And thus I have run out of time :) Praying will not help anymore, unfortunately. Its not the first time, nor the first night before I left home. And yet it feels the same. A little blank, a little nauseous, a few fluttering butterflies and a little sad. But there's a difference this time. I chose this day. It wasn't decided for me by others or circumstances. It was a conscious, thought out decision. And yet it feels the same. Doesn't matter whether it was the kid in class 4 who didn't want to leave his parents but circumstances gave him no option, or the young man who was told that Reliance provided a better prospect for his career even if it meant that he had to move to Gujarat or the not-so-young man who wanted to prove that he could do what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do, just to prove himself.
Funny thing is, its not really that bad. Its not like I am moving far away to a place from where I could not come back home. For all I know, this could be exactly what I needed. The perfect balance of independence/responsibility and the comfort of home. In fact, a lot of you reading this might be far away from home (or the place that used to be home once). But then over time, you tend to get used to the new place and that becomes home. Change and movement is continuous and such is life.
I look forward to Pune, the new job, the new people. At the current juncture, this is exactly what I needed. Will it help me achieve what I wanted and what all this was about? To tell you the truth, I do not know. It doesn't seem to be. Maybe if I concentrate on the path rather than the destination, the journey would be a lot easier and interesting. Who knows maybe I'll get adventurous and find a better destination to travel too. :) That's the thing about it. The possibilities are endless.
So with the hope of a better and more interesting life, I put my current life on hold. I do not know when I'll get to write again, but I'll be back soon. Until then, goodbye and goodnight. I hope to be back asap. :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Stuffed and Praying for Time
I think most of my past one month has gone in eating. Good food, good places and most of all good company. :) Well today was good too, I bow before the Bengali women for their awesome ability to cook good food! And heading my list of super cooks is my mom. I ought to tell her once in a while how good she cooks :)
Well I feel extremely slow and lethargic. Most of my blood is definitely concentrated in and around the stomach muscles trying to digest the food that I have stuffed in. Well as Po would say, "My Kung-Fu is not that good while I am digesting", I follow, "my writing may not be that good while i am digesting :P".
Here's a song for tonight... since I don't think I'll do justice writing anything. A song called "Praying for Time" by George Michael. A good song with good matter, says how things are. Me on the other hand am for praying for time too. A little different though.
Well I feel extremely slow and lethargic. Most of my blood is definitely concentrated in and around the stomach muscles trying to digest the food that I have stuffed in. Well as Po would say, "My Kung-Fu is not that good while I am digesting", I follow, "my writing may not be that good while i am digesting :P".
Here's a song for tonight... since I don't think I'll do justice writing anything. A song called "Praying for Time" by George Michael. A good song with good matter, says how things are. Me on the other hand am for praying for time too. A little different though.
These are the days of the open hand They will not be the last Look around now These are the days of the beggars and the choosers This is the year of the hungry man Whose place is in the past Hand in hand with ignorance And legitimate excuses The rich declare themselves poor And most of us are not sure If we have too much But we’ll take our chances Because God’s stopped keeping score I guess somewhere along the way He must have let us all out to play Turned his back and all Gods children Crept out the back door And its hard to love, there’s so much to hate Hanging on to hope When there is no hope to speak of And the wounded skies above say it’s much, much too late Well maybe we should all be praying for time These are the days of the empty hand Oh you hold on to what you can And charity is a coat you wear twice a year This is the year of the guilty man Your television takes a stand And you find that what was over there is over here So you scream from behind your door Say what’s mine is mine and not yours I may have too much but I’ll take my chances Because God’s stopped keeping score And you cling to the things they sold you Did you cover your eyes when they told you That he can’t come back Because he has no children to come back for Its hard to love there’s so much to hate Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of And the wounded skies above say its much too late So maybe we should all be praying for time
Friday, August 27, 2010
Toxic thoughts, truth torn, tattered
Have you ever wished you could read other's thoughts? Wouldn't that be similar to posessing the ultimate weapon? Or should I say that would be the greatest power one could own? You would always be able to act the right way (when I say right I mean the way that would let you achieve what you want), find out people's weaknesses, their secrets, their plan of action.
You would notice that every one of the possibilities above ultimately leads to the owner's benefit. Such is the way, the brain works. Think of how it would be beneficial to you and then the rest of the world. It would really make that person a very powerful and yet lonely person :) Thing is you really don't want to know what's going on in the other person's head. Nothing good ever comes of it. How do I claim to know this? I have obviously never had the power to do so. There have been situations where I have been able to predict what the person would do based on the fact that I knew these people very well. But then everyone can do that right? I came to the conclusion that its good to let thoughts be personal and no good would come if every this privacy is breached, by just studying my own thoughts.
The brain is a bad bad place. You can create and destroy lives, relationships, objects, careers, course of the future. Anything you want. I have looked in to my thoughts, some of them are good, some genuine, some nothing more than pretentious goodness, some ugly and some pure evil. Ever heard the term, "feeling naked"? Well thats how you would feel. If your thoughts were breached upon. I have actually loathed myself at some of my thoughts. Asked myself how I could think of such things. Didn't really have a very high opinion about myself during those moments of self analysis.
Now imagine how the people, about whom I have had these thoughts, would feel? The thoughts never meant anything, atleast most of them. They were just random, fleeting thoughts. But what were to happen if the person I was thinking about read my thoughts at that very instant? What would happen if the person was my loved one? Life would have been so much more complicated and pathetic for him. What if we reversed the roles. The person was my loved one and I read those awful thoughts about me. I would be devastated. Maybe I would end up doing something that would totally destroy the whole situation and the future involving the two of us. All because I happened to catch a random thought.
Not a pretty scene. Remember the dialogue from Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibilities. Its absolutely true. Unfortunately, great powers always come to those who deserves them the least. TAKE THEM AWAY!
You would notice that every one of the possibilities above ultimately leads to the owner's benefit. Such is the way, the brain works. Think of how it would be beneficial to you and then the rest of the world. It would really make that person a very powerful and yet lonely person :) Thing is you really don't want to know what's going on in the other person's head. Nothing good ever comes of it. How do I claim to know this? I have obviously never had the power to do so. There have been situations where I have been able to predict what the person would do based on the fact that I knew these people very well. But then everyone can do that right? I came to the conclusion that its good to let thoughts be personal and no good would come if every this privacy is breached, by just studying my own thoughts.
The brain is a bad bad place. You can create and destroy lives, relationships, objects, careers, course of the future. Anything you want. I have looked in to my thoughts, some of them are good, some genuine, some nothing more than pretentious goodness, some ugly and some pure evil. Ever heard the term, "feeling naked"? Well thats how you would feel. If your thoughts were breached upon. I have actually loathed myself at some of my thoughts. Asked myself how I could think of such things. Didn't really have a very high opinion about myself during those moments of self analysis.
Now imagine how the people, about whom I have had these thoughts, would feel? The thoughts never meant anything, atleast most of them. They were just random, fleeting thoughts. But what were to happen if the person I was thinking about read my thoughts at that very instant? What would happen if the person was my loved one? Life would have been so much more complicated and pathetic for him. What if we reversed the roles. The person was my loved one and I read those awful thoughts about me. I would be devastated. Maybe I would end up doing something that would totally destroy the whole situation and the future involving the two of us. All because I happened to catch a random thought.
Not a pretty scene. Remember the dialogue from Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibilities. Its absolutely true. Unfortunately, great powers always come to those who deserves them the least. TAKE THEM AWAY!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sherlock
I just love it when people take their jobs seriously and find innovative ideas to make it better :) You would wonder what made me say this but it just occurred to me after I finished watching the new series "SHERLOCK". Its a television series made for BBC (BBC really knows good entertainment :) ). They have totally revamped it and set it in the current settings of London.
All I can say is that its a brilliant adaptation, the stories are new with characters same as the original sherlock stories. And this Sherlock is modern and hip. He uses his mobile to look up information on the internet, take photos of crime scenes, keep in touch with Dr. Watson and the police. Dr. Watson on the other hand has just returned from Afghanistan and comes in contact with Sherlock because of an accomodation issue. He maintains his blog www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk where he discusses the cases (yes! no more journals :) blogging is the way to go). Sherlock on the other hand has also got his own website which he maintains www.thescienceofdeduction.co.uk. Infact there are a few other characters as well who have their own blogs and their blogs actually builds the stories a bit :D. This is what I mean when I say taking the job seriously. The creators of this series have made these characters very real. The other series in which one of the characters maintains a blog is How-I-Met-Your-Mother's Barney Stinson. Will write about that another day.
