over a few pages should help alleviate those doubts.

BOOK REVIEW - PLAN B BY PETE WILSON

2010-05-17T22:22:00.000+01:00

When I got a copy of "Plan B", I felt that the subject would not interest me as much and it turned out that way. The author is apparently a man of faith (he is a pastor in a church) and he is convinced that people who read the book will share his viewpoint (which obviously I did not). He offers no explanation as to why someone should share his belief. There are a lot of people who do share his belief system but reading the book only raises further questions than giving answers. I will conclude by saying that reading the book provided an underwhelming experience...

BOOK REVIEW - EVERYONE COMMUNICATES FEW CONNECT BY JOHN C. MAXWELL

2010-05-02T13:59:00.000+01:00

"Everyone communicates, few connect" is aimed at anyone and everyone wishing to improve their communication skills and ensure that they can connect effectively with others. While the author draws on his personal experiences in a formal environment (such as his interactions with members from his church), the techniques he uses in his approach can easily apply to personal circumstances as well. He places emphasis on explaining the theory behind how to effectively communicate and supplements that information with how he has used them in real-life situations to gel with people from all walks of life.

The book is split into two sections. The first part concentrates on the five main connecting principles and the second part focuses on the five connecting practices, so readers can learn to communicate and connect effectively one-on-one and in a group. This is my first exposure to a book by John Maxwell and the book was a complimentary copy from Thomas Nelson. The author employs an interesting narrative style and uses a first-person narrative throughout. At times, it does feel like he is tooting his own horns but for the most part, comes across as sincere as he can be. There is a lot of repetition in the ideas and content he conveys but I guess he uses this approach to ensure that his point comes across and stays with the reader long after having read the book. If you do get bored reading each chapter in detail, the author does a very good job of summarizing the contents of each chapter which provides a very good gist of what was covered in that chapter.

I did find myself agreeing a lot with his viewpoint on why people fail to connect. The techniques he advocates are very interesting and though definitely not easy to follow, I would like to try them out for myself.

On the whole, I would recommend this book for anyone wishing to improve their inter-personal skills.

Book review - A century turns by William J. Bennett

2010-03-10T15:41:00.005Z

"A century turns" provides a compelling and interesting summary of American political history from early 1990s leading up to 2009. While most of the events (especially international events) narrated are quite familiar and often tread upon topics, the author's take on the domestic happenings is quite detailed. Various events leading to the presidential elections are explained quite vividly and this was one part of the book that I found to be a little dry. Even though the author is stating his personal viewpoint, he steers clear of vilifying any of the political characters and where necessary, supports them.

The author succeeds in his role of informing us of the most important events taking place during the last 20 years and none of the facts are glossed over. Quite a bit of emphasis is placed on narrating the events as it is without letting his judgement cloud the topic. The author’s sofrt corner for Bush Sr. is evident in the first few chapters. What makes the content quite interesting is the fact that the author himself was involved with various governments in different capacities and is thus able to offer a unique perspective on a situation.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in getting their hands on a fun and invigorating book.

Movie review - Dostana (Hindi, 2008)

2008-11-18T22:55:00.003Z

One line review

Funny Abhishek, gorgeous John, delicious Priyanka, wicked soundtrack, consistently funny tone and some nice visuals make this movie a treat to watch...

Movie Review - Vaaranam Aayiram (Tamil, 2008)

2008-11-18T22:52:00.002Z

One line review

Exceptional performance from Surya, decent sound track, awesome cinematography and slightly let down feeling from Gowtham Menon

Google health

2008-08-20T19:20:00.006+01:00

Google health is a new service offered by Google. It aims to provide a comprehensive web-based service where patients can store and manage all of their health related information in a secure electronic format and can share their medical information with their clinicians and pharmacies. All that is required to get started is a google account.

Anyone can build up their health profile by entering their health conditions, medications, allergies and lab results. Google has also teamed up with a number of health care units and pharmacies in the USA whereby patient medical reports can be imported and stored. Information is also available on various medical conditions and is made freely available to anyone. Users can also look up doctors and clinic details and have them saved in their profile and quick reference later.

This service is currently provided to users free of charge and the interface too is advert free. This is an excellent initiative by Google. There will be lots of murmurs as usual with regards to privacy and security. Google assures that the users will remain the custodians of data stored in their profile in spite of the data being stored on Google servers.

It will be interesting to see how this service evolves and is integrated into other country's health care set-up. At this point in time, it is primarily USA-centric but as with other services offered by Google, it won't be long before the service is offered in other countries too.

***Pictures courtesy Google Health

Movie Review - Bachna Ae Haseeno (Hindi, 2008)

2008-08-19T16:55:00.001+01:00

Bachna Ae Haseeno is promoted as a young yuppie film that promises good music, exotic locales and fun-filled moments. Does the movie deliver that???

Ranbir Kapoor is the heart and soul of the film. His character arc progresses from an 18 year old boy to a 30ish guy and he carries of his role with aplomb. I didn't watch Saawariya and hence had no pre-conceived notions about his acting ability and was pleasantly surprised with his assured performance.

The story is broken down into 3 segments during his growing up years where he gets to romance three beautiful ladies and how that shapes his perceptions as he gets older.

Minissha Lamba plays a small town girls who is taking a trip across Europe where she runs into Ranbir (DDLJ style). She is completely besotted with the Raj character from DDLJ and is pretty much living in a dream world. This portion of the movie makes a lot of reference to DDLJ and not all them come off well. Few years down the line, he gets into a live-in relationship with Bipasha Basu who is an aspiring dancer and quite modern in her outlook. That she is vulnerable too at the same time makes her a very believable character and her performance is quite engaging. The last act features Deepika Padukone playing a taxi-driving MBA student in Australia with a very independent streak and a strong mind. Her character isn't as well etched as the other two and her lack of expressions only adds to a damp performance.

A special mention needs to be made about Bipasha Basu's designer. She is absolutely stunning whenever she is on the screen and is quite an eye candy. She is especially delicious in the "Lucky Boy" song. All the songs have been well choreographed and the frequent usage of the yesteryear song "Bachna Ae Haseeno" just helps the story move along.

The movie is full of subtle humour and they helps in the pacing of the movie. While the second half is definitely over the top and dragging at places and could have one with some trimming, the cinematography is top-notch and the songs are well placed.

This movie is definitely a fun-filled outing!!!

Time for change

2008-08-18T13:30:00.001+01:00

Well, it's been almost 3 years since I relocated to Cardiff to work as a researcher at the University. Its been a wonderful experience interacting with the staff and colleagues here. I will have very fond memories of my time here in Cardiff. Had numerous opportunities to travel and excellent interactions with colleagues. My role here also provided me with an ideal platform to be as open minded as possible while exploring every possible opportunity and strengthening my skill set.

I will be moving to London where I will start working as an Analyst with Deloitte. They have a very comprehensive training schedule and this will enable me to get a good grasp of the functioning of the industry. While living in London is not something I am looking forward to (given the commute and crowd), I do look forward to the numerous things that I can involve myself in a city like London.

Here is to a new start!!! Cheers!!!

Joomla on GoDaddy

2008-08-12T18:51:00.001+01:00

I have been using Joomla for a while now and I have found it to be quite an easy Content Management System (CMS) to use. Almost every aspect of the CMS can be modified and while this allows for flexibility, it also leads to a situation where developers may struggle to identify when it is time to stop tinkering around.

I have developed / redesigned a few templates (mainly by modifying existing ones rather than creating one from start). Also, Joomla allows for core module functionality to be over-ridden. This enables portability of the template when a newer version of Joomla comes knocking around. These changes are contained within the template itself. Various modules can be placed strategically within the template allowing for an uncluttered look while providing information in an easy / clear / targeted manner. It is also possible to edit the contents (write new articles) from the front end itself provided the login module is enabled.

There are always a few niggles. The SEO (search engine optimisation) option doesn't work straight out of the box. It requires the Apache web server root files to be edited and this problem has persisted despite a few new releases coming out of Joomla. To get this working, do the following steps:

rename htaccess.txt to .htaccess
Uncomment "RewriteEngine On" (remove the '#' sign)
Uncomment "RewriteBase /" (again remove the '#' sign)

If your website is hosted on GoDaddy server, allow for up to an hour to pass before the changes are registered. After that enable the SEO option on the Joomla backend. The above steps will only work if your site is placed in the root dorectory. You may need a few tweaks to get it working if the site is hosted on one of the sub-directories.

The template currently used by this site was freely available and I just made a few tweaks, particularly with respect to the header images and font colors and sizes for the various page titles.

Olympics opening ceremony (Beijing, China, 2008)

2008-08-08T15:37:00.005+01:00

What a fantastic opening ceremony it has been. The desire and ambition to showcase to the world the progress made by the Chinese is absolutely mid-boggling. Every performance has been fine tuned to perfection and enacted on a gigantic scale. Starting with the countdown to the start of the opening ceremony, the drumming artists have been fabulous.

The Chinese national anthem was rendered in such a beautiful manner by a 5 year old school girl. There was a huge segment during the opening ceremony where the history of China was depicted and the sheer ingenuity was awe-inspiring. They made use of the entire length of the birds eye nest stadium to depict their cultural heritage. While the period depicting late 19th and early 20th century was conspicuously missing (w.r.t Opium war, Cultural revolution and Japanese invasion), it still made for interesting viewing.

It did make me realise though the gulf in the ability to host an event of this magnitude by India. While being regarded as an emerging superpower, India, for all its glory, have a very very long way to go before we can consider hosting an international event. The single-minded devotion of the Chinese governmental authorities is something to be be admired instead of just criticising it all the time. While, we as Indians are proud of our democracy, it does not always provide the ideal background to fast-paced development. It's a sad state that we do not possess a single multi-purpose stadium that would meet the rigorous standards set by the IOC. It's indeed downright depressing to note that for the 2010 commonwealth games taking place in New Delhi, we are still making use of the facilities that were constructed during the 1982 Asian Games.

While most western leaders did criticise China's human right records and there were murmurs that some of them may not turn up, almost all of them eventually turned up. The thing that riled me the most was the fact that India (for all its stature in the global set up) was represented not by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi (leader of the ruling party in India). It was such a slap on the face for a democratic country that China invited some one other than the one elected by the 2nd most populous nation on the earth. It looked like another trick of China to undermine India in a massive forum.

Yoowalk - 3D world

2008-08-07T12:42:00.002+01:00

I recently came across the site Yoowalk and found it to be an interesting experiment. It aims to create a 3D representation of the Internet world where you can navigate and visit any site you want. It is similar to reading a map and finding your way out. Each user can create their own avatar (personality / person representation) and interact with other fellow users. There are provision for making your website available in the 3D world and Yoowalk is coming up with their own set of API tools that would help the interested users in creating a 3D model of their website. It's still unclear if the publishers of a website need to pay a fee. There are no components to download and the application is completely self-contained in a browser. While it is possible to use the application as a guest user, the usage is restricted and requires registering and creating an avatar to make full use. Just as in a real estate development, you can find plots of area vacant. If you would like to list your website in the 3D world, just select a vacant spot and deploy your model.

Movie review - Singh is Kinng (Hindi, 2008)

2008-08-05T17:28:00.004+01:00

One thing that becomes apparent on watching this movie is the undeniable fact that Akshay Kumar has terrific screen presence and makes a movie work however inane the script may be. It doesn't really matter as to who the director is as Akshay is able to rise above the script and keep delivering hits. As some one said, this movie is critic-proof and going to be box office hit.

The story goes somewhat like this. Akshay is Happy Singh and is lovable useless guy in the village. Sonu Sood plays Lucky Singh and is a feared underworld don in Australia. As his garners more and more press coverage, villagers back home in Punjab are worried about his deeds maligning the entire community and hence they pack off Akshay Kumar to Australia to convince Sonu to give up his bad ways and return home. The rest of story is about Akshay Kumar worming his way into the gangster den and triumphing at the end.

The story takes a detour and Akshay Kumar and his pal (Om Puri as Rangeela) land up in Egypt where they come across Katrina Kaif, who happens to be researching on criminal behaviour and it's love at first sight for Akshay. While Katrina comes across as extremely beautiful with adequate dancing skills, she can barely mouth her lines. It's an ordeal watching her enact a scene. It is to Akshay's credit that he is able to overcome the deficiency in the script as well the inept acting by his co-star. Neha Dupia plays the gangster moll and in fact looks and performs better than Katrina (which is not saying much).

Do all these deficiencies really matter? Nope. Just as the song "Singh is King" comes on the screen shortly before the interval, you are sucked into Akshay's charisma and style. All the songs are well choreographed and stylistically performed. The songs are hummable and some of them quite groovy. As the credits roll, we get to watch the much hyped Snoop Dog song and I must say, it works. The song is quite catchy and the novelty of seeing an international artiste perform alongside an Indian artiste keeps it going.

Don't go to this movie expecting any logic or try to make sense of anything happening on the screen. Leave your brains outside the screen and you may end up enjoying the movie!!!

Movie review - Kuselan (Tamil, 2008)

2008-07-31T15:35:00.003+01:00

Kuselan is a poor attempt at remaking the malayalam classic. It neither satisfies the hardcore Rajni fan nor does it appeal to the classy folks interested in the aesthetics. In order to bridge the divide and cater to both segments, the movie comes across as forced, artificial and crass at times.

The story is quite straightforward. It relates the tale of a very successful actor (Rajnikanth) and his childhood friend (Pasupathy) who works as barber in a village. Pasupathy, though poor, is morally upright and rubs a few people the wrong way as a result of which receives no favour from people in a position to help. When Rajnikanth comes visiting his village to shoot for a film, the villagers on finding out that the actor is the barber's friend, take the extra effort in pleasing Pasupathy so that he can help them in gaining various favours from Rajnikanth.

This could have made for a wonderful movie which the original in malayalam was. The director (P. Vasu) cranks everything a notch higher thus making it unbearable. While the antics of Vadivelu in trying to get a photograph of himself with Rajnikanth are quite funny, they detract from the movie's emotional core.

Rajnikanth is present for roughly 30 minutes out of 3 hours. He does his part admirably. The movie though becomes an endurance exercise when he isn't on screen. Pasupathy was amazing in Veyil and Virumandi. In this movie, he does come across as a limited actor and appears quite wimpy and I think the fault lies with the director rather than the actor. Meena too overacts at times and looks out of place in the village milieu.

The technical aspects of the movie are below par and Nayanthara is absolutely wasted. The songs are adequate but none of them are hummable and once you leave the cinema hall, you hardly remember any of them.

A very poor attempt at remaking a classic. Stay away from the cinema and watch it on DVD (if you have to)!!!

Movie review - The dark knight (Batman) (English, 2008)

2008-07-26T12:41:00.000+01:00

Could this movie be termed a superhero movie? I doubt that. The only person who is in complete control throughout the movie is the JOKER. And what a fabulous performance by Heath Ledger it is.

