Karthik Rajendran

Sambhar

rkar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:41:21 GMT

Well I really wanted to put up a snap of the Chicken Biryani that I cooked yesterday.
But it just disappeared even before the thought of phographing could come up again.
What more I even tried out a Chicken Soup/Curry for dinner and it dissapeared as fast as the Biryani.

Sambhar

Ingredients(Stage 1)
1) 1glass Toor dhal
2) 3glass water
3) 1/2 tea spoon turmeric

Procedure (Stage 1)
1) Wait for sound in medium flame with lid closed and weight.
2) 10 mins sim and switch off.
3) Place under water and reduce pressure before opening.

Ingredients(Stage 2)
1) 30 chillies small size or 15 chillies large size slit in the middle
2) 5 tomatoes medium size cut.

Procedure(Stage 2)
1) Add remaining ingrediants
2) Pressure cook till sound
3) Release with cold water.
4) 4 spoons tamrind paste
5) Beat well using egg beater.
6) Cook in open flame for 1 min.
7) Add salt to taste. ( Approx 4 tea spoons.)
8) Use oil to roast mustard(kadugu) and mix and remove.

I hope the sambhar stays long enough for me to share a photo of how it looks..

Chicken Biryani

rkar — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:36:39 GMT

New challenges require new skills. And its time I upgrade! Its just a recepie for my personal use.. try it at your own risk ( wonder who's taking cooking recepies from me )

Ingrediants

Ginger/Garlic Paste ( 4 tea spoons)
Onion (4)
Tomato (3)
Mint (Pudhina)
Corriander (kothamilli)
Patta Lovango
Rice ( 2glases)
Oil ( 1/2 glass .. same as that of rice)
Green Chillies (10 small nicely cut)
Salt
Turmeric (1 tea spoon)
6-8 pieces of chicken

Procedure

Two glases of rice to be soken for 30mins.
Cut 4 onions, 3 tomatoes, corriander, green chillies.
Wash the chicken.
Keep cooker on a lit stove
poar oil
Onion, patta lovango, ginger/garlic paste fry, Turmerci powder
Green Chillies, Pudhina and keep frying
3 tea spoons salt.
Put the dried chicken for 3-4 mins.
Put the tomatoes
4 1/4 glass of water.
Close lid for 5 mins with low flame.
2 spoons oil + rice filtered off water .. microvawe for 4mins.
Mix rice into the cooker and wait till boil
Sim flame and taste liquid ..make changes as appropriate (chillies, salt ...)
10 mins on a low flame and put it off.
wait for another 10 mins after you turn off the stove before opening.

5 Things I started out to do in 2009

rkar — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:46:32 GMT

1) Excercise

2) Drive my car

3) Learn Karate

4) Cook 10 new dishes

5) Read a 100 books

You should have figured by know as to where I am in accomplishing this list, if only given some attention to the title !

Blogging Emotional Stuff !

rkar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:41:22 GMT

So often bloggers like you tend to write about...

Poems of that beautiful girl next cubicle,
that hot tempered, pea brained boss,

or just about the episode after the last drinks night with the guys.
with great many vivid details...making it so much more interesting to read.

Remember the Oxymoron Internet Security!!
Years after you've removed the blog after the realization that you should not have posted it.....our Google's special "Cached" has the complete detail.

So Beware and keep writing ;)

4 years of displine ...for what ?

rkar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:34:12 GMT

Systematic Investments in Mutual Funds counters the unpredictable market and the necessity to time the market. This is what i have been hearing, reading and at worse advocating to many a friendly pair of ears.

I just revisited my investments for the last 4 years and saw that after a disciplined four years of investment I am left with 80% of what I put in.

Dasavatharam

rkar — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:19:26 GMT

Being the big movie buff that i claim to be, you should have seen this blog four weeks back.
If it were not for the final semester VTU exams that my sister was writing you most definitely would have.
These exams and their mean timing depriving so many a fan from catching the movie on the first day !