They have currently come up with 3 episodes of 90 minutes each. I was extremely impressed with the pace of the stories, the way it was shot, the acting and the whole packaging. This is one series I will keep a look out for :) I am not sure many of you have seen it yet but if you can get the series, do it! Its easily available on the net. Suman owes a big "Thank You" for pointing me to interesting new stuff :)
As far as I am concerned, I vegetated all day long. Played more of Crysis, watched Sherlock and generally faffed around :P There were times in my life where there were shades of gray, most of it still is. But I think there is a part of it which I have in a strange sort of way directed into a world of 2 solid colours. No shades in it. I do not know how it happened. But it has finally come to the point where its either of the 2. No more confusion, no more shades. It was inevitable I guess, better now than 6 months down the line where things got more shitty. I try not to repeat the same mistake twice, I think I was about to. Corrective measures were required and that is what is in process. Corrective measures... Detoxification... or maybe just survival instincts.
All I can say is that its a brilliant adaptation, the stories are new with characters same as the original sherlock stories. And this Sherlock is modern and hip. He uses his mobile to look up information on the internet, take photos of crime scenes, keep in touch with Dr. Watson and the police. Dr. Watson on the other hand has just returned from Afghanistan and comes in contact with Sherlock because of an accomodation issue. He maintains his blog www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk where he discusses the cases (yes! no more journals :) blogging is the way to go). Sherlock on the other hand has also got his own website which he maintains www.thescienceofdeduction.co.uk. Infact there are a few other characters as well who have their own blogs and their blogs actually builds the stories a bit :D. This is what I mean when I say taking the job seriously. The creators of this series have made these characters very real. The other series in which one of the characters maintains a blog is How-I-Met-Your-Mother's Barney Stinson. Will write about that another day.
They have currently come up with 3 episodes of 90 minutes each. I was extremely impressed with the pace of the stories, the way it was shot, the acting and the whole packaging. This is one series I will keep a look out for :) I am not sure many of you have seen it yet but if you can get the series, do it! Its easily available on the net. Suman owes a big "Thank You" for pointing me to interesting new stuff :)
As far as I am concerned, I vegetated all day long. Played more of Crysis, watched Sherlock and generally faffed around :P There were times in my life where there were shades of gray, most of it still is. But I think there is a part of it which I have in a strange sort of way directed into a world of 2 solid colours. No shades in it. I do not know how it happened. But it has finally come to the point where its either of the 2. No more confusion, no more shades. It was inevitable I guess, better now than 6 months down the line where things got more shitty. I try not to repeat the same mistake twice, I think I was about to. Corrective measures were required and that is what is in process. Corrective measures... Detoxification... or maybe just survival instincts.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Rakhi - Fortunately not Sawant :P
Another rakhi and my ophthalmologist friend/sister religiously tied rakhi like every year :) In my life, I have made sure that I made the least number of rakhi sisters possible. Why? Simply because I lack brotherly feelings. I do not understand it and now I have just stopped trying to figure it out. Rakhi was always a fun-filled day for me during school. That was the time when the girls used to torment the guys with rakhis. In Kalimpong, we didn't have this funda of girls tying rakhi to every guy in the class. I was pretty shocked to see it in Bombay.
The first year was shocking. On Rakhi every girl came armed with rakhis and some super cheap sweet. By the end of the day, both my hands used to be filled with itchy rakhis, decently large ones. Pathetic as it sounds, didn't give too much importance to it. Funnily enough as we moved on to higher standards (Standard 10), the number of rakhis dramatically decreased. Sanity dawned onto the girls and they realized that what they were doing was absolute A-grade tom-foolery. Though fear did creep into guys. For now, a rakhi meant, that the girl is off-limits!
It was a hilarious time during those days. A majority of guys spent their time hiding from girls they had a crush on, just to avoid the unfortunate incident of being caught by surprise and converted into a brother. The toilet used to be the most popular spot, with the number of guys in there reaching improbable numbers. A lot of guys usually "fell-sick" and didn't make it to school :P Me, on the other hand had a girl friend and was extremely happy and chilled. Girls knew that I was no more a threat to them, atleast those who considered me a threat, and I obviously didn't care who did and didn't tie rakhi. Though I had officially recognized three sisterly candidates. One was my ophthalmologist friend, two, my psycho friend (I don't recall if she actually tied me rakhi) and third, my phd friend. I became her official brother during her wedding in Jaipur. She needed a brother and I stepped up :)
Monali gave me a farewell dinner tonight. The restaurant we went to played a lot of saas-bahu serials followed by Aahat for entertainment :P She gave me The Messiah's Handbook, a very apt book at a very apt time :)
The first year was shocking. On Rakhi every girl came armed with rakhis and some super cheap sweet. By the end of the day, both my hands used to be filled with itchy rakhis, decently large ones. Pathetic as it sounds, didn't give too much importance to it. Funnily enough as we moved on to higher standards (Standard 10), the number of rakhis dramatically decreased. Sanity dawned onto the girls and they realized that what they were doing was absolute A-grade tom-foolery. Though fear did creep into guys. For now, a rakhi meant, that the girl is off-limits!
It was a hilarious time during those days. A majority of guys spent their time hiding from girls they had a crush on, just to avoid the unfortunate incident of being caught by surprise and converted into a brother. The toilet used to be the most popular spot, with the number of guys in there reaching improbable numbers. A lot of guys usually "fell-sick" and didn't make it to school :P Me, on the other hand had a girl friend and was extremely happy and chilled. Girls knew that I was no more a threat to them, atleast those who considered me a threat, and I obviously didn't care who did and didn't tie rakhi. Though I had officially recognized three sisterly candidates. One was my ophthalmologist friend, two, my psycho friend (I don't recall if she actually tied me rakhi) and third, my phd friend. I became her official brother during her wedding in Jaipur. She needed a brother and I stepped up :)
Monali gave me a farewell dinner tonight. The restaurant we went to played a lot of saas-bahu serials followed by Aahat for entertainment :P She gave me The Messiah's Handbook, a very apt book at a very apt time :)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
District 9
Watched a movie called "District 9". An interesting movie. Its about a group of aliens who have come and settled in South Africa in a camp which gets named as District 9. The movie has been shot in the form of a documentary. Interesting piece of work. The special effects have been done well, in the sense that the movie itself feels crude due to the documentary look but the aliens and weapons, etc have been matched to make pretty realistic. Damn ugly aliens though :(
Met up with Sameer and had a good time. Had 2 versions of KFC today. Kentucky Fried Chicken followed by Kalpana's Fatafati Chicken :D, ie, my mom's awesome home-made chicken. The KFC guys have got a new version of burger called KFCSmackers Snackers. They are smaller than the Zinger Burger but comes cheaper at 30 bucks plus taxes and tastes same as Zinger.
Was watching Batman Begins today and noted an interesting dialogue, it says, "And one day, you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed, so you'd be spared your pain."
Met up with Sameer and had a good time. Had 2 versions of KFC today. Kentucky Fried Chicken followed by Kalpana's Fatafati Chicken :D, ie, my mom's awesome home-made chicken. The KFC guys have got a new version of burger called KFC
Was watching Batman Begins today and noted an interesting dialogue, it says, "And one day, you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed, so you'd be spared your pain."
Monday, August 23, 2010
Crysis
Well yesterday and today have been weird days. My body and mind seem to be 2 separate things doing their own thing. While I am doing my regular activites pretty normally, the mind seems to be pre-occupied with a million things, while my body functions in a pre-programmed manner.
This is probably not the best time to be in such a state but then again who's to say what the best time to be in such a state is? Its ironical but in my time of crysis, it is CRYSIS that has come to my aid. I am talking about the game CRYSIS. I used to be an avid gamer. But its been quite sometime since I last played one. I recently got hold of CRYSIS and have been totally hooked on to it. Really helping me keep my mind off of things.
Its an interesting game, specially the interactivity with the environment and the AI. The physics is really advanced and I know that it was released quite sometime back and there are probably better game-engines by now but this is really good :). Atleast for me, cause I had stopped my gaming activities beyond its release and to me its just like a continuation to where I left things. Maybe I need to accelerate a bit and catch up to the current stuff. Maybe Pune is the solution to that, provided I get enough time to do so.
Anyways, having a blast playing it, I think I should get back to it and if anyone hasn't played it, I think its a shame. I say it now cause, I have now experienced it.
This is probably not the best time to be in such a state but then again who's to say what the best time to be in such a state is? Its ironical but in my time of crysis, it is CRYSIS that has come to my aid. I am talking about the game CRYSIS. I used to be an avid gamer. But its been quite sometime since I last played one. I recently got hold of CRYSIS and have been totally hooked on to it. Really helping me keep my mind off of things.
Its an interesting game, specially the interactivity with the environment and the AI. The physics is really advanced and I know that it was released quite sometime back and there are probably better game-engines by now but this is really good :). Atleast for me, cause I had stopped my gaming activities beyond its release and to me its just like a continuation to where I left things. Maybe I need to accelerate a bit and catch up to the current stuff. Maybe Pune is the solution to that, provided I get enough time to do so.