From the very beginning as he bumps off each of his colleagues, his performance is riveting. The make up, voice modulation, smacking of the lips and his gait all contribute to the making of possibly the greatest villain of all times. This is a performance that requires Heath to be over the top without making it goofy and he comes out with flying colours. There is a scene where he makes a pencil disappear using a magic trick. That scene is a must watch!!!

All super hero movies have a predictable arc in terms of story line where the hero always wins in the end. The director, Christopher Nolan, has taken immense care in fashioning a story that has all the trappings of a superhero movie while investing immensely in each of the characters and fleshing them out as real people. It's probably the only superhero movie where the superhero appears vulnerable and at times outwitted and outmatched. Batman, as portrayed by Christian Bale, is only a supporting role here which is very strange for a superhero movie. It has nothing to do with the performance of Bale except that the JOKER completely mesmerises everyone each time he appears on screen.

In this movie, Batman has truly met his match and has to deal with a lot of tricky situations where he questions himself and the need to stop being a vigilante anymore. The JOKER tests him continuously without a pause and you could clearly see the composure of Batman cracking. In one sequence, Batman has to make a choice as to whom he is going to save even though he is still going to lose at the end. The inherent complexity in the plot allows for audiences to be glued in even when there is no action taking place. This movie has a perfect balance of action pyrotechnics and story exposition to keep everyone satisfied.

There are numerous supporting characters and they all provide solid support. Special mention needs to be made of Aaron Echkart (who plays the DA), Sir Michael Caine (as the butler) and Morgan Freeman (as the head of Bruce Wayne enterprise). The movie has a bleak tone throughout and is interspersed with dark humour.

Sometimes, being a superhero isn't enough when you need to deal with someone completely evil whose actions aren't based on any logic or rational. The Joker says "This town needs a better class of criminal and I am going to provide it" and what a criminal he turns out to be. One thing that has come out of this movie is the unanimous appreciation for Heath's JOKER portrayal. The Oscar bells are already ringing and it's gonna take one helluva performance from someone else to top this.

The movie could have been trimmed a little towards the end as it does tend to flag and the audiences are left wanting more of JOKER's presence on the screen than Batman. How is that for a superhero movie??? Is this the best superhero movie ever? I am not so sure about that. Does JOKER rank as the best on screen villain ever? The answer to that is a resounding YES.

Don't miss this movie on any account. Go for it and get sucked into the JOKER's world and his own vision of Gotham city!!!

Kuselan Trailer - Tamil - High Quality

2008-07-24T09:30:00.003+01:00

Every movie of Rajnikanth seems to be much awaited and Kuselan is no exception. Though the trailer doesn't seem as eye catching as Sivaji's, it pretty much explains the movie's story and introduces most of the characters. Enjoy the trailer!!!

A day out in Edinburgh ...

2008-07-17T21:34:00.009+01:00

I am attending a workshop in Edinburgh. This is my first visit to the wonderful historic city. As I was making my way from the airport to the hotel, I was really impressed with the vast expansive greenery on sight and how beautiful the buildings looked. They have a very beautiful appeal and are very aesthetically pleasing. Even though, the skies were gloomy and it was raining all day long, I managed to squeeze in a walk through the town center at the end of day.

I walked along the famous Royal Mile. I didn't get a chance to see the castle as it was closed by the time I got there. Hopefully, if I do get some time off tomorrow, I may try and squeeze in a visit. This is my first travel visit without my camera. Hence, I resorted to using my camera on the mobile phone (which is a Sony Ericsson k800i). Though the camera limitations are exposed when you have to work in low light, it performs adequately in other conditions.

I was able to capture most of the sights around the city center in Edinburgh and here are a few for you guys to see.

Shop selling Scottish souvenir

A beautiful building

Cathedral

Narrow staircase path connection Market street and Cockburn street

Another beautiful building

I should be back in Cardiff tomorrow night and I truly intend to visit Edinburgh again on a leisurely note and spend some quality time here.

Adios!!!

Movie Review - Aamir (Hindi, 2008)

2008-07-05T18:12:00.005+01:00

For it's sheer ingenuity and fast paced narration, Aamir stands apart from almost all movies made so far this year. Top-notch acting and brilliant direction (Rajkumar Gupta) supported by wonderful cinematography (Alphonse Roy) and pulse-pounding soundtrack (Amit Trivedi) make this movie a must watch.

Rajeev Khandelwal plays Aamir, the protagonist. Returning to Mumbai from London (where he is employed as a Doctor) on a vacation, he is surprised not to find his family waiting for him at the airport. While making a call to his house (that goes unanswered), he is interrupted by a couple of guys and a mobile phone is thrust into his hand. Thus starts the movie and covers the next 6 hours in the lead character's life. Any further story elaboration would ruin the experience for the movie viewers.

It's almost incredible that most of the people associated with the movie are making their debut. Rajeev portrays the lead character with such finesse and surety and his dilemma and disgust at the same time are wonderfully captured. Exhibiting a range of emotions, this movie provides the kind of launch most debut actors would thirst for. The movie is shot in a realistic manner with no frills showing up at any point. Except for the lead actor, almost everyone appearing on the screen seems to have been picked off the road and this helps in capturing the real Mumbai. Most of the movie takes place in busy suburban Mumbai and the crowds all act naturally.

This is the kind of Mumbai one rarely encounters in Hindi cinema. Compared against this movie, even the Mumbai depicted in Satya looks glamorous. Cinematography deserves a very special mention. A lot of close-up shots are involved and the atmosphere of the grimy, slimy, dirty and bustling Mumbai is captured perfectly. It's quite possible that after watching this movie, one may not want to visit Mumbai any more. The movie deserves this kind of ambience and it's really heartening to note the production team didn't feel pressurised into showing everything in a glamorous manner.

Even though, it's a low budget movie, that doesn't hamper the movie aesthetics in any manner. I wasn't familiar with the movie soundtrack before watching the movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find the tracks pulse-pounding (literally speaking, in a good way). The narrative is aided by the wonderful use of appropriate sounds and some small snippets of songs are used appropriately to enhance and aid the visuals shown on the screen.

This movie definitely deserves a big success and it's a big thumbs up from me!!!

Journal paper...

2008-07-03T23:28:00.010+01:00

My first and only journal paper until now got published recently. I have a few conference papers to my name but nothing matches the sheer excitement of seeing your name on a journal paper. It was a joint effort with around 8 authors contributing. Here I am reproducing the abstract for the paper below.

__________

Title: Simultaneous Trend Analysis for Evaluating Outcomes in Patient-Centred Health Monitoring Services

Abstract: The research aim underpinning the Healthcare@Home (HH) information system described here was to enable ‘near real time’ ethical risk analysis for disease early detection and prevention. To this end, we are implementing a family of prototype web services to ‘push’ or ‘pull’ individual’s health-related data via an ecosystem of clinical hubs, mobile communication devices and/or dedicated home-based network servers to one or more longitudinal data analysis engines. A semantically-consistent, consented data collation infrastructure is being created along the ‘patient path’ to evaluate individual’s disease progression risk in the light of clinical understanding of pathophysiological processes in diabetes and retinopathy. We describe the operational requirements for improved ‘scalability’ of multi-trends management, together with the logical and physical architecture requirements of the system. A Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach is used to maximise benefits from structured clinical evidence and computational models of disease progression exposed elsewhere on the SOA. The implications of this ‘closed loop ecosystem’ approach for improving intervention outcomes, patient safety, contextual decision support, objective measurement of service quality and data inputs for quantitative healthcare (predictive) modelling are discussed.

Keywords: web services; time series analysis routines; scalability; chronic disease management; portal technologies; risk monitoring; service-oriented architecture.

The full paper can be looked up here

Places I have been to...

2008-07-01T23:36:00.011+01:00

View my profile

Create your own travel map or travel blog

Visit TripAdvisor.com

Nuances in Dasavatharam

2008-06-20T12:12:00.003+01:00

Having reviewed the movie after watching it for the first time, I decided to watch it once more casting aside my expectations. I found the movie more entertaining and I was able to appreciate the subtle gimmickry much better.

My focus was completely on Kamalhassan, the actor. I blocked out everything else and I was amazed at the sheer virtuosity of the talent exhibited by the actor. Every frame in the movie features multiple avatars of Kamalhassan and at no point do you get the feeling that all the actores aren't sharing the same screen space. The perfect timing that he displays coupled with his wonderful reactive abilities has taken the movie to an awesome level.

Each avatar is characterised by a different gait, diction and body mannerisms. You could call it method acting at its best. It would be easy for an actor to get bogged down being under layers of make-up (as it so happened with Ajith in Citizen). In spite of the restrictive facial layer, he makes his eyes speak volumes and the degree of control his facial muscles exhibit over the make-up is something to be seen to be believed.

Kamal plays the 10 roles with so much ease that he makes us feel that it may not be the same actor playing the 10 roles. Special mention must be given for the portrayal of the RAW agent Balram Naidu (with his Telegu accent) and the CIA agent Fletcher (with his American diction nailed to perfection).

The stunts have been superbly choreographed especially the one featuring the Japanese martial arts expert and the CIA agent towards the movie finale. While each portion featuring an actor was separately shot, the end result makes up for a really fantastic kung fu battle. I am not sure as to how many CG effects were used to render the fight scene but Kamal does come off as extremely agile and I guess some credit must go to the cinematography / choreography team for the picturising it the way they did.

Being a Kamal fan, the review may seem biased but having been critical about the movie in my original review, I tried to only look at the positive points this time. While some (including me) may crib about the necessity of Kamal portraying the 10 characters, one cannot argue about the vision need to bring such a script on screen. The technical team behind Dasavatharam has easily set a benchmark for Indian cinema and this is step in a positive direction towards taking Indian cinema to greater heights.

Dasavatharam - Movie review (Tamil, 2008)

2008-06-13T16:00:00.003+01:00

Finally, Dasavatharam is out. Reading all the media reports gives an indication towards to kind of bumper opening the movie has taken. Obviously a lot of effort has gone into the movie and it is visible in every frame. Has all the effort translated into on screen success? Read further.

The story is as simple as it can get. It's start-to-end chase movie. A bio-tech company in the US has developed a synthetic bio-weapon. Fearing that the weapon will fall into bad hands, the hero (Kamal in one of his avatars) pockets it and takes off while being chased by a ex-CIA agent, RAW agent while running into a host of characters such as a pop singer, 90 year grandma, a dalit social activist, a tall Muslim, a Japanese kung fu expert and ofcourse George Bush. Another character played by Kamalhassan is that of Rangarajan nambi where he plays an ardent vaishnavite priest

While the actor in Kamalhassan admirably performs the job, it's in the role of scriptwriter that he fails. The movie tends to lag a little and a host characters add no value to the movie apart from being there just for the sake of it. Of course, some of the characters do sparkle especially the RAW agent with his telegu background and accent while the CIA agent does show some charisma. You won't find fault with the acting at any level but at the same time their presence isn't mandatory. One thing that stood out like a sore thumb was the 12th century portion which has no relevance to the rest of the movie. That segment while being engrossing on its own, doesn't connect with the rest of the movie.

Dasavatharam has big ambitions and it's sad that though a lot of money was spent on the movie (according to Indian standards), it still ain't enough. As the movie relies on a lot of special effects, this further adds to the woes of the movie. A lot of special effects used look amateurish and tacky. This is a big dampener as seamless use of special effects is integral to a movie like Dasavatharam. We still have a long way to go in this area. Make up is another area that doesnt fully satisfy the viewer. It's still plainly visible that the actors are donning a layer of plastic on their face. But credit to Kamal to make us overlook such an obvious flaw with his nuanced acting.

The much hyped movie does deliver in parts. Humour is weaved in an unobtrusive manner and so is pathos. The stunts are choreographed pretty nicely and so are the songs kept to a minimum thus not hindering the flow of the movie. Asin and Mallika, both have minimal roles to play, and are suitably used.

Watching the movie, I feel that Kamalhassan may have been constrained by the budget and technology available at his disposal but with his grand vision will allows others to venture into territory hitherto not pursued.

Kuruvi - Movie review (Tamil, 2008)

2008-05-11T10:52:00.006+01:00

Kuruvi is an absolute disappointment from director Tharani. Not much can be expected from a Vijay movie but Tharani has so far dished out movies that were fast paced with a racy screenplay and some good songs thrown in. Kuruvi fails in every aspect and even worse, Vijay mimics some dance steps that Simbu (Silamabarasan) would do. Cant get any worse, eh?

As for the story, there is none. Vetrivel (Vijay) plays a kuruvi (guy who smuggles stuff across borders). He has to rescue his father from the clutches of an evil man (played by Suman, what a let down) who has enslaved him. There are 5 songs, numerous fight scenes and oh, I forgot to mention, Trisha (who has one of the most dumbest roles). Well, most of the roles reserved for actresses in Tamil cinema fall into this category. So, Trisha can be excused.

Vidyasagar has confused loud beats for music. You can hardly spot the difference between the songs as they all sound the same. Expected more from Vidyasagar.

Lead actors are supposed to be the mainstay in a review. But Ashish Vidyarthi (plays a local goonda) and Vivek make the movie little bearable. Vivek is absent in the second half and the movie plods along from one fight to another. There is zero creativity in any of the scenes and as soon as the movie starts, you can predict the ending. That's not how a movie is supposed to be.

Vijay has been unapologetic about the kind of movies he makes. And power to him. But movies like Kuruvi just make the movie watching experience akin to torture. The argument is that his movies are escapist and cater to the masses. As I was watching the movie, I was plotting my own escape from the theater.

Verdict: KURUVI = Dumb story, pathetic acting, loud noise for music and zero creativity

Pictures from Indian Premier League (IPL)

2008-05-06T15:46:00.003+01:00

If you were wondering as to where you can get hold of pictures from Indian Premier League, all you need to do is visit the site (http://www.cricket.com/). The pictures (in resized format) can be viewed for free but if you need to use them, it's just a small matter of forking out $199 per picture (yes, that's correct). No wonder the website paid nearly $50 million to BCCI for the rights to the pictures and other web related content. Thankfully, they do have an option for bulk buying at a reduced price but I am not really sure if the price would differ by a lot. May be, the high price being quoted for each picture is keeping sites like Cricinfo away from making these pictures available to their readers.

Cosmeston Medieval Village One-to-One Scene Re-enacted

2008-05-05T22:55:00.006+01:00

I visited the Cosmeston Medieval Village today and was pleasantly surprised to enjoy a day long list of activities. I recorded a portion of the one-to-one combat scene and have uploaded it at youtube. It's available below.

Here is a bit of history about Cosmeston from Wikipedia.

Cosmeston Medieval Village is a "living history" village near Lavernock in the Vale of Glamorgan not far from Penarth and Cardiff in south Wales. Based upon remains discovered during a 1980s archaeological dig in the grounds of Cosmeston Park, it is a re-creation of 14th century peasant life.

The reconstructed village regularly plays host to groups of reenactors, who camp in authentic tents around the outskirts of the village, and perform displays of historical combat for the public.

(Source: Wikipedia. More information on Cosmeston medieval village can be looked up here)

Making of Dasavatharam

2008-05-05T22:46:00.001+01:00

Technicians involved in various aspects of the making of Dasavatharam speak out here.

