I spent this weekend at Bangalore. This was my first visit to the city. Visited my relatives. Met old college friends. I must say I seem to be the only one who has not changed at all in appearance. Everyone else has put on weight.
My impressions of the city! There are always goods and bads in a city and so its not even a good thing to compare. But then one does end up comparing.
The autowallahs are much much better there than in Chennai. I was surprised to find them following the meter rate to a rupee. The meter can be used in a negative way also as we found out in one case where this guy was taking us through narrow lanes and byways instead of the main roads just to increase the rate. We promptly got down 10 mins after getting in ( I was suspicious also as this guy covered up his face in the petrol pump, and avoided the main roads. Who knows if he is a terrorist. He he my imagination was on full drive. I digress.)
The bus service is lousy, Ill say. And the commuters are more lecherous (in my experience). I felt travelling there is difficult unless one has a personal vehicle.
It was so pleasantly cool there. After the sultriest few days in Chennai, this was very welcome. As it happened, it rained in Chennai too this weekend. Not fair. We missed 4 days of chennai rains :-(
We roamed around Garuda Mall. One can buy stuff in Spencers but not in Garuda Mall. Its indecently overpriced. I think Spencers caters to all sections. Anyway, we entered the Scary House there and got mighty scared. My cousins tell me that I apparently told one "bhoot" to not do what he was doing- scare me :-D He he I am jumpy by nature and I am scared of darkness too. So I got my money's worth of getting scared :-D Enjoyed max in all. I would love to return to Bangalore :)
There is big hype surrounding the movie Sivaji down south. Apparently people are even paying 1k to watch this movie! Its a crazy little world.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
My good luck charm?
Crow droppings. Yes, you read it right. Consider these incidents:
1. School days: My brand new cycle used to be parked in the stand alongwith others'. But most often, only my cycle used to be spotted with crow droppings.
2. College days: My lunch periods used to be spent in searching for a crow free zone. I was notorious for attracting crows.
3. Masters convocation: I was seated in the last row in a hall with very high ceiling. All the parents were seated on a higher level right behind me. In the middle of the ceremony, when we were awaiting our turns, this crow which is flying over us, makes it mark on me, and a collective gasp is heard from the scores of parents seated behind me. In an assembly of 1000 heads, this crow in flight, has to select just me to drop its blessings!
I remembered all this, cos yesterday a crow blessed me again. Again lots of people before and after me were walking under the tree, but this crow had to choose my head. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
1. School days: My brand new cycle used to be parked in the stand alongwith others'. But most often, only my cycle used to be spotted with crow droppings.
2. College days: My lunch periods used to be spent in searching for a crow free zone. I was notorious for attracting crows.
3. Masters convocation: I was seated in the last row in a hall with very high ceiling. All the parents were seated on a higher level right behind me. In the middle of the ceremony, when we were awaiting our turns, this crow which is flying over us, makes it mark on me, and a collective gasp is heard from the scores of parents seated behind me. In an assembly of 1000 heads, this crow in flight, has to select just me to drop its blessings!
I remembered all this, cos yesterday a crow blessed me again. Again lots of people before and after me were walking under the tree, but this crow had to choose my head. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Updates
Pirates of the Caribbean - Worlds end is a must watch for all those who did not miss the earlier movies. We watched it in our old style - bunked a working day and rushed to get the movie tickets after lunch. This part is an entertainer like the rest and ends with a blast ( or is this really the end ?!)
I have the sequel to Inkheart by Cornelia Funke in my kitty for the past one week but its impossible to read a book at home. I spend some 5 waking hours there, and there is always something or other going on. Even my plans of preparing for the interviews haven't been put in action yet. I also realized that TV doesn't interest me anymore.
I have the sequel to Inkheart by Cornelia Funke in my kitty for the past one week but its impossible to read a book at home. I spend some 5 waking hours there, and there is always something or other going on. Even my plans of preparing for the interviews haven't been put in action yet. I also realized that TV doesn't interest me anymore.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Another bus story
Maybe I should rename this blog as Chronicles of my bus journey :-D
Today, a nice old lady was sitting next to me. She asked me about my education and went on to say thats a good thing, one should stand on their feet, and a life partner should be just that - partner in life, we shouldn't depend on him, kaalam maari pochi (days have changed), we should do as well as he does. She said all this with a passion.
These ideas are very common now, but it felt good to hear them from a veteran who has lived and learned.
Today, a nice old lady was sitting next to me. She asked me about my education and went on to say thats a good thing, one should stand on their feet, and a life partner should be just that - partner in life, we shouldn't depend on him, kaalam maari pochi (days have changed), we should do as well as he does. She said all this with a passion.
These ideas are very common now, but it felt good to hear them from a veteran who has lived and learned.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
My chance to say get well soon :-D
Two hours of travel in the peak hours is definitely painful but it has its moments of humour also. At least I manage to enjoy myself. :-D
It often happens to me in the bus that just when I get a seat, either an old lady or a pregnant woman comes and stands near me. Courtesy demands that I sacrifice my seat, but it does annoy me no end.