Anyways, having a blast playing it, I think I should get back to it and if anyone hasn't played it, I think its a shame. I say it now cause, I have now experienced it.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
blyaaahhhh again...
The day was pretty boring. Was home all day for a change. The get-together was successful, so successful that it is still going on :P My junta has left but my mom and dad's junta are going strong :D Its good that they are having fun. The party was over due. Should have happened on the 15th itself but better late than never.
Don't really feel like writing much. Watched some more BBT-3 and generally lazed around. Finally, the concrete work of our floor is done. This rain has completely screwed our FSI work :( Fortunately Dad has stopped freaking out as much as he used to. He has finally realized that getting tensed will not really help in expediting the work in anyway. So he has now decreased his screaming frequency from daily to weekly.
Don't really feel like writing much. Watched some more BBT-3 and generally lazed around. Finally, the concrete work of our floor is done. This rain has completely screwed our FSI work :( Fortunately Dad has stopped freaking out as much as he used to. He has finally realized that getting tensed will not really help in expediting the work in anyway. So he has now decreased his screaming frequency from daily to weekly.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Pot Pourri Live in Peepli
My food adventure continues! The plan was made last night itself over coffee. We were to go back to Pot Pourri for lunch, followed by Peepli Live. The rains are back since the past 2 days. They had subsided for a couple of days but are now back with a vengeance! I am extremely sick of it now. Another month of the damned thing :( and we have already had 107% of the normal rainfall. Why doesn't it rain in areas where its required?
I have written about Pot Pourri previously too but I need to give it a proper review, based upon the experience and what I have eaten. Its situated in Inorbit, vashi. Serves a whole array of cuisine, right from continental, italian to thai stuff. They have both buffet and "A La Carte". I have tried the buffet, both the times I visited the place. The buffet spread is larger on weekends. The menu is not the same and one could call and enquire about the spread before going. The buffet includes unlimited Ice Tea (Lemon, Peach, Kiwi and some more), pizza on a weekend and some other stuff on weekdays (had some weird bun today), soup, salad, some more starters such as satay or pasta and then the main course consisting of quite a few different dishes. There's good dessert too after that. Food is brilliant, atleast during the 2 occasions I have been there. The ambiance is good and pretty comfortable.
Its a good idea to book before going on weekends because the waiting period can be pretty irritating. Service is good ( inspite of the buffet, the waiters do serve the starters and ice tea ). The price is not exhorbitant and the buffet is "paisa wasool". It comes to around Rs. 330 on weekdays and more on the weekends (Don't remember how much it was the last time we went there).
Final Verdict:
Ambiance : 3.5/5
Service : 3.5/5
Food : 4.25/5
Value for Money : 4.5/5
After a overdose of awesome food we moved on to watch Peepli at Fame (I think they have the worst seats ever! The Gold class is obviously super comfortable). But the normal seats are like those semi-luxury non sliding seats. Extremely uncomfrtable! But before that we made a quick trip of Landmark (this place makes me feel so happy :) surrounded by books, music and movies)
Peepli Live was really good. Based on the farmer suicides, it touches upon a lot of things, about the media's TRP ratings, there sensationalizing of things and the governments apathy towards the misery of the farmers. Its a superbly shot movie, captured the village life very authentically. The actors were brilliant. Each and everyone did justice to their character. The casting director should be really applauded. There was not much of a story actually, it was just a situation shown. It doesn't try to preach or give any social message (atleast I didn't feel as if the makers were trying to force there idea on to the viewers). They just presented the situation in a satirical manner and left the viewers to form their own opinions. I have really liked Amir Khan for his work and his choice of films, whether he is infront of the camera or behind, he knows what good cinema is and to an enthusiast such as myself, thats all that matters :) I think everyone should see it once, either in the theatre or on TV, but watch it. Its a good film.
I have written about Pot Pourri previously too but I need to give it a proper review, based upon the experience and what I have eaten. Its situated in Inorbit, vashi. Serves a whole array of cuisine, right from continental, italian to thai stuff. They have both buffet and "A La Carte". I have tried the buffet, both the times I visited the place. The buffet spread is larger on weekends. The menu is not the same and one could call and enquire about the spread before going. The buffet includes unlimited Ice Tea (Lemon, Peach, Kiwi and some more), pizza on a weekend and some other stuff on weekdays (had some weird bun today), soup, salad, some more starters such as satay or pasta and then the main course consisting of quite a few different dishes. There's good dessert too after that. Food is brilliant, atleast during the 2 occasions I have been there. The ambiance is good and pretty comfortable.
Its a good idea to book before going on weekends because the waiting period can be pretty irritating. Service is good ( inspite of the buffet, the waiters do serve the starters and ice tea ). The price is not exhorbitant and the buffet is "paisa wasool". It comes to around Rs. 330 on weekdays and more on the weekends (Don't remember how much it was the last time we went there).
Final Verdict:
Ambiance : 3.5/5
Service : 3.5/5
Food : 4.25/5
Value for Money : 4.5/5
After a overdose of awesome food we moved on to watch Peepli at Fame (I think they have the worst seats ever! The Gold class is obviously super comfortable). But the normal seats are like those semi-luxury non sliding seats. Extremely uncomfrtable! But before that we made a quick trip of Landmark (this place makes me feel so happy :) surrounded by books, music and movies)
Peepli Live was really good. Based on the farmer suicides, it touches upon a lot of things, about the media's TRP ratings, there sensationalizing of things and the governments apathy towards the misery of the farmers. Its a superbly shot movie, captured the village life very authentically. The actors were brilliant. Each and everyone did justice to their character. The casting director should be really applauded. There was not much of a story actually, it was just a situation shown. It doesn't try to preach or give any social message (atleast I didn't feel as if the makers were trying to force there idea on to the viewers). They just presented the situation in a satirical manner and left the viewers to form their own opinions. I have really liked Amir Khan for his work and his choice of films, whether he is infront of the camera or behind, he knows what good cinema is and to an enthusiast such as myself, thats all that matters :) I think everyone should see it once, either in the theatre or on TV, but watch it. Its a good film.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Oriental Palette, Bandra (W)
*Edit : The name of the place is Oriental Palette and not Golden Palette. This is what happens when you write food reviews at 2 in the nite :P
I had a very very interesting and fun day :) Woke up as usual with my Dad fiddling with the laptop and trying to get the internet working. I do not know how he manages to screw it everytime. Its amazing. I am obviously responsible for it :P So set up the mtnl connection, cause You Telecom wasn't working. I have realized that my Dad has completely run out of patience. I wonder if its due to age. He gets irritated very fast nowadays.
Raghu, Sameer and myself had planned to meet up today. It was a confirmed plan and could be cancelled only on the occurance of either a life threatening situation or a situation involving saving the world. Well, I had a life threatening situation. Dad would have killed me if something was not done to the desktop. That was the reason why the plan almost got jeopardised. But fortunately the comp guy came and that got sorted out. No my PC is not fixed! He just took my MoBo away :P
I was free to go and I set off on my epic journey to Bandra. Inspite of numerous traffic jams, foreign exchange issues, always-reach-late syndrome, the 3 of us met almost simultaneously at the Bandra station, each arriving from 3 different directions. Raghu came by train, sameer from Bandra(E) while I reached Bandra(W). Monali was as usual kind enough to help me out with a good food place. After the post on Chinese food yesterday, I had a strong craving for it (inspite of forcing my mom to cook chinese last night). So we decided to try out Oriental Palette at Hill Road, Bandra (W). Its opposite Globus.
We reached there around 3:00 pm and were among the last 2 parties to enter. The waiter didn't seem too happy with us and promptly pointed out that we would get just one opportunity to order :P A big thumbs down for that. The ambience was decent, except for the sidey door setup, the door didn't have a door handle while one of the glass wall had a door handle :P. Anyways, the place serves, Chinese, Thai and Japanese. I wish I could write what we ate there, but except for Tum Yum soup I don't remember anything. Freaking tongue-twister names. We basically asked the waiter to suggest and then we pointed them out on the menu without attempting to pronounce them. But I think none of them were Thai or Japanese.
The soup came and though it looked like "Haldi-paani" initially, it was awesome! Hi5 for that one! They then served Chinese Tea (free! on the house! another thumbs up) Raghu enlightened me that it was used to wash away all the previous food taste, leaving your mouth fresh and ready for the next. We ordered noodles and chicken. Both the dishes were very good (a little bland though, cons of authentic chinese food)
By the time we were done, I got a happy feeling inside (exactly like the way I felt after eating at Pot-Pourri). Basically meant that it was a good experience. And for that kind of food, super value for money! The price was extremely welcoming. Not like how you tend to hyperventilate when you see the bill in some places. Also got my first fortune cookie (pretty useless fortune though, except for Raghu's).