Copyright: Rediff.com

Read movie review for Dasavatharam here and also a further comment on the movie here.

Dasavatharam movie release date

2008-05-05T14:28:00.000+01:00

Does anyone know when the movie Dasavatharam starring Kamalhassan is releasing? Please let me know. Thank you.

An extended and better quality Dasavatharam Trailer

2008-05-03T15:02:00.000+01:00

Here is a slightly longer and a better quality trailer of Dasavatharam. Enjoy and do leave comments.

Facebook and privacy issues

2008-05-02T19:33:00.003+01:00

A recent article on the BBC website highlighted how easy it is to gain access to personal data of registered members on Facebook. While many people including me are happy to add 3rd party applications, we are ignoring the perils resulting from such an action. In the article quoted earlier, a developer was hired by BBC to develop an application which would snoop around for personal data of members who add that application to their list. While I am not very concerned about privacy issues, there are many people out there who would be appalled by the fact that obtaining personal data could be that easy. Also, it seems that such applications could access personal data of friends of the user who added the application. Hence, it's plain and easy to see how vast amount of personal information can be easily mined even though only few users would be actively using such applications. While Facebook does warn users about adding 3rd party applications, it's easy for users to overlook such warnings. These applications could be hosted on any server (not necessarily belonging to Facebook) and it's easy to think of a scenario how the information obtained could be easily misused. I guess Facebook needs to enforce stricter control regarding deployment of such applications and also needs to make sure that such applications do not violate user confidentiality.

How dasavatharam created a frenzy?

2008-04-24T18:59:00.005+01:00

Timing is everything in business. I just understood that. To be successful, you need to get the timing right most of the time. That's true in the blog world too. If you are an aspiring blogger and are looking to monetize your blog, you need to come up with content that's not only new but also something people want to hear about and that too in a timely manner.

What has this got to do anything with Dasvatharam? Well, I came across this trailer of Dasavatharam movie on youtube a few days back and it was very recently uploaded. So, there was a fairly good chance that not many people would have seen it. So, I just knocked up a quick post about the trailer and embedded the Youtube movie within the article. I also posted the article in a few forums such as Digg and Indianpad. This helps in making your article accessible as these forums are frequented by a lot of users.

The following morning, I checked my Google analytics account and was astounded to see close to 600 visitors in a day. I hardly get more than 10 visitors a day. So, you could say this was a pleasant shock.

You can check these figures from my Analytics account.

The figures (above and below) show the visits to my blog categorised by geographical region.

The really good part for people wishing to monetise their blog is that Google does pay when adverts are displayed. They need not be clicked and hence if you can sustain a high number of visitors to your blog in a consistent manner, you can assure yourself of a decent return.

Now, all I need to do is post something fun, original and interesting often and make sure I beat everyone to it!!!

Facebook introduces chat features

2008-04-23T11:10:00.009+01:00

If you had checked your Facebook account this morning, you would have been surprised to see some new additional features. They have introduced chat that lets you communicate with your friends who are online at the same time.

The chat feature has been integrated very well and looks quite unobtrusive. The chat icon appears at the bottom right of the screen in the status bar. It is currently usable only in IE and Firefox. Unfortunately doesn't work in Opera.

The chat icon informs you of the number of people currently online. You can set your current informing others of your availability.

Once you click on the chat icon, it shows a list of people online and you can start the chat by clicking on a name.

Dasavatharam trailer out

2008-04-22T23:11:00.007+01:00

The trailer of Dasavatharam is finally out. It looks quite impressive though the make up for certain characters of Kamalhassan look a little obvious. I would have preferred a little more class than cheesiness. Also, KSR should stop doing a la Hitchcock. Ruins the feel for the movie. Lets hope it doesn't show up that prominently during the movie too. Enjoy the trailer.

An extended trailer can be found here (better quality too).

What do you think of the trailer guys? Please leave a comment.

Check this post to find out how hosting the trailer of Dasavatharam created a ripple effect on this blog.

Warne spins his magic

2008-04-21T18:59:00.003+01:00

I have been following the Indian Premier League with a lot of interest and I feel that Rajasthan Royals may have got a sweet deal with Shane Warne in their camp acting as captain and coach. His bowling skill is undisputed and his aura remains undiminished post retirement.

Of all the premier league teams, Rajasthan Royals appear the weakest despite the presence of Warne, Graeme Smith, Younus Khan and Shane Watson. It would be interesting to see how Shane Warne moulds this team into a team of repute and considerable strength. In his first match as captain against Delhi Daredevils, there wasn't much on display as the batting effort was undercooked and their bowlers performed quite badly. Shane warne himself bowled only a few overs and took himself off the attack. There wasn't much spin or drift in his bowling as he is renowned for. His performance as a bowler was understandable given his lack of match practice.

However against Punjab Kings XI, he threw his hat into the ring and created the kind of havoc that he is known for. His bowling still appears a little rough but given his experience and tactical nous, he put all the batsmen under pressure and showed enough variation (which is interesting given that he wasn't spinning big or getting any drift) to bamboozle them and keep them tied up and fox them occasionally. He ended up with 3 wickets going at less than 6 an over. He would have also had the wicket of Yuvraj Singh, had Darren Lehman not messed up a simple chance.

After watching all the teams play at least once, I have decided to support Chennai Superkings (given that's my home town) and Rajasthan Royals (just to watch with pleasure the skill and tactical nous of Shane Warne). What this tournament really needs at the moment is for some of the unknown Indian players to step up and go blazing. All the appreciable performances have come from the usual big names, especially overseas ones (such as Mccullum, Hussey, Watson). If the public needs to identify with a team and wholeheartedly support the team, a local player needs to come to the party given that overseas players may come and go and may also end up playing for a rival team down the line. If the remaining matches promise atleast half the entertainment displayed so far, it going to be a wonderful tournament.

Indian Premier League starts with a bang!!!

2008-04-18T21:57:00.002+01:00

Well, after all the hype and hoopla, the Indian Premier League started off today with a resounding bang and from what little can be perceived after today's play, it's going to be a huge success.

It was really interesting to see the players from different countries playing in a team. Even though such matches have been played before (like Australia vs. Rest of the world and so on...), it felt very different this time. For a change, it's not an one off situation and hence you need to develop some sort of loyalty to a particular team and start rooting for them. I haven't decided which team I will go for (though Chennai Superkings makes for an obvious choice). The city-based franchise doesn't work that well in practice as most of the players who will end up playing may not be from that city and hence it's not that easy to identify oneself with a team. That doesn't deter one from enjoying high quality skill on display as was the case today.

Brendon Mccullum continued from where he left off during the NZ - England one day series and it was pure instinctive batting with nothing holding him back. Though the Bangalore-based Royal Challengers started off well with Praveen Kumar bowling a splendid first over, it was all downhill after that. Ball after ball kept disappearing out of the stadium and even Ponting was left to play fifth-fiddle.

I was really looking forward to the cheerleaders display but it was a trifle disappointing to say the least. I actually enjoyed the display during the Twenty-20 world cup more than the one today. Hopefully, it will get better and make it even interesting.

The IPL finally has it's own website (http://www.iplt20.com) and I was surprised to see live footage being shown on the website. The website is till being updated and there isn't much content available as yet. Even though the news media is boycotting the tournament, it's heartening to see Cricinfo covering these matches albeit with some delay. There are no photographs uploaded on Cricinfo. For photographs from the tournament, you will have to go to the official IPL website. The IPL matches are being telecast on Setanta channel and they also show extensive highlights later in the day. SO, I can come back home after work and enjoy the highlights.

The line up of matches offer a mouthwatering prospect of cricket at its best and I am really excited and looking forward to it.

Orkut vs. Facebook

2008-04-10T13:43:00.003+01:00

I was an Orkut nut for a very long time. Despite suggestions from people asking me to try out Facebook, I hung on to my beliefs that a Google product would be better than any others. I have to admit I was wrong.

Google for me represented everything that was simple, fun and evolving. While Orkut was true to that on the first two accounts, it has not delivered on the third front. It has simply stagnated and even the updates / changes that's being delivered from time to time are just not enough and forward looking.

The very first time I used Facebook, I was literally lost. There was too much going on there and everything looked haphazard. It took me a while to find my feet and I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience since then. I really like the provision whereby anyone could write an application based on the API provided and could make it available to others. A lot of fun applications have been made available and everyday there is something new to look forward too. Even their photo album feature is more fun and easy to use especially when you have to upload a large number if pictures. Plus, there are cool option for tagging pictures, re-arranging them and even making them available to non-registered users.

Orkut has been restrictive and it hasn't evolved fast enough. I guess Orkut isn't a major priority for Google but it has a large user base and it would be a shame if they turned their backs on Orkut and looked for something more exciting.

What's your digital reputation???

2008-03-28T16:57:00.000Z

Life with Ubuntu

2008-03-18T22:06:00.004Z

I finally did it. It's been a long time coming and one fine day, I decided to go ahead and de-windows myself. I bought my laptop 3 years ago and it came with a 64-bit AMD processor. I never made full use of that as I was using Windows XP (32-bit version) until last month. My laptop performance was slowly degrading and using XP was a pain at times. I looked around and decided to go the Unix way to see how different things would be. I have used Unix OS before but it was always due to necessity rather than choice. Also, I was put off by the amount of work I needed to do to get the kind of ease of use from using a Windows based system.

After googling around for a bit, I landed on Ubuntu site and noticed that they had a 64-bit OS and it was completely free and had a great community behind it. I first checked out their forum to make sure that if I did have any trouble, I could get some help. The OS itself was very easy to install. One cool option was to check the OS by directly running it from a CD to get a feel for it. Once I was convinced, I just wiped out the XP OS and started afresh.

Ubuntu OS comes fully equipped and there was very little I had to get the most of out of my system. The performance was noticeably faster when opening a huge RAR file and extracting the contents out it. Basically, I/O operations were much faster. Also, I didn't have to tweak any settings to get my USB components and card readers working which was great. Network configuration were automatic and this was a complete revelation to some of the other Unix OS I have used before.

Of course, there are some problems too. It mainly had to with browser support for 64-bit system. Though Firefox is available for 64 bit OS, there are no appropriate plugins for java and flash. This is a pain but you can around it by installing a 32 bit browser. I haven t noticed any performance issues here as yet. One aspect that does bother me a little is the slight loss of speed in network transfer. I used to get very high download rather while using XP and its gone down by 20% on Ubuntu. I have tried tweaking the settings as suggested on various forums but haven't noticed any improvement as yet.

One really interesting feature that I should mention is the Synaptic Package Manager which is a repository of almost every conceivable software that you can think of. All you need to do is search for a software from the list and install it without having to snoop around the internet. It also automatically downloads all the needed library files. This was such a blessing.

All in all, I would recommend other users to try out Ubuntu. Even if you don't feel entirely comfortable making a full switch, you could do a dual install and keep running your current OS while you get yourself familiar with Ubuntu.

Ubuntu - You ROCK!!!

Time for Introspection

2008-01-03T16:50:00.000Z

Another year end has ended and has anything changed? I guess not, at least personally. I am the same old lazy self lurching forward from day to day with no inherent motivation and no goal in sight. It's been always like that for me. I have been very fluid, gliding along, not making any hard decisions and opting for what comes my way rather than setting my eyes on a goal and working towards it. It's been a smooth ride so far but I am not sure anymore if this is the ideal way to go about things. How will I react when the going gets tough? I don't know and that thought scares me. How can I be adequately prepared for any surprises?

Its slowly come to a stage where I am no longer as excited about staying overseas as I was before. When I started off, the initial excitement and the new found independence made me tide over any home sickness that I may have felt, not that I wasthe kind of person to get homesick that easily. Now, 8 years on, there isn't any of that excitement left. It's become a very routine, mundane existence. Work is interesting but beyond that, there isn't much to look forward to. I have started looking forward to visiting my folks back home in India at every possible opportunity. I love the time I spend with them, with my close relatives and even things like eating out in your favourite restaurant looks so much more fulfilling than doing the same here. The fact that I am constantly surrounded by people back home makes all the difference. Hopefully, I will make up my mind soon and settle down in India at the earliest.

I never make any resolutions for the new year as I never keep up with anything. I am that lazy. For a change, this year, I have decided that I will make every possible move to go back to India at the very earliest. That would mean, securing myself financially for the near future, exploring job opportunities back home and winding up things in UK. Also, I am trying to make small goals for each day that I would like to accomplish by the end of the day. Hopefully, all the small goals will result in me achieving something bigger and more fulfilling.

Happy New Year to you all...

Sivaji (The BOSS) - Movie Review (Tamil 2008)

2007-06-21T18:31:00.002+01:00

I never felt that watching a Rajni movie would be as memorable as watching Sivaji - The Boss. I was in London a couple of days ago for a meeting. It got over early and I decided to head to the cinemas to watch Sivaji. I just got there in the nick of time to watch the trailer for an animated film with Rajni as the main character. It was a very brief trailer but looked promising.

I was now waiting for the movie to start. It gets of to a slow start and the build up is quite good. Rajni and Vivek do make a good pair on the screen but the situations themselves arent as funny as one would expect. I have not been a big fan of Shankar's comedy but Rajni and Vivek do make it worthwhile.

The story has nothing new in it but thats always been the case with Rajni movies. It's the treatment that matters and they score big in that area. Rajni has never looked this young, stylish and his screen presence hasn't diminished a bit. In the few scenes where they show him helpless and agitated against the political system, he does such a good job. There arent that many punch dialogues and they have a natural flow to it. Kudos to Sujatha. The fight scenes are chorographed well but the use of wire-effects does get to you after a while.

When I first listened to the songs in Rajni, I was fond of the Baleleika and Vaaji Vaaji song. In the movie though, the two songs that really stand out are the Style and Oru koodai. Rajni looks awesome in those songs and as it is more style based rather than being dance movement based, Rajni scores big time. Shriya does make a good eye-candy and thats all to it. But she pairs well with Rajni.

All in all, I was really excited just seeing Rajni on the big screen after a long time. Shankar-Rajni- Rahman combo does meet the audience expectation. It was a tuesday afternoon show and the cinema was full with the evening shows all sold out. There was a big group of tamil students and they made all the right noises during the movie with ear splitting whistles and appropriate comments and it just brought back memories of being in Madras watching a Rajni movie.

If you havent watched it, go for it right away. Enjoy....

Thank you for not smoking

2007-05-24T12:41:00.000+01:00

Finally, its done. From 1st July 2007, no smoking will be permitted in closed public premises. Phew. It's a wonder that it has taken the UK government so long to come to this conclusion. To be fair to them, smoking policy is a contentious issue and most governments are struggling with it. Though the harmful effects of smoking are documented pretty well and the negative impact it has on the health of the individual, it's also true that selleing cigarrettes generates huge revenues for the government and also hotels, pub, clubs and entertainment facilities.

