Snippets

• The whole of Chennai is teeming with mosquitoes. These dheet mossies are resistant to Allouts too. So a tough time with them.
  
• Big Brother made top news for a few days and died down. Much was said about Shilpa being a B-grade actress, Goody being the uneducated and her educational trip to India. Hope she doesnt end up hating India in the process. A bit of gandhigiri will do the job here I guess. But then wasnt too much importance given to a publicity stunt! Im sure an average Indian settled abroad faces much worser slurs. Thats why I believe India is for Indians. We are immigrants elsewhere. Lets start respecting our own people first. Respect from others will follow.
  
• My number is registered with KBC :-D Im waiting for the computerji to select my number and Sharukh here I come :-D My friends say even if I reach the hot seat, Ill be tongue tied there as Ill be busy drooling non-stop at him. Nazron mein bhar loon main thoda :-D
  
• I hope my prince charming better hurries up or he will really miss me :-(
  

Inkheart

While reading a book, have you ever wanted to enter that world of make-believe? Or have you ever felt an aura around you of the fantasy world created by the book ?
Something like this happens in the fantasy Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. In this book, characters from a book come alive in this world. It is a very interesting read if you love fantasies. I found it un-putdownable and was sad later that it got over. But to my delight, I discovered that this is part of a trilogy. Second part is called Inkspell and the last one is not yet released. Im waiting to read the 2nd one. My birthday is coming closer and if you know when it is, you know what to do ;-)

Cornelia Funke is a german writer and the books we read are translations of her work. The other book I read is called Dragon Rider. Very interesting again. Her Thief Lord is the best-seller Im told. Yet to read that.
Have a nice weekend :-)

Salaam-e-Ishq

Salaam-e-Ishq was screened in OAT as part of a fund-raiser and I absolutely loved it :-D Inspite of being abrupt in parts, this was a total timepass. Ill say that I wouldnt have enjoyed this movie elsewhere but OAT has the best ambience possible for almost any movie. The clear sky, bright stars, full moon, and an audience which was there to enjoy itself added up to make this movie memorable for me :-D

John and Vidya Balan really look cute together, their part was also very beautiful. John's proposal to Vidya in the movie was very beautiful according to me. He says "lets create a lifetime of memories" :-)

Govinda was awesome!! I never enjoyed his comedy roles before this movie. Salman-Priyanka and Anil-Juhi part dragged a bit. Im a fan of Akshaye since his Humraaz days. His comedy tracks rock.
This movie represented Hindi movies on a big scale :-D Like the scene where Govinda stops a wedding with the typical Ruko ye shaadi nahi ho sakti :-D or when the wedding resumes, another guy enters and says ruko ye.. They could laugh at their own film making style - at all that we love in the movies.
Movie was looong. A full three and a half hours! But I enjoyed every minute of it :-D
I must warn you that you shouldnt go by my review as among all my friends I was the only one who enjoyed it :-D Go prepared for entertainment and you ll get it.

Im waiting for the day when Ill really laugh without something nagging at the back of my mind. These days nothing I do is with full enjoyment. I forgot my troubles for 3.5 hours and had a blast. So yes I loved Salaam-e-Ishq :-)

When the woods rocked

Saarang this year arrived with larger sponsorships and greater noise. I used to look forward to Saarangs earlier but there is only these many Ss one can take.

The only concert I attended was the one by Global Rhythms. It was amazing to see a group of Americans performing Indian raagas. Apparently they spent 3 months learning them. And in the gallery, we had the "youth" - the future of India, booing them. But as soon as they started shakalaka baby, everyone was on their feet. Call it shallowness or call it apathy.
They also played an Italian waltz on the saxophone which sounded very much like Edelweiss in The Sound of Music. I wish they had played more of such compositions as we dont get to hear folk music from elsewhere. For that matter, though Indian folk is used time and again in filmmusic, we seldom recognise it until we are told its folk. GR's show was mainly a tribute to India which fell flat on these young Indians.

Surprisingly, I liked the rock show. This was by Junkyard Groove (loved the guitars) and Merzhin who played celtic rock. Maybe my liking them also had to do with me not being inside the OAT and hence modulated noise levels :-D Anyway got to hear good music for free. :-D

This year I felt that Rehman was the theme of the show. Uff the number of times I heard Chaiyya chaiyya!! And please whats with the long hair and dirty beard?? It looks so yewww and its called fashion!

Every year around this time, we see the hep crowd roaming around the campus. Whats left behind them is a pile of waste on the once-green campus, food stench etc. It takes some time for this ecosystem to recover from the massive attack. Masti is fine but a little responsibility on everyone's side would make it a great fest.