Here's the final verdict
Ambience : 3.5/5
Service : 3/5 (got 3 because of all the hurrying because we went in late)
Food : 3.5/5
Value for Money : 4.25/5
Stomach is still fine. So I guess that needs a mention :)
My evening was super cool too. Met up with a couple of friends for coffee and we stayed till they started folding the chairs :P It was a good day :) I feel happy!
I had a very very interesting and fun day :) Woke up as usual with my Dad fiddling with the laptop and trying to get the internet working. I do not know how he manages to screw it everytime. Its amazing. I am obviously responsible for it :P So set up the mtnl connection, cause You Telecom wasn't working. I have realized that my Dad has completely run out of patience. I wonder if its due to age. He gets irritated very fast nowadays.
Raghu, Sameer and myself had planned to meet up today. It was a confirmed plan and could be cancelled only on the occurance of either a life threatening situation or a situation involving saving the world. Well, I had a life threatening situation. Dad would have killed me if something was not done to the desktop. That was the reason why the plan almost got jeopardised. But fortunately the comp guy came and that got sorted out. No my PC is not fixed! He just took my MoBo away :P
I was free to go and I set off on my epic journey to Bandra. Inspite of numerous traffic jams, foreign exchange issues, always-reach-late syndrome, the 3 of us met almost simultaneously at the Bandra station, each arriving from 3 different directions. Raghu came by train, sameer from Bandra(E) while I reached Bandra(W). Monali was as usual kind enough to help me out with a good food place. After the post on Chinese food yesterday, I had a strong craving for it (inspite of forcing my mom to cook chinese last night). So we decided to try out Oriental Palette at Hill Road, Bandra (W). Its opposite Globus.
We reached there around 3:00 pm and were among the last 2 parties to enter. The waiter didn't seem too happy with us and promptly pointed out that we would get just one opportunity to order :P A big thumbs down for that. The ambience was decent, except for the sidey door setup, the door didn't have a door handle while one of the glass wall had a door handle :P. Anyways, the place serves, Chinese, Thai and Japanese. I wish I could write what we ate there, but except for Tum Yum soup I don't remember anything. Freaking tongue-twister names. We basically asked the waiter to suggest and then we pointed them out on the menu without attempting to pronounce them. But I think none of them were Thai or Japanese.
The soup came and though it looked like "Haldi-paani" initially, it was awesome! Hi5 for that one! They then served Chinese Tea (free! on the house! another thumbs up) Raghu enlightened me that it was used to wash away all the previous food taste, leaving your mouth fresh and ready for the next. We ordered noodles and chicken. Both the dishes were very good (a little bland though, cons of authentic chinese food)
By the time we were done, I got a happy feeling inside (exactly like the way I felt after eating at Pot-Pourri). Basically meant that it was a good experience. And for that kind of food, super value for money! The price was extremely welcoming. Not like how you tend to hyperventilate when you see the bill in some places. Also got my first fortune cookie (pretty useless fortune though, except for Raghu's).
Here's the final verdict
Ambience : 3.5/5
Service : 3/5 (got 3 because of all the hurrying because we went in late)
Food : 3.5/5
Value for Money : 4.25/5
Stomach is still fine. So I guess that needs a mention :)
My evening was super cool too. Met up with a couple of friends for coffee and we stayed till they started folding the chairs :P It was a good day :) I feel happy!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Oi Chilli Chicken!
I love Chinese food. I do not know how the addiction began but Chinese food makes me salivate almost similar in the way I salivate when I see... ummm forget it. Lets just keep it to "it makes me salivate". I love all types of Chinese food, right from food prepared in posh, swanky over-priced restaurants to the roadside "laal-dabbas" run mostly always by Nepali guys (I don't know if it increases the authenticity of the claim that the food is Chinese). There have been times when I have been told that a particular restaurant serves authentic Chinese food but I have no way of verifying that. The only way I could do that is either
It is a funny coincidence that most of my Bong friends love Chinese food. It is a possibility that its an anamoly in my group of friends but if you are reading this, then just think about it. Does your Bong friend's eyes light up everytime you say Chilli Chicken? Does his words come with a "slurrrp" sound when you tell him that you plan to go for a Triple Schezwan? Have you noticed his involuntary smile when you decide to order Chinese? I think its a fact that a majority of Bongs love Chinese food except maybe 8 or 9 guys who became a PETA member and turned vegetarian and then realized Chinese food no longer tastes that great.
I am not sure why this liking for Chinese food has developed among Bongs. Maybe its the proximity, maybe its the Chinese influx or maybe its the deep connection we have with the Reds. It was a great idea to be inspired by the Chinese and import their food and communism (ok ok I agree there were various other sources of influence for communism to enter the hearts and minds of Bongs). Now I personally do not have anything against communism, but then again we Indians like to Indianize any sort of import. I think we should have kept the Indianization limited to the food and left the Communism alone. Take a look at West Bengal and you'll know what it has done to the state. (Supporters of Communism can take my case, I have no objection whatsoever) The food though has definitely been a hit!
I remember, during our college days, I used to indulge a lot in the "Laal-Dabba" Chinese. And I used to make Nicholas and Sameer accompany me. Fortunately for them, these dabbas opened up only in the evenings. There was a high probability that I would have made them eat the same thing for lunch too. Later on after careful discussions, we assigned a particular day in the week for Chinese food. I think it was saturdays. And of course, celebrations naturally meant more of it :D
If the Bongs ever decided to attack the Chinese I am sure that the only thing they would bring back from there would be more recipes. Spoils of war, you may say. Anything else would be morally just wrong! But then such is the initmate relation of a Bong and his food, specially Chinese.
- Visit China and eat Chinese food there (ofcourse there it would be just food :P )
- Tag along with a group of Chinese who certifies that the food served is authentic Chinese
It is a funny coincidence that most of my Bong friends love Chinese food. It is a possibility that its an anamoly in my group of friends but if you are reading this, then just think about it. Does your Bong friend's eyes light up everytime you say Chilli Chicken? Does his words come with a "slurrrp" sound when you tell him that you plan to go for a Triple Schezwan? Have you noticed his involuntary smile when you decide to order Chinese? I think its a fact that a majority of Bongs love Chinese food except maybe 8 or 9 guys who became a PETA member and turned vegetarian and then realized Chinese food no longer tastes that great.
I am not sure why this liking for Chinese food has developed among Bongs. Maybe its the proximity, maybe its the Chinese influx or maybe its the deep connection we have with the Reds. It was a great idea to be inspired by the Chinese and import their food and communism (ok ok I agree there were various other sources of influence for communism to enter the hearts and minds of Bongs). Now I personally do not have anything against communism, but then again we Indians like to Indianize any sort of import. I think we should have kept the Indianization limited to the food and left the Communism alone. Take a look at West Bengal and you'll know what it has done to the state. (Supporters of Communism can take my case, I have no objection whatsoever) The food though has definitely been a hit!
I remember, during our college days, I used to indulge a lot in the "Laal-Dabba" Chinese. And I used to make Nicholas and Sameer accompany me. Fortunately for them, these dabbas opened up only in the evenings. There was a high probability that I would have made them eat the same thing for lunch too. Later on after careful discussions, we assigned a particular day in the week for Chinese food. I think it was saturdays. And of course, celebrations naturally meant more of it :D
If the Bongs ever decided to attack the Chinese I am sure that the only thing they would bring back from there would be more recipes. Spoils of war, you may say. Anything else would be morally just wrong! But then such is the initmate relation of a Bong and his food, specially Chinese.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Lukkhagiri zindabaad!!
The day of "Lukkha-giri" went awesome. Spent most of the day lying all over the house, my room, drawing room, back to my room, parent's room... etc. Got the general idea right? But I did not completely vegetate. Went out for a while. Couldn't convince myself to go the gym but did do my patent walk all over the sector. I plan to go to the gym tomorrow, in the morning. Lets see if that works out :P
What's my plan tomorrow? No idea whatsoever! how cool is that :D I am enjoying it as long as it lasts. I have a feeling by next week I'll start tearing my hair out. But till then I shall do exactly what I am doing! Nothing!
I really feel bad about a certain person (I can't really say where this person belongs from coz it might give it away) :D Now this certain person knows exactly who I am talking about and I am sure a few others do too ;) This certain person will need some serious will power to stay sane for some time to come. Lets say the cause of this certain person's (CP's) insanity is another person BUG. Now BUG's IQ (irritation quotient) is so high that it makes you want to find something really heavy and hit yourself (yes! this person makes you suicidal rather than homicidal) on the head.
I have had the misfortune of spending sometime with BUG but I have, during this time, made it absolutely clear that unless me speaking to BUG would ensure world peace, I would not talk. Simple because I could and I did! Yes, I can be extremely cold and rude at times. I can also be extremely friendly and rude. The former gives me a lot of sadistic pleasure while the latter is a skill I am proud of.