When I visited California in 2004, the first thing that I noticed was the lack of smoke stench in public places. California has been sticking to the "No smoking" policy for more then 15 years now. Though there were murmurs when the law was introduced and some short-term financial setbacks, in the long run, the state has recovered and is doing exceedingly well. I guess it will be the same in the UK as well.

Every time, I used to visit a pub, I used to hate the smoke filled environment and the extent to which my clothes used to stink of smoke. I normally made it a point not to go to restaurants that allowed smoking but after a while it becomes hard as there are very few non-smoking restaurants in the UK. I dont have a problem with people smoking per se and hurting themselves, but I wouldn't want to be a casualty of their habit. I can see their argument coming. That non-smokers shoudln't be visiting places that allow smoking. But I do know of a lot of smokers who themselves wouldn't enjoy sitting in a smoke filled room.

Now, I dont care. The government has stepped in and there will be no smoking allowed. Good news for non smokers.

Have you missed me?

2007-05-13T17:22:00.000+01:00

It's been a long time since I posted anything on my blog. I was in India for a month and just got back last week. A lot of things happened while I was in India and it kept me busy and away from the blog. It was a welcome distraction and now it feels to good to be back posting something.

During my stay in India, we spent a week in Kodaikkanal which provided a welcome respite from the Chennai heat. Immediately after our stay at the hill station, we chose to make amends and visit places like Madurai, Tuticorin and Kerala to get our bodies warmed up. So, spent a day with my uncle and aunt, grandfather and also visiting our family deity in Kottarakara. It was a special visit this time to the temple as there was a festival taking place and we reached on time for the concluding ceremony. It's a small temple and it was filled with people dressed prettily, majestic elephants, mucic band playing classical music and lots of atmosphere. There were firecrackers going off in the background and music blaring through the loudspeakers.

Once back in Chennai, it was back to more mundane stuff. I also kept myself busy by attending my dad's music school and refreshed my musical skills. Met up with a few relatives and friends. Here are some snaphots from my recent trip to India.

Support the Indian cricket team now

2007-03-23T20:01:00.000Z

Well, its official now. India is almost certainly out of the world cup unless Bangladesh decides to be generous and lose to Bermuda. Srilanka deserved to win today. Its even more important that we stay calm and not hurl abuse at our cricketers. We need to recognise the kind of pressure heaped on them and how impossible it is to keep performing at your best under such constant pressure. The Indian cricketers not only need to worry about their performance but also about what will happen to their houses and family back home.

Sachin Tendulkar was out for a duck today. For all his achievements, the only thing the short sighted media will harp about is his failure in the finals fours years ago and his duck today. He may not be the same batsman he was 4 years ago but without doubt, he is still one of the better batsman in the Indian lineup.

I have been following the world cup and supporting India with as much passion as any other Indian. That doesn't mean that we own them. They have tried their best and some times, best isn't good enough. They were outplayed by Bangladesh and they were outclassed by Srilanka today. Our run up to the world cup was pretty good with convincing series victories over West Indies and Srilanka. Unfortunately, we had a bad run in the world cup and that's it. There is no point getting worked up over it. If you cant stomach it, don't support the team. This is not the time to act like fanatics and be ungrateful. It may be the last world cup for some of our players including Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. It's more likely that they will be gutted to the core without the public having to rub it in. All these players have given us so much pleasure that the least we can do is to act with dignity and give them to time and space needed to recover. Over the years, the same Indian team have given us so much pleasure and joy and lets be thankful for that. They are after all trying to do their job and they don't need to be scrutinized so much after each failure. Imagine, if we were scrutinized as much at our jobs. We would all be one nervous wreck.

I have been reading reports about how the world cup committee and the sponsors will face huge losses if India fails to qualify for the super eights. Well, damn them. If India fails to qualify, all it means is, that the teams that deserved to qualify made it. This would make the super eights all the more competitive and fun to watch. It would also give countries like Bangladesh and Ireland an opportunity to pit themselves against superior opposition and show what they are worth. They may get hammered and make some matches one sided but they did well enough to qualify. Lets not mourn that India didn't make it. Lets enjoy the performance by countries that did make it.

Finally, its the public and media together that makes a star out of a cricketer and vilifies them after each failure. We should learn to be more dispassionate and objective. This will help us in accepting defeats with the same grace that we accept victories. Its a game after all and not a matter of life and death. GET A LIFE. DEAL WITH IT.

Dolphins - Deep Thinkers

2007-03-21T18:39:00.000Z

I came across the documentary Deep Thinkers on BBC channel. It was about dolphins and how intelligent they are. Has some amazing footage and the dolphins as always are really cute. I have uploaded the files on rapidshare and here are the links. Please drop a line of comment if you enjoy the videos

For those who didn't watch this episode, here it is:

The episode is of 35 minutes duration. You need to download all the 4 files to extract the video and watch it. The combined file size is around 350 MB.

I have also uploaded another documentary from National Geographic here. Its called Megacities and there are 2 episodes available covering the cities of Mumbai and San Paulo. Must watch.

What a start

2007-03-18T14:38:00.000Z

This has been one heck of a start to the cricket world cup. No one would have predicted the kind of results that have been coming out of the qualifying rounds.

Firstly, there was the 'Thrilla in Jamaica' between Ireland and Zimbabwe. It was riveting to watch and I didn't realise that cricket played between two minnows could be that interesting. The match resulted in a tie and no team deserved to lose. The Irish were put into bat on a seaming wicket and though they did initially wobble, their opening batsman Bray came to the party and scored a century on debut, which is quite a feat. They put on a decent score of 221. When Zimbabwe batted, it looked as if they might win comfortably but their lack of experience showed through and a couple of wickets towards the end changed the complexion of the game. With one over remaining, they had to get 9 runs with 1 wicket in hand. They narrowed it down to 1 run in 1 ball but their batsman were unable to score of the last ball resulting in a tie.

Then came the next shocker of the tournament. India losing to Bangladesh. This is not to underestimate the Bangladeshis. They have improved a lot under Dav Whatmore and they showed that yesterday against the Indians. Dravid made a shocker of a decision to bat first after winning the toss. It was pretty clear that the pitch offered some help to the seamers in the first hour and I was expecting Dravid to make complete use of it especially with Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel in good form. Deciding to bat, none of the batsman got going with only Ganguly and Yuvraj scrapping together a partnership and providing a moderately decent score to defend. One thing that has baffled me is Dravid's support for Sehwag. Other one being the decision to bat Tendulkar down the order. They have tried this a few times in the past especially in the 99 world cup. While not a failure, he was no way the prolific scorer that he was when batting at the top. Tendulkar may not be the same attacking batsman as he used to be but he still is the BEST opening batsman for India. If Sehwag, infact, needs to play and be a part of this team, he should be batting in the middle order where he wont be facing the seamers and swinging deliveries and will probably have more success against the spinners. It's becoming apparent that Dravid is making fundamental mistakes and hope some sense prevails and he reverts to what used to work rather than make changes just for the heck of it. Bangladesh team gave an extremely good account of themselves and their young batsman showed no fear in chasing the total and attacked the Indian bowlers with relish. While India is still not out of the tournament, it is a long and hard path ahead.

The same cannot be said for the other Asian team that is already out of the world cup. Pakistan, were never contenders in my opinion, given their shambolic handling of team selection just prior to the world cup and doping scandal, but I really expected them to qualify for the super eights. While their loss to West Indies wasn't that bad, their performance against the Irish was appalling. They were put into bat on a green top and as usual capitulated. They showed no spine and even Mohammad Yousuf was made to look like a novice. Having put only 133 on board, it was always going to be hard task for the bowlers to defend. They tried their best but the Irish prevailed thus causing the first biggest upset of the tournament. While, the tournament will miss the excitement of watching a Pakistan team grace the cricket field, the Irish deserved to qualify and a few more upsets may not be out of question.

India have made it extremely hard for themselves to qualify and it may not be totally unthinkable to see a list for the super eights that doesn't include India as well. Hope that doesn't happen though.

But what a fantatstic start to the world cup....

ICC Cricket World Cup 2007

2007-03-10T14:43:00.000Z

ICC Cricket world cup 2007 has moved to the land of reggae and calypso and there have already been a few close calls to some of the leading cricket nations in the friendly matches. New Zealand suffered a reverse against Bangladesh and the Irish almost scared the hell out of South Africans. All the contenders for the title like Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand have fared badly during the friendlies. While that may not be an indication of how they will perform during the actual tournament, it doesn't look good and inspiring for their followers. India and Australia have played convincingly and won both the matches but Australia are definitely not the side they used to be. That aura they used to have is now missing. I do see them struggling to make it to the semis and only if other teams play even poorer, will Australia have a chance.

For the first time in ages, most of the teams have a good chance of winning the world cup. Australia has pretty much dominated both the tests and one day arena in the last 5 to 7 years. With their sudden decline in form and many players having retired recently, Australia too are struggling to perform as consistently as they used to. India are peaking at the right time and hope it stays that way. New Zealand have come into the tournament with a morale boosting series win over a depleted Australian side. So have England, who having performed pathetically for most of the Australian summer somehow managed to clinch the VB series cup making a mockery of the long qualifying stage where they lost most of their matches. In my opinion, I feel that it would be India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand that would qualify for the semi-finals. Well, as with every prediction, I could land with an egg on my face. Australia is one of my favourite teams but I really feel that they have lost their edge and the current crop of bowlers excluding McGrath are pretty ordinary and will not terrify the batsman from the opposing team.

It's nice to see a major tournament being played in the Caribbean. A lot of effort has been in put in by the member countries to make it as good as the previous ones or even better. I have a gut feeling that this world cup is going to be a fantastic one. The pitches are newly laid and even the West Indies team don't have a clue as to how it will operate. Thus, any team that can quickly adapt to changing conditions will have a very good chance. Also, all the matches to be played are day affairs instead of the usual day-night games. This gives both the teams an even chance of outperforming the other team just based on skill without other factors such as dew, early moisture, floodlights affecting them. The stadiums are quite smalls compared to what we see in the subcontinent or Australia and thus will hold only lesser number of spectators. I do think that gives a more intimate atmosphere to the way matches are being played and those who do get to watch the games live, will have a good time.

I have never been interested in watching the game live in a stadium. I have become a product of watching the games on TV with the usual assortment of replays, super slow motion tricks, commentary etc along with putting up my feet with hot samosas fresh from the kitchen. Living in the UK now, the world cup is perfectly timed as I will get to watch most of the matches live on TV without having to skip work and having to stay up late in the night. This is going to be one hell of a world cup.

Another trial for Microsoft

2007-03-03T19:05:00.003Z

What do you do when the FBI raids your home and finds porn all over your PC? One man, who had his home computer seized by the bureau, has decided that his best course of action is to sue the companies that failed to keep that data private for him. You guys should read this. Its hilarious.

read more | digg story

Khosla ka ghosla - Movie Review (Hindi, 2006)

2007-02-25T23:06:00.001Z

I recently watched the movie 'Khosla ka ghosla' starring Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. A small budget movie filled with wonderful acting, effective screenplay and no frills cinematography.

The movie is very easily identifiable as the story is set in a middle class family environment. Khosla (Anupam Kher) is on the verge of retiring and has invested almost all of his life savings in a plot of land with the idea of constructing a house large enough to comfortably host his family of three children and his wife. They employ a broker to finalise the dealings and the transaction takes place smoothly without any hiccups. A couple of weeks transpire and Khosla takes along his children to visit the plot of land to plan the building layout. Only to find out that his plot of land has been taken over and is now occupied. On enquiring, he finds out that its Mr Khurana (Irani saab) who has illegally occupied his land. Khurana is a building constructor who is notorious for confiscating other's plot and making them pay to get it back. Mr Khosla, innocent enough to believe that it could be some misunderstanding, approaches Khurana with all the proper paperwork and explains that he is the legal occupant of the plot. Khurana dismisses Khosla's plea stating that he could easily produce paperwork to his benefit and cunningly proposes that Khosla pay him 15 lakhs to get back his plot of land.

Khosla turns to the legal system for help only to find out that everyone is hand-in-glove with each other and expect a cut. Totally disheartened and helpless, he decides to give up when his children step in and decide to get the plot back through hook or crook. This is where the fun begins. To reveal anything more would act as a spoiler.

The director skillfully uses the above plot line to establish a whole set of 3 dimensional characters and how they interact with each other. The script is liberally sprinkled with humour and hence never sags while effectively conveying the helplessness of the middle class especially when fighting a powerful adversary.

Anupam Kher gives an exceptional performance and is ably supported by Parveen Dabbas and Ranveer Shorey, his two sons and Boman Irani. The movie is also devoid of songs which helps and uses some pulsating music in the background.

All in all, its one gem of a movie and not to be missed.

In defence of Shilpa Shetty

2007-02-10T13:44:00.000Z

I am not a fan of big brother but the thought of Shilpa Shetty did entice me to spend some time watching the latest edition of celebrity big brother. It did start of pleasantly with everyone being a little vary of each other and maintaining their distance. While that didn't make for great television, it was acceptable.

A couple of days later, Jade and her family walked into the house. Jade Goody is a celebrity not because she is talented in any way or intelligent or charming. She is foul mouthed, was ready to take her kit off at the drop of a hat and somehow the British public found her appealing. Don't ask me how. She was a participant in an earlier edition of big Brother and that's how she was introduced to the British public. She didn't win that edition but surprisingly became more popular than the eventual winners. She came up with an autobiography, sold perfumes and did everything that a celebrity would do. She was trying really hard to maintain the image of celebrity bestowed up her by the public. One thing that has surprised me during my stay in the UK is how easy it is for someone to be labelled a celebrity here. There is virtually no emphasis placed on any talent whatsoever and it is staggering.

Inside the big brother house, Jade soon ganged up with Danielle and Jo and Shilpa was at the receiving end of their bullying tactics. I was a little surprised to see how soon Shilpa broke down. I was under the impression that people in the movie business do develop a thick skin as it is necessary to survive any criticism, backstabbing and rumours. I guess, being treated like on a pedestal in India, she wasn't prepared for the downright maliciousness that she encountered here. Having said that, she recovered soon enough and did give back as good as she got without losing her dignity or descending to the level of the bullies. It's really sad some people blame Shilpa for bringing this on herself. Yes, she did get a huge sum of money for appearing on the show. Her career wasn't going great guns in India and she was looking for alternative opportunities. She did end up winning the show and making even more money in that process. But, does that mean she needs to put up with all the rubbish she was dished out? The answer is NO and anyone who thinks to the contrary needs to get their head examined.

While it's hard to label the actions of Jade and her companions as racist, it is a clear case of bullying due to ignorance and insecurity. Jade and Danielle are clearly people with very limited IQ and its not too hard to understand the way they reacted towards Shilpa. Shilpa is intelligent, articulate, beautiful and dignified and Jade and Danielle were clearly threatened by this woman. Their frustration at their thunder being stolen by some woman from India in their own country probably resulted in the way they reacted to it. The British public rose to the occasion and their show of support for Shilpa was heart warming.

