Dear Coppers....You suck!

The recent terror attacks in Bangalore have left me shocked. I always used to think that Bangalore will remain a safe haven, free from any sort of terrorist attacks. But i couldn't have been more wrong. I just pray that this does not open the floodgates to future attcks.

The time is now apt for us to review our security, or rather to be more specific, our security forces. The police, in their present form and mode of operation, are a joke. Give any constable who stops you on the road 50Rs, and he'll let you off with a smile. The guns these guys carry are no match for the hi-tec automatics the terrorists own. Can we hope for proper protection from these jokers??

I am led to beleive that the intelligence network of Indian Security Forces is very vast and solid. But all that seemed to be of no help when a lone maniac opened fire in the holy grail of Indian Science education. Of course, it cannot be of help. People who are motivated by religion are very hard to stop. But letting this guy get away was by itself a serious lapse on behalf of the forces. There has been talk about the Bangalore police being forewarned about possible terror strikes. But sadly, no attention seems to have been paid to it. If this kind of scenario continues, then Bangalore will become the softest target for terrorists.

One last word about cops...this time the Traffic cops....Biggest bunch of cheapos.
Well, most of them at least, and they spoil the name of those who work honestly. You wont find one cop in an area where there is a jam...but you'll find dozens in the middle of some other busy road, catching hold of people and finding one pretext or another to fine them (This fine does not fill the coffers of the government...Instead it pays for the personal betterment of the cop)

Ignominy Awards 2005

This is a list of the people who desrve the "Ignominy Awards" for being total jackasses this year. The list follows no particular rating....But everyone mentioned in this list deserves a kick in the b**t.

Sourav Ganguly : For thinking of the Indian Cricket team as his personal fiefdom, only to be brought down with a thud. A clear case of connections being more important than performance.

Bal Thackeray : He may be an icon, but he sure is a fading one. The people of Maharashtra have shown their back to him, strongly proving that development is more important than the regionalistic rhetoric that Thackeray espouses.

Deve Gowda : Has thought of it as his birthright to throw a spanner in any developmental work required in Bangalore. Promotes dynastic politics, and though highly incapable, indulges too much in Governance these days, when he slept through half his term as Prime Minister.

George W Bush : Inarguably, the main cause of America's biggest mistake after Vietnam. Fighting a war no-one really wants, the leader of the free world is himself a highly embattled man, trying to find excuses to go on with the war, which is now turning out to be a little more than the "overstaying of an unwelcome guest".

MPs stung by Cash for Questions and MPLAD scam : Sickos...thats the only word I have for these guys. A symbol of how our political system had degenerated to being the refuge of the corrupt and the cowardly.

All the Terrorists in the world : Burn in hell, you b******s.....

This list can go on-and-on-and-on, but i'm already very depressed by this. I will now spend some time in making a list of the peole of the year, who made life a little more better for all the people around them. Hopefully, that'll make me feel a little better.

Rambling on....

The interference of the government (by this i mean a couple of politicians) in the functioning of the Bangalore University does not augur well for the future of one of the largest universities of the country. Of course, BU by itself is no paradise, with regular cases of malpractice (by the authorities, mind you, not just the students) and extra large stupidity by evaluators being reported. But put in a bunch of ignoramus politicians, whose sole reason of being in the affairs commitee, or whatever they call it, is that they run a couple of colleges, and you have the path to self destruction. God save BU.

I have a grouse against our present CM Mr. Dharam Singh. Two actually:
1. How did he make money enough for the grand wedding he arranged for his son?
2. Why has he allotted prime BDA land to undeserving people, members of his ilk?
That he has cut across party lines in allotting sites maybe shows that he's just trying to buy their silence on the former issue.

Who the heck is this Devraj dude? Every year, around this time, i see huge hoardings put up by his "Fan Club" celebrating his birthday. Each of these hoardings cost close to 10 grand. The cost of buying an underpreviliged kind one meal for a year is 1500 bucks. Why can't Mr. Devaraj ask his fans to do this, instead of spending unnecessarily on ugly banners, with himself in quite ridiculous poses?

Mr Siddaramiah's stand that the Krishna Temple in Udupi is government property is sure to raise a stink in the coming days. Using this issue as a political plank stinks of callousness and cheap gimmickry. It is depressing to see another bright mind that is Siddu resorting to cheap vote bank politics. Guess there's no hope!

Elton John finally wed his long time partner David Furnish in a civil agreement cermony...In an age when homosexuality is still a punishable offence in an erstwhile colony. We need to review this law, and even if gay marriages are unlawful, let's not make the same rule for being diferent. Everyone has a right to choose the way he/she wants to live...as long as they mind their own business that is.