The point is what will CP do now? CP is stuck with BUG and BUG will bug CP till the end of time. BUG will be there in the morning, afternoon and evening. BUG will follow CP everywhere CP goes. Unfortunately (both for CP and the rest of the world) BUG is oblivious to this fact. Truly speaking its BUG's attitude which anyone in BUG's viscinity finds unbearable. And even if told about it, BUG has no inclination towards doing anything about it. CP is stuck, and stuck bad. I wish I could do something about it but unfortunately I can't. Its just BUG Vs CP this time. Though I could blog about it and extract some fun (sadistic) out of it. And provide CP with a lot of mental support. Hahahahahah!!!! CP is going to so kill me!
What's my plan tomorrow? No idea whatsoever! how cool is that :D I am enjoying it as long as it lasts. I have a feeling by next week I'll start tearing my hair out. But till then I shall do exactly what I am doing! Nothing!
I really feel bad about a certain person (I can't really say where this person belongs from coz it might give it away) :D Now this certain person knows exactly who I am talking about and I am sure a few others do too ;) This certain person will need some serious will power to stay sane for some time to come. Lets say the cause of this certain person's (CP's) insanity is another person BUG. Now BUG's IQ (irritation quotient) is so high that it makes you want to find something really heavy and hit yourself (yes! this person makes you suicidal rather than homicidal) on the head.
I have had the misfortune of spending sometime with BUG but I have, during this time, made it absolutely clear that unless me speaking to BUG would ensure world peace, I would not talk. Simple because I could and I did! Yes, I can be extremely cold and rude at times. I can also be extremely friendly and rude. The former gives me a lot of sadistic pleasure while the latter is a skill I am proud of.
The point is what will CP do now? CP is stuck with BUG and BUG will bug CP till the end of time. BUG will be there in the morning, afternoon and evening. BUG will follow CP everywhere CP goes. Unfortunately (both for CP and the rest of the world) BUG is oblivious to this fact. Truly speaking its BUG's attitude which anyone in BUG's viscinity finds unbearable. And even if told about it, BUG has no inclination towards doing anything about it. CP is stuck, and stuck bad. I wish I could do something about it but unfortunately I can't. Its just BUG Vs CP this time. Though I could blog about it and extract some fun (sadistic) out of it. And provide CP with a lot of mental support. Hahahahahah!!!! CP is going to so kill me!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Trip to Shirdi
Back from Shirdi. We left yesterday morning, ie the 14th of August. Reached Shirdi around 3:00 pm. Nowadays, we generally follow the protocol of finishing the Darshan in the evening itself. Its a lot emptier and and more peaceful. The mornings feel more like goat-herding.... hat...hat... phurrrr... !! Thats what the guards keep doing. Pushing and pulling you like one of the coconuts you offer.
My first trip to Shirdi was pathetic. Someone had given us a brilliant idea that we should just take the bus in the night, reach there early morning, do the puja, eat something there and take the same bus back. I will kill the bastard who suggested that! If only I could remember who it was. All my "bhakti", spiritualism, faith, belief, whatever you prefer to call it, went down the drains. Unfortunately it was also some special day because of which it seemed as if the whole of India had descended there. By the time I got done, I just wanted to get out of there. Seriously speaking I was so unsatisfied that I actually felt tortured and irritated.
Since then, this is my 3rd or 4th trip (don't recall actually). And all of them have gone well. Yesterday's trip was similar as far as the crowd was concerned. Crowded as hell! But this time we were smart. We didn't even attempt to get in to the line. We preferred to do the "Mukh-Darshan". The three of us spent some quiet time there, immersed in our own thoughts. And then we spent some more time inside the complex, relaxed and happy.
My last trip was on New Years. Now as I already said before, I have my doubts about the existence of God, though I believe that there is a powerful energy which can be tapped into. I feel as if Shirdi is a portal to access this energy. It could be an hypothesis which I have developed to satisfy my lack of faith in the concept of God. But I still do it. It just gives me hope to carry on, as some would put it, fooling my brain to accomplish my goals. :P
Well as human nature goes, I presented my long list of things that I need to accomplish, specially the ones which I didn't have complete control over. But then again, everytime I go there, I see all the people there, those who have come from far away, extremely poor and somehow managing to spend the night there, so that they could see Saibaba. Seeing them, makes me realize that I already have so much! What else could one ask for? I have enough money to spend a decent life style, I am able bodied and have an above average head on my shoulders (even if it isn't too far up above average), I have my parents who love me, a work that I like doing (no matter where I do it) and life is generally peaceful. Really can't think of anything else to ask for. There is only one thing I need right now and that is what I ask for. The rest I know I can manage.
I feel humbled seeing all the misery there and yet I feel and respect the faith they have, faith that Saibaba can help them out of it. Maybe that is the hope they require, to make there lives better or give them the power to fight on. Everytime I go there, the place just reminds me how happy and fortunate I am. So now I just ask for non-materialistic things and a little spiritual guidance.
15th Aug is my parents marriage anniversary and this time they spent it in a quieter and more spiritual way. I liked it, though I would have preferred had we left today, instead of yesterday. Would have been less crowded. My dad tells me this, every 15th Aug. "India got her independence and I lost mine!" This time he didn't say it.
My first trip to Shirdi was pathetic. Someone had given us a brilliant idea that we should just take the bus in the night, reach there early morning, do the puja, eat something there and take the same bus back. I will kill the bastard who suggested that! If only I could remember who it was. All my "bhakti", spiritualism, faith, belief, whatever you prefer to call it, went down the drains. Unfortunately it was also some special day because of which it seemed as if the whole of India had descended there. By the time I got done, I just wanted to get out of there. Seriously speaking I was so unsatisfied that I actually felt tortured and irritated.
Since then, this is my 3rd or 4th trip (don't recall actually). And all of them have gone well. Yesterday's trip was similar as far as the crowd was concerned. Crowded as hell! But this time we were smart. We didn't even attempt to get in to the line. We preferred to do the "Mukh-Darshan". The three of us spent some quiet time there, immersed in our own thoughts. And then we spent some more time inside the complex, relaxed and happy.
My last trip was on New Years. Now as I already said before, I have my doubts about the existence of God, though I believe that there is a powerful energy which can be tapped into. I feel as if Shirdi is a portal to access this energy. It could be an hypothesis which I have developed to satisfy my lack of faith in the concept of God. But I still do it. It just gives me hope to carry on, as some would put it, fooling my brain to accomplish my goals. :P
Well as human nature goes, I presented my long list of things that I need to accomplish, specially the ones which I didn't have complete control over. But then again, everytime I go there, I see all the people there, those who have come from far away, extremely poor and somehow managing to spend the night there, so that they could see Saibaba. Seeing them, makes me realize that I already have so much! What else could one ask for? I have enough money to spend a decent life style, I am able bodied and have an above average head on my shoulders (even if it isn't too far up above average), I have my parents who love me, a work that I like doing (no matter where I do it) and life is generally peaceful. Really can't think of anything else to ask for. There is only one thing I need right now and that is what I ask for. The rest I know I can manage.
I feel humbled seeing all the misery there and yet I feel and respect the faith they have, faith that Saibaba can help them out of it. Maybe that is the hope they require, to make there lives better or give them the power to fight on. Everytime I go there, the place just reminds me how happy and fortunate I am. So now I just ask for non-materialistic things and a little spiritual guidance.
15th Aug is my parents marriage anniversary and this time they spent it in a quieter and more spiritual way. I liked it, though I would have preferred had we left today, instead of yesterday. Would have been less crowded. My dad tells me this, every 15th Aug. "India got her independence and I lost mine!" This time he didn't say it.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Now what???
And so my Zeus stint ends! Its still not sunk in. Incidently it was also our 6th Foundation day. My last responsibility for the company was to arrange the Foundation Day party for the guys and professors in Mumbai. Went off pretty well :)
I had planned to spend the next couple of weeks out of bombay. Go out on a vacation or something. Nothign has worked out so far. Had just started making plans for Leh/Ladakh and the whole freaking placegets cut-off from India. Then planned to do a Malaysia/Singapore tour but the daparture dates of the tour packages didn't work out. And the worst part is that I have no one to go with! Everyone's busy with their work. The only place where I can go alone and still have fun is Kalimpong. Unfortunately, GJMM has made that impossible. I can't afford to go there and get stuck. I am so fucked! :(
Now if I can find someone to go with and the time fits in, kerala is my last option. Lets see if some miracle happens :P
I had planned to spend the next couple of weeks out of bombay. Go out on a vacation or something. Nothign has worked out so far. Had just started making plans for Leh/Ladakh and the whole freaking placegets cut-off from India. Then planned to do a Malaysia/Singapore tour but the daparture dates of the tour packages didn't work out. And the worst part is that I have no one to go with! Everyone's busy with their work. The only place where I can go alone and still have fun is Kalimpong. Unfortunately, GJMM has made that impossible. I can't afford to go there and get stuck. I am so fucked! :(
Now if I can find someone to go with and the time fits in, kerala is my last option. Lets see if some miracle happens :P
Friday, August 13, 2010
Confuscious
It's my last day tomorrow at Zeus. Maybe its not time to talk about it yet. I still have a day. The change was needed but at times I wish it wasn't so. Who knows? Its all for good I guess. Its a seriously weird phase I am going through. Thinking and mulling things over is a good idea but it stays good when you think one thing at a time. Trying to multi-think is not a good idea. Everything just mixes up and confuses you even more.