I have been living in the UK for the last 7 years and I haven't encountered any form of racism. Jade, Danielle and Jo aren't representative of the British public and it's sad that such an impression was conveyed, thanks to Big Brother and Channel 4. Yes, there is a small minority that do racially abuse people but that's the case with any country. The British government is doing a lot to curb that menace, which is more that what can be said of most other governments.

Here is a toast to Shilpa for projecting a very positive image of India and for the British public for doing the right thing when it mattered most!!!

Why we shouldn't fight piracy of Indian movies

2007-02-09T19:47:00.000Z

I was just reading with growing interest about how the Indian film industry is taking firm steps to curb and fight piracy in Indian cinema. I was a little amused at the same time. When most of the Indian movies are blatant rip-offs of any foreign movie or other regional movie from within India itself, why should the public not encourage and promote piracy of those movies?

When I first saw the promo for movie Kaante, it sounded like a cool idea about a bank heist gone wrong. Though it reminded me of reservoir dogs and a countless other movies with similar theme, I wasn't prepared for what was served on-screen. I faithfully watched the credits and titles to see what each technician has contributed. I remember seeing Sanjay Gupta's name listed under screenplay. As the movie proceeded, the story kept sounding more and more familiar. More than that, even the dialogues were translated in Hindi verbatim. What Sanjay had done was a fusion of Usual suspects and Reservoir dogs. The only bit that wasn't copied was the role of bar dancer (was she needed in movie like this???). I kept wondering how these directors get away with such blatant copying. Least that Sanjay could have done was to give credit to the original screenplay writers and directors and just list his name under the producer's category.

Other movies that I can instantly recall for plagiarism are Aawara Paagal Deewana (Whole nine yards), Deewane huey paagal (Something about Mary), Raaz (What lies beneath), Murder (Unfaithful), Salaam-E-Ishq (Portions of Love actually), Zinda (Old boy) and many more.

I paid close to 8 Pounds for watching Kaante and I ended up watching a bad version of Reservoir dogs. Will Mr.Gupta reimburse my ticket fee now that I know I have been short changed? Should I feel bad if I happen to get a pirated copy of these movies that are not original and don't give credit to the original creators? To hell with these people. I wish more lawyers in India sued directors like Sanjay Gupta or Vikram Bhatt instead of going after actors for sharing a smooch. I heard Sanjay Gupta justifying his plagiarism by saying that he was bringing International movies to Indian audiences who wouldn't otherwise be able to watch them. If that's the case, he should probably do what Quentin Tarentino or John Malkovich does. I remember John Malkovich who, on seeing the movie Terrorist, immediately acquired the rights for the movie and screened them across theaters in the USA. Similarly, Sanjay should get the rights for those movies and distribute them in India with appropriate subtitles or dub them in Indian languages. Or, if he proceeds to do a remake, credit the people involved in the original version. Until he does that, I will feel no remorse in watching the movies he dishes out without paying the price of a movie ticket and I will then proceed to criticise his movies.

Snow in Cardiff

2007-02-08T13:52:00.000Z

Its been a relatively warm winter but the weather changed drastically last night. Had some snowfall (which is a rare event in Cardiff) and the above picture is a view from my bedroom window.

Happy news

2007-02-03T13:54:00.000Z

Well, I have become an uncle for the second time, thanks to the efforts my brother and bhabhi put in. They have been blessed with a baby boy. Both mom and baby are doing fine. It's sad that we are all staying far apart and cannot be around for such important events. Time indeed flies. It just feels like yesterday when I was in Chicago for my first nephews first birthday. Now that little one is closing in on on four. It will be really nice if I can make a quick trip to US to see the new born but given my current visa status in the UK, it's going to be hard getting visa to go to the US. Hopefully, I will get to see my nephew in person soon.

On another note, I have finalised my travel plans to India (again!!!). I will be spending a little more than a month in Chennai and I am really looking forward to it. It would be nice to make a trip to some touristic place in Kerala like Kumarakom or Munnar and rounding it up with a visit to Kottarakara where our family deity resides and enjoys the appam that's freshly prepared everyday.. slurp slurp. Also, make a small detour and visit Madurai and the famous Meenakshi amman temple. That will be fantastic. If you guys have any suggestions for places in Kerala to visit, drop me a line. Your tips are welcome and I can use a little help in finalising my plans in India. I will be visiting Chennai during the Tamil new year's festival and it will be nice to spend time with family and friends for the festive occasion. Last time when I was in Chennai, I did enjoy helping dad out with his work at the music school. I am sure I will be spending some time at the school during this trip as well. Also, hopefully, I will escape the heatwave that will start in May. I will also be back in UK for the start of the cricket season and hopefully wont miss any of the league matches.

Last weekend I travelled to Bristol to attend the AGM for my league cricket team. Well, we do take our cricket seriously and play in all earnest. I was told that I had won the best batsman award for my performances in the second team and I finally got to lay my hands on the trophy. So chuffed to bits. Last year, during mid season, I sustained a cruciate ligament injury and had to miss most of the matches in the second half of the season. I have been going to the gym regularly to get my knee in as good a shape as possible for the forthcoming season. I hope I have put in enough work to withstand the rigours of playing cricket. I do understand getting physically fit is just a small part. The mental scar takes a lot longer to heal and that's what worries me most. Cricket net session starts tomorrow and I will find out soon how prepared I am. Wish me luck.

This week has been filled with happy events and hope it continues in the same vein!!!!!!!!!

Seduction Style

2007-02-03T13:35:00.000Z

Thanks to madmomma, I figured out what my seduction style is. I am not sure how true it is but I would like to believe what it says. :)

Free calls to India & USA

2007-02-02T17:26:00.002Z

Please note that the numbers mentioned below are no longer considered part of free minutes in the mobile network package. Please check with your local mobile network before using them.

If any of the readers visiting the blog are from the UK and using O2, they can make free calls to India & USA using the following numbers (will be counted as inclusive minutes in o2):

08707947646 - During weekdays
08445707646 - During weekends

Both the numbers are free when dialled from O2 post pay conenction. I would still advise you all to make sure that these numbers are counted in your inclusive minutes. It works fine for me. With other networks, I am not sure if non geographical numbers (as the ones listed above) are part of their inclusive minutes

The above numbers can be used to call most of the European as well as North American countries. Drop me a mail if you need more information.

Good luck.

Shake What Ya Mama Gave Ya

2007-01-20T00:21:00.000Z

I was listening to a Hindi song from the movie Naksha and the music was composed by Pritam. He is notorious for using other musician's work without any qualms and without any modification and still calling himself the music director. Well, this post is not about him.

In that movie, a song goes like this: Shake What Ya Mama Gave Ya ... HMMM.......

The song wasn't too bad to listen to but the lyrics were banal. Some of the reviews were scathing and merciless, more so concerned with the lyrics. I, for one, was a little relieved that some lyricist was able to come up with something original, even if its quality sucked. The joy didn't last long. Apparently, some bloody frigging' geniuses Pharrell Williams & Ying Yang Twins had apparently come up with the above mentioned lyrical verse in some hip-hop song.

If we had to plagiarise, why go for such abysmal work??? How low do we stoop???

Guru - Movie Review (Hindi, 2007)

2007-01-14T19:44:00.007Z

There is a saying in our village,
if people say bad things about you,
you must be doing something good.

The above quote used in the movie sums up the movie to a large extent. A movie by Manirathnam is always something to look forward to. They usually have enough positive attributes to overlook the negative ones. Same can be said about the latest offing from Madras Talkies.

Guru is the story of a guy making it from rags to riches, defining his own norms and breaking the convention. Though a disclaimer at the start of the movie claims its not based on any individual, the lead character here shows a lot of Ambani's trait.

One big problem with the movie is that the lead character excellently portrayed by Abhishek doesn't carry the emotional appeal to endear itself to the audience. Mani covers a lot of territory without addressing any aspect in-depth. As a result, when Abhishek gives a long monologue right at the end, its not uplifting. It falls a little flat. Also, there aren't many instances portraying the lead character making an impact on other's lives so as to make us care for him.

Mithunda plays an honest news publication owner who is initially impressed with Guru's enterprising attitude and later falls out with him as he learns how Guru plays outside the law for his personal gain. Interestingly, Mithun is given top billing. I really liked his portrayal and was pleasantly surprised. This is more due to the fact that I haven't watched any of his earlier art house performances and only sat through the trash that he dished out later in his career. Madhavan plays the young reporter hell bent on exposing Guru. There is not much to write about the two female leads. Aishwarya and Vidya are mere window dressing and could have been done away with.

Its also hard not to compare his latest effort with two other bio-pics that he has come up with: Iruvar and Nayagn. Both undisputed classics. Kamal and Mohanlal played characters with enough grey shades in them but were able to endear themselves to the audiences. That attribute is missing in Guru and hence gives an unsatisfied feeling.

A movie like this could have easily done away with the songs. This could be easily the worst of Mani-Rahman combination. The belly dancing song shot in Turkey with Mallika gyrating does offset some of the disappointment. Other songs are badly placed and just stall the story telling process.

In spite of the all the above criticism, the movie is definite paisa vasool for the following reasons.

1. Excellent acting by the three male leads.
2. Wonderful cinematography by Rajiv menon
3. Occasional manirathnam's touches
4. Some crisp dialogues.

Lawsuits and actors

2007-01-10T19:46:00.000Z

It was really funny reading about the lawsuits slapped against Hrithik, Aishwarya for their smooch scene in Dhoom 2 and about the hullabaloo over Mallika for her New Year dance performance. Thankfully, the police have so far not entertained filing a case against Mallika. Not that I am a big fan of Mallika or anything.

To her defense, her contract stipulated that that performance shouldn’t be shown on TV and as soon as she found out about the breach in her contract, she walked out half way through the performance. There is some lawyer planning to file a case against her saying that her performance was vulgar and he felt uncomfortable watching it with his family. He didn’t mention how he would have felt had he been alone while watching it. From the pictures, it looks like she was wearing a skin coloured tight costume. I just cant understand why he is not suing the TV channels for broadcasting it or the regulatory board that monitors what programs should be shown on TV and at what times. It looks like a cheap publicity stunt.

The case against Hrithik is even more hilarious as the smooch scene shown was totally lame and tame compared to what we have been exposed to in the last few years. Only reason for this lawsuit, in my opinion, is that both the actors are popular and again the lawyer is trying to make the most of the situation. The censor board cleared it and if the lawyer had a problem, it should have been against the censor board for allowing the scene that only the lawyer found so objectionable. Looks like he hasn’t watched any of the other movies in the last two years where a smooch is almost as obligatory as having actors in a movie.

The media too plays up the issue and gives the lawyers more publicity than they deserve. Hope the courts see through the motive behind the lawsuits and throw out these cases.

South african fiasco

2007-01-10T18:31:00.000Z

I watched the cricket series between India and South Africa. It’s been a while since I watched the entire series and it made for tough viewing given that India under-performed during the one day series and squandered a good start in the test series.

It’s hard to imagine that it was the same Indian team that won 12 or 13 matches in a row against strong opposition and now fails to even put up a decent fight. The bowling was pretty good at times and regularly removed the top order with few runs on the board. But the inexperience of the bowling attack was noticeable when bowling at the death where they gave a lot of runs. The Indian batting was completely another matter though. It’s hard to believe that a team having the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni and Sehwag would misfire this spectacularly. Tendulkar did have a couple of decent knocks but not the kind that would inspire the rest of the team. He looked laborious while infrequently playing a gorgeous drive or cut, and that is definitely not adequate.

After the one day series, it must have looked like the Indian team needed a minor miracle to even put up a fight in the test series. That miracle came in the form of Sreesanth who bowled spectacularly to dismiss the SA team for 84 in their first innings. His aggressive attitude combined with his ability to actually back up his words while bowling was the shot in the arm needed by the team. Ganguly too looked really good with the bat. Everyone would know about his deficient technique against the short rising ball into his body but that may not be enough to keep this batsman down. He copped a few, took a few blows on his body and was laid low by a nasty bouncer but he always came back fighting. He was fluent scoring runs at a decent pace and kept the score board ticking. Tendulkar was doing fine as well until the very last innings where his scratching and prodding innings was flagger basting. It was the right time for him to make his presence felt in the match and prove that he is a big match winner. It’s been a recent trend where the need was to keep the scoreboard ticking while playing carefully, Tendulkar inevitably comes up with a knock that completely deflates the morale of his own team and plays right into opposition's hands. This kind of approach was also noticed in the last match of the series between India and England.

If you had to pick a session that defined the India's approach to winning or losing the match, it was this session when Tendulkar and Dravid bored everyone to sleep while batting in the second innings. Its quite clear that Tendulkar may occasionally come up with a decent knock but its hard to imagine him play a defining innings like Lara (even at this stage of his career) is capable of. This is not to belittle little mater's contribution over the years but to make the management open its eyes and consider him in the larger scheme of things only if he is still the best player around to fill the slot he currently occupies. His bowling is still awe-inspiring though he is being under-used. I still wonder why he is not being considered as an all rounder when this little guy can bowl virtually everything short of sheer pace bowling.

It’s good to see Ganguly back in the team and hope he carries the same attitude forward as the world cup is nearing. Some players who really impressed during the tour were Dhoni (though he was not matching his own high standards but still performed considerably better than others), Karthik, Sreesanth, Zaheer khan and of course Ganguly. Its high time players like Tendulkar step and provide the kind of impetus and performances that players of their stature should.

Xmas gifts

2006-12-25T12:50:00.000Z

My landlord and landlady surprised me this morning with these gifts. Very thoughtful. Am going to dig into them right now.

Memories

2006-12-24T17:14:00.000Z

I was just perusing through the memories of 3 years that I spent in a boarding school in Chennai. What an awesome time I had. I remember my mom and bro dropping me off at the hostel for the very first time. I was to stay in a dormitory along with 20 other students. The boarding school had three big dorms each housing roughly 20 students and the students were grouped on an age basis. I was roughly 12 at that time and the oldest in our dorm was around 14. So, there wasn't that much of an age difference and the students came from different backgrounds. We had a couple of Biharis, 1 Nepali, 2 Mallus, couple of Telegus and the rest, Tamils like me.

It was a fun mix and it just took me a couple of days to feel right at home. We had bunk beds and I opted for the upper bunk for the simple reason that, the lower bunk was easily accessible and I didn't like my bunk to be disturbed once neatly made in the morning. We were also provided with open shelves built into the walls. There was no concept of privacy and it was a free for all situation. One thing that I realised pretty early was that there is no age restriction when it comes to ragging. A 12 year old bullies a 10 year old who in turn bullies an 8 year old and so it continues. During the 3 years that I was there, I was at the receiving end quite a few times and also had the chance to give it back in equal measure.

We had a rigid schedule. We were made to get up at 6 in the morning and had an exercise session for 30 minutes. For those who failed to get up when the first bell rang, they were made to run around the school ground before joining the rest of the group. After the workout session, we were left to ourselves to get ready for the school that started at 8.30. We had our breakfast around 8 AM. The hostel had a nice cafeteria and served only vegetarian food. The hostel was right next to the school building and hence there not much of a commute. Everything was available within the school campus which left us with few excuses to give to venture out. There were a couple of shops nearby and our favourite was 'Iyengar bakery'. We used to stay right next to the gate and yell out to the shopkeeper who would come around and take our orders. They made delicious puffs and cakes which we used to devour like crazy.