(I discovered yesterday that I lost a year Phoebe style :-D Why god why!! :-D )

This was supposed to be my last Saarang. Hey Im giving my synopsis talks on 6th, 7th and 8th. Wish me luck :-)

Happy Republic Day

Happy Republic day :)

Its a long time since I have seen the republic day parade. Next year god-willing :)

Khumar Barabankvi

I seem to be developing a taste for Khumar Barabankvi's ghazals.. A few of them on Aligarians.com.. Simple words yet intense ..
By the way in vo jo aaye.. , did you notice the beautiful ladies? Some people are so gorgeous!!

Avalanche of Weddings!

Three of my friends are getting married on 28th of this month and one more close friend is getting married on the 29th.. Great news except that I wont be able to attend even one of them :-( Even the one thats right here in Chennai :-(

Btw, Is it something to do with muhurats? Please enlighten me.. Someone told me about this incident that because of some muhurat, an apartment block had 4 weddings on the same day and this guest wandered into the wrong wedding, gave his gift to the bride and groom and while eating his dinner, he realised he hasnt seen a single familar face yet. By then it was too late :-D


He he sabki baraaten aayi........

The nth draft !

Something something

Hello Im back after a long hiatus.
This new year started with gory killings (kids for godsakes!!) and a shameful hanging. Yes Saddam was a dictator and a murderer but the way his death was publicised just like the n# of reality shows around, was disgraceful. Noida killings is a horror saga thats still on, as bits and pieces of innocent kids are still being unearthed (or rather fished out). Gives one the shivers. Im sure an execution in this case is too fast and too easy a death for the fiends. They deserve something worser.

Back to me, I was off for a Kolkata trip, a nice and memorable trip actually. Had fun and did some work too. Met old friends and made new friends. You know research may be monotonous, mundane stuff but it sure has its benefits. There is some amount of prestige involved in being called a scientist or a physicist. And then I love learning new things and Ill hate to miss all this just because I have to follow conventions. Oh I hate it all... sighhhhh

Movies watched meanwhile: Kabul Express (it rocks, good cinema); Umrao Jaan (Agreed Ash looked gorgeous but I had to ffwd much of it, didn't everyone (except a few) sound artificial speaking Urdu, come on its not tough!! Its called a meethi zubaan and certainly should be an effortless task for a multicrore movie); Maine pyar kyun kiya ( Timepass); Baabul (Sob sob); Something something (Tam movie which was something something)

And oh yet again - When will I get out of this infernal place!!! and which other infernal place am I heading to!!! And oh cant I just ffwd my life!!!
So much for a new year arriving with a bang :-(

PS: IM NOT TB. TB is someone else. IM JUST T who is actually called something else.

Greetings

Wish you all a great year ahead :-)

Arvind Kejriwal

Yoohoo we will hear Arvind Kejriwal, founder of Parivartan speak this saturday.
The forwarded mail had this good quote:
Let not your sense of morals prevent you from doing what's right
- Salvor Hardin, Foundation.
Apart from the open air theatre, this is the other thing Ill miss when I leave this place. I have heard some really good/famous/brilliant personalities speak here. One does not get this exposure very often elsewhere.
But the day of leaving this place seems so far away. Everything is getting delayed :-( Im impatient with my life and want it to rush on. Its as if its stuck in a rut. And a big shove will only get it out of this rut and push it into another ditch.
Im so morale-less early in the morning :-(
I have something to look forward to on this saturday. :-) Plus Anastasia in OAT. If they had to screen old movies, why cant they screen the classics. Im dying to see Casablanca.

Rise of China

There was an editorial in Hindu about the huge number of gold medals in the Chinese contingent. Recently, my friends attended two conferences, in different disciplines. And they were also talking about the swarming of Zangs and Mings in these fields. And many of them had remarkable work to their credit. This is the trend there - the chinese students go abroad study in top-class universities and then they get back to their country and develop the infrastructure in their country. And China offers them very attractive packages also, so that they dont lose out personally either.

A review or a comment?