If you still have not seen the movie and dont have such a genuine reason to not have watched it, chances are you are just not going to watch it. That is where this should give you all the info to change your mind...

Music Direction - Himesh Reshammiya
I must admit that neither am i his biggest fan nor even somebody who remembers and relishes his hits. All that I do remember and believe enough is that he is someone who likes to be identified as the guy who sings through his nose and usually wears a cap on or off screen. If there is one song i do remember was the "Tera Suroor" ...

The wikipedia does seem to show him very good light no wonder Kamal has got him down south to do this movie. Unfortunately the music does not stand out if it were not for the magnanimous sets being used.

Mallika Sherawat - I should have actually talked more on Asin in the headline and MS in the sidelines, but MS does stand out with her role much more than Asin. Her sugar spy/ villain role in the movie has been aptly made for her to say and she does carry out very splendidly.

No offense for Asin fans, she's definitely my hot South Indian Favourtie too :D
But unfortunately she does not really have a big role that one would remember her performance or any dance numbers to remember her for :(

Kamal's Volaganayakan Acting - I have'nt heard of a south indian who would argue otherwise, but this has 10 times the acting and you definitely are missing something if you have'nt seen him act as the Balram Naidu a telgu RAW agent in india. This is most unanimously the best role he's done in the movie that everybody enjoyed. This is the comedian role where he plays the role of a lethargic government official who goes about his work with no concern for a bio-ecological disaster that is to unfold. This role does show some leverages from his previous role in Indiran Chandaran but it does keep you glued to the screen with appriciation.

Well done home work-- They did the real hard work in terms of fitting in just about anythig and everything they thought so that they can avoid any issues at the time of release. From having both Amma, Karunanidhi, Manmohan Singh in it. Or as they would call in my office as Diversity, he plays a christian, hindu, muslim, sikh, lady, young, old, government official, pvt officer, forward caste, backward caste, short dwarf to a tall gaint, indian, american, japanese, father, son, hero...name it he's just absolutely made sure he covers it all.

The Plot -- This has the traits of a Manoj Shamalam movie, having watched "the happening" only a week ago one will have to say that what was shot in the last 10 minutes of Dasavatharam has been blown into a 1.5hour hollywood movie minus the acting of kamal and the musical numbers. Both the plots are identical in that the nature counters human exploitation of earth. Actually this movie has a more logical reasonable nearly believable storyline. Wonder why most reviewers complain about a shaky story line.

In all it was time well spent on a Thursday afternoon after bunking office :D

Minchagi Neenu Baraloo

rkar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:52:36 GMT

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The most listened to song of the month !

"Who cares to find out my most listened song of this month ?" ...some how this question just popped up when i was wondering what to write next on.

For someone following Kannada music it will be quite natural that someone appreciates this song. But it sure will surprise many who know how appreciative and knowledgeable i have been ...I've had this sudden inspiration to learn new languages, unlike my dear friends who woke up one day and decided to learn the most spoken languages on the exact other side of the globe, i decided to learn the language of the land.

Spanish by no means a bad language to communicate, but my fundamental understanding of the requirement of learning to talk a language was to communicate and i don't really understand why someone would spend all that energy time and money on learning something that they would probably forget before putting to use :??

My sudden inspiration comes nearly quarter a century after living in this State, quite naturally it did arouse quite a few heads as to why I started learning....my mom, my team mates ...

Who care what it is useful for... i do get to put it to use with so many a people ;-) ..and really to enjoy this wonderful piece of lyrics!

Kasargode !

rkar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:24:18 GMT

The memories of the last college trips usually linger in our minds for a very long time. With all the peer pressure and proffesinal outlook one has to maintain with your peer community remains the stumbling block to replay those college days. But when I got together with a bunch of my colleauges, actually even before the start of this trip we had totally downgraded it into a local friends community... i was sure it would be a runnaway hit right among the last few trips i had done.

Just a few highlights...