The school had a decent sized ground and we used to play cricket almost all day during the weekend. Football was pretty popular too and so was kabaddi and kho kho. We had a dhobi who used to visit us once a week and collect our clothes for washing and ironing. We had all our clothes marked with a special pen to make it easy to identify our clothes in the huge pile. We used to freely use others clothes without any hesitation. Even if you weren't inclined in sharing, you did share for the fear of being branded unsociable if such a word does exist.

Life was hard at times and the bullying could get really bad but when you do manage to see that all through, you emerge as a stronger individual. Very soon, I realised that running to the warden to complain about every minor thing isn't going to help in the longer run. Nor would it help me in integrating myself with the rest of the group. The more you complain, less likely you are to stop being the target. There was a always a bully and a group around him cheering him on until he is displaced by another.

We had a TV in each dorm but were allowed to switch it on only during Fridays and weekends. Our favourite program used to be chitrahaar and superhit muqabla. Both the programmes aired cinema songs and was a bit hit. We occasionally got to watch cricket matches as well.

Those 3 years did teach me a lot and made me as independent as I can get for a 15 year old. It also prepared me for some tough times ahead. I do regret the fact that I don't have a single photograph from my hostel life. Its all locked up in my memory. I hope it stays as fresh for ever in my memory as it is right now.

Perfect stance

2006-12-24T17:10:00.000Z

This is how a perfect front foot defence in cricket needs to be executed.

Amazing Gilchrist

2006-12-16T13:03:00.000Z

There are few players in world cricket who have captivated me more than Gilchrist. Basically, I am not a fan of Australian cricketers. I hate their arrogance and they rarely play the game with a smile. They are the bad boys of cricket and they do go scot free which irks me even more. Gilchrist, though, plays the game the way it should be played. He may keep chirping behind the stumps but hardly does he get into an argument. There is no overt sledging from his end. His expression remains the same whether he has hit a six or gets out. He always keeps smiling irrespective of the fate of the game. One of the few players who walks even before the umpire raises his finger. There is no hanging around hoping the umpire will miss it. He is true sportsman and the record that he carved out today couldn't have happened to a more nicer individual. He creamed a century of 57 balls that was as breathtaking as any attacking innings that we might have seen earlier. Gilchrist is naturally attacking player and to surpass his own standards is a massive feat. He handles pressure very well and keeps things very simple. One of the few incidents that I keep getting reminded of is the semifinal between Sri Lanka and Australia in the last world cup. He nicked the ball which wasn't noticeable at all. The umpire turned the appeal down. For any batsman, the temptation is always to cheat the umpire and keep batting on. Gilchrist too momentarily succumbed to that feeling but soon starts walking signalling to the umpire that he indeed nicked it. There was similar incident in the latest ashes series when he started walking on a duck. We need more players like him who play the game in a sporting manner and remind others that at the end of the day, its just a game. Bravo!!!

True Companions

2006-12-13T18:05:00.000Z

Every day, as I am either walking to work or back home, I notice a number of home less people just sitting by the sidewalk. Some of them solicit passers by for spare change. The rest indulge in some kind of art form and as way of appreciation, people do drop a few nickels. Sometimes, you get to see some really good paintings on the sidewalk and its sad that very few take notice. The one common thing amongst all the homeless people (or at least a majority of them) is that they do have a well groomed and looked after dog. Unlike people, dogs don't differentiate between a rich and poor person, clean and dirty ones and don't care whether they are provided with fancy kennels or a wet blanket in a sidewalk. Its heartening to note that of whatever money the homeless people make, they do spend a considerable amount looking after the dog. The dog always stays by its masters side be it sun or rain and provide the often missed personal touch that sometimes humans fail to share with each other. Wish more people could open up (including me in that list) and reach out and help these people in need and enrich their lives just as the loyal dog does.

One day at a time

2006-12-12T19:14:00.000Z

The day started pretty well. I reached work on time and had a meeting to attend to immediately. Thankfully, I had done my homework and had something substantial to report. While this was happening, my work colleague and I were making plans to go to Barcelona for 4 days spread over this weekend. One dominating motivating factor was the fact that we still had our visas valid from our previous trip to Europe and hence one less hassle to deal with when finalising travel related plans. We checked the fares and they were quite reasonable and so were the hotel expenses. All looked bright and rosy until we had a discussion with a couple of other people at work who had travelled to Spain. Their opinion was that it would be far more fun visiting Europe in summer rather than in winter. As we weren't too fond of the snow and the cold, that struck a chord immediately and dampened our enthusiasm a little. Another alternative was to go to Morocco. The only problem is that I would need a visa which takes 10 days to process. So, we have put things on hold as of now. Well, we still have a day to decide and we could still land up in Barcelona on Thursday. Fingers crossed.

Rain, movies and cricket

2006-12-08T22:09:00.000Z

Its been a happening week. Cardiff has been witness to heavy rains, strong winds and some glorious sunshine. You are never sure when to carry your umbrella. Common sense would suggest that you carry it all the time as everyone knows how unpredictable the weather can be in the UK. The temptation though is to ditch your umbrella at home as you see a sunny day beckoning you as you step out of the house. By the time, you are quite some distance from home, the sun disappears as if by magic and rain comes pouring down leaving you cursing and cussing at your yourself and at things not in your control.

I have also been busy catching up on some old movies such as Godfather, Before sunrise and few new ones including world trade centre and march of the penguins. I am always fascinated at how exceptionally good the movie godfather is. I recently read the book and as I was reading it, I found how faithful the movie is to the book which is one of the reasons why the movie is so good. Even dialogues used in the book are faithfully used re-used in the movie. Marlon Brando was already a legend when this movie was being made but his presence just elevates the movie to unprecedented levels. Truly a masterpiece.

Last week was also when an impossible thing happened. No one who followed the second test at Adelaide would have thought that England would be the team to lose. One hour of madness on fifth day morning was all it took for England to wind up as losers. Shane warne spun his magic and Ricky ponting continued his dream run with the bat. I just felt that England shouldn't have declared their 1st innings when they did. Instead of declaring at 550 runs on 2nd day afternoon, they should have gone on to bat until 3rd day afternoon and having at least put 750 runs on the scoreboard. Its important to keep kicking the Australians while they are down. Otherwise, if you even give them a sniff at a chance, they will grab it. Warne and Mcgrath were looking ragged after staying out in the middle for nearly 2 days and definitely, another half a day out in the sun would have completely ground them . If England had indeed batted until 3rd day, there was no way they would have gone on to lose as the Australians wouldn't have had enough time to force a result in their favour which would have put additional pressure on the Australians knowing fully well that the only team that could lose would be themselves. This incident just takes me back to the Sydney test between India and Australia in 2004. Opting to bat first, India scored 720 runs in their first innings and batted for nearly 2.5 days. This ensured that however fast the Australians scored, there was no way that India could lose from there.

Well, its been a happening week indeed!!!

Bullied

2006-11-27T18:33:00.000Z

I was returning home from work. Its a good 30 minute walk. I was enjoying it fine until I ran into a bunch of teenagers just 5 minutes from home. You could clearly sense that they were a troublesome gang from the way they walked, talked and dressed. They were strolling alongside me when one of them tugged the umbrella I was carrying. I just turned around, ignored it as a harmless prank and just kept walking. After a minute, something round and hard smashed into my shoulder and I realised they were now throwing apples at me. I turned around and growled (not literally) and they seemed to back off a little. That was only temporary. They started throwing stones after that. I guess they were careful enough not to hurt me as the stones kept flying either side of me. I was in a fix. They were a group of kids (about 5). I didnt know who was responsible for this and hence couldnt act on it. I couldnt target any single person and I would be foolish enough to take on the whole group. My instant reaction was to give that person a nice smack but I just realised the problem of being the only puny guy on that road. All those tenagers were taller and strongly built than me. They may not be brave enough to come one-on-one but even a partially aimed kick/punch in self defence will do me more harm than good. Taking the insult in stride, I just disappeared into a grocery shop nearby and did some shopping. By the time, I got out, the gang had moved on. May be they found another easy victim. I am now sitting at home nursing a bruised shoulder and ego with a hot steaming cup of tea and yummy bar of chocolate. What would you do if you were in my place?

Successful transition to beta blogger

2006-11-23T15:03:00.000Z

Finally managed to update my template html code from blogger classic to XML code for blogger beta while retaining the same look as before. There are small noticeable changes that do bug me but hopefully I should be able to make them go away. There are definitely advantages to using beta blogger. It lets you customise your template easily. Each addition is called a widget and you can define what needs to be in a widget (say picture, text, list, scripts etc..). I do realise the advantage now. Its nice to notice the way earlier posts are listed by month. I hope the change in template also brings about a change in how frequently I post to the blog.

Cool site for displaying pictures

2006-11-13T18:48:00.001Z

Recently came across this site for posting pictures in a blog or website in a fancy way and it definitely is cool. Here is a sample:

Problems with beta blogger

2006-11-12T00:42:00.000Z

I recently migrated my blog from original blogger version to beta blogger. The migration itself was a smooth process and now my blog account is integrated with my google account. So, thats really nice. There is one problem though with the way previous posts are being displayed. In original blogger, when the link for a previous post was clicked, it would display a certain number of previous posts from that point in time. But with beta blogger, its only the 'x' most recents posts thats displayed on any previous posts's page. Guess this is something that blogger would need to look into and fix at the earliest. So, I would recommend people wishing to look at earlier posts use the archive section where the earlier posts are filed on a monthly basis. Cheers.

Flowers in Belfast

2006-11-11T13:26:00.000Z

Las Vegas at Night

2006-11-11T13:07:00.000Z

Festive Trip

2006-11-03T18:12:00.000Z

I recently visited India for a month and my visit was book ended by 2 festivals, Navarathri and Diwali. It's been a long time since I spent any festivals with my family and this trip made for a wonderful experience. We also managed to squeeze in a week's worth of stay in Ooty. This was my first visit to the hill station and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Escaping the humid weather in Chennai, the cooler climes of Ooty suited me perfectly fine. The mornings were crisp and as the day wore on, it got slightly warmer (just enough to get the body juices flowing) and return and back to a cool pleasant evening.

We did visit all the usual places in Ooty & Kunnur like the Botanical gardens, Lake, Sims Park but the place that I really enjoyed most was the Tea factory in Kunnur. Situated next to vast rolling tea fields, the tea factory had guides to take you around the factory and explain how tea is prepared from the leaves.

Initially, tea leaves are placed on huge trays whose temperature is maintained at a steady 60 degrees Celsius to remove any trace of moisture. Once that’s done, the leaves are manually sorted and fed into a grinding machine which breaks the dried leaves into granules or various proportions. After that, the granules are laid out on a tray whose temperature is maintained at 120 degree Celsius which helps in enhancing the natural flavours that the tea leaves possess.

We were told that the tea produced at this place is export quality and not available in local stores. They had a small shop which made these tea granules available in sample sizes and you could even taste the various flavoured teas before you buy them. We spent around 90 minutes at this place and it was totally worth it.

Once we returned to Chennai, I was helping out my dad doing some admin work at the music school run by him. I also got to brush up on my music skills (namely vocal and veena). I also got around to visiting some of the newly opened restaurants in Chennai with family and friends. One friend in particular was kind enough to drag me to around to some really nice places that had a wonderful ambience and served some delicious food. I would recommend Kabul restaurant on T.T.K Road in Chennai to anyone who has a taste for nice spicy food. Some other restaurants that I visited include Kumarakom (Kerala food), entire food court in spencers, Punjabi dhaba and a host of coffee shops.

My last day in India happened to be Diwali day and I had fun visiting all the relatives, eating loads of tasty sweets and savouries. During my stay, I also managed to drag my parents to a couple of Tamil movies, which is a minor achievement considering how busy they are. In between, I managed to attend a series of concerts organised to popularise my grand aunt's (Mangalam Ganapthi) compositions in classical carnatic music.

Well, to sum up, I had a very eventful and wholesome trip to India

Vettayadu Vilaiyadu - Movie Review (Tamil)

2006-09-03T23:07:00.001+01:00

The 3 things that makes 'Vettayadu Vilayadu' an enjoyable affair are Kamalhassan's solid acting, exceptional camerawork and a decent effort by Gautham. Kamal plays a middle aged investigative police officer who is trying to hunt down a serial killer. Thats the gist and needs no more elaborating.

The introduction scene for Kamal rocks as he enters rowdy pettai and gives them a sound thrashing. A stylishly shot song follows where the activities in a police officer's life are chronicled. It also makes use of some imaginative camera work while giving more than a peek into the character that Kamal portrays.

The movie does have some major loopholes especially when investigating the crimes committed by the serial killer in New York. While NYPD taking the assistance of Indian police in tracking down a killer can be made believable with a large pinch of salt, the impunity with which the Indian police are allowed to break the legal procedures are hard to digest.

Kaakha Kaakha was a good movie with a bad ending. VV also suffers the same fate. Gautham seems to spend a lot of time laying the ground work but falters when it comes to wrapping up things. Also, the police officer in VV relies more on his brains than brawns (as was the case in Kaakha Kaakha) which makes the ending even more hard to accept.

Kamal Hassan with no make up, a more tham ample paunch and a receeding hairline does indeed look the part. Also, he shows amazing dexterity when it comes to beating the crap out of some one. It does make for a satisfying experience to watch Kamal completely under director's control (or so it appears). Wish Gautham had gone the extra distance to give a nice closure to the role than appearing to be in a hurry to wrap it up.

Jothika and Kamalini are the ladies in Kamal's life and arent much to talk about. The movie would have been a lot more tighter if their roles had been altogether excluded. But Kamalini does look cute.

The songs by Harris do fit the stoty but the BGM could have been a lot better. Its obvious Harris is no Ilayaraja.

All in all, a good movie with the potential for a even better one.

Lage Raho Munnabhai - Movie Review (Hindi, 2006)

2006-09-03T22:14:00.001+01:00

Its been a long time since I watched a truly delightful movie. 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' makes for a wonderfully funny cinematic outing while making a poignant point about the relevance of Gandhi's ideals in today's clime.

The movie isnt a sequel but presents the main characters Sanjay Dutt (Mr. Munnabhai) and his deputy Arshad Warsi (Mr. Circuit) in a different set of circumstances. While the first movie was about a son living up to his father ideals, the sequel has loftier aims. Munnabhai has none other than the father of the nation's (Mr. Gandhi's) ideals to live upto.

The story goes as follows. Munnabhai is besotted with Jhanvi (played by a deliciously cute Vidya Balan and man can she smile) who conducts a live show in radio. She also takes care of 6 old men who are no longer looked after by their chilrden. Lucky Singh (played hilariously by Boman Irani) is this ruthless builder who tries to acquire the property of Jhanvi to give it as a wedding gift to his son-in-law's father who is trying to build a mall in that area. During an opportune moment, Lucky does get hold of the property.