Review of Kabul Express

Are we "bedding with a monster"? I still have reservations about the nuclear deal and it beats me why India appears so desperate for this. Im not knowledgeable about these things but the opinions floating around in the media are also not very optimistic about this. Instead why not revive our institutions. It is a known thing that much money is squandered away in government institutions and how inefficient, lazy and evil authorities are busy filling up their coffers and in preventing real hard workers do their job for the fear of them outshining. So the much revered establishments have now been reduced to white elephants. Why not clean out such parasites first instead of inviting more in the country?
One of my friend was saying that India needs something hard to wake up and inspire the kind of passion it had when it fought for its Independence. And I think her wish will be granted pretty soon if we do carry on with our association with the "monster". Isnt history supposed to be a teacher!
Anyway now I want to see this movie more than ever. Waiting for the last week of December :-D

Currently, Im reading the Count of Monte Cristo by A. Dumas. I had read an abridged version in my childhood and Im reading the unabridged version only now. A very gripping narrative and too good. I had read his Three Musketeers but not his Man in the iron mask, but have seen the movie.
I had heard that A Dumas used to employ writers to churn out stories for him. I dont how much truth is attached with this. But his stories are awesome.

Take 2

2nd draft = Expand the 1st draft by 3 times.
(Take a deep breath. Its no easy job. )
Im starting to think that cooking 3 times a day is easier :-(
Anyway today's phdcomics says this
I got pissed off yesterday by a fellow who was doing the thinking for me, whether Ill earn in dollars, euros or pounds next and then took offence when I said tata to him pointblank. See my patience is hanging by a thread! My next occupation is not decided and people have been worrying about what Ill earn next!!! Are they this jobless!!Anyway everyone to their own pastime.

Chimp champ

:-D I like the smirk on its face.
Disclaimer: No particular affection for this species. We see them all the time in our hostels and vice versa. We literally cohabit. They enter our rooms at the first chance available, share our food, drink from the same water cans and drape themselves in our washed clothes hanging on the strings. So no love lost between us.

Shocking

Man held for selling wife's kidney to meet liquor expenses

..

A friend once said to me "Dont say yes when you want to say no". I have not learnt that yet and I often get disturbed because of this very same habit.

A very crude draft of my thesis is ready :-D Im bad at technical writing. My 10 page reports undergo 5 revisions in general. Im gearing up for 5*6 revisions now :-( :-D.

Rahman's Guru

Do check out the soundtracks of Rahman's Guru. As usual, Rahman has given us awesome tracks. My favourite track is Bin tere kya jeena. Mayya mayya also sounds great with an arabian lilt to it. Barso re does give a feel of rains. Im watching out for the release of this movie. Anything ManiRathnam is immensely watchable starting from his Mauna Raagam.
I saw Dhoom2 and did not like it. In every scene, the director focussed on the lead stars Ekta Kapoor style - you know the 3 shots per person from different angles- dhudum dhudum dhudum style :-D Dhoom1 had more thrill factor and chill factor (psst psst John Abraham being my latest liking).
Movies Im looking out for - Guru, Kabul express and Babul :-D
Looks like Ill have a working winter vacation but I hope to take little breaks for these 3 movies..

Supernova and time travel

(Ok I tried sleeping but I had terrible nightmares yesterday so just a lil scared of hitting the bed :-D So I thought Ill blab a little on my blabspot:-D )

A few days back we had a talk in our department by an astrophysicist on supernova remnants. This was a study of the dust cloud thats left behind by stars who could not stand their own weight and blew up, the explosions are called supernova/e . The SRs have been seen in our own galaxy too and are some 3000 light years away. An interesting question was raised. Since
these stars are some 3000 light years away (meaning the light from them has taken 3000 years to reach us), what is being studied now is in the past (in fact 3000 years back). How does one know what is the current status of those remnants? Seen this way, our future generations 3000 years from now will know what is happening now, not us :-D To this, the speaker had a smooth answer. SRs have been seen in other galaxies too and these are some 10000 light years away. Since, the constitution of those SRs is the same as those in our galaxy, we can compare the time status and predict what will happen to the observations 3000 years later. One advantage of predictive science. BTW pony tails seems to be the latest fad amongst physicists these days. Why would anyone ever want to grow hair at all?!!

Douglas Adams in Hitchhikers guide to galaxy has an interesting take on time travel. Ill copy paste that here

One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of accidentally becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem involved in becoming your own father or mother that a broadminded and well-adjusted family can't cope with. ... The major problem is quite simply one of grammar, and the main work to consult in this matter is Dr Dan Streetmentioner's Time Traveller's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations. It will tell you for instance how to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it. ... Most readers get as far as the Future Semi-Conditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past Subjunctive Intentional before giving up: and in fact in later editions of the book all the pages beyond this point have been left blank to save on printing costs.

Hitchhikers is a must read :-D
(Pic from wiki)

Q?

Was life on earth an accident or are we someone's else timepass?

Its already December!! the last month of this year! Not days, but months are whizzing past us. Was time always this fast for our ancestors too or is time in a rush to meet its end?

Is it delirium or is it time for me to sleep? Or both? :-D
May we all have a rocking end to 2006. :-)