On a more personal note, I am now the proud owner of a 29" television and a 5.1 channel output DVD player, both manufactured by PHILIPS. What can I say...I am overawed by the majestic presence of the above mentioned items in my living room. Looking forward to couch-potato days ahead.

Kill the Pervert

The incident of a sex-pervert driver raping and murdering a call-center employee has shocked our entire nation. Expectedly, it has provoked an angry response from the BPO industry. There have been demands for swift immediate justice, and calls for the death penalty to be handed out to the errant driver in question. I fully endorse this call. In fact i say, chop of his d**k, and let him bleed to death.

I also firmly beleive that the employer in question is party to the crime. One cannot say that they were ignorant of this, and hence cannot be blamed. The employer must have had a system in place where the employee is intimated of a change in the driver, if there is any. This can help in avoiding such incidents in the future. That multinational companies in India are dragging their feet in this matter is of grave concern. One need not have to think too hard about the repurcussions this sort of an incident would have had for the company, say in the USA or somewhere in Europe.

All said and done, we will remain a society that acts only after we have been struck by tragedy. Wonder if there is any way for us to realise that pevention is generally better than the cure?

Review - Maria Full of Grace

To tell the truth, I had never even heard of this movie till i saw it in Akshay's list of favorite movies on Orkut. And then i was intrigued. Intrigued enough, by this movie I've never heard of, which was on Akshay's favorite list, to google for this movie. I found the screenplay (good enough)and boy, do i thank my lucky stars that i got to read such a brilliant bit of writing. So the review is not that of the movie per se, but that of the screenplay, but hey, the only part that gets omitted is that about the performances.

Maria is a girl from a small town in Colombia, with a dead-end job and seriously juvenile boyfriend named Juan. She then quits her job owing to some disagreement with her boss, and also breaks up with her boyfriend as she finds out that both of them are not really in love with each other. And oh, she's pregnant with Juan's baby too, by the way. To make matters worse, she gets berated at home for losing her job and depriving the family of a regular source of income.

Soon she comes in touch with a guy who offers her a job as a mule(drug smuuglers who use their body as a medium to get it across borders) and with it, lots of money. So together with her best friend Bianca, another woman called Lucy and a third called Constanze, all of them fellow mules, she boards a plane to America. A close shave with the authorities, which results in Constanze being caught and herself almost meeting the same fate, later, she manages to reach her contacts on the other side of the border. To her horror, she realises that Lucy is dead, and then, fearing for her life, she scoots, and lives with Carla, Lucy's elder sister. When Carla realises that Lucy and Maria work as mules, and that Lucy is dead, she kicks Maria out of her house. Maria, who feels she has a moral obligation to give Lucy a decent burial, makes provisions for it, with the money she makes meanwhile by selling off the dope she brings in.

The ending scene where Maria and Bianca are leaving for Columbia, and also the scene where Mrai looks at a sonogram of her baby, are specially poignant.

It's definitely one of the best screenplays i have read. The writing above does no justice at all to it. If anyone wants the screenplay, just leave a comment, with your e-mail ID. i will send it across.

Kolkata's G Spot

Contrary to what the G spot means to women across the world, it seems to be a raw nerve in Kolkata's case. And it's been touched...no, pounded and battered would be a better description. Our brothers and sisters from "the most cultured state of India" (highly debatable) are of the vociferous opinion that their son has been born with (or is it acquired?) the right to be in, sorry, lead the Indian cricket team, continual failure notwithstanding. Kolkata's G (Ganguly) spot is flaming. How else can you explain the behaviour of the crowd on that fateful day, when India got walloped at the hands of SA, in what is called "The temple of Indian cricket"?

I have a lot of respect for Bengalis. They are smart, well read, have the same political leaning as i do. But their fanaticism when it comes to sport and their heros is far-out, something that even i cannot comprehend. I have come across a lot of blogs wherein Bengali's speak of the injustice meted out to them(???)All this because Ganguly was kept out of the cricket team. OK, for a minute let me accept the theory that there is a deep rooted conspiracy to thwart the development of Bengal, starting with keeping their hero out of the cricket team (as is the opinion of my esteemed blogging peers). But how does it explain the behavior that day? It still leaves me baffled. That ways, Karnataka needs to do some serious soul searching. From 6 people in the cricket team at one point, it is down to 2 people (with Anil Kumble making an on-off appearance). Conspiracy Theories anyone? But at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, did we see jeers for our men-in-blue? In fact i can vouch that some other players in the team got a bigger cheer than local lad Dravid.