Aiyravathaa --- The train would have been the best option for the trip, we could have had a few sessions of cards, a few laughs and a good nights sleep. The price of planning something so late, with the number of people turning up unconformed we had to do with some siverely chilling AC, uncomfortable push back seats and bumpy seats at the back with optimism that it would all be worth it...

Chayaa and Parota -- Geting off much ahead of Mangalore at a place called Buntwal we all took a quick sip of tea and a bite of parotas. waiting for our ride to our destinations we had quick dash of photos ... the one part which was a regular feature of every spot that we went to..

MayaBazar 2008 --- From the previous spot we went straight to this amazing kerala village, with zero traffic on the road, twittering birds and a light shower to keep us company for the 20 something distance we had to go. And the best part of the treat was at the end of this road trip. The buckets of idlis, sambar, chatnni and coffee that we had at KT's house reminds me of this old Telugu movie.

The idli's kept on comming and we went on eating ...

Superstition --- Can you imagine a crocodile to be a god, that is exactly the main attraction of this temple at Ananthpur. A live crocodile is given prasadam and treated as a deity! Apart from this unusual ritual, it was really enjoyable being there topless with mild showers and the temple right in the middle of a lake. Myth has it that a tunnel starting there goes all the way to thiruvanthapuram temple. Unfortuanately we could'nt capture any photos because of the drizzling..

Bekal Fort -- The huge walls remind you immidiately of 'Uyiraa Uyiraa' from Bombay if you are one of those guys with a tragic love story ...this is the place for you to be singing from :P

And there started the first of the three serious photography sessions, profile photograpsh, trick prhotographs, name it there was a photographer and dozens of models! There were "Missing You" phone calls and " i wish you were here " songs...it was the chilling breeze the big stone walls and the waves splashing against the rocks...

Chandragiri Fort and Lake --- The adjoining smaller fort may not be as extragavant as the first one, but it did provide many a senic view and many an oppurtunity for some innovative photography. The Aerobics and the bent coconut trees on the side of the lake...is as pictursque as you can see ...

The Party --- Best described as the cover, the omlett and the bubbles. Some enjoyed it being sober, some being asleep, some on the table and some in the mens room. If it were'nt for the photo and audio ban...there would have been many an interesting photo to share with you all. The second session of food was as memorable as the first only for a totally different reason :D

PWD Guest house --- Its always good to have an experienced veteran and a inexperienced saint cos when the sun rose the place was as spick and span as we had ended the night with. If it weren't for one missing wallet we had quite a good night. It was time for some morning Bunz and some last time you told this ..did that talk..."Nora Thumba Aythooo..." ... "Ivathaay Omlettt Haktheene"...

Boat House at I dont know where --- This was definitely my least interesting part of the trip where we had gone in search of a boat house adventure...only to get ourselves a power boat for an hour of photography in the back waters of the Arabian Sea ( I think). People were really high on yesterdays dinner that they were in spirits to talk about their most exiting time at office....lets keep off that topic for the time being. It was sure drunken talk...coming without the drinks .. Majja banthuu....and we did get to know a little more of the whole gang.

The Beach --- One of the most ferocious and pulling beaches, this was very close to our guest house. After about two days all we could manage only a couple of hours to get some sand into our shorts and the picturesque clouded sunset. The sound of the waves the view of the beach and the splash of the waves on the feet ...although typical of every beach ..somehow sticks to my memory with the abscense of commercialization. We definitely came here pretty late..

The Run to the Bus --- 50 kms away from our Chilling white elephant, a heavy down poar was telling us to extend our stay (if we miss our bus)...the standing bus ride, followed by an auto through the streets of Mangalore got us just about in time for getting a quick bite and getting on board on time.

I guess we are all waiting for the next big 2 day trip....

(The whole gang with our wonderful hosts.. Rajesh, Thirumalesh(King Thiru), Kiran(Jumping Jack), Me (The Author), Shankar ( Cricketer), Krushna (Director), Sanotsh (Our Model), Govinda (Thiru's Bro), Thiru's Dad and Mom, ( Siva --invisible person to have dropped out at the last minute)

What to Blog?

rkar — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:44:32 GMT

For the last week or so I have been rethinking if I should continue blogging or not.