So yesterday this fat lady in a crisp starched cotton sari gets in and asks me to give up my seat. I try to hedge as she looked very fit to me. She insisted, even refused to share my seat, so finally I gave up. thinking maybe she does need to sit ( Unfortunately I am easily bullied). This lady turned out to be attending a party in some hotel. She even once asked me not to crush her sari (!!).
Anyway I said "Get well soon" to her before I got down :-D
(Well I didn't want to risk her pitaai so chose the last moment before I escaped :-D Mom says I will get beaten up for my cheekiness some day soon :-D )
It often happens to me in the bus that just when I get a seat, either an old lady or a pregnant woman comes and stands near me. Courtesy demands that I sacrifice my seat, but it does annoy me no end.
So yesterday this fat lady in a crisp starched cotton sari gets in and asks me to give up my seat. I try to hedge as she looked very fit to me. She insisted, even refused to share my seat, so finally I gave up. thinking maybe she does need to sit ( Unfortunately I am easily bullied). This lady turned out to be attending a party in some hotel. She even once asked me not to crush her sari (!!).
Anyway I said "Get well soon" to her before I got down :-D
(Well I didn't want to risk her pitaai so chose the last moment before I escaped :-D Mom says I will get beaten up for my cheekiness some day soon :-D )
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Ta ra rum pum and hum
Hi all ( at least the ones who still read this blog :-D I too have been a bit slack in putting up new stuff here. Somehow for the past few days blogging was not the fun it used to be. I realised that it has been about I-me-myself in the past many posts and I took a break. Its not as if it has changed but then still, here I am).
Watched Ta ra rum pum a couple of weeks back. Recently, we have seen many low budget movies with not so famous actors albeit with refreshing stories. Sweet, amusing, astonishing, thought-provoking - many varieties of them. Ta ra rum pum jarred on the senses in comparison. Agreed Rani, Saif are established actors but Im sure even they did not know who their target audiences were. Muddled and directionless. Thats what it was. (Spoiler) Saif is a tire changer who meets Rani and falls in love. He also has a penchant for driving fast that lands him into car racing. He gets rich and also spends more than what he earns. (Bit like me. I never go in for instalments but I spend a lot :-D bad habit) has two cute kids and an awesome glass house, He has an accident and his car racing suffers. He loses all his assets and is now poor, this is where it gets more annoying. A blatant copy from Life is beautiful, they pretend to the kids that its all a reality show and they have to win the game. The poverty gets so worse that Saif and Rani miss their meals to save money!! Then after a series of events, Saif emerges victorious/richer and wiser.
Now to talk about the target audience, they were confused whether its the NRIs or the desis, or the kids, or the resident Indians. I loved the car racing sections. I would like to know this, Did Schumacher also win by hitting his opponents, Never watched F1 races before this.
My friends said at the end, that we spent some 100 bucks per head for the movie only to learn that one should never spend in excess and should value money :-D
****
I changed my status from a hostelite to a day scholar last week. I have been eating well, sleeping well, and traveling a lot - 2hrs per day. Mom is trying to rid me of the hostel habits. For starters, Im not regular about eating, I sleep at any vacant place, I dont use the regular things like towels, tumblers, pillows and etc etc. 7 years of hostel living ought to make a mark :-D
If things work out I might be visiting Italy in July. Im already dreaming about Venice :-D Only if things work out :-D
Watched Ta ra rum pum a couple of weeks back. Recently, we have seen many low budget movies with not so famous actors albeit with refreshing stories. Sweet, amusing, astonishing, thought-provoking - many varieties of them. Ta ra rum pum jarred on the senses in comparison. Agreed Rani, Saif are established actors but Im sure even they did not know who their target audiences were. Muddled and directionless. Thats what it was. (Spoiler) Saif is a tire changer who meets Rani and falls in love. He also has a penchant for driving fast that lands him into car racing. He gets rich and also spends more than what he earns. (Bit like me. I never go in for instalments but I spend a lot :-D bad habit) has two cute kids and an awesome glass house, He has an accident and his car racing suffers. He loses all his assets and is now poor, this is where it gets more annoying. A blatant copy from Life is beautiful, they pretend to the kids that its all a reality show and they have to win the game. The poverty gets so worse that Saif and Rani miss their meals to save money!! Then after a series of events, Saif emerges victorious/richer and wiser.
Now to talk about the target audience, they were confused whether its the NRIs or the desis, or the kids, or the resident Indians. I loved the car racing sections. I would like to know this, Did Schumacher also win by hitting his opponents, Never watched F1 races before this.
My friends said at the end, that we spent some 100 bucks per head for the movie only to learn that one should never spend in excess and should value money :-D
****
I changed my status from a hostelite to a day scholar last week. I have been eating well, sleeping well, and traveling a lot - 2hrs per day. Mom is trying to rid me of the hostel habits. For starters, Im not regular about eating, I sleep at any vacant place, I dont use the regular things like towels, tumblers, pillows and etc etc. 7 years of hostel living ought to make a mark :-D
If things work out I might be visiting Italy in July. Im already dreaming about Venice :-D Only if things work out :-D
Friday, May 04, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Whats in a name
I saw Orhan Pamuk's My name is red in the library and wanted to read it. I am curious about his book as I have heard much about him here and there. I admit that the work of Nobel laureates has ever been beyond my understanding.