Another thing that bothers me is the total downslide of the Kolkata crowd from knowledgable cricket lovers to cheap hooligans. I do not need to elaborate on that point now, do I? Their behaviour in the recent past doesn't stand up as too much of an argument. I used to love watching games played at the Eden Gardens, no matter if it was on TV, because the atmosphere at the ground was so infectious, you could even feel it on the telly. But now, i end up hoping that the crowd doesn't go beserk or act weird. Now, in contrast, take the Chennai crowd. Their representation in the Indian team has been minimal, with some of their players being done grave injustice against (anyone remeber Balaji?). But still, that doesnt stop them from coming to the stadium religiously, even when their city is inundated with rain, to sit in the stands and hope for their heros to come out and get on with the game. Dravid was so moved by the sight (i guess he doesn't take support for his team for granted now, agter the Kolkata episode) that he actually went to the stands to have a word with the fans.

I have been to Kolkata once in my life, during the puja. I loved the place, vibrant and colorful, with the most advanced Mass Transport system in the country (at that point of time, at least). I am sure that the people there are as friendly as any other part of India. But the way they have elevated the sacking of a non-performer from the team to a "geo-political injustice" kind of issue leave me worried that the rise of the neo-regionalistic force on the lines of the Shiv Sena seems inevitable in the land that gave us Rabindra Sangeet and Satyajit ray among other contributions.

Please dont mistake my writing for being racist. I love my country, and I am an Indian first, before being a Kannadiga or a Bangalorean. It is this attitude that i wish to see in the crowd, in the Temple of Indian...aah...the temple of world cricket, Lords be darned.

Time to chill out - 2

I now continue with the list I had started some days back

Memento : Christopher Nolan, a first time director, produces a classic, both terms of storytelling as well as screenplay. What was best was that this movie was not produced by any major studio, and took the Sundance Film Festival by storm.

American History X : Edward Norton, thou art god! A strong movie with an equally strong message, makes you think about a range of issues, from rasicm to gun control. A brilliant one.

The Shawshank Redemption : Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman star in this adaptation of a Stephen King novella, a searing drama about how the human spirit comes through many trials and tribulations. Excellent performances by the lead pair. Freeman does one of the best background narration jobs I have ever seen. Amitabh be damned.

Dil Se : Mani Ratnams first ever foray into Hindi Cinema, and without doubt, his biggest flop ever. But the movie had so many moments of magic, it will be impossible for me to forget. Shah Rukh Khan, standing on the railway platform in the rain, raindrops falling into his tea cup, watching Manisha leave and saying "This must be the world's shortest love story".....I just flipped.

More mooes from the holy cow to follow. Stay linked.

And fly I shall

It's been one heck of a week for me in Bangalore. Unexpected work pressure, coupled with the fury of the rain gods and chaotic roads, it's been quite a heady cocktail. However, i have one thing to look forward to. I am spending this Deepavali with my parents and sister at Doha. I fly this Saturday, and will forget about all the problems plaguing home. It's a break i really look forward to, and getting to eat mums cooking will be an added bonus. Off to Doha it is then, for a rain-noise-chaos free Deepavali.

Time to chill out

For quite some time now, my blogs have all been serious, and I have to admit that all i've done is crib and crib (not that I have any reason not to). Hence, this post is dedicated to a topic which is totally irrelevant to the previous few posts on my blog.
Guys (and Gals, though a miniscule minority) who know me, know that I am a total movie buff, who'll watch anything if given a bag of popcorn or a case of beer. I want to share a list of my all time favorite movies. Of course, it also comes with a recommendation to watch these movies if you haven't already.

The Godfather : What can I say? If you haven't heard of this movie, let alone see it, then please close the window and move to some other site. The rest of the stuff that follows is useless for you.

Fightclub : I cannot tell you much, because "The first rule of Fightclub is, YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHTCLUB". Cult Classic. David Fincher produces a gem. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton have never looked better. A man's film.

Lock, Stock and TwoSmoking Barrels : Guy Ritchie does a Mandrake, and overshadows Tarrantino with this crime flick, that is insanely whacky and funnily violent. The witty one liners surely do help.

Gloomy Sunday : German Movie about the times of the holocaust. About a song called "Gloomy Sunday", which causes people to commit suicide as soon as they hear it. People, who feel the grief in the song and cannot bear it. A beautifully made movie, with some amazing performances.

Lagaan : There are two things that ignite passion in any Indian's mind. Cricket and Movies. And no movie had ever been as cricket centric as Lagaan, thereby, by default, making it one of the biggest hits ever of Aamir Khans career. Also, we got to see the Indian team winning, which is a rarity in the modern era.