Rest of the movie is about how Munnabhai with the help of none other than Gandhi gets back the property and also his lady love. The direction by Hirani is almost flawless and it definitely is much more superior in quality to the first part. Sanjay Dutt and Warsi make an amazing pair. Arshad plays a perennially drunk guy and his dialogue delivery is to watch out over.

The movie does resort to sugar-coated moments and may sound far-fetched at times but its a tribute to the directors skills that you are more than willing to overlook those and get sucked into the cineatic world he portrays.

Hail Munnabhai !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chinese food in Italy???

2006-07-31T20:04:00.000+01:00

Well, I just got back from Italy after spending a little over 2 weeks there. The weather was awesome, the girls beautiful and the food (hold your breath!!!) terrible. To be fair to Italy, I was holed up in a lovely island called Ischia where the local people are exposed only to sea food and aubergine. When I signed up for the summer school in Italy, the registration form had a section for our food preferences and on it was listed the following: halal, vegetarian and etc...

We were really happy that the school was taking so much care about our dietary requirements. Once we landed there, we realised that vegetarian food in Italy normally includes sea food and that co-incidentally is halal as well. So much for our expectations. One thing I must admit though. The desserts and the wine kept flowing and we more than made up for what was missing in the main course.

On the island, we couldn't notice a single ethnic cuisine restaurant. Every second shop was a restaurant and they were all Italian. Ischia is a very small island and I was really surprised to note the number of restaurants on offer and that they were always full. We checked out a few restaurants and tried the local Italian food and I must say that they were a tad disappointing compared to what you get in Italian restaurants in UK or elsewhere.

One of the highlights was checking out the pizza place in Naples. The rumour is that, it was THE place where pizza was probably introduced. I wont bet on it though but that's what I heard and again, they serve only two kinds of pizzas. Margarita with tomatoes or Garlic with tomatoes. No vegetable toppings or anything else but it was good. Kinda enjoyed it. While in Ischia, we had a daily schedule of classes starting at 9 AM and running till 7 PM. We had a 2 hour lunch break where I took the opportunity to swim almost every day and then head for lunch thus making sure that I can accommodate the extra slice of cake and the glass of wine. I also managed to squeeze in a couple of massage sessions (Thai and shiatsu) and trust me, it did feel really good.

The weather was slightly on the warmer side and it gave us more excuse to dash off to the pool whenever we got a chance and also keep ourselves hydrated (wine or water doesn't matter). The summer school organised a couple of tours for sightseeing the island and both of them included a session in the beach for a dip and it was terrific. The water was warm and ideal for swimming. After the summer school, we had a spare day and we checked out this amazing ruined city called Pompeii. It was a 30 minute ride by train from Naples and we spent close to 5 hours at the site. It was fascinating to hear about how a gigantic volcanic eruption wiped out nearly almost everyone living there and how the city has remained uninhabited since then.

One things I haven't mentioned so far is Gelato, which means Ice cream in Italian. I have heard so much about Italian ice creams but man, they are truly delicious. I made it a point to have an ice cream every day. I started worrying about piling on pounds but the swimming sessions in the pool and at the beach took care of it. I can say with confidence that I haven't had so many desserts in a year as I did in 2 weeks in Italy.

All in all, food or no food, Italy rocks and it was an awesome trip..

You can check the pictures from the trip here and here

Another postcard from Ischia

2006-07-16T18:22:00.000+01:00

Postcard from Ischia

2006-07-14T17:14:00.000+01:00

A tale of two extremes

2006-06-25T11:29:00.000+01:00

I was playing cricket for my league team today. The pitch looked a little dicey, lots of grass, some footmarks even before start of play. Our team lost the toss and we were put into bat. I opened the batting and soon we lost our first wicket. Our No.3 batsman and I were involved in a century partnership during which I scored my half century (cracked four 4's in one over). Soon after the half century, I tried gliding a ball towards the third man area and to my surprise, the ball carried to the short third man who made a hash of it and dropped a sitter. But this was all in vain. The runner had taken off for a single and trying not to be selfish, I dashed towards the other end and reached there on time only to get my bat stuck on some hole in the pitch and twist over on my right knee. So, a half century and a busted knee later, I retired hurt and was off the ground for the remainder of the match. Our team ended up scoring 209 and we bundled the opposition for 80 runs. I guess we made more use of the dicey pitch than the home team. Now, I am at home using ice packs to keep the swelling down and I got to see a doctor first thing tomorrow morning. I wouldn't want to be hobbling my way to London and Italy.

To my ardent fan

2006-06-16T11:21:00.000+01:00

I have one regular visitor from Sweeden. I keep disappointing him by not posting frequently to my blog. This is a small gesture from me asking him to keep visiting and not lose faith. Sooner or later, my mental block should disappear and I should be back to my normal writing self. Thanks buddy for the show of support.

My favourite movie list..

2006-06-09T23:55:00.000+01:00

I just thought I would come up with a list of 10 movies that has impressed me the most and would entice me for repeat viewings. The movies are not ranked in any particular order.:

1. Mahanathi - Tamil - Excellent storyline and acting.. Kamal hassan pours his heart and soul into this movie.. Be assured there wont be a dry eye at the end of this movie..

2. Before Sunrise & Before sunset- Wonderful interplay between lead characters, cant resist loving this movie

3. Terminator 2 - Bang bang bang.... Need I say more..

4. As good as it gets - Jack Nicholson shows what acting really is and how devilishly funny he can be..

5. Nayagan - Tamil - Was listed by Time magazine in its top 100 list.. Excellent in every aspect.. Haunting background score by Ilayaraja

6. Pulp fiction - First movie of Tarentino that I watched.. Never realised that profanity could sound so poetic.. Brimming with nervous energy and top notch acting..

7. Raging bull - One of the best biographies ever made.. Deep understanding of human psyche... de niro and scorcese's best work..

8. Sholay - Hindi - Best example of Indian masala pot boiler that mixes every emotion in the right amount and serves it with a flourish..

9. Satya - Hindi - One of the first Indian gangster movies to show life's harsh realities within a conventional bollywood setting.. Contains hard hitting dialogues, excellent acting and director who knows what he is doing..

10. Appu Raja - Hindi - Kamal hassan playing a dwarf... Can it get any better.. He was totally brilliant in this movie.. Was a surprising decision that he didn't win the national award for this role.. Revenge is a dish best served with a little humour.. That's the formula kamal follows in this movie..

What would your list contain? Let me know.

Fanaa - Movie Review (Hindi)

2006-06-05T10:32:00.001+01:00

Aamir Khan has so far successfully resisted working with Yash productions and I believe that is for a good reason. After watching Fanaa, you just wished the director (Kunal Kohli) hadn't made such a mess of the storyline and script. In an interview, Aamir Khan mentioned that this was one of the best scripts he had come across. I beg to disagree. It was probably the fat paycheque that persuaded him to do this movie. No complaints about Aamir and Kajol though. Only reason the movie is even watchable is due to their electric presence and the magic they bring to the screen. I guess it's become a cliche to say that it's the story and not the stars that make or break a movie and this one proves it to the core.

Fanaa happens to deal with the conflict between one's love for his cause and his lady. The script is so convoluted that, at the end, it's still not clear what choice the hero makes. Aamir Khan plays Rehan Qadri, a Kashmiri working as a tourist guide in Delhi where he comes across Kajol (Zooni Ali Baig), who is visually impaired, and is a part of a group from Kashmir in Delhi to perform in front of the President during republic day celebrations. Aamir is immediately smitten and Kajol too realises that this is the guy for her. The best part of the movie is the interplay between these two characters during the first 45 minutes when they fall in love. Aamir Khan plays a lovable rogue reciting shayari with such aplomb that reminds you of his boyish mischievnouss in his earlier movies. Soon after they decide to get married and Kajol undergoes an operation to restore her eyesight. Just immediately after the operation, she is told that Aamir got killed in an explosion caused by IKF (some kashmiri terrorist group). It is here that movie goes completely haywire. Through media reports, we have learnt that Aamir plays a terrorist in the movie. Kajol is led to believe that Aamir died in the terrorist attach while we are shown Aamir Khan planning some other operation in Bangkok.

Seven years later, through an amazing co-incidence, Aamir Khan lands on the door steps of Kajol in Kashmir. This is where I will stop revealing the story and will leave you guys with the pleasure of having to watch the tortuous 45 minutes that leads to the climax. I have never been a fan of Yash Chopra/Johar movies as they try to wring every inch of emotion out of you through excessive melodrama and unrealistic storylines. Huge credit must go to Aamir and Kajol, one, for taking up the movie, and two, for making it watchable to a large extent. One thing that will leave you smiling is the picturisation of the song "chand sifarish" where Aamir displays all his trademark roguishness. Enjoy it as there may not be much else to enjoy in this movie.

For each other

2006-05-30T21:40:00.000+01:00

She mailed him this song when she found out that he was feeling down. This was something to cheer him up. And it did. She told him that this song used to make her feel better as well whenever she was down. And he never thanked her for this wonderful gesture. Here it is. He really appreciates her being there for him. Hope this song puts a smile on some other person's face.

Review of Da Vinci Code

2006-05-20T14:33:00.005+01:00

I never thought I will ever say this. Watching Tom Hanks in this movie is a tedious affair. He has underplayed the role to such an extent that the character of Robert Langdon looks lifeless, soulless and disinteresting. Having read the book, its clearly evident that the movie is a faithful adaptation of the book. The book, though not a literary masterpiece, was fast paced and kept you riveted till the end. Langdon, in the book, was much more interesting to interact with than its cinematic counterpart. Opus Dei, for sure, wouldn't be happy with its portrayal in the movie. To be fair to the movie, the character Silas (played beautifully by Paul Bettany) is portrayed exactly as in the book, but the visual images of corporal mortification acts performed by Silas leave a more lasting and disturbing impression.

Ron Howard has directed certain scenes with panache, especially the discussion detailing what the holy grail is all about and how Da Vinci's paintings had hidden meanings. But the action scenes leave a lot to be desired. There is no thrill or suspense while watching the action scenes and that's a big disappointment. Thankfully, they are few and far in between.

As for the rest of the cast, Audrey Tautou, Ian Mckellan and Jean Reno turn in adequate performances to keep the ball rolling. I didn't watch Amelie and hence had no expectation from Audrey. She turns in an OK performance but her accent sometimes makes it hard to understand what she is saying. The movie is slightly on the longer side. Trimming of 20 minutes could have helped in faster pacing of the movie. The controversy surrounding the book will ensure that the movie is going to be a huge blockbuster, no doubt about that. There was hardly an empty seat in the cinemas.

Da vinci code controversy

2006-05-17T15:55:00.000+01:00

I was reading on rediff that bishops in India have requested the court to stop the screening of Da Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks. Their reasoning was that it portrayed Jesus Christ in a not too favourable light. I understand that we live in a democratic country and everyone has a right to voice their opinion. But are we just carrying it too far? If poeple are offended by it, let them stay away from it. But dont deprive other people from deciding for themselves whether they want to watch it or not?

Of pelvic thrusting and bosom heaving

2006-05-17T15:44:00.000+01:00

I was watching the song 'tu cheez badi' from the movie Mohra on B4U. It was really interesting to notice the changes that have taken place in choreographing a song. The dance movements that Raveena displayed in that song looks distinctly vulgar now and I am pretty sure, given a chance, she may want to revisit it in a different manner. This song was a huge hit and I didn't realise at that time that this song was flagrantly copied from Nusrat's work. Not that it mattered to us at that time.

I feel that late 80s and early 90s were an era of jerky dance movements that were more meant to titillate audiences than make them appreciate intricate dance movements that please the senses in a subtle manner. Of course, Madhuri was and is considered an exceptional dancer but she was a pioneer in introducing bosom heaving step. Need proof? Check 'dhak dhak' from beta, 'choli ke peeche' from khal nayak and 'mera piya ghar aaya' from yaarana (I guess). Karishma, Govinda, Shilpa and most other were responsible for the vulgar pelvic thrusting step and it was repeated in almost every movie of theirs much to the delight of the front benchers. I still am a big admirer of Govinda's dancing when he is not gyrating his pelvis as he makes dancing look ridiculously easy.

Nowadays, even the worst dancers are made to look really good through editing and the dance movements appear more sophisticated. Hrithik, Aishwarya and Shahid do look really natural and spontaneous while dancing and choreography does look like it has come off age.

Mission Impossible 3 - Movie Review (English)

2006-05-05T23:42:00.001+01:00

Watching Mission Impossible 3 reinforces the belief that only a few actors are born to play a spy like James Bond and Tom Cruise is definitely NOT one of them. He tries to play a character with an emotional core but ends up falling completely flat. One of the few things that the movie has got right is in its choice of villain. Philip Hoffman plays an ill sketched role and gives it a flourish much more than it actually deserves. He plays a cool, cold-hearted guy and his dialogue delivery is a treat to watch.

The movie takes us to quite a few places such as Germany, Vactican and Shanghai and it comes across quite well on screen. The stunts in the movie are filmed pretty well and Cruise does look exceptionally fit and agile and it seems that he has done a few risky stunts by himself.

MI3 is supposed to show Ethan Hawke's (Tom Cruise) softer side but there are harly enough interactions between the lead characters to make the audience feel for them. I also felt sorry for Hoffman as he could have made this a very memorable movie had he been given more to chew on. The movie does make for an evening's time pass but its not due to the presence of Mr Cruise.

Cricket season underway

2006-05-01T14:18:00.000+01:00

Finally, the season got underway yesterday. It was a cold and partly cloudy day but it felt great to be out the ground. We were playing in cricket ground in the country side and the the drive from the station in bristol took about 40 minutes. We were put into bat first on a sticky seaming wicket. I went in at 4 (2 down) and scored 12 runs. We ended up with a score of 110 and were bowled out in 39 overs. We got to that score, thanks a fighting knock from our no.5 batsmen who scored 41. We were quite confident that any score over 100 would be a tough one to chase given the conditions and we were right. The other team got bowled out for 77. I sent down 5 overs for 13 runs and 1 wicket. It made for a good match. Next weekend should be even better with back-to-back matches.

Internet Explorer goes tabbed, finally!!!

2006-04-26T21:11:00.000+01:00

Microsoft released the beta version of Internet Explorer 7 which finally includes the tab feature. It also has a nice snapshot of all the browser tabs in one window. I have been using it for the last 1 week. I have noticed that it takes significantly longer for pages to load when multiple tabs are open as opposed to those pages loading quicker in other browsers. It may be a minor glitch and hopefully will get addressed soon.

Da Vinci Puzzle

2006-04-25T21:48:00.000+01:00

Here is our chance to play Robert Langdon, albeit briefly. Sony, in partnership with google, have come up with a contest where we need to solve a set number of puzzles at the end of which we may be able to win certain prizes. The puzzles are certainly interesting and as you solve each puzzle, you will have to answer a question before you can move on to next one. There is always google search to help you out if you are struggling with any of the questions. Its good fun. Enjoy it. Click on the image above to get started.