Keeping an open mind is one thing and losing perspective is another. A series of events have been happening and they keep hitting me one after the other like waves. Well after giving things a lot of thought, I have decided that I will try and focus on what's happening and keep other things at bay. I got 2 weeks to get this fact across... to myself.
As far as the truth about life is concerned, I think I need to read more, interact more and then come to a conclusion as to what works for me. I'll need to follow the path of science, keep the scientific methodology alive. It'll help me question, find the actual question. Only then can I search for the answer. But I do not think science will have the answers to all the questions. I will have to search elsewhere. I will not live to see science advance to answer them. I have never been too religious, so I am not sure it will help me answer anything. Though I would like to know why they are the way they are. Hinduism has intrigued me mainly because I find ancient India interesting.
From what I have read so far, I believe that the ancient Indians had advanced quite a lot and there must be more than what meets the eye. Maybe questioning it could help clarify things, separate the facts from fiction, science from superstition and bring some credibility to it.
The problem is, religion won't let you criticize it and science is quick to dismiss anything it doesn't understand. A little arrogant at times. But it's questioning attitude will keep it alive and advance it. Not too sure about what will happen to religion though. It might survive if it balances spiritualism and science, instead of issuing doctrines and fatwas.
Keeping an open mind is one thing and losing perspective is another. A series of events have been happening and they keep hitting me one after the other like waves. Well after giving things a lot of thought, I have decided that I will try and focus on what's happening and keep other things at bay. I got 2 weeks to get this fact across... to myself.
As far as the truth about life is concerned, I think I need to read more, interact more and then come to a conclusion as to what works for me. I'll need to follow the path of science, keep the scientific methodology alive. It'll help me question, find the actual question. Only then can I search for the answer. But I do not think science will have the answers to all the questions. I will have to search elsewhere. I will not live to see science advance to answer them. I have never been too religious, so I am not sure it will help me answer anything. Though I would like to know why they are the way they are. Hinduism has intrigued me mainly because I find ancient India interesting.
From what I have read so far, I believe that the ancient Indians had advanced quite a lot and there must be more than what meets the eye. Maybe questioning it could help clarify things, separate the facts from fiction, science from superstition and bring some credibility to it.
The problem is, religion won't let you criticize it and science is quick to dismiss anything it doesn't understand. A little arrogant at times. But it's questioning attitude will keep it alive and advance it. Not too sure about what will happen to religion though. It might survive if it balances spiritualism and science, instead of issuing doctrines and fatwas.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The hit bird!
It was not until I joined Zeus, did I first get on a plane. And it was with Chandrashekhar that I had the priviledge to fly my maiden flight. Now though, today's post is not about that particular flight, I might as well add a little information about it. It was our visit to ANURAG (a part of a defence lab) in Hyderabad for some project we were doing.
To tell you the truth, I am a little scared of flying, just for the plain fact that if I go down from there I am going straight up. And heights scare me. So everytime I look out of the window and see clouds, or the serpentine rivers running through green and brown patches of land, or just an irregular growth of concrete, I am awestruck and at the sametime a little scared. Turbulence just acts like a catalyst to my fear equation. And the seats are bloody uncomfortable.
But the fact remains that flights are a boon to mankind. It saves time like nothing else. Breakfast in Bombay, followed by a lunch in Calcutta and you could throw in dinner in Delhi if you are up for it. Its been a long time since I have travelled in a long distance train. Everytime I think of the amount of time I would save, my miser monster just gets pumelled into oblivion :P
This happened during one of my trips to Calcutta. I was going to visit a family friend's (Andy) wedding. I was to travel to Calcutta with his brother Sandy and cousin sister. The three of us boarded our flight to Bhubaneshwar. It was an indirect flight. Bombay to Calcutta via Bhubaneshwar. The first part of hte journey was pretty ordinary. No problems till we reached Bhubaneshwar. The fun began after that. We sat in the plane for quite sometime (I think about half an hour) before it started. I think the best part of a flight is just at take-off and at landing. That's the only exciting part. This trip had a little more excitement than usual.
Our plane had gathered quite some speed and I was just about done prepared for take-off, when there was a sudden bang followed by a sudden break (if it hadn't been for the seat belts I am sure I would have been sitting in the seat before me) and sound of screeching tires. Everything happened within a couple of seconds I guess and the plane came to a halt. The captain soon announced that it was a bird hit and that it would be sometime before we were in the sky again.
We waited for almost another half an hour when it was decided that the passengers had to disembark, so that the engineers could do a thorough check-up and the passengers were getting pretty crabby sitting inside for such a long time. Sandy messaged Andy about the bird hit and told him to convey the news to our parents who had already reached a few days before us. Andy promptly replied, "oh damn! How's the bird feeling now?" :P
The wait was long and I hate waiting. But there was nothign else to do. So I decided to explore a bit and soon saw something interesting. The Indian Airlines suggestion box being put to good use :D
Awesome right!? I was so very amused by it. Made the whole bird hit thing totally worth it. Not so good for the bird though :P Fortunately, all the rest of my flights have been pretty normal and mundane, but that was indeed a not so normal experience :)
To tell you the truth, I am a little scared of flying, just for the plain fact that if I go down from there I am going straight up. And heights scare me. So everytime I look out of the window and see clouds, or the serpentine rivers running through green and brown patches of land, or just an irregular growth of concrete, I am awestruck and at the sametime a little scared. Turbulence just acts like a catalyst to my fear equation. And the seats are bloody uncomfortable.
But the fact remains that flights are a boon to mankind. It saves time like nothing else. Breakfast in Bombay, followed by a lunch in Calcutta and you could throw in dinner in Delhi if you are up for it. Its been a long time since I have travelled in a long distance train. Everytime I think of the amount of time I would save, my miser monster just gets pumelled into oblivion :P
This happened during one of my trips to Calcutta. I was going to visit a family friend's (Andy) wedding. I was to travel to Calcutta with his brother Sandy and cousin sister. The three of us boarded our flight to Bhubaneshwar. It was an indirect flight. Bombay to Calcutta via Bhubaneshwar. The first part of hte journey was pretty ordinary. No problems till we reached Bhubaneshwar. The fun began after that. We sat in the plane for quite sometime (I think about half an hour) before it started. I think the best part of a flight is just at take-off and at landing. That's the only exciting part. This trip had a little more excitement than usual.
Our plane had gathered quite some speed and I was just about done prepared for take-off, when there was a sudden bang followed by a sudden break (if it hadn't been for the seat belts I am sure I would have been sitting in the seat before me) and sound of screeching tires. Everything happened within a couple of seconds I guess and the plane came to a halt. The captain soon announced that it was a bird hit and that it would be sometime before we were in the sky again.
We waited for almost another half an hour when it was decided that the passengers had to disembark, so that the engineers could do a thorough check-up and the passengers were getting pretty crabby sitting inside for such a long time. Sandy messaged Andy about the bird hit and told him to convey the news to our parents who had already reached a few days before us. Andy promptly replied, "oh damn! How's the bird feeling now?" :P
The wait was long and I hate waiting. But there was nothign else to do. So I decided to explore a bit and soon saw something interesting. The Indian Airlines suggestion box being put to good use :D
Awesome right!? I was so very amused by it. Made the whole bird hit thing totally worth it. Not so good for the bird though :P Fortunately, all the rest of my flights have been pretty normal and mundane, but that was indeed a not so normal experience :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
My computer is dead. Rest in Peace!