Okay, thats it for now. Will come back with more posts listing my favorite movies. The Holy Cow has mooed.

The Tale of a City I Loved

I have spent 18 years out of my 23 in Bangalore. Even for the 5 years that i spent in Mangalore, I always made it a point to visit Bangalore whenever i got any holidays.
I still remember those days, when as a kid who was lucky enough to have a bicycle, I used to roam around the city, racing on the streets with my friends. Those green trees that covered every boulevard, those beautiful flowers that were on them, so uniquely Bangalorean. The weather, so salubrious for a greater part of the year. Sleeping with the fan switched on even on the coldest of days. Dancing in the rains with my mouth open, hoping some of the hailstones would land in there. Eating Joy Ice Cream Candies for 2 bucks, which was akin to a treasure trove then. Going to the Lalbagh Flower show and watching those beautiful flowers adding to the glory of that beautiful place. Going to Puttanna theater to watch every new Ravichandran release. Eating "khara" Masala Poori at every "gaadi" i could find. Giving curious glances to all the old people who stationed themselves on the "katte" at the 4th Block Complex, discussing politics and their granchildren with equal ease. Belting Idli Vada Sambar for 10 Rs every Friday afternoon in SLV. Seeing my dad park his Bajaj Chetak in the middle of MG Road, cheerfully waving at the cops, who actually smiled back. The days when the city ended at Banashankari and BTM. Playing cricket on the main road. When Ganaati pandals on the streets were not cursed. When you could pick your luggage from the conveyer belt in the airport, standing next to stray dog which had gotten in. When we were taught that the Utility Building was the tallest in the city. When there was no Forum or Garuda, and we were actually happy with something or the other to while time away with.
I live in Bangalore. No matter what, this will always be home for me. I am proud to be a Bangalorean. But not even the most optimistic thoughts in my head tell me that Home is anymore where the heart is. The love has just died. It is just another city now. Just another f$#**d up city, that sits raped and naked.

NRN quits BIAL....Woe upon us

Thanks to Deve Gowda and his uncouth behavior, making allegations left right and center without proof to back it up, NRN has, on moral grounds, resigned from the Chairmanship of the Bangalore International Airport Limited. Find more here.

Politicising the Last Refuge

The recent developments in Bangalore with regard to the Infrastructure maintainance has taken an ugly turn with Deve Gowda asking for an enquiry into the land acquisition done by Infosys in Bangalore. With this, he has proved that the last refuge for scoundrels ie Politics will not let the rest of the society prosper. Lets trace out the course of events that occured:

Event 1: BFIT, an unofficial forum of Bangaore's top IT Firms announce that they will boycott Bangalore IT.in as a form of protest against Bangalore's crumbling infrastructure.

Event 2: Nasscomm joins in, making the boycott near total. Bangalore IT.in poised to be a major embarassment to the state govenment.

Event 3: CM Dharam Singh covenes a meeting with IT honchos to persuade them not to bocott the event. Says nine flyover projects sanctioned during his reign and that construction of one flyover was finished within 45 days of his coming to power. Newspapers remind him that 9 flyovers are yet to take off, and the other flyover was under construction for 3 years prior to his coming to power. People snigger.

Event 4: A part of the government coalition goes on the offensive, choosing to bring ireelevant issues like job reservation in private sector into the limelight. Software companies flatly refuse to do so, say merit the only criterion for a job.

Event 5 : A meeting between govenment officials and IT honchos seals the deal. Firms to log in to IT.in and Government to prepare comprehensive action plan to tacke Infrastructure issues. Announce formation of a committee for this purpose. People's sides ache with laughter.

Event 6 : A group of vagrants calling themselves a state interest protection committee try and storm an Infosys office in Electronic City, demanding resrvation in jobs for locals. Their threat is foiled by a bunch of security gaurds aka Goorkhas from Nepal.

Event 7 : Deve Gowda chooses to lambast the Maharashtra Governor SM Krishna (known to some as Somanahalii Mallaiah Krishna, and to others as Simply Marvellous Krishna), for alleged corruption during his regime in Karnataka.

Event 8 : Marvellous Man hits back, says let enquiry begin from PWD department, which was headed by current CM. Battlelines are distinctly drawn, with SM raring to get back to real politics.

Event 9 : Devil Gowda, Doldrum Singh and NRN have a closed door conference, where they discuss the concept of Urban Governance, on the lines of Rajasthan's popular Rural Governance scheme, strongly advocated by Ramesh "Janaagraha" Ramanathan. NRN kicked about concept, showcases a united face together with Satans children.