In the constant quest to improving my blogging skills I started reading a lot of blogs more than the number of coffee breaks that i take in office(and thats quite a number). This all started with me getting to learn about RSS feeds and getting to know reader.google.com. It is a superb feed reader and with google search engine just about throws up the most interesting blogs. Thats how i got to some fundoo blogs . So more the coffee breaks, the more I read, the more i read the more I enjoy and more I read the more I realize how bad my blogs suck.

Looking at the clustermaps I've noticed that i have 7 prominent spots, three in the US for my three friends in the three different time zones, one in London for yet another friend, and three in India which i am guessing hosts the web proxy's for the remaining three who work in s/w companies in Bangalore. So quite clearly my audience is no other than of bunch of close friends who'd probably log on once in a while to check what i am upto.

While that is sufficient reason for me not to give up....One of these 7 friends who thinks he smart thought that he could improve his hit rate by writing a whole blog trying to mock my intelligence. Although his puny effort is not going to see his hit counter move past the same 7 on my counter, i'd like to dedicate this blog to him for instigating me to write.

PS:By some grave miscalculation if you are not one of the seven you should go read UK , cos in between his whole dramatic blogs with twisted ends and defaming my personality he still stays my "biggest" friend.

Visit To Vellore

rkar — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:12:25 GMT

Karvar, Murdeshwar, Coorg, Goa, Kasargode, Yelagiri, Yercad....after all those plans for having a holiday the one getaway that I get to go was to Vellore. Coincidentally the only trip I was no way involved in planning or contributing except turn up.

Within a very short span of time with the craving for getting yourself into a room with AC you know for sure you have left Bangalore and on the way to Tamil Nadu. Vellore whose literal translation from tamil means "the city of heat"...and a holiday break from Bangalore...nice joke! It was my cousins engagement and there was no way i could escape.

A brilliant idea strikes me from this trip...doesn't it make sense to visit a place like Vellore for the 3-4 day getaway rather than the cool hill station like ooty or kodaikanal... This way you get to enjoy the whole summer just recollecting how beautiful the climate is down here :D

Obsessions

rkar — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:38:49 GMT

I have been taking photographs for quite a few years now, i can mostly recall taking photos as early as 1982.
While an office colleague of mine spends multiple shots on the same scenery to capture it in different shades and then putting them all together in a single snap spending hours to get the best photo. It is most definitely one of the best picture and that is why I've put it up as my desktop wallpaper. And it has got quite a few inquisitive by passers to stop by and ask where it was taken and when i had been there, only to get to hear that it was something i got from a friend!

While this most definitely has the chance of making it big to a calender or an ad campaign with the amazing technicality with which it was developed. I've learnt one small 1 minute trick to make pictures magical and ever lasting. Guess what...put yourself in it and i bet it will no way stand in comparison with the other ones.

I'm actually caught in office sitting next to 4 neighbours and all of them have their own pictures at different places being put up as their wallpapers.

So while you next pass by a mirror setting your hair back in place...do remember you are doing one of the most energizing, encouraging, exiting activity that you could do to your self.......Admire Yourself !

Its Been Some Time

rkar — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:17:49 GMT

The last few weeks have been quite eventful and that is probably a good reason I have been unable to blog.

Good News is that i have been able to continue my routine of hitting the gym regularly without any hiccups(except for today that is ).

Saw "Saw" which has raced to my top 10 list of favorite movies overnight.

Caught the best Tamil remake of an English movie namely .."Kurvi" the english one which you would recognize as "The mask of Zorro".

Received the highly anticipated regret letter from IIMB about me failing to make it to their PGSEM course.

Downgraded the status of a fantastic working peer group into an engineering college friends group.

Failed miserably to execute a tour plan due to so many parameters.

I guess i could have written 7 different blogs talking in detail about each event, but that may never had happened.