Dont you think Orhan has a nice sound to it! Few months back I met a sweet Turkish lady with twinkling greyish blue eyes, whose husband's name was Orhan and she pronounced it very musically (OrHAAN). Maybe her affection to him also added to the charm.
A name defines the identity of a person, and so is a very important thing to that person. Names have character too.
And when someone doesnt even take the time to pronounce it right or spell it right, even when they know the person quite well, it is not right. At least I get very annoyed. You are not my friend until you know how I spell my name and how I expect you to pronounce it.
Some people have very beautiful names, many a times influenced by the local culture. For instance, what is Maitri or Maitreyi in other languages is Moitri in Bongland, sanjay is Shonjoy, or Kajal is Kajol.
He he sometimes the local language screws up the name too. Eg. in Tamil (Tamizh), maha is not accepted. So Mahalakshmi is Magalakshmi. This is a Tamilian enough name so it sounds nice. But when Zahera (ZAAhayRaa) changes to Jageera or Jagara, I draw the line :-D
As an aside, I realised that lately I have been giving very corny titles to my posts - Moving Movies, Post Mortem, Castles in the air! and whats in a name :-D Kya karen mamu, bheja chutti pe gayela hai and waise bhi creativity thodi apun k reach k baahar hai :-D
Anyway, another fantasy series I discovered is Septimus Heap by Angie Sage. The first part is called Magyk, and next one lined up is Flyte. It is an interesting read. Good timepass.
Dont you think Orhan has a nice sound to it! Few months back I met a sweet Turkish lady with twinkling greyish blue eyes, whose husband's name was Orhan and she pronounced it very musically (OrHAAN). Maybe her affection to him also added to the charm.
A name defines the identity of a person, and so is a very important thing to that person. Names have character too.
And when someone doesnt even take the time to pronounce it right or spell it right, even when they know the person quite well, it is not right. At least I get very annoyed. You are not my friend until you know how I spell my name and how I expect you to pronounce it.
Some people have very beautiful names, many a times influenced by the local culture. For instance, what is Maitri or Maitreyi in other languages is Moitri in Bongland, sanjay is Shonjoy, or Kajal is Kajol.
He he sometimes the local language screws up the name too. Eg. in Tamil (Tamizh), maha is not accepted. So Mahalakshmi is Magalakshmi. This is a Tamilian enough name so it sounds nice. But when Zahera (ZAAhayRaa) changes to Jageera or Jagara, I draw the line :-D
As an aside, I realised that lately I have been giving very corny titles to my posts - Moving Movies, Post Mortem, Castles in the air! and whats in a name :-D Kya karen mamu, bheja chutti pe gayela hai and waise bhi creativity thodi apun k reach k baahar hai :-D
Anyway, another fantasy series I discovered is Septimus Heap by Angie Sage. The first part is called Magyk, and next one lined up is Flyte. It is an interesting read. Good timepass.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Moving movies!
I finally got to see Jillunu Oru Kaadhal in OAT. Rather suffered through it. Everything was in excess. Lots of editing would have made it watchable. Our feelings alternated between Yewww ugh and gaawwd. This is the story- Surya marries Jyothika and lives happily, Jyothika one day finds out about Surya's 1st love Bhoomika and since J loves S so much, she brings B back for him. B and S spend one whole day together, roaming shopping, boozing, dancing, screaming, dining and just when they reach the bed, J wakes up from her dream. Come on!! Major lesson if you ever plan to make a film - never make anybody dream a full 24 hour day! It grates on the nerves. Only Ekta Kapoor has the exclusive rights to such insanities.
What a waste of good Rehman music!
In my opinion, even Guru was not that great. Maybe we have seen many such rags to riches stories on screen. Moreover, there was an artificial look about it, as if it was meant to impress. A collection of punchlines.
Few days back, Departed was screened in OAT. For an Oscar winner, I didn't find it impressive. We came out with the feeling that if the actor (Leo) had watched Hindi movies, he would have been aware of the traps laid out for him :-D Or maybe if we had paid attention to the dialogues in between the f***s, we would have liked it. Do dark, gloomy backdrops and abusive language guarantee an Oscar?
I missed watching Blood Diamond in OAT. Everyone tells me it was good. There is this genre of movies recently that highlight certain issues and still do not make one feel miserable. I mean without being pathetically depressing, they tell the facts in a detached, documentary-style manner like Motorcycle diaries or Constant Gardner. Maybe it is not a recent thing, just that I noticed them recently.
A friend suggested "12 angry men" as a good movie. Looking out for it. Apparently, it is about focussing on an idea rather than the emotions around it. There is a word for it which eludes me now - ad something
What a waste of good Rehman music!
In my opinion, even Guru was not that great. Maybe we have seen many such rags to riches stories on screen. Moreover, there was an artificial look about it, as if it was meant to impress. A collection of punchlines.
Few days back, Departed was screened in OAT. For an Oscar winner, I didn't find it impressive. We came out with the feeling that if the actor (Leo) had watched Hindi movies, he would have been aware of the traps laid out for him :-D Or maybe if we had paid attention to the dialogues in between the f***s, we would have liked it. Do dark, gloomy backdrops and abusive language guarantee an Oscar?