Event 10 : Deve Gowda back to form after temporary aberration, berates NRN and Ramanathan for their "Wishful Thinking", says government not to serve people like they think. Demands enquiry into land allotted to Infy and total jobs given out by Infy to locals in return. Thinks the corporate world runs on the principle of Horse Trading.

Event 11 : Doldrum bends over, in the process rips his khadi cotton pajamas, and orders enquiry into land allotment for Infosys. NRN nowhere to be seen.

Event 12 : Bangaloreans continue to spend absurd amounts of time on road en route to work.

Part 2 of the saga - The Response

I am not very aware of copyrigt issues, but anyways, i will give total credit for the most wonderful "open letter" of my times to Garima.

They think they know the meaning of the word "morals". The men who have the gumption to pass lewd comments about members of the opposite sex, desecrating them, and everything that "morality" betokens. The men who, as a humble sign of their machismo and virility, intersperse every sentence with scurrilous obscenities. The men, who with the switching off of a few lights during a Sem hall event metamorphose into wild beasts,incanting then names of the popular females, dedicating songs like Yeh Chaand saa Roshan Chehraato them; females they know they'd never have the guts to talk to, face to face. The men who cant muster up enough courage to go up and speak to a member of the opposite sex, but spend hours giving finishing touches to the mails extending a hand of "friendship" to them. The men who take great pride in being spotted in the company of a female in the Wind T, whom they call "friends", but once back in the hostels, think about how it would be like to rape them. The men who spare not even the younger brother of an IIT female, in an attempt to gain more knowledge about her vital statistics. The men who scribble obscenities about IIT females (whom they call "non- males" with such pride) on the desks of MS720, the Reading Room and the Lecture Theatres. The erudite,scatological minds that seem to consider it their prerogative to educate (by means of vivid sketches engraved on the aforesaid desks), their lesser-informed brethren about the female anatomy. But of course, they wont take the pains to leave their signature below the pieces of art, made with such meticulous single-minded devotion. Or do I say they don't have the guts to do so. The men who have an insatiable appetite for porn, and live on it, day after day, night after night. The men who have never honestly submitted an assignment, without using "ftp", but leave no stone unturned in an attempt to put porn on their computers, purchased originally to aid them in their pedagogic pursuits. The men, for whom the sight of a "tote" LSR bandi is enough to get them salivating like mad dogs, desperate to lap up every little leftover that is thrown at them by these females. Yeh nahin toe koi aur sahi. And they call themselves "men". Men? Morals? I think the 2 words have nothing in common other than the same initial letter. And there's more. I haven't of course, had the good fortune of visiting the rooms in the boys' hostels, where the finer points, the vital and not-so-vital statistics of every female are a topic of feverish confabulations. I haven't of course, been privy to the secret fantasies of the male population aroused whenever they see a particular bandi, which are laid bare in front of the others, every night in the very same rooms? Welcome to IIT!! The institute, which helps in the all "round" development of your child, because other than learning the nuances of the art of committing "fraud" in every course, your son, along with the crme of the country unravels the mystic subtleties of what has caught his fancy since adolescence. And, even after all this, he can lecture about "morality" for hours. He thinks its his prerogative to bring to the notice of the other people, certain incidents where people don't seem to be adhering to these "morals". So the moment they notice a snap of a few girls wearing spaghettis, and showing their middle fingers, they run amok. Some take the pains of collaborating to form a "moral police", forwarding the snap to every person they know, some set it as their wallpaper, while others wonder about how they can use exploit their skills at digital processing now that they have been provided with a wonderful opportunity to do so. The common underlying reason behind all this activity: The guardians of morals and ethics have to root out all that's evil, all that's philistine, all that's corrupt. They have to make sure the females culpable of attempting to corrupt IIT's culture, are penitent throughout their lives and can not face anybody in the institute. The reaction from one of the involved: The middle finger raised so clearly is meant exactly for these men. And by forwarding the mail to more guys, you are only making my task simpler. Now if only you could do me another favour: forward this mail to as many people as you can.
Silence must not be interpreted as being mute. It does not mean submission; rather, revulsion and pity for these depraved reprobates.
FROM GARIMA

Bravo! Nobody could have put it better.

