This ain't a Blog Title

Funny Notice @ Chili's Bangalore

2011-10-29T01:44:00.001-07:00

If only they cooked and served as well as their sense of humor... Sigh...

Funny Bumper Sticker

2011-10-29T01:39:00.001-07:00

This car's owner seems to have put a lot of thought into this bumper sticker.

Steve Jobs - iPhone Wallpaper

2011-10-05T22:13:00.001-07:00

In memory of the greatest visionary of our era - Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011). RIP.

Free iPhone Wallpaper - Brick Wall

2011-09-08T22:28:00.001-07:00

Here's another wallpaper that I clicked and edited using my iPhone. This was taken in Kairali Ayurvedic Resort in Palakkad, Kerala.

Free iPhone Wallpapers

2011-08-26T03:53:00.000-07:00

In my spare time, I often click random pics of objects around me. With the help of my iPhone and PhotoShop Express App, I have created the following. These are mostly close-up macro shots of bed-sheet patterns, toys, t-shirt prints, etc.

Hypocrisy by Rediff.com

2010-01-21T04:25:00.000-08:00

Rediff.com had an article/poll for the worst TV commercial of 2009, running on their portal today.

When I try and think of the worst ads of 2009, this sleazy ad from Rediff.com comes to my mind first. It makes me wonder, if they "rewarded" their "Employee of the Year" with such a ~~goldduck~~ golden chance of working in a TV commercial ;-)

Heights of hypocrisy by NOT including their own ad for the poll!

Lucky Se7en @ Goa

2009-02-16T06:31:00.000-08:00

7th Jan 2009 - 12th Jan 2009, Goa.
Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a thousand little things. And if you happen to have friends like mine, it feels like a thousand little things every moment!

Such was our trip to Goa this January. Me, Ashu, Kapil, Laakha, Niru, DJ & Swat decided to rock our souls out at Goa. Here's the video of all of us - High on Spirits (both Adrenaline & Alcohol). If you like the video leave us a comment!

If I have to hand-pick the high points of the entire trip, it'd be: White Water Rafting at Dandeli; Adventure Sports at the beaches of Goa; Partying all night at Mambos; and most importantly winning the maximum bet in Roulette on our very last day in Goa. To explain the sequence of these events, here's the slide-show.

But its not just the high points that always matter. We also had some of the little but beautiful moments that shall always be used to have a good laugh in our future booze sessions. Kapil put these wonderful incidents into these comic strips. Here's one of them. This was a real incident of DJ, at his very best, with the wine shop owner. Enjoy!

My Yuksom (Sikkim) photos in Reader's Digest Magazine

2008-10-08T02:59:00.000-07:00

Although the Sikkim Trek is very fresh in my mind (and in my blogs; thanks to my laziness) it happened about six months ago. But just a few days back, I got a mail from an unknown person (via Picasa), asking me to mail my phone number to him. I thought the person wants to know about the Trek and hence wants to contact me.

But that was not to be. This gentleman calls me back and introduces him as (a very senior) Editor for Reader's Digest. I didn't believe him at first and actually googled his name. Only when I found a Wikipedia entry for him I realized whom I was speaking to.

So this guy requested to use some of my of Yuksom snaps which he liked in my Picasa web albums. Reader's Digest supplement - Joy, has an article in the October 2008 issue about the beautiful Yuksom and for that he needed some pics from my album. So I sent him close to thirty odd photographs from which he selected five.

The magazine is in stands now. Here's the scanned article with the photographs.

Having said all this, I must admit (and thank) Jeetu & Raman whose photos (one each) were also selected. Thanks guys. I owe you a treat when you are in Bangalore next!

I have given away my Canon S3 IS now, hoping to get my hands on a DSLR soon and take photography more seriously :-) Wish me luck!

New Amazon MP3 Clips Widget

2008-05-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

Amazon recently launched its Amazon MP3 Clips Widget. It lets you showcase your favourite songs from any genre from Amazon's DRM-free MP3 catalog. One can avoid the manual selection and just add the bestsellers from any of the music genres.

The interface is extremely slick and feature-rich. If you browse over the photo, the entire playlist is revealed and the user can play any track they like. The cost of each MP3 is very minimal ($0.89 to $0.99) and is very competitive with iTunes. The "buy link" takes you to the Amazon's page for that particular Album/Song.

There are neat controls to play the music, switch between clips and adjust the volume. You can hide the controls too. Its amazing how Amazon has managed to fit in so much stuff without cluttering the interface. The sample mp3 clips play for about 30 seconds before automatically switching over.

There are different sizes and versions of the widget that is available: Sidebar, Large and Compact. It looks really cool when the Album Art fades in and out during the song transitions.

Here's my widget which I created by selecting the ever green songs of legendary Indian singer Kishore Kumar. Enjoy!