I finally have the frst season of the Big Bang Theory! Yaaay!!! Nabdu anna tujhpe keede padenge! I asked him for the 3 seasons for god knows how many times. But I am happy! Just saw the pilot and it was a lot of fun. The sad part of the day is that after spending 2 hours cleaning the cpu, cpu fan, removing every component and reattaching them back, the stupid computer fails to start.The cleaning also doubled up as an excuse to not go to the gym :P
And to add to the misery, my Dad is giving me a tough time to get it fixed. He has also threatened to go and buy a computer on his own, which I really hope he doesn't. I have an extremely strong feeling that he will be totally ripped off! And he is equally pissed off at me cause I didn't pay too much heed to his threatening to get a new pc unless I fixed this. :P Sometimes dads can be such kids! Sheesh! I only fear that if I decide to change the mother board, i just might end up upgrading the whole pc, which I seriously don't want to do now. But the way things are going, I think I'll not be left with an option :(
Well the discussion that I am having with my friend is reaching an epic proportion and we have decided that we need to bifurcate the topics and start separate posts on each, so as to improve on each of them, giving our points of view and challenging/explaining them so as to reach a concrete conclusion (hopefully). So one can expect to see some interesting discussions happening soon :) Really looking forward to it.
3 days to go and I just realized today, while telling it to a couple of friends that my last day at Zeus will be on Friday the 13th. How cool is that!? :) That's one hell of an auspicious day, eh?
And to add to the misery, my Dad is giving me a tough time to get it fixed. He has also threatened to go and buy a computer on his own, which I really hope he doesn't. I have an extremely strong feeling that he will be totally ripped off! And he is equally pissed off at me cause I didn't pay too much heed to his threatening to get a new pc unless I fixed this. :P Sometimes dads can be such kids! Sheesh! I only fear that if I decide to change the mother board, i just might end up upgrading the whole pc, which I seriously don't want to do now. But the way things are going, I think I'll not be left with an option :(
Well the discussion that I am having with my friend is reaching an epic proportion and we have decided that we need to bifurcate the topics and start separate posts on each, so as to improve on each of them, giving our points of view and challenging/explaining them so as to reach a concrete conclusion (hopefully). So one can expect to see some interesting discussions happening soon :) Really looking forward to it.
3 days to go and I just realized today, while telling it to a couple of friends that my last day at Zeus will be on Friday the 13th. How cool is that!? :) That's one hell of an auspicious day, eh?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
AAAARRRRGGHHHHHH!!!!
*Contains explicit material. Parental guidance advised
I am having a very good debate on a post of mine called Soul Curry I have tried to reply to the last post twice since morning and both the times i have lost everything that i typed in. x-( My last attempt consisted of an hour's thinking and typing. I could kill someone right now just for fun.
I am done for tonight. I will attempt again tomorrow. And this time i'll write it in a notepad! Can I just abuse for a change? I AM SO FUCKING ANGRY THAT I COULD FUCKING BLOW SOME STUPID FUCK'S FUCKING BRAIN OUT!!! AAAARRRRGHHH!!!! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE GOOGLE GUY THINKING!?? PUT A FUCKING AUTO-SAVE ON THE FUCKING COMMENT POSTS TOO!!
Sorry about all the "FUCKs". But I am just too damn pissed off!
I am having a very good debate on a post of mine called Soul Curry I have tried to reply to the last post twice since morning and both the times i have lost everything that i typed in. x-( My last attempt consisted of an hour's thinking and typing. I could kill someone right now just for fun.
I am done for tonight. I will attempt again tomorrow. And this time i'll write it in a notepad! Can I just abuse for a change? I AM SO FUCKING ANGRY THAT I COULD FUCKING BLOW SOME STUPID FUCK'S FUCKING BRAIN OUT!!! AAAARRRRGHHH!!!! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE GOOGLE GUY THINKING!?? PUT A FUCKING AUTO-SAVE ON THE FUCKING COMMENT POSTS TOO!!
Sorry about all the "FUCKs". But I am just too damn pissed off!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Family Ties
My room is completely rearranged! Had a great time fighting with my dad while doing it. :P Felt like tearing my hair off of my head. Was busy most of the day. One more week to go. My desktop has conked off. It refuses to remain on for more than a minute. I think now I gotto call someone to fix it. Could have tried taking it to office and fixing it but too much hassle and also would end up wasting Suman's time in office.
I have never understood how it feels to be not appreciated by your own family in the way you want to. My family has been great as far as appreciation is concerned. There have been the occasional comparisons with other kids and there have been times when they have felt let down, but I have never felt not appreciated. I can only imagine it and sympathize with those who have had to face such situations.
If its someone else, like your boss or your friend, you can actually get away from them. But what do you do when its your family? When you know that at some level you love them and they love you too (you imagine that atleast). How long before you can take it no more? Can you leave them to live your own way? Would that be termed as deserting them?
I wish I had answers for these but then again I am fortunate that I don't, unless ofcourse there was some other way of finding answers to such things without experienceing them first hand.
I have never understood how it feels to be not appreciated by your own family in the way you want to. My family has been great as far as appreciation is concerned. There have been the occasional comparisons with other kids and there have been times when they have felt let down, but I have never felt not appreciated. I can only imagine it and sympathize with those who have had to face such situations.
If its someone else, like your boss or your friend, you can actually get away from them. But what do you do when its your family? When you know that at some level you love them and they love you too (you imagine that atleast). How long before you can take it no more? Can you leave them to live your own way? Would that be termed as deserting them?
I wish I had answers for these but then again I am fortunate that I don't, unless ofcourse there was some other way of finding answers to such things without experienceing them first hand.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Chicken Chicken pe likha hai khaane wale ka naam
Another saturday... gone! So what? :P With my current mindset, days have no meaning. The only worry that is on my mind right now is where should I go for a holiday? And if I think for a while, there are at least a 100 things I need to do before I leave for Pune. I need to find and organize all my papers, get a medical check up done from some place far-far-away! I hope they have some place in New Bombay where I can get the medical done. I should also be worried about where to stay once I go there. Thing is, if I sit and think, there are a lot of things to be worried about but I choose not to. :) How awesome!?
Me, the king of worries has chosen to stare at "worries" and give it the finger. I am gonna be so bloody screwed! Lol!! Ya, that's how crazy I have become. One more realization! My site is never going to be completed. I feel pretty lost when I look at it :P Quite a lot to do in it. Generating content is whats cooking my brain.
Decided to finally advertise the blog a bit. I think this blog will survive :) I did manage to cross a 100 posts. I think I have finally managed to get into the habit of writing regularly. Thinking of topics is not that easy though :(
Here's an incident from our recent office picnic. Bhakti, Suman and myself had returned from an extremely long walk in the rain and were famished! I was particularly dying for some food and I was hoping with all my heart that there was some non-veg food available. Went to the buffet and by the time I reached the end of it, I realized that there was no non-veg in there. I was a little sad when I decided to look around and spotted a chicken dish somewhere in the corner. Went and loaded my plate. I went back to where I was sitting and was surprised to see that non of the guys had spotted it. Asked them, why they hadn't taken any and a colleague decided to go and get it. By the time I was half way through my food, Suman came with his plate loaded, sans the chicken. Told him that the chicken was in the corner. Accompanied him to get some more, only to realize that the pot had vanished and there was just hot water used to keep the now missing chicken pot hot. (That is one weird sentence :D) I went up and asked the manager where the chicken was.
The bugger asks me which group I belonged to and tells me that the chicken was not for our group :P Unfortunately, I had already done my part and all that remained of my supposed "veg-food" were some bones. Poor guy just looked at my plate and said, "Koi baat nahi". God me and the other fortunate colleague laughed so much. Unfortunate for Suman though.
Another proof, "jab sachche dil se kuch maangoge to use dilaane mein puuri kayanaat tumhe madad karti hai!" ;)
Me, the king of worries has chosen to stare at "worries" and give it the finger. I am gonna be so bloody screwed! Lol!! Ya, that's how crazy I have become. One more realization! My site is never going to be completed. I feel pretty lost when I look at it :P Quite a lot to do in it. Generating content is whats cooking my brain.
Decided to finally advertise the blog a bit. I think this blog will survive :) I did manage to cross a 100 posts. I think I have finally managed to get into the habit of writing regularly. Thinking of topics is not that easy though :(
Here's an incident from our recent office picnic. Bhakti, Suman and myself had returned from an extremely long walk in the rain and were famished! I was particularly dying for some food and I was hoping with all my heart that there was some non-veg food available. Went to the buffet and by the time I reached the end of it, I realized that there was no non-veg in there. I was a little sad when I decided to look around and spotted a chicken dish somewhere in the corner. Went and loaded my plate. I went back to where I was sitting and was surprised to see that non of the guys had spotted it. Asked them, why they hadn't taken any and a colleague decided to go and get it. By the time I was half way through my food, Suman came with his plate loaded, sans the chicken. Told him that the chicken was in the corner. Accompanied him to get some more, only to realize that the pot had vanished and there was just hot water used to keep the now missing chicken pot hot. (That is one weird sentence :D) I went up and asked the manager where the chicken was.
The bugger asks me which group I belonged to and tells me that the chicken was not for our group :P Unfortunately, I had already done my part and all that remained of my supposed "veg-food" were some bones. Poor guy just looked at my plate and said, "Koi baat nahi". God me and the other fortunate colleague laughed so much. Unfortunate for Suman though.