Indian Men and their Double Standards

Take a good look at the photo above. Now what would strike you at first. I'm pretty sure you would be revolted by it. Even my reaction was "Holy @#$%". But then i thought, why not?
These are apparently girls from IIT Delhi or wherever, but from one of the Holy Grails of Indian Engineering colleges. As is clearly evident from the photo:
1. They are making lewd gestures at all us viewers.
2. They are wearing skimpy clothes.
3. They don't seem to care about consequenses.
These photos have apparently caused quite a furore in the college, with boys (educated, mind you) going on a full blown moral policing campaign. I have quite a few choice words for these guys. Is it ok if we make lewd gestures to each other, not just in photos? Of course, i am guilty of it as much as anyone else, and it's all done in good humor, agreed, but the girls in this photo are not attending Gandhi's funeral either, are they?
Now coming to the second point, which about their clothing (or the lack of it), weel, we dont see guys roaming around their hostels fully attired in a three piece suit with a cummerband, do we? I have know people in hostels who roam about in their undies. So why single out girls who were comfortable clothing when in private.
Thirdly, i'm assuming these photos were never meant to become public in the first place. So you can't really blame these chicks for all this. C'mon, it's time we accepted the fact that girls too wanna have fun. And coming up next is the reply of one of these girls to all the flak that they had to take from guys who thought they were doing wrong in posing for this photo. Party On!

Tag 23

One option is to laze around in the house in the day or visit one of the innumerable mini-theaters, and then in the evening, hit the beaches.

Before you wonder what

1. Delve into your blog archive
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to)
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to)
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions
5. Tag five people to do the same

I do not know of 5 people whom i can Tag, but i choose Akshay and
Dave

Mangalore...Here I come

This is the best part of the year for me...when i have to work only for two days in a week. Work all done, i shall pack up and leave for Mangalore, my hometown. I am really looking forward to a refreshing break from the mundane routine that is my life. I have grand plans as to what i should do on the trip. One option is to laze around in the house in the day or visit one of the innumerable mini-theaters, and then in the evening, hit the beaches. Also on the cards is a trip to Goa with other friends. Also beautiful Kodachadri beckons, so does Kudremukh National Park, where i so desparately wanna camp. Alas, once the 5 days of holidays are done, i have to come back and give training to people who except so much from learned teachers. Well, aren't they in for a massive let down! Watch this space to get updates on my trip. Mangalore Ho!

Bounty hunting in Bangalore

I am sure that as i am typing this, somewhere in Bangalore, a gang of labourers are getting ready to strike their pickaxes on an unsuspecting road, dig it up till it's beyond recognition and then, quite simply, leave. The amount of apathy shown to commuters, vehicular and pedestrian alike, is apalling. Most of the times, it the telephone compaies which are guilty of this. Of course, the BMP itself, which has a long history of extra ordinary stupidity at work, is no less guilty. In the end, it is us, the normal citizens, who lie at the bottom of the "screwed chain".

The way these guys go at the digging, if they showed the same interest in covering up the dug areas after the work's done, well, wouldn't that be just dandy. But, what the heck, why spoil a long tradition? I only hope they don't strike treasure, else we all can imagine a doomsday scenario on the roads. (Not that it isn't so already!)

TV killed the Radio Star

It was one heck of a weekend here in bangalore. There was no cable TV, thanks to a snap strike called by the operators who are protesting against some sort of Tax being introduced. If it does (get introduced) then it is we poor TV viewers who will have to shell out an additional 1300 bucks (one time) and 25 Rs/month extra.

This makes me wonder as to why the state government has to adopt this double taxation policy. It is of keen interest for me to find out what all this money is used for. It definitely isn't upgradation of infrastructure in Bangalore, and it also ain't for the rural areas, coz if it was, then by now you would have seen full page ads in the newspapers. Makes me wonder....

All in all, i missed a good line-up of movies over the weekend. To beat boredom, i went out of the house for a beat in the city, but i hadn't bargained for the rest of the Bangaloreans thinking on the same lines. So came back home bone tired, and switched on the good ole radio. Heard some decent music, inane RJ chatter and lots and lots of ads. Strike one for the Radio.

Tagging along - A 55 word story

As i walk along the garbage strewn path, i can help not but wonder aloud.... Look at all the muck i have wade through, in order to reach my destination. And my destinationion is definetely not heaven 'coz if cleanliness is next to godliness, then i'm goin' straight to hell. Aargle Aargle mmppph mmpph peep.


There...am done with my 55 words.

Of Titles and Heros

Hi,
There will be loads of people who dismiss Kannada movies as inane bullshit, fit only for the juvenile who lack any taste whatsoever. I am inclined to agree most of the times, except for a Hasina here and there. But wait, do you know what is more interesting than the movie itself, for an observer? It is the titles that are bestowed upon the movie heroes by their fans or the Kannada Film Press (yup, they do exist). Of course, sometimes these heroes give themselves these titles, but most of them make for an interesting read. Listed below are few of the titles which i can recollect....