Indian Rock Concert

rkar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:24:16 GMT

10,000 Watts of hot remixes, scantly dressed white cheerleaders dancing to "Hutidharay Kannada Nadinalli Huttirabayku", 80,000 strong packed stadium and 40overs of cricket, thats whats happening this season in India.
Woof the opening ceremony was one hell of a curtain raiser for the inaugural IPL tournament with singers giving performances, slit draping cloth dancers, fireworks and gymnastics, all perfect but for the puny performance of the local boys.

The dancing, the cheering, the music, if you weren't one of those who witnessed the live event you definitely missed one of the biggest shows this year so far. And the best part off all this was that irrespective of who won in the end it really dint hurt that much at all.

Weather it is going to be as sensational , exiting as the just passed Indians tour of Australia or not, a lot of big bucks are being made politicians, oil barons, Bollywood actors, cricketers to the ball boys at the stadium.
Signs of a prospering nation finding newer means of making and spending money!

What makes you happy?

rkar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:30:56 GMT

Seven weeks on the trot waking up at five and hitting the gym, oh yes thats some achievement I am happy about.

So much enthralled by my dedication, I do spend sometime sitting and stumbling on "Body Building" and "Self Improvement" that i hit on an article that said that your body excretes happy hormones while one is exercising. No wonder i was so high in the morning and generally at a higher enthu level in office through the day.

While i brought this info up to a colleague he rubbished it saying that he is big time into meditation and that he gets high much more than i could ever hope to get out of exercising. Well after that he did bring a valid point that it was one activity that i liked doing and that probably was the reason why i probably felt happy.

One discussion let to another and ultimately to my old philosophy on is it really meaningful to not have any expectations and be thankful of whatever you get Vs setting big goals and walking towards it.

Weather you achieve it or not I feel that it is always good to set a goal and the amount of satisfaction derived from it would unquestionably be unmatchable.

Resignation !

rkar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:40:34 GMT

I and a few of my colleagues were siting around thinking of nice April Fools Prank to play on in office.
May be on our bosses, and one of them came up with a nice idea of placing a blank sheet of paper in an envelope with the cover reading "Resignation Letter".

Wah a nice idea to pull your Manager's legs especially when he is concerned about keeping the team intact and pulling through this tough financial year.

So you walk to him, hand him over the letter and he opens it to find a blank sheet. He gets his head up and says "Karthik, looks like you've forgotten filling it up. Just sign at the bottom and i'll follow up the rest !"

The Big Battle

rkar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:06:17 GMT

If swimming comes natural to a newly born labrador retriever thrown into a pond and the instinct to stand up and walk to a new born deer, eating is that one thing that comes natural to me. The first thought of an empty stomach and one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world start working over time simulating the smell, the taste, the look and feel of crispy fried hot and red chicken kabab and gives you the shortest path to catch hold of a plateful.

If there were a debate as to should one eat to live or live to eat, I would have without any hesitation spoken that there is no shame in "living to eat". The amount of satisfaction a meal that makes your stomach full is undoubtedly unmatchable. Indians have been migrating away for centuries together either by choice or by force, and i have heard that over a period of time these people forget their roots, the language they used to speak and mostly even the religion they practice. Names however are the ones that give away that they in fact are somehow descendants of India, what is more fascinating is the food style remain the longest with them.

The next biggest attribute would be social acceptance and recognition. And unfortunately the fact that good looks which is such an important aspect works against the law of eating well. Here I am fighting one of the biggest battles of good looks vs a full stomach.

My Latest Craze

rkar — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:39:29 GMT

Twenty Four More weeks and i shall replace this picture with mine !

Cute !

rkar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:21:59 GMT

Really a cute video with a cute girl singing. Check this out ...

Dilbert

rkar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:28:41 GMT

Manager: Guys whats happening to the enthu ? How about we have some fun at office?
Worker: ( What did you expect after our pay appraisals, gift you with the best manager mug and put in more time on weekends ?)
Manager: Any ideas on what we could do ...
Worker:( thinking....free lunches, fun outings, movies, bowling)
Manager: And guys we are over budget this quarter
Worker:( i thought there was some threads attached, dint realize it was virtual )
Manager: I have an idea...
Worker: ( i knew something was coming )
Manager: How about we make a ppt of fun stuff we could do and circulate it ?