I missed watching Blood Diamond in OAT. Everyone tells me it was good. There is this genre of movies recently that highlight certain issues and still do not make one feel miserable. I mean without being pathetically depressing, they tell the facts in a detached, documentary-style manner like Motorcycle diaries or Constant Gardner. Maybe it is not a recent thing, just that I noticed them recently.
A friend suggested "12 angry men" as a good movie. Looking out for it. Apparently, it is about focussing on an idea rather than the emotions around it. There is a word for it which eludes me now - ad something
Friday, April 27, 2007
Castles in the air
Chennai got to see a spectacular air show on the 22nd of April on the Marina Beach. More details and colourful pictures can be found here and here. Since we live quite close to the beach, we got to see the Jaguars and SuryaKirans flying above our terrace at close quarters :-D
Too late, we decided to go to the beach and see the show. Thats when we realised that a very huge crowd had turned up to watch the air show.We got to see the Akash Ganga team (paratroopers) landing from a distance. Unfortunately, that was the tail end of the show. We did get to experience the huge crowd. It was a hassle getting back home.
But a memorable show :-) If watching the aircrafts is this thrilling, how would flying them feel like!!
I submitted my thesis last week and have been hibernating since then.
I watched a lot of nice sweet movies like Honeymoon Travels, Just married, Mistress of Spices, Jo jeeta wahi sikander. Pl suggest some more nice sweet movies that I can watch.
Movies are a good escape from the real world. I am very close to abandoning my hazaaron khwahishein :-)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Post-mortem! :-D
Hurray my thesis will be submitted in a week, though its 2 months behind schedule. I no longer know why it was so delayed, even when the first draft was ready in Jan. I admit its more polished, but the content is not different from what it was then. Maybe it suffered the same fate that my PhD did. In the quest for a "good solid" thesis, it took me 5 years to complete. Now I don't know what to do with this "good solid thesis". I think I hate it. Maybe I'll appreciate it after a couple of years. Not now.
We friends were thinking that we did crib a lot these 5 years but we enjoyed these days too :-) I have seen many people who are passionate about their work. We were never so. So we found easy outlets when something didn't work like impromptu visits to the theaters, a few fun trips, trying out different cuisines, lots of books and innumerable movies.
Now that everyone is settling down, I still am clueless about what to do next. Sort of waiting for the thunderbolt :-)
Sometime, maybe I'll jot down a few of the crazy things we did. A diary of sorts to say been there, done that.
Till then. have a lovely day :-)
We friends were thinking that we did crib a lot these 5 years but we enjoyed these days too :-) I have seen many people who are passionate about their work. We were never so. So we found easy outlets when something didn't work like impromptu visits to the theaters, a few fun trips, trying out different cuisines, lots of books and innumerable movies.
Now that everyone is settling down, I still am clueless about what to do next. Sort of waiting for the thunderbolt :-)
Sometime, maybe I'll jot down a few of the crazy things we did. A diary of sorts to say been there, done that.
Till then. have a lovely day :-)
Monday, April 09, 2007
A fwd
I have CtrlC-CtrlVed this forward. Hilarious :-)
"
After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form called a gripe sheet, which conveys to the mechanics problems encountered with the aircraft during the flight that need repair or correction. The engineers read and correct the problem, and then respond in writing on the lower half of the form what remedial action was taken, and the pilot reviews the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual logged maintenance complaints and problems as submitted by Qantas pilots and the solution recorded by maintenance engineers. Btw ... Qantas is the only major airline that has never had a major accident.
(P = the problem logged by the pilot
S = the solution and action taken by the engineers)
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.
P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
P: Friction locks causes throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're there for.
P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.
:-D
"
After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form called a gripe sheet, which conveys to the mechanics problems encountered with the aircraft during the flight that need repair or correction. The engineers read and correct the problem, and then respond in writing on the lower half of the form what remedial action was taken, and the pilot reviews the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual logged maintenance complaints and problems as submitted by Qantas pilots and the solution recorded by maintenance engineers. Btw ... Qantas is the only major airline that has never had a major accident.
(P = the problem logged by the pilot
S = the solution and action taken by the engineers)
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.
P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
P: Friction locks causes throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're there for.
P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.
:-D
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Tere Bin- Rabbi Shergill
Have you heard this song by Rabbi? Its beautiful..