BTW, the contest is only open to people residing in US, UK and Australia.

Amazing Nusrat

2006-04-21T21:50:00.000+01:00

I have been listening to a lot of Nusrat's music off late. It's a very sublime experience and invokes all pent up feelings. His voice may not hold up very favourably when compared with other singers like Rafi, Kishore Kumar or Udit Narayan. Nusrat's voice is very coarse and at times sounds quite rough. But his ability to mould a song and make it his own is beyond words. I have been a fan of his for quite some time. With frequent listening, I am appreciating his songs even more these days. You must truly appreciate a singer if the viewer is able to forget some one as stunning as Lisa Ray appearing on screen and just drown in the voice being played. I have included a few songs of his in my player. Feel free to listen to the music and enjoy the experience.

"Nusrat's music invites us to eavesdrop on a man communing with his God, ever so eloquently. He makes the act of singing a passionate offering to God. But we do not merely eavesdrop. The deepest part of Nusrat's magic lies in the fact that he is able to bring our hearts to resonate with the music, so deeply, that we ourselves become full partners in that offering. He sings to God, and by listening, we also sing to God."
A fans observation (source: wikipedia)

Who uses mozilla?

2006-04-18T00:20:00.000+01:00

Since I started tracking users visiting my blog, I have noticed a strange pattern. Most of the users use IE browser. This despite strong push from the opensource community to embrace other browsers like Mozilla and Opera. I personally prefer Opera as I feel it starts up faster and works better with most websites than Mozilla. Even then, I would rather have people using Mozilla than IE. With that in mind, I signed up for Adsense and dutifully put up a button for Mozilla in my blog. One hope was that this would make more people tempted to try Mozilla. The hidden agenda being me making a few bucks in that process. But blog visitors seem to think otherwise. They dutifully avoid anything to do with the adverts or Mozilla. Wish Google was doing something to promote Opera as well. Hopefully, they will do it someday.

Also, having used all three browsers, I still cant understand why most people would stick to IE? I also cant understand the reluctance of Microsoft people to not incorporate the tabbed window feature in their browser? Another source of irritation is the fact that windows update can only be performed through IE and not any other browser.

Are there any more issues regarding IE that bothers users? Feel free to comment here.

Watching Indian Idol

2006-04-12T19:28:00.001+01:00

I have been following season 2 of Indian Idol fairly regularly and as it is nearing completion, I am also feeling quite thankful that another show celebrating mediocrity is coming to an end. It wasn't always like this. There are some exceptional singers like Karunya and Amey but as for the rest, they are just incredibly lucky to have made it this far. The judges panel comprise of Sonu Nigam, Anu Malik and Farah Khan. Definitely an elite trio. Of the three, Sonu Nigam is definitely the better judge, being able to clearly present a thought and criticise with clarity without going overboard. As for the other two, its just painful watching them engage in verbal battle and making a fool of themselves. There were 12 singers who made it to the gala round (shortlisted by the judges). Only 4 of them (Karunya, Amey, Monali and Neha) could actually sing befitting the stage provided to them. As each round progresses, one more singer is voted out based on the votes they dont receive. It becomes very clear how regionalism plays a big part and clouds one's judgement. Sonu Nigam constantly keeps harping about how the best candidate should get the vote irrespective of the region they come from but all in vain.

Also, Sony TV has commercialised it so heavily that more than hearing the singers sing, you see the show's hosts listing out how well dressed the participants are (thanks to some brand) and how delicious eating pizza at pizza hut would be and so on and so forth. The program meant to run for 1 hour features ads and ad related talk for at least 20 minutes and each participant just gets to sing for a couple of minutes. Though primarily meant to judge the participants singing capabilities, they end dancing too on stage resulting in hilarious moments for the viewer. Not sure if that was the intention. Well, no one is expecting Prabhu Deva at his best here but atleast they should perform better than Rajnikanth at his worst.

I was watching American Idol and I was really taken over the quality of the contestants taking part and how very professional and proficient they were at singing. Indian Idol pales very much in comparison to its American counterpart.

'Could have been great' movie experience

2006-04-09T23:20:00.000+01:00

After an exhausting cricket session, I sat down to watch Constant Gardener starring Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes. Tackling a pretty heavy subject, it focuses on the abusive attitude of pharmaceuticals and their apparent lack of regard for the life of people from third world countries. Though intellectually stimulating, it fails to strike an emotional chord. Rachel is a firecracker and she lights up the screen every time she appears on it (albeit for only the first 30 minutes, but leaves a lasting impact). Ralph plays the role as necessitated by the script but that hampers the impact his character would have left otherwise and ends up being dull. This movie, though technically an emotional thriller, is quite slow and feels a little drawn out. Its worth a watch on DVD (as I did) and the exceptional portrayal by Rachel makes it worth while.

Opposing views

2006-04-04T15:24:00.000+01:00

Give me blood and I shall give you freedom

Subhash Chandra Bose

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary

Mahatma Gandhi.

Test of patience

2006-04-01T17:37:00.000+01:00

I never realised that working with IBM software could be so dreadful. I recently mentioned my experience about my struggles with Rational Software Architect (RSA). Continuing on that, here are my further travails. Well, I thought I must have done something wrong during the installation process and hence bravely decided to give it a go again. Did a complete uninstallation which took nearly half a day. Then, proceeded with the installation of RSA version 6.0. Once that was done, I had to install a fixpack which was a download from IBM site (size: 2 GB, can you believe that). Why would they have a fix nearly as big as the software itself? How buggy could their software be? Well, after enduring the download wait, I performed the fixpack installation and continued with the installation of Websphere Integration Developer required for running the processes and it comes equipped with the process test environment as well. Once that was done, I hopefully started the process test server only for it to give the same error as before. The error message in the log was "There is an error". D'uh. As if I didn't already know that. So, much for the log files being helpful. The general opinion that I have gathered from other people about IBM software is that they are exceptional when it comes to performing the required operation, but to get to that stage, well, you will probably never get there. Hmm..

Word for the day

2006-03-31T22:21:00.000+01:00

Go figure out what MESOTHELIOMA means.

What makes India tick?

2006-03-30T18:50:00.000+01:00

Check out this video clip.. Very interesting..

At my uninspired best

2006-03-30T17:15:00.000+01:00

There are moments in your life when everything seems to drag and there is no sense of timing or momentum. Looks like I am going through such a phase now, especially this afternoon. Had a lousy lunch (may be that has something to do with how I am feeling now). Been totally switched off from work since then. Tried doing a few simple tasks at work and it feels like I have literally moved mountains. Checked out a few songs and that just put me to sleep. I guess I need a moment of inspiration or a broad kick up my backside to get things going. Its raining now and just making life more miserable. Maybe, I should just wind up and go home.

Good deed

2006-03-29T19:12:00.000+01:00

This afternoon, there was a blood donation camp organised by the local mosque in Cardiff along with Welsh health service. My work colleague coaxed me to come along to donate blood. I was a little reluctant to do it as it meant I had to walk 15 minutes to Cardiff university student union as thats were the camp was organised. Eventually, I made up mind and turned up. Initially, there were some forms to fill. Once that was done, nurses went through the forms and just repeated the same questions orally to make sure we really understood the questions in the form.. hmm.. Once this formality was completed, we were asked to lie down on the cot (refer to the picture). The nurse got ready to stick a needle, which looked like a needle used for cattle, in my left arm. Trust me, it was really huge. It hurt a little but after that, it was ok. They were collecting around a pint of blood which took about 10 minutes. Then we were asked to relax a little bit to recover from the terrible ordeal we been through and were also provided with some complimentary snacks and drinks (now you know why I turned up).

The very thought that the blood I donated could help save someone's life made the entire process very memorable. We also found some time to take group pictures. Most of the people (present in the picture) volunteered to help out the staff at the blood donation camp and spent the entire day there assisting them. A marvellous gesture from their side. I really feel that I will be a more willing participant in future blood donation camps (now that I know for sure that they do serve nice refreshments).

Silence..

2006-03-25T14:36:00.000Z

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

My new hobby

2006-03-24T16:35:00.000Z

I have taken up a new hobby and its very addictive. Its called "tracking people visiting your blogs". Yes, you heard me right. I have signed up with a site called 'statcounter.com' who provide you with a javascript which you add to your blog and thats it. Its so simple. Now, all I do is keep pressing the refresh button every few minutes to check if I have had any new vistors for my blog and website. Its also interesting to note how people land up on my site. I have had people from Fiji checking out my blog. Wonderful, aint it? Some people do take the time to read the awesome crap I dish out and others (quite smartly) switch over to next blog. One day, I am going to track those smart asses and get even with them.

What do I say?

2006-03-24T16:25:00.000Z

I do wish that I had the courage to write on more topics including religion, politics and sex. I feel that it would make for more interesting reading. Also, it may lead to the possibility of me offending other people. I am sure there are enough weirdos out there who got enough problems on their hands to salivate on without me adding to theirs and they coming after me. Anonymity would be a boon in such circumstances but given my mini-celebrity status (who??? me???), I have to tread the safe and politically correct path (yeah right) . Also, I wouldn't want to give my parents (who happen to read this blog once a year) more ammunition to come after me.. :)

Battle continues...

2006-03-22T19:49:00.000Z

Well, looks like I celebrated too soon after the installation of websphere integration developer application yesterday. This morning, at work, I tried starting the process server and waited for a few minutes which eventually became 10 minutes. The IDE kept saying that its trying to start the server. The funny part was, the server was actually running and I was able to access the server through a browser but my damn IDE wasnt registering that and as a result, I couldnt do any work from within the IDE. I tried applying a few patches and updates but to no avail. I guess I will be doing the same tomorrow and probably the day after as well.

Fight against spam

2006-03-22T16:06:00.000Z

Its getting exasperating. Every morning, I open my inbox in the hope of seeing atleast a few emails from family and friends. I do find a couple of new mails only to realise that they are SPAM. Its especially bad with hotmail. Looks like their anti spam software isn't upto the task and is kind enough to let all junk mails get through. With gmail, its much better. Till now, I havent had a single spam mail in my inbox. They have been re-directed to my spam mail folder and makes it easy for me to just delete it without having to take the trouble of reading all the nonsense that these spam mails are filled with. This post is not a propaganda thingy for gmail but just stating the obvious. Any disagreements?????

Nature at its best

2006-03-21T19:12:00.000Z

This is a colour photograph but gives the feel of looking at a black and white image. This was shot in Interlaken during our trip to Switzerland. The entire city was covered in snow and it looked like a magical place.

Battle with Websphere

2006-03-21T18:45:00.000Z

Well, its been hard work installing websphere process test environment on my desktop at work. For one reason or another, the installation kept failing and we were trying to guess what could be going wrong. After four days of trial and error, the installation completed successfully and we heaved a sigh of relief.

The 'Inside Man' experience

2006-03-18T23:17:00.000Z

I watched the movie 'Inside Man' starring Denzel washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. It was a really good thriller with exceptional acting from all the cast members. But one aspect of the movie took the cake as far as I am concerned. As the movie started, you could hear the tune of chaiyya chaiyya (dil se) being played and then sukhwinder belting out the number. I wondered if I had walked into the wrong screen as normally they dont play hindi movie trailers for english movies. Then the introductory credits appeared and saw Clive Owen on the screen. The same happened for the ending credits as well. Looks like Spike Lee (director) is a closet fan of Rahman. That kinda set up the movie for me and it just got better and better. Make sure you dont miss the title credits while watching this movie.

Website designing

2006-03-17T13:29:00.000Z

Finally, its ready. I have been working on my staff website for the last 2 weeks. Majority of the time was spent on designing the site and there isnt much content there yet but slowly and surely, I will be filling it up. I am not very good at designing and had to take the assistance of macromedia. Used one of the templates that comes with it and just tweaked the design a little bit and that feels like a major accomplishment. Do please check it out when you get a chance and any comments would be welcome. Here is the link

Here is a snapshot of my website..

What do I do?

2006-03-16T10:18:00.000Z

Well, I am a research associate working on a healthcare related project with Cardiff University. Some of the applications we use for the project include IBM portal, process servers, Websphere (rational software architect) and IBM DB2 for database. We are also looking into HL7 messaging for the project and that's one of my responsibilities. I am responsible for database design and also take part in portal development work. This brief bio is for people (if there are any out there) who keep wondering what I really do at work.

Videos shot in Switzerland

2006-03-08T17:11:00.000Z

Some videos shot during our stay in Switzerland. Enjoy it.. Right click on the screens and select play option..

This video was shot in engelberg close to the train station while waiting for our train

This video was shot in a train on the way to Geneva

Illegal immigrants

2006-03-07T14:42:00.000Z

During our recent trip to Switzerland, we ventured into France without a valid visa. We were in Geneva and the receptionist at the hotel mentioned that we could take a bus to the area bordering with France and if we are lucky, we can just cross into France and spend some time there. We took up on this and as mentioned, strolled into France with no French border control official stopping us. Infact, there were none. Well, we had no intention of staying back in France as all we wanted to do was do some sightseeing but its easy to imagine how immigrants can enter a country illegally with the least amount of hassle. The funny part was, while returning, the swiss officials stopped us to check our documents and we had no trouble getting back into Switzerland. If we really wanted, we could have ventured all the way to Paris but didnt want to push our luck too far. It made for a very interesting experience and we too were illegal immigrants for a short while.

Lost in translation

2006-03-06T19:38:00.000Z

Recently visited a small town in france and came across this notice on a path leading to a house. Had no idea as to what it meant. Any one kind enough to translate this message for me? Thanks in advance.

Geneva, here we come..

2006-02-28T20:52:00.000Z

I am off to Geneva tomorrow. This will be my first trip to continental Europe as a tourist (visiting airports don’t count here). It’s planned as a 4 day trip leaving early Thursday morning and back on Sunday night late. We will be getting the train pass and hopefully cover a few places. My work colleague is joining me for this trip and it should be good fun. One main reason for opting to go to the land of chocolates is that its one of the few places that Indians can travel visa free if they have a UK visa which is valid for more than 6 months. So, its one hassle we can do away with. I will post in detail once I am back from the trip with lots of information and pictures about the trip.

How fickle life is..

2006-02-20T15:27:00.000Z

Other day (infact 8 months ago), my friend and I were walking down the city centre. As we were waiting to cross the road, we noticed a pigeon limping along the middle of the road. It looked like the pigeon had a broken leg. I was thinking of moving the pigeon to a place of relative safety but was a little petrified about handling the bird. So, I turned to my friend and asked him if he would carry it and leave it some where else. Looks like he was also a little wary of handling birds and as we stood there discussing, a car zoomed past and the next thing we heard was a bone crunching sound. I knew what had happened even without looking and as I looked at the driver, I could see her gasping as she realised what she had done but it was too late. This incident haunts me to this day and makes me look hard at myself for the lack of timely action which could have saved the bird. If only I could turn back the clock.....