Dinner and Beer after Trek Completion

2008-04-28T09:24:00.001-07:00

Today, after 8 days of awesome trekking, we returned to Yuksom at around 4 PM. We all lost some kilograms in these last 8 days. But today after we had baths, I am sure each one of us lost atleast half a kg each.

After we got freshened up, Mr. Kinjong promised us some local beer called 'Chang'. Its made with any kinda grain (this time it was millets) and yeast, fermented for seven days and then served with warm water.

If this beer is served to you in wooden flasks, you are considered a special guest otherwise if its in bamboo you are just any other guest. These flasks are huge and one can keep pouring warm water until the taste fades away.

I shall post about the trek details (after Day 2) soon.

Sikkim Trek - Day 2 - Day 7

2008-04-28T03:24:00.001-07:00

Last night after camping at our tents we left next morning at eight. However, the previous night was fun. We sang in our tents while our Dzo's (a mix of Yak and Cow) bell kept tinkering all night long.

The hike today is supposed to be the steepest. We'll be ascending 1100 meters in total just today. After two long hours of trek we are now taking a break at Bakhim. Here surprisingly we have cold drinks, tea, biscuits and even Bollywood numbers on the local radio.

Will be resuming soon... So see ya...

8th Aug 2008 - And I didn't !!

I had been contemplating of finishing this series of blogs on my Sikkim Trek for ages now but haven't been successful at all. I couldn't continue mo-blogging after Day 2 because all the signal that I got up there, were from either Bhutan or Bangladesh. I carried an extra basic handset for phone calls and my Nokia E61 for blogging.

The evening after second day's trek was real fun after we camped at Tshoka (just a few 100 meters above Bakhim). The superstar of Tshoka was definitely a sweet little child called Nanji. She is about 2 years old but has exceptional learning capabilities. More than anything she is jaw-dropping adorable and a lot of fun to be with. Have a look at her posing for snaps. I guess people up there, grow up to be very tourist-friendly.

"Day 3 is going to be very challenging", we heard Baichung (our Guide) say at dinner. We were on our way to Dzongri via Phedang. The trek was pretty long, so much that we stopped by at Phedang for lunch. I was dead tired by then and my legs were giving up every 50 meters. The lack of oxygen was started to show on me finally. In spite of being extremely cold I was sweating a lot. I was wearing a thick jacket to keep myself warm. Baichung noticed the problem and helped me out here and asked me to get rid of the jacket. I wrapped it up in my backpack and continued. Apparently, the heat was getting trapped in the jacket and that made me de-hydrate a lot.

We finally reached at Dzongri around 2 PM. On our way we passed a phase that was appropriately called "Heavenly Path". Sikkim govt. has made a stairway on this path thats made out of wood. We passed through the clouds when we took the steep ascent to Dzongri.

Day 4 was a piece of cake. We had to descend 800 meters to reach a place called Thansing. We went along a river stream and the whole trek was fun. We saw a lot beautiful birds on the way. We were just 2 days away from Goecha La and Mt. Kanchenjunga. I could feel the spring on my feet as we reached our camping spot in around 4 hours of time. Moreover, we were told we'd be seeing some snow-capped peaks from very close. Once we reached there we had ample time for cricket! It was cloudy as well as windy but nothing could stop our cricket.

But, suddenly the skies cleared for a few minutes and we saw the gigantic, the most breath-taking view of Mt. Pandim. We saw it from quite a distance from Tshoka a couple of days back. But back then, it just looked like any other mountain from that far. Now, it stood ahead of us with its snow capped peak shining in its full gleam because of the sunset. Everyone stopped doing what they were. People came running out from the tents just to capture this moment in their minds (and cameras). The next morning we woke up Pandim was clearly visible. So was the ridge of Kanchenjunga (on the left).

Day 5 was supposed to be simple, as we would be going to the last camping spot before Goecha La. The placed is called Lamuney and that can be seen on the picture above as well. There was no ascend on Day 5 and we just wanted to reach as close to Goecha La as possible. The trek took less than three hours. We met a few folks who were returning from Goecha La and very extremely upbeat about the view from there. They also spoke about Samiti Lake and the Deers and the Snow Leopards! I just said to myself, "That can't be true!"