(Translation from Wiki)
(Translation from Wiki)
- tere bin / besides you
- sanu sohnia / my love
- koi hor nahio labhna / i shan't find another
- jo dave / who'll give
- ruh nu sakun / peace to my soul
- chukke jo nakhra mera / and indulge me
- ve main sare ghumm ke vekhia / i have gone and seen it all
- amrika , roos, malaysia / america, russia, malaysiana
- kittey vi koi fark si / there wasn't any difference
- har kise di koi shart si / they all had some condition
- koi mangda mera si sama / some asked for my time
- koi hunda surat te fida / some were fascinated with my face
- koi mangda meri si vafa / some demanded my fidelity
- na koi mangda merian bala / none wanted my demons
- tere bin / besides you
- hor na kise / no one else
- mangni merian bala / wanted my demons
- tere bin / besides you
- hor na kise / no one else
- karni dhup vich chhan / shall shade me in the sun
- jiven rukia / (the) way you paused
- si tun zara / slightly
- nahion bhulna / i shan't forget
- main sari umar / all my life
- jiven akhia si akhan chura / you said, looking away
- "rovenga sanu yad kar" / "you shall weep in my memory"
- hasia si main hasa ajeeb / i laughed a strange laugh
- (par) tu nahi si hasia / but you didn't
- dil vich tera jo raaz si / you had a secret in your heart
- mainu tu kyon ni dasia / why didn't you tell me
- tere bin / besides you
- sanu eh raz / none shall tell this
- kise hor nahion dasna / secret to me
- tere bin / besides you
- peerh da ilaaj / what druid
- kis vaid kolon labhna / has the cure to my ills
- milia si ajj mainu / i found today
- tera ik patra / a note of yours
- likhia si jis 'te / on which you had scribbeled
- tun shayr varey shah da / a varis shah couplet
- park ke si osnu / upon reading which
- hanjnu ik duliya / a teardrop fell
- akhan 'ch band si / what was locked in the eye
- seh raaz ajj khulia / was revealed today
- ki tere bin / that other than you
- eh mere hanjnu / these tears of mine
- kise hor / won't be kissed by
- nahio chumna / none else
- ki tere bin / that other than you
- eh mere hanjhu / these tears of mine
- mitti vich rulnha / will wither in the dust
Monday, March 26, 2007
Fiddler on the roof
I got these clips from the movie "Fiddler on the Roof" from a friend, and felt nostalgic on watching them. I had seen the movie a long long time ago and would love to see it again.
Matchmaker, matchmaker find me a match
Sunrise, sunset
If I were a rich man
To Life, Lechaim
Matchmaker, matchmaker find me a match
Sunrise, sunset
If I were a rich man
To Life, Lechaim
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Trichy Diary
I was in Trichy for the past two days. Let me start by saying that everything about this trip was unique for me. Ill start at the very beginning.
When I started, lots of tensions were up. My uncle fell ill, my parents were worried, I was worried that I should be able to get back in time if god forbid something happens, and my parents didn't know I was going to Trichy ( I just didn't have the energy to justify my visit and fight it out). So, I was very tense and keyed up.
My train starts from Egmore. I have never been to this station before, and I was charmed by the ambience. Chennai Central sees people from all over India, but Egmore mostly gets the TamilNadu passengers. So, this station gives a real feel of TN, you see mamis in the 9yards sarees and diamond nose studs, laced with easy smiles and soft words, then thathas in lungis. Even the train was nicely scented- sharp cinnamon - clove tinge in the air. This station is also much much more cleaner than Central.
I couldnt sleep all night as I was worried Ill miss the station. My train- Rockfort express, goes to Kumbakonam via Trichy. It starts at 1030pm from egmore and reaches Trichy at 515am. It turned out I need not have worried. By 430am, everyone was up and about. Lights were on and people were talking. I was feeling sorry for the Kumbakonam passengers. It turned out I need not have done that either. Apparently, a lot of people get down at Trichy. So, Trichy passengers are alloted separate coaches. At trichy, these coaches are detached from the rest of the train and the train proceeds to its destination. Efficient. No wonder Indian Railways is minting money. They use common sense.
I was put up in a hotel. I was sceptical about this as I have never stayed in a hotel before, but it was a good hotel - nice people and close to the station.
Trichy is a small city. Here, the general people are not overly friendly but they are not rude either. Chennai is rude. Also, in Trichy, everyone is curious about everyone else. Like I was asked by so many people if I had come to give examinations (I look younger than what I am, its a disadvantage also as sometimes Im not taken seriously, many students even asked if I am in my first year of PhD!)
The university I was visiting is some 17kms away from the station and is reached by taking a mofussil bus. One of my friends there, VM, picked me up on the first day. Beautiful countryside, though it predominantly has dry vegetation. Also smooth roads and frequent buses. I met very friendly people at the university and my my!! Their motivation levels have to be seen to be believed. Before lunch, I had discussed more physics/research than I had ever discussed in one whole week. My talk in the afternoon went well. I was asked to make it accessible to the Msc students as well. I tried but I dont think I succeeded. I got positive feedback from the graduate students.
Anyway, I came back to the hotel on my own. I enjoyed those bus journeys :-) I slept very early after an early dinner and woke up 12 hours later.
Next day, I went to the university by myself. I can read Tamil though I'm painfully slow at it. This helped me this time in reaching the university without mishaps.
After a few discussion sessions that day, I was invited for lunch to the girls' hostel mess. Now here I must compare it with our mess. They pay 20pd, we pay 43pd. They have to bring their own utensils,we dont have to. They even wash their plates, we dont even bother to clean the plates of the mess. Their food is served very hot and its very tasty and unlimited. Believe me. They even get unlimited ghee! Our food is supposed to be hot and tasty, but something happens to it.