Another proof, "jab sachche dil se kuch maangoge to use dilaane mein puuri kayanaat tumhe madad karti hai!" ;)
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Soul curry
Hmmm... 100 posts and I vanish. Well things have been a little busy for the fast few days. But I think I can now get back to my regular posting. My stint with Zeus Numerix is almost up. Another week and I'll temporarily become an unemployed youth (yes! I still fall under the category of youth :P). I have plans of travelling a bit during my brief unemployed status but the way things are going, I do not know where I'll end up. I was looking forward to making plans to visit Leh/Ladakh. I had only thought of making plans and the freaking place gets flooded and cut off from the rest of India. Army personnel are rescuing people. And to think, Leh is in a rain shadow area. Bloody Hell!
Alright, so here is a brief about things I talked about with my Dadi aka my godmother. I'll probably elaborate on posts later on but for now, just a jist.
I had a doubts about life, it's purpose and whether this existence is all that its about. Always made the whole idea of life pretty pointless. You are born, you push, pull and trod on others all your life to get ahead (of what I do not know) and then you die. The concept of souls, re-births, past lives intrigued me quite a bit. The idea seemed interesting and probably as these concepts are present in all religions and parts of the world.
I asked her about it and this is what I understood, your soul is your energy or the entity which remains and is indestructible. Follows the same funda as that in science. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change its form and state. Soul can be thought of as an intelligent energy entity which initiates in a basic raw form and grows into a state when it can join in to the singular energy source (call it what you may. God is an option). The soul enters the living world in the form of various living organisms and with each birth grows and becomes more powerful. You are born as various animals, worms, trees and other organisms till your soul reaches a state where it can be born as a human. As a human, its main aim is to live a life in such a manner that the soul need not be born again. And this is possible through, positive things in life and doing things such that you are remembered after you are gone in a positive way. Only when you are debt free, will you cease to be born.
The soul has no gender. As a result you may be a man in one life while a woman in another. Sounds logical, as I always wondered, how is it possible that a woman will never know what it feels like to be a man and vice versa. How will you empathize and understand the opposite sex unless you have lived their life?
Questions such as why should I be proud or jealous of someone else, when your aim is to advance, not in your living realm but in your soul realm. Your aim is to merge with the source of energy. Everyone will. It only depends how fast. And the speed depends on how you live your life. Would you like to be in debt with other souls, so that you are reborn till you pay it off or rather live a life such that you die content, satisfied and at peace.
Apparently that is what life is. Spend your life in such a way that people remember you after you are gone and help others advance in the journey towards the light. For your progress depends on their adavancement.
Alright, so here is a brief about things I talked about with my Dadi aka my godmother. I'll probably elaborate on posts later on but for now, just a jist.
I had a doubts about life, it's purpose and whether this existence is all that its about. Always made the whole idea of life pretty pointless. You are born, you push, pull and trod on others all your life to get ahead (of what I do not know) and then you die. The concept of souls, re-births, past lives intrigued me quite a bit. The idea seemed interesting and probably as these concepts are present in all religions and parts of the world.
I asked her about it and this is what I understood, your soul is your energy or the entity which remains and is indestructible. Follows the same funda as that in science. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change its form and state. Soul can be thought of as an intelligent energy entity which initiates in a basic raw form and grows into a state when it can join in to the singular energy source (call it what you may. God is an option). The soul enters the living world in the form of various living organisms and with each birth grows and becomes more powerful. You are born as various animals, worms, trees and other organisms till your soul reaches a state where it can be born as a human. As a human, its main aim is to live a life in such a manner that the soul need not be born again. And this is possible through, positive things in life and doing things such that you are remembered after you are gone in a positive way. Only when you are debt free, will you cease to be born.
The soul has no gender. As a result you may be a man in one life while a woman in another. Sounds logical, as I always wondered, how is it possible that a woman will never know what it feels like to be a man and vice versa. How will you empathize and understand the opposite sex unless you have lived their life?
Questions such as why should I be proud or jealous of someone else, when your aim is to advance, not in your living realm but in your soul realm. Your aim is to merge with the source of energy. Everyone will. It only depends how fast. And the speed depends on how you live your life. Would you like to be in debt with other souls, so that you are reborn till you pay it off or rather live a life such that you die content, satisfied and at peace.
Apparently that is what life is. Spend your life in such a way that people remember you after you are gone and help others advance in the journey towards the light. For your progress depends on their adavancement.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
100!
My 100th post! Yesterday was the first time that I skipped posting in the last 3 months. Partially cause I didn't have anything clear to write about and partially because I was watching a movie. :P
Spent most of the day listening and occasionally questioning. Expecting tomorrow to be a more enlightening day. A lot more thought needs to be put in. Plan to take a leave tomorrow too.
Feeling extremely restless and I know what the reason is. Can't do anything about it. Just continue feeling this way and carry on. I have never asked much but I guess at times even not-much is too much to ask for. Tragic. Specially when you are bloody sure you deserve it :) I hate the fact that I do not have any control over where things are going and I hate that. I hate it when I do not have control over the outcomes and circumstances.
All I need is a confirmation of the Grand Finale but apparently no one knows it. No one seems to have the answer to the riddle. I feel like the supporting actor of my own story. Its not a good role, specially when its your story. And the biggest problem is that I don't want to give it all up, leave it behind and walk on. I just keep getting the feeling that its not the end yet. There's still more to the story, the climax is yet to come and I hope that it has a happy ending, I like happy endings. Sad endings leave a bigger impact but the former leaves you satisfied at the end and makes it all worth while. All good!
Spent most of the day listening and occasionally questioning. Expecting tomorrow to be a more enlightening day. A lot more thought needs to be put in. Plan to take a leave tomorrow too.
Feeling extremely restless and I know what the reason is. Can't do anything about it. Just continue feeling this way and carry on. I have never asked much but I guess at times even not-much is too much to ask for. Tragic. Specially when you are bloody sure you deserve it :) I hate the fact that I do not have any control over where things are going and I hate that. I hate it when I do not have control over the outcomes and circumstances.
All I need is a confirmation of the Grand Finale but apparently no one knows it. No one seems to have the answer to the riddle. I feel like the supporting actor of my own story. Its not a good role, specially when its your story. And the biggest problem is that I don't want to give it all up, leave it behind and walk on. I just keep getting the feeling that its not the end yet. There's still more to the story, the climax is yet to come and I hope that it has a happy ending, I like happy endings. Sad endings leave a bigger impact but the former leaves you satisfied at the end and makes it all worth while. All good!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
What is the question?
I am just not getting enough time to sit with her and clarify my doubts. The situation is just not arising. I wanted to go and meet her in Agartala to talk about it and now that she is at my house, I have not talked about it :( Pathetic! The whole day went by doing the weirdest things. I am gonna go back to work tomorrow and get some routine into my life.
Even she has no idea about what I am upto as far as a part of my life is concerned. Maybe if she understands my thinking and point of view, she'll be able to make some sense out of the whole thing. I guess I need a full on divine intervention. LOL!
Answers never come easy, specially when you don't know what the real question is...
Even she has no idea about what I am upto as far as a part of my life is concerned. Maybe if she understands my thinking and point of view, she'll be able to make some sense out of the whole thing. I guess I need a full on divine intervention. LOL!
Answers never come easy, specially when you don't know what the real question is...
Monday, August 2, 2010
And the doctors are back!
Had a very painful day today and by painful I mean my body is aching everywhere possible. My lower back is killing me and so are my calves. All my medically educated friends are back in town for good. My ophthalmologist friend is back in Bombay with her radiologist hubby. So is my psycho friend (I mean psychiatrist). Had a get-together lunch with them and had a really fun time.
Apart from that, I spent the whole day chatting with Dida. Spoke a lot about different things. Extremely thought provoking and inspirational. I still need to start talking about things that has been bothering me for a very long time now. Maybe she can give me some inputs, a little guidance towards the direction that may hold some answers.
The problem is that I have read too many theories and explanations. At times, its difficult to figure out what is it that is actually happening. So the search for answers only introduce you to more doubts making the whole process that much more difficult. But then again, that's what makes it fun :)
I think picnic details are gonna take more time. :P
Apart from that, I spent the whole day chatting with Dida. Spoke a lot about different things. Extremely thought provoking and inspirational. I still need to start talking about things that has been bothering me for a very long time now. Maybe she can give me some inputs, a little guidance towards the direction that may hold some answers.
The problem is that I have read too many theories and explanations. At times, its difficult to figure out what is it that is actually happening. So the search for answers only introduce you to more doubts making the whole process that much more difficult. But then again, that's what makes it fun :)
I think picnic details are gonna take more time. :P
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