On Day 6, we started at 2 AM in the morning. "We must cross Samiti Lake and the view-point before the sun breaks.", was what Baichung told everyone. With our flash-lights and six-layers of clothing, we started trekking in the dark. Samiti lake went and passed by, while no one noticed it in the dark. Just before the dawn broke, we reached the view point. We could see Mt. Kanchenjunga right in front of us. "Yes!", I exclaimed. I was in the foot hills of India's highest peak. We were at around 5000 meters above sea level. (Trivia: Mt. K2 is in PoK and is unofficially India's largest and world's second largest peak)

People started moving towards Goecha La for which we had to cross a lake-turned-desert. It was extremely tough. We saw frozen lakes as the temperature was just below zero now. We had to reach back to Lamuney for lunch and then head even further back to Thansing for camping by the end of the day. On our way back we saw the beautiful Samiti lake and the Deers (but no Snow Leopard!). We also saw a rare species of Golden Ducks. Here are the pics:

On Day 6 and Day 7, we descended to Yuksom via Tshoka-Bakhim-Lachen. We met Nanji again, but had to continue our descent so didn't spend much time with her. We reached Yuksom on Day 7 and it was great to see civilization once again. Schools/monastries/homes/restaurants they all looked very soothing to the eyes. But at night, on my hotel room while I was trying to sleep, I started remembering all the breath-taking views we encountered. Esp. that of Kanchenjunga and Pandim and felt really nostalgic about it. I am definitely gonna cherish this trek for my entire life. I'll leave you with a few pictures from the trek.

And ya, how can I not mention about our trip to Gurudongmar Lake on North-east Sikkim.! We went there on two jeeps and went upto 5100 meters above sea level in the next couple of days. I will just leave you with one serene pic of Gurudongmar Lake. There's nothing purer than this. Click on the pic to enlarge.

Sikkim Trek - Day 1

2008-04-21T03:09:00.001-07:00

At 8 AM sharp we left our rooms to have our breakfast at Gupta's Restaurant. I had Top Ramen Noodles and Bread Omelette. We took our day packs while the Yaks carried the rucksacks and the cooking materials.

There were in total of seven to eight staff of Mr. Kinjong who accompanied us. Our guide for the trek is Baichung and he led us for the trek at 8:30 AM.

We trekked for straight four hours and reached our destination. I guess Baichung under estimated the group a bit as we reached two hours before the scheduled time.

We broke our first day schedule into two on Kinjong's request so that we get acclaimatized with the heights. We'll be camping here for the day. Will trail out in the evening to some stream if rain god permits.

Chao!

Dinner at Yuksom

2008-04-20T10:02:00.001-07:00

At night Mr. Kinjong suggested us to visit the nearby hotel which was more like a wooden ghumti. But he told us that there is special mention about this in the Lonely Planet. And I agree with him now. The food was plain but yummy!

We ordered dal, roti, alu-matar-paneer, alu-gobi and salad. There were so many more options like pizza, pasta, noodles and much more.

Will be going tomorrow again for breakfast...

Yuksom - The starting point of our trek

2008-04-20T06:17:00.001-07:00

We just reached Yuksom, the starting point of our trek. Mr. Kinjong had arranged for us four lovely rooms to spend the night. He is a local NGO and gave us a wonderful trek-expectation talk. Was really impressed about his concerns to preserve the environment. So, no camp fires, no littering, no spitting. The view from the room and the weather outside is awesome. We are gonna start our trek at 7 AM tomorrow. The Goencha La Trek shall last for eight days and its gonna be legen.... wait for it... dary!!!

The map of Sikkim and a funny public toilet

2008-04-20T02:11:00.001-07:00

We reached Jorethang now (2 PM) and will now take another Mahindra 10 seater to Yuksom. We noticed this very useful map of Sikkim. The state looked so small in our India map, but is of pretty decent size.

We also saw this funny 'rate list' of a public toilet. More later...

NJP to Jorethang - The quest begins

2008-04-20T00:08:00.001-07:00

We left NJP at 11 AM for our Sikkim's first destination Jorethang (mis-spelled?) in a Tempo Traveller. The capacity of the vehicle was 10+1 but our flexible and acrobatic bodies could make 14+1 possible.

Its a three hour meandric journey through the valleys of Sikkim. Beautiful views. Will post more pics once I return...

In the train, about to reach NJP

2008-04-19T18:44:00.001-07:00

Its 5:30 AM and we are wide awake. Thats the amazing thing about travelling eastwards that you don't realize how fast the day progresses and also how fast the dusk fades in. Yet to see that...

On board Spice Jet to Kolkata

2008-04-19T02:33:00.000-07:00

We left for Sikkim via Kolkata on board the Spice Jet flight. Right now I am in Kolkata waiting for our train which leaves Sealdah to New Jalpaiguri at 7 PM. Hopefully I wont vaporize till then.

IPL Opening Match - Pictures and Memories

2008-04-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

I just returned from the Opening Ceremony of the IPL (Indian Premier League) in Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. I had never felt so confused while watching any sport event, be it live or on television. No, the organization of the IPL was never a problem. The confusion was IN my head. The confusion of WHICH team to support and hoot for.