Amy Winehouse

rkar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:56:33 GMT

Grammy Winner of the year- check the video an the album I like it and so will you !

Valentine's Day

rkar — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:36:40 GMT

For about a couple of months I have been pondering about how to put my thoughts into action. I really wanted this to happen for me. I was absolutely sure it had to be done and that the only person who could make it was me!

Office--Time and again this seems to be the one thing that is stopping me from taking this forward. Last year when i thought i had it really going, my US trip became the stumbling block. When i went there things were a little tight between me managing work, cooking, laundry and the weekend tourism. Time for other stuff was something i had to do some another time.

When i came back as usual there were different circumstances that with-held me. The change in my office location. The office shifting may not sound like a big deal but then, i have to take the company transport and spend close to two hours commuting. The limited time and the added responsibilities has become quite a challenge to actually have a good work/life balance. Personal time was something i had only on the weekends and this is something i need to my whole lifetime.

Alas after being done with all the excuses that i could muster to reason my lack of determination to take it forward, this V-day did provide that bit of extra energy and enthu to actually go up and sign up for six months of gyming. Getting up at eight' o clock was such a good thing last year around but newer circumstances require different and more difficult actions. No pain no Gain... and i will make sure i make it through this 6 months.

Shogun-- Marathahalli

rkar — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:35:19 GMT

Deno, one of my colleagues got a big break with a new posting and sadly had to leave our team. While we wished him a good career it was a good chance to get a treat out from him, the one he'd been denying us for his marriage, us trip and many other stuff that he'd been upto for the last year.

(Rajesh, Deno and Siva enjoying their food at Shogun)

With a lot of discussions of Barbecue Nation, The Village, H2O, Indy Joes we had a consensus and ended up at Shogun on Marthahalli road just before the innovative multiplex. The south Indian non-veg restaurant Malgudi was quite a decent place we had visited earlier and this was being run by the same management.

It was quite an ok place, just that we had the whole place for ourselves. It's place you can probably put off till you are done with all the better restaurants in the area, not that it was bad, just plain ordinary.

Indira Logathill Azhagappan

rkar — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:05:27 GMT

For calling myself a big tamil movie buff, this would be first movie this year. I could have waited a little longer to actually catch hold of a better movie, but one whole week of stupid meetings I had to do something to get off my bad mood. That's how i ended up at this movie.

Fantastic effort by Vadivel with his regular does of getting beaten up, squeals and even a couple of self sung songs. Kudos to his role as "Man, Dharman, YamaDharman" on the lines of "Bond, JamesBond" ! Wow dude, good show...if it weren't for the bad storyline it would have been an a very good movie.But like vadivel would have said..."Aiyoooo Aiyoooo...time a waste panitayaaa"

Weekend

rkar — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:43:26 GMT

Weekend - I just love my weekends all the time in the world and you can spend it just the way you want to.

Laze around get up late knowing for sure that there aint no bus that you gonna miss( I know you are probably one such person). But then that's not the way i like spending my weekend, this is my time to do stuff other than sit in front of my PC browsing code, sending mails and attending meetings. Stuff like hitting the gym(ya i know its like once in a bluemoon activity) or getting the half priced movie tickets for the morning show at Rex or join my cousin for a morning Jog around Ulsoor Lake is more like stuff i'd enjoy doing.

This week did something different, coaxed a bunch of my colleague to actually buy into my thoughts of turning up at the fitness center at seven! Thats right seven and actually managed to have a quorum of 4 guys to play badminton and had quite a nice time, tiring but in an enjoyable way.

Although i was not that good at it, i wouldn't miss any opportunity to play it with anyone. So the next time you plan to play, don't forget letting me know about it.

Song Of the Month

rkar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:46:44 GMT

The song is atleast a couple of months old, but i managed to get a hold of it !