We start off with the one and only Dr. Rajkumar, or shoyuld i say Annavru, Natasarvabhouma, Karnatakada Ratna Dr rajkumar (phew, had me gasping for breath there). Carrying on forward:

"Rebel Star" Ambarish
"Sahasa Simha" Vishnuvardhan
"Navarasa Nayaka" Jaggesh (sic)
"Hatrick Hero" Shivarajkumar
"Power Star" Puneeth
"Real Star" Upendra
"Crazy Star" Ravichandran
"Challenging Star" darshan
"Kichchca" Sudeep
"Thriller" Manju
"Rural Star" BC Patil (This guy was actually a cop, before he plunged into cinema)

There are quite a few more of these guys but i cannot recollect the names. Among all these men, there is one heroine who also has been bestowed with a title. Rakshita, the herione who currently rules the roost in Kannada filmdom, is called "Crazy Queen". Make way, i gotta puke!!!

Imagine...

I look around me and i see war, desparation, hate.I feel negative vibes all around, seeing neighbours fighting each other. Love comes at a premium. And then i Imagine.....

Imagine - John Lennon
____________________
Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

Page 3

I was reading the Times of India the other day (which i now strictly classify as tabloid trash, and not a newspaper), and my eye fell on the glitzy Page 3. With all it's skimpily dressed women and macho, well dressed men, it sure did paint a pretty picture. But the very fact that a major newspaper (sorry, a lot of 'em do consider TOI that) can carry a whole segment on that, that too daily, disturbs me. Is this what we have stooped to, to see what models and dopers do every night? Frankly, it does not concern me, or for that matter a sizeable chunk of our cuntry, what fashion designers think is cool or what models are purring about bedroom behavior. It's just a sham they are putting on, trying to live up to the "grade" that is set by people who consider themselves mortals less ordinary. It is my upbringing to try and look for some good in every place, even though it's hard to find. But Page 3 leaves me stumped. I hope one among this superior breed does something to make me find some good. And yes, Dear Mr. Bidapa, i don't buy your "Someone-placed-the-dope-in-my-bag-i know-nothing-about-it" story.

Hot Diggedy Jam

I love this family. Atrocious to say the least, i have been a stark, raving mad fan of this show ever since i first saw it. Till i saw this series, i thought all cartoons were an excuse to have two silly characters trying to maim each other (a fact exemplified by Itchy and Scratchy on this show), but this wierd family has reaffirmed my faith in the drawing board.
Creator Matt Groening (shown in the show as a loony horny old man...hows that for a sense of humor) calls the Simpsons "The average American Family in all it's beauty and horror". He couldn't have been more right.
The most attractive thing this show is that it gets the message across on various issues, some...well, most of them controversial, in a manner that can be best described as "funnily realistic". The sarcasm and black humor really shines through, making this show a must watch, for guys like me who appreciate good, well intended sarcasm.
For me, Homer is guru. His approach to life is easy going, and spur of the moment, much like how i live my life. Not to mention the beer.
I raise a toast to the longest running Television show in history. may the good times end. D-oh, i mean never end.

Mangal Panday - The Review

I took Friday off from work, woke up early and stood in a loooong queue in front of Urvashi Theatre and bought tickets for First-Day-First Show. After all, my favorite Indian Actor was appearing on screen after a gap of nearly four years. Was all my effort worth the final result i got to see on the large screen? Sad to say, but it most definitely wasn't.
Okay, it is a historical, and we all know how it's gonna end, no matter how much rabble rousing Khan does throughout the movie. But the movie itself is shot so amateurishly, what with innumerable songs that seem totally out of place being inserted at whim, that you wonder why on earth it took them 2 years to film this rot.
For your Information, Khan plays Mangal Panday, a Sepoy in the British Army, and Toby Stephens (of Die Another Day fame) plays Captain William Gordon, who shares a special relationship with Mangal, as Mangal has saved his life when he was wounded in a battle in Afghanistan. Some Kusti fights and drunken revelry later, when you wonder what is happening (Kirron Kher with so much cleavage...C'mon, Be Serious), the infamous catridges laced with cow and pig fat make their appearance. And things go haywire from there. What could have been a taut and interesting part of the movie, becomes a sham with a Holi song in between!
Performance wise the movie rocks, with both Khan and Stephens at their best. Rani Mukerjee is wasted. Amisha Patel has 3 to 4 lines in the movie, but she looks pretty. So much for the big break she has been raving about. Ketan Mehta (director), what is happening? Sardar was much better.
All in all, watch it on a lazy sunday afternoon when you have nothing else to do.