Earlier, be it Cricket, Soccer, Tennis or Formula 1, I have always had a clear taste of which team I would like/hope/wish to win. But in case of IPL haven't made up my mind yet. I am myself a Punjabi, born and brought up in Orissa/Chhatisgarh and have been living in Karnataka (Bangalore) for the last 7 years almost. So I gave up and told myself that, as of now, I'd just enjoy good cricket and forget about who wins or who doesn't. It flopped. I never ended up enjoying the cricket. The things that attracted (and kept me busy) were things besides cricket. For example, the Redskin Cheerleaders and their wonderful moves, my camera and its 12X zoom, who all are accompanying Shahrukh, etc. In the end, the match proved to be a hugely one-sided affair. In international cricketing terms it was almost like India v/s Namibia (Let your imagination decide which country played which IPL Team's role!)

I shall leave you here with some pics from the match. I have a flight to catch tomorrow. I am off to Sikkim for a 14-day trek. Yipppeeeeee !!!!! :-)

Orkut Applications - Facebook Beware!!

2008-04-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Orkut just recently launched a suite of Applications which the members can add to their profiles and interact with others - just like Facebook. There were always news (rumors?) about Google developing an application platform for its social networking site - Orkut. They are already up with about 18 desi and non-desi applications. Here they are:

You can add applications links on the left navigation page of your Orkut Profile (again, just like Facebook) which will take your visitors to the respective application.

There are quite good numbers of applications already and within days I see the Application Directory being swarmed by various new apps built by developers worldwide. The ones that I have already explored (and added!) are Music iLike and myHangman.

Music iLike, it seems, has various free MP3 directories and Video libraries from which you can search and handpick your favourite videos and songs. Not just this, if you think of yourself as a Music Buff, you can take the Music Challenge and boast off your scores to friends.

There is one game that I like a lot - Hangman and Orkut's version is called myHangman. This is a flash based app and you can guess Movie Names, Cities, etc.

I shall try out some more of them. Will keep you all posted...

Indian Premier League (IPL) - Ready for Opening Ceremony and Match

2008-04-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

We (me and my room-mates) were completely infected with the IPL Fever (Thanks to the never-ending Commercials and the News Coverage) when we decided, that we must go for the Opening Match between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Here's the ticket for which I paid a hefty sum. It just got delivered by courier at my workplace. I had ordered it online from TicketPro.

I thought I should post something w.r.t this. So let me tell you what I expect from this whole IPL hoopla in the next month and half:

Even more blatant promotion of the teams and their 'stars' with the help of silly songs written and sung by long-ago-discarded lyricists and singers.
Even more number of cricket fans (fanatics?) storming into the stadiums and queuing up early in the morning for IPL tickets.
Some ferocious cricket from U-19 Players from World Cup winning Indian Team who want to make a mark at the national front.
At the same time, some sloppy cricket from the seniors, while they realize its high time they hang their boots.
Lat but not the least, NO beer or any other alcohol drink in the stadium. Not even in Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Royal Challengers home ground Bangalore where even the stands are named as Antiquity Members Stand, Bagpiper Special View, McDowell's Best View and Royal Challenge Pavilion

My First Moblog

2008-04-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is my 1st moblog. Thanks to bhai for this wonderful Nokia E61. This will help me in my Sikkim Trek starting April 19th 2008

What if Google Sky was launched a Century later

2008-03-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Google recently launched another mind-boggling yet completely-useless-to-common-man tool called Google Sky. Here's a snapshot:

What if this product was launched a century later? There would have been just one minute change in the UI which would have made it really useful in that age:

North India Trip

2008-02-07T06:36:00.000-08:00

25th January 2008 to 5th February 2008,
BLR (Bangalore) - NDLS (New Delhi) - LKO (Lucknow) - CNB (Kanpur) - NDLS - BCY (Banaras) - NDLS - MTJ (Mathura) - AGA (Agra) - NDLS

This was one of the longer vacations that I had ever been since my school summer holidays. As you can see the holiday lasted for quite a long time and I traveled exhaustively across the two major states of North India - Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

The first destination was Delhi on my way to Lucknow & Kanpur to attend the marriage of my cousin brother. Had a fun time with my extended family, meeting up people and gluttoning some of the best kebabs of Lucknow. Here's the slide-show

Once I returned from the marriage back to Delhi, I joined a few friends of mine to go to the marriage of my manager and friend Krishna. The marriage was in Banaras (Varanasi) but we managed some more time to roam around Delhi and also pay a visit to Agra & Mathura as well. Here are a few slide-shows of these trips:

Truth behind Harbhajan-Symonds Racist Slur

2008-01-08T05:31:00.001-08:00

teri maa ki... \te-ree maa kee\
completely-non-offensive-fill-in-the-blanks-kinda-indian-slang

1. your mother's... [literally] - Often followed by terms like 'aankh', 'choodiyaan', ...
2. a racist slur [as recently claimed by the australian cricket team]