In the afternoon, VM and her friend TM, took me around to show places around Trichy. We first headed to Srirangam. On our way there, they pointed out Prez APJK's alma mater. TM had even met the Prez once and has a photo with him. Quite an experience for her!! We parted ways with TM after a while.
VM took me to SriRanganathaswamy temple in Srirangam. Very impressive place. The entrance was very majestic and very tall. I think thats what is called the Rajagopuram. Like a fort, there were townships in and outside the entrances. It has three entrances and apparently totally 26 gopurams of all sizes. We could count only 16. It seems the fourth side also has some gopurams and that is allocated for the harijans (as told to us by a person working in that place). Many were also hidden by trees. The picture here shows the Rajagopuram (from wiki, I unfortunately did not take my camera on this trip :-( I did not think Ill actually go for sight-seeing).
Beautiful architecture in stone from the days of the Cholas. Markets and houses surround this temple and so sitting there, one can almost imagine how the township looked like some 700 hundred years ago.
I also saw the temple elephant up close, sort of came upon it suddenly and jumped out of my skin :-D
After this, we travelled back towards the city and went to the Rockfort temple.
This is, as the name suggests, on a mountain. If I counted right, we climbed 330 steps to reach the top. We looked like the old man climbing the stairs in the Chawanprash advertisement :-D And I saw a guy who was climbing these steps on his knees with a ghee lamp in his hand!! No words at all.
The view from the top was beautiful. We could see Srirangam temple from here. Also we could see a very dry Cauvery bed from the top. It is waiting for either Karnataka to release waters or for the rains in July.
This wiki picture shows the river, I saw only the riverbed :-)
There were many temples inside the rock mountain too. In one place, I saw a carving with a pregnant woman in it and wondered what it could be for. Maybe this wiki entry answers it. I saw another temple elephant here which again took me by surprise.
We then came back to the city and after a tasty dinner, I headed back for Chennai.
India-Srilanka match was up. So everywhere I went, cricket was being closely followed. Even in the station, the platform was empty as everyone had gathered in the arrival lounge to watch the match on the TV. At one point, a loud cheer went up and the platform emptied some more. One guy came to the station just as the train arrived ( You see I like to be at the platform 1 hr before the train arrives!). And he calls up his home asks what the score is! :-D Today early morning, before we reached Egmore. the passengers were wondering what was the outcome. One guy even said that we must have lost and in case we win, the match must have been fixed. :-D
I took a bus from the station (at 515am!! wow I'm impressed by the bus service). Chennai looked beautiful that early in the morning. I love visiting new places but finally I belong to Chennai :-) Or maybe its just that I love returning home :-)
A memorable trip, one that will linger at the back of my mind for many days to come.
Chennai does not give a complete picture of Tamil Nadu. The real TamilNadu lives in these cities.
I was asked many times if I was a north-Indian, to which I said no I'm a Tamizhian :-)
I have a similar opportunity to visit Banaras via Delhi, but I guess Ill have to forego that. Im sure there will be stiff opposition at home and I dont want to do things chori chupe. Inspite of having worked hard for the major part of this trip, there has been a nagging feeling at the back of mind that my parents do not know about this, and I think they deserve this much honesty from me.
A pity. I would love to see Banaras too :-)
When I started, lots of tensions were up. My uncle fell ill, my parents were worried, I was worried that I should be able to get back in time if god forbid something happens, and my parents didn't know I was going to Trichy ( I just didn't have the energy to justify my visit and fight it out). So, I was very tense and keyed up.
My train starts from Egmore. I have never been to this station before, and I was charmed by the ambience. Chennai Central sees people from all over India, but Egmore mostly gets the TamilNadu passengers. So, this station gives a real feel of TN, you see mamis in the 9yards sarees and diamond nose studs, laced with easy smiles and soft words, then thathas in lungis. Even the train was nicely scented- sharp cinnamon - clove tinge in the air. This station is also much much more cleaner than Central.
I couldnt sleep all night as I was worried Ill miss the station. My train- Rockfort express, goes to Kumbakonam via Trichy. It starts at 1030pm from egmore and reaches Trichy at 515am. It turned out I need not have worried. By 430am, everyone was up and about. Lights were on and people were talking. I was feeling sorry for the Kumbakonam passengers. It turned out I need not have done that either. Apparently, a lot of people get down at Trichy. So, Trichy passengers are alloted separate coaches. At trichy, these coaches are detached from the rest of the train and the train proceeds to its destination. Efficient. No wonder Indian Railways is minting money. They use common sense.
I was put up in a hotel. I was sceptical about this as I have never stayed in a hotel before, but it was a good hotel - nice people and close to the station.
Trichy is a small city. Here, the general people are not overly friendly but they are not rude either. Chennai is rude. Also, in Trichy, everyone is curious about everyone else. Like I was asked by so many people if I had come to give examinations (I look younger than what I am, its a disadvantage also as sometimes Im not taken seriously, many students even asked if I am in my first year of PhD!)