Spin me up

I wonder how many kids play with tops these days. A "buguri", as it is called in Kannada, used to be a major source of entertainment to me and my friends. We used to form teams among ourselves, and have one-on-one contests and the like. Used to be great fun. And it was not all easy, 'coz a lot of technique and skill was involved in having your top as the last one spinning, and being able to lift the buguri from the ground to your hand without disturbing it's motion implied you had finally mastered the art of buguri.
Today, it's more about Pokemon and other violent games played in a virtual world, with no people interaction what so ever. What are we allowing our kids to become? I honestly beleive that the simple pleasure of scoring a goal (in real football played in the rain, not a video game, mind you), or spinning a top does a lot more good that climbing one more level in a stupid video game.
Get your kids out.... Give them something more to remember than a dark room with a bright computer monitor.

Game, Set, match....Ms Mirza

Who would have ever imagined that a tennis player from India, female at that, would generate so much interest that her voice would be heard over Radio promoting jewellery, and more so, would have her face on hoardings promoting a Petroleum Company. Just maybe 2 years back, people, specially the advertising gurus would have laughed outright on your face if you dared to suggest so. But now, Sania Mirza is doing exactly just that. And it's about time that we Indians begin to look for role models away from the cricket field.

Sania Mirza is the new face of young female go-getters, who know what they want, and go all out in making their dreams come true. True, Sania has achieved nothing much when compared to other tennis greats, prompting snide remarks from people. But at least she's done something which no Indian woman has done before ie won a WTA event. Hats off to you, Ms. Mirza.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Have you ever heard a song for the first time and immediately felt a connection to it? Well, I have and i have to thank the guys from Green day for giving me such a song. Definitely the song of the year so far. Even made me spend 125 bucks in buying the tape!!

Boulevard of Broken Dreams
_______________________

I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
and I'm the only one and I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah

I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line
Of the edge and where I walk alone

Read between the lines
What's fucked up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ahAh-ah, Ah-ah

I walk aloneI walk a...

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone...

I Fear the worst....

Imagine a scenario where it rains as hard in Bangalore, as it has recently in Mumbai. If such a huge Metropolis, which people claim, has better infrastructure than Bangalore, can come to a grinding halt, then imagine... You'd shudder even if you thought about about it. I wonder what our taxes are being used for. I barely see any development happening.

Irony of the Day : When the Maharashtra Government announced a Public Holiday for 2 days, even the Corporation(BMC) people (who were supposed to be actively involved in releif work) took the days off!!

Jam on the way to your Bread and Butter

If you are an office goer, who has to travel anywhere towards ITPL or Electronic city from home, you will most probably know what I am talking about. For the uninitiated (luckily) however, i am talking about the massive traffic snarls that occur on a daily basis on these routes. It further sickens me that the decision to have the much wanted Metro Rail system, which will definitely put an end to these problems, is being dilly-dallied upon by our netas. Looks like t is time to take Bangalore off the world map, purely because we are no longer world class, either in terms of Infrastructure or in terms of leadership

The Bald and the Beautiful

It is finally official.....I am balding. I shall live a full healthy life carrying forward the bald tradition of the Kini Family Men, casting jealous glances at people who are blessed with lush, thick hair. Initially, itried every trick in the book to keep my hair intact. Oiled it, shampooed it etc....But gravity seems to be hell bent on taking my hair off my head. I guess the omnipresent Dr. Batra is the only option left for me now.

Flying High (?)

If you are a Software engineer, you would have, by now, asked by innumerable number of aunties and uncles as to when you will be flying abroad. And if you say "I have no idea", then it is as good as shooting yourself in the foot. I wonder why people make such a big fuss out of it. It's not like you have to go abroad to earn a reputation as a good Software Engineer. But i guess, it's a little difficult to make Computer-Illiterate people realise that.

In the cradle of Mother Nature

I had the good fortune of visiting Kodachadri during the month of April. It is when Mangalore is at its hottest, but as you climb up the peak, you realise that weather at sea level matters zilch as it keeps getting colder with every meter you ascend. Moreso if ascension is at night. Me and four of my other friends trekked 13 kms to the top of the peak from 8:00 pm to 12:30 am, and boy was it tiring. But the view that we got in the morning (it was too dark to see at night dummy) made all the efforts worth it. Take alook at the pics and tell me honestly they do not take your breath away.

Back to the routine

It's a Monday again...the vicious cycle of life continues. But it is a different start to the week. I am undergoing training for the rest of the week. Hence no real pressure on me to do work. Does feel good.

Yo Ho Ho...And a Bottle of Rum

Uncork the champagne....It's another weekend. Amazing how a Friday can infuse so much life into me. Wish everyday would seem like a Friday. Maybe my outlook to life would be as rosy as it is on this glorious day.