The university I was visiting is some 17kms away from the station and is reached by taking a mofussil bus. One of my friends there, VM, picked me up on the first day. Beautiful countryside, though it predominantly has dry vegetation. Also smooth roads and frequent buses. I met very friendly people at the university and my my!! Their motivation levels have to be seen to be believed. Before lunch, I had discussed more physics/research than I had ever discussed in one whole week. My talk in the afternoon went well. I was asked to make it accessible to the Msc students as well. I tried but I dont think I succeeded. I got positive feedback from the graduate students.
Anyway, I came back to the hotel on my own. I enjoyed those bus journeys :-) I slept very early after an early dinner and woke up 12 hours later.
Next day, I went to the university by myself. I can read Tamil though I'm painfully slow at it. This helped me this time in reaching the university without mishaps.
After a few discussion sessions that day, I was invited for lunch to the girls' hostel mess. Now here I must compare it with our mess. They pay 20pd, we pay 43pd. They have to bring their own utensils,we dont have to. They even wash their plates, we dont even bother to clean the plates of the mess. Their food is served very hot and its very tasty and unlimited. Believe me. They even get unlimited ghee! Our food is supposed to be hot and tasty, but something happens to it.
In the afternoon, VM and her friend TM, took me around to show places around Trichy. We first headed to Srirangam. On our way there, they pointed out Prez APJK's alma mater. TM had even met the Prez once and has a photo with him. Quite an experience for her!! We parted ways with TM after a while.
VM took me to SriRanganathaswamy temple in Srirangam. Very impressive place. The entrance was very majestic and very tall. I think thats what is called the Rajagopuram. Like a fort, there were townships in and outside the entrances. It has three entrances and apparently totally 26 gopurams of all sizes. We could count only 16. It seems the fourth side also has some gopurams and that is allocated for the harijans (as told to us by a person working in that place). Many were also hidden by trees. The picture here shows the Rajagopuram (from wiki, I unfortunately did not take my camera on this trip :-( I did not think Ill actually go for sight-seeing).
Beautiful architecture in stone from the days of the Cholas. Markets and houses surround this temple and so sitting there, one can almost imagine how the township looked like some 700 hundred years ago.I also saw the temple elephant up close, sort of came upon it suddenly and jumped out of my skin :-D
After this, we travelled back towards the city and went to the Rockfort temple.
This is, as the name suggests, on a mountain. If I counted right, we climbed 330 steps to reach the top. We looked like the old man climbing the stairs in the Chawanprash advertisement :-D And I saw a guy who was climbing these steps on his knees with a ghee lamp in his hand!! No words at all.The view from the top was beautiful. We could see Srirangam temple from here. Also we could see a very dry Cauvery bed from the top. It is waiting for either Karnataka to release waters or for the rains in July.
This wiki picture shows the river, I saw only the riverbed :-)There were many temples inside the rock mountain too. In one place, I saw a carving with a pregnant woman in it and wondered what it could be for. Maybe this wiki entry answers it. I saw another temple elephant here which again took me by surprise.
We then came back to the city and after a tasty dinner, I headed back for Chennai.
India-Srilanka match was up. So everywhere I went, cricket was being closely followed. Even in the station, the platform was empty as everyone had gathered in the arrival lounge to watch the match on the TV. At one point, a loud cheer went up and the platform emptied some more. One guy came to the station just as the train arrived ( You see I like to be at the platform 1 hr before the train arrives!). And he calls up his home asks what the score is! :-D Today early morning, before we reached Egmore. the passengers were wondering what was the outcome. One guy even said that we must have lost and in case we win, the match must have been fixed. :-D
I took a bus from the station (at 515am!! wow I'm impressed by the bus service). Chennai looked beautiful that early in the morning. I love visiting new places but finally I belong to Chennai :-) Or maybe its just that I love returning home :-)
A memorable trip, one that will linger at the back of my mind for many days to come.
Chennai does not give a complete picture of Tamil Nadu. The real TamilNadu lives in these cities.
I was asked many times if I was a north-Indian, to which I said no I'm a Tamizhian :-)
I have a similar opportunity to visit Banaras via Delhi, but I guess Ill have to forego that. Im sure there will be stiff opposition at home and I dont want to do things chori chupe. Inspite of having worked hard for the major part of this trip, there has been a nagging feeling at the back of mind that my parents do not know about this, and I think they deserve this much honesty from me.
A pity. I would love to see Banaras too :-)
Friday, March 16, 2007
baazigar o baazigar
I was listening to songs from the 90's - baazigar main baazigar, chura ke dil mera, hum aapke hain kaun etc. These songs reminded me so much of my childhood days, leisure days spent in Delhi, Chennai etc. A pen sieve of the kind talked about in the Harry Potter series would have been useful.
I recently discovered spanish-guitar pieces. Fascinating! Do check them out.
I dont know how to share music on blogspot. I know there is a way of doing it, but just dont know how. Someone please enlighten me. I would love to put up few of my finds.
Really bad things happening in Bengal and worser things near Bihar. Its sad that some people's lives are of no value while a nobody's wedding is celebrated in media. Maybe this is what they call de-sensitisation. You either feed the public so much gore that they don't feel a thing when a village is massacred the next time or you feed them trivialities so that they don't stop to think whats relevant and what is not. The news did not bother me much. This is what I meant. Im also insensitive.
I'll get the chance to do a bit of Bharat bhraman in near future starting with Trichy next week. If things work out, Ill also visit Delhi sometime soon. I spent my formative teens there. Will be nice to see that city again :-)
For a girl who had the Chennai border as her boundary conditions, I seemed to have roamed around a lot - Kolkata (twice!), Bombay, Kharagpur, Ahmedabad. I havent seen Bangalore yet (hush hush), nor have I seen Ooty, Kodaikanal, Pondicherry which are the local tourist places. All in good time :-)
I have made n drafts of the chapters already. This will end someday soon. A little bit of patience is required but I seem to have exhausted my quota. A friend called this Hanuman's tail - very apt. Formal writing has corrupted my blog writing as well, blabbing doesn't have the free flow of the earlier days. And I end up being bad at both :-D
A couplet by me - Nosh farmaayiye :-D (pl say irshaad, koi to sune :-D)
kuch to alag ho, kuch to naya ho,
zindagi ka ek naya falsafaa bayaa ho
(Ill imagine the wah wahs :-D )
I recently discovered spanish-guitar pieces. Fascinating! Do check them out.
I dont know how to share music on blogspot. I know there is a way of doing it, but just dont know how. Someone please enlighten me. I would love to put up few of my finds.
Really bad things happening in Bengal and worser things near Bihar. Its sad that some people's lives are of no value while a nobody's wedding is celebrated in media. Maybe this is what they call de-sensitisation. You either feed the public so much gore that they don't feel a thing when a village is massacred the next time or you feed them trivialities so that they don't stop to think whats relevant and what is not. The news did not bother me much. This is what I meant. Im also insensitive.
I'll get the chance to do a bit of Bharat bhraman in near future starting with Trichy next week. If things work out, Ill also visit Delhi sometime soon. I spent my formative teens there. Will be nice to see that city again :-)
For a girl who had the Chennai border as her boundary conditions, I seemed to have roamed around a lot - Kolkata (twice!), Bombay, Kharagpur, Ahmedabad. I havent seen Bangalore yet (hush hush), nor have I seen Ooty, Kodaikanal, Pondicherry which are the local tourist places. All in good time :-)
I have made n drafts of the chapters already. This will end someday soon. A little bit of patience is required but I seem to have exhausted my quota. A friend called this Hanuman's tail - very apt. Formal writing has corrupted my blog writing as well, blabbing doesn't have the free flow of the earlier days. And I end up being bad at both :-D
A couplet by me - Nosh farmaayiye :-D (pl say irshaad, koi to sune :-D)
kuch to alag ho, kuch to naya ho,
zindagi ka ek naya falsafaa bayaa ho
(Ill imagine the wah wahs :-D )
Monday, March 12, 2007
Hope
I watched Shawshank redemption again this weekend. V good movie.
Tag line : Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing in the world, and no good thing ever dies.
Ill continue hoping :-)
Cheerio.
Tag line : Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing in the world, and no good thing ever dies.
Ill continue hoping :-)
Cheerio.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
tic tac tic
I have a piggy bank in which I put the coins collected in a day. I have hoarded quite a treasure this way. It is well hidden as if my sis spots it, she will not fail to ask "kis traffic signal par chandaa ikhattha kiya"
Anyway so today, I absentmindedly put the coins in the wrong box. I realised immediately after I did this, and the first thing that came to my mind was Ctrl-Z. :-D
I wish I could Ctrl-Z some of my impulsive blunders in real life too :-D
Anyway so today, I absentmindedly put the coins in the wrong box. I realised immediately after I did this, and the first thing that came to my mind was Ctrl-Z. :-D
I wish I could Ctrl-Z some of my impulsive blunders in real life too :-D
Monday, March 05, 2007
Over head transmissions
In general, when we listen to a seminar in some advanced topic, at least the first five minutes of the talk or the first 3 slides are understandable. Attended a talk today in which even the first slide flew over my head. It IS a tough task making people understand what we have been using our grey cells for. There were some specialists in the audience. So naturally their questions and speaker's answers also flew over our head :-D
I tend to talk too fast in my talks. That is a major drawback as that also ensures that the listeners are not with you. I'm trying to work on it.
I tried another book by Valerio Manfredi called Oracle. Gripping but very sinister.
I got Chronicles of Avonlea by LM Montgomery as a present. A very sweet book.
Saw Crash finally. Good movie. I never faced racism and hope I never do.
I'm really cutting down on reading books now. I mean hereafter :-D
I saved the Joanne Harris book for reading after I finish my deadlines. Something to look forward to.
Have a rocking week :-)
I tend to talk too fast in my talks. That is a major drawback as that also ensures that the listeners are not with you. I'm trying to work on it.
I tried another book by Valerio Manfredi called Oracle. Gripping but very sinister.
I got Chronicles of Avonlea by LM Montgomery as a present. A very sweet book.
Saw Crash finally. Good movie. I never faced racism and hope I never do.
I'm really cutting down on reading books now. I mean hereafter :-D
I saved the Joanne Harris book for reading after I finish my deadlines. Something to look forward to.
Have a rocking week :-)