While a few very insignificant things have happened since this blog saw a post, like meeting Shri Thomas Friedman, frequent trips to the Western region of the country, getting the best deal on Douglas Coupland books, rediscovering music on a wonderful mobile phone, the earth still continues to revolve around the sun and it's still water that pours when it rains.
Nevertheless, what is definitely happening are the General Elections and I consider myself to be very fortunate to be around and to be able to look at events leading to how our country will be shaped over the next five years. I hold my hands together or keep them separate, no pun intended, praying to God to bless us with a stable government that doesn't have to bend over backwards to appease sickle-minded, elephant-sized allies to make sure that the government's policies remain consistent and not change the direction according to the whims and fancies of those with narrow, regional and irrelevant ideological interests.
And what have I done? Doing what I do best - start another blog. Well, let me start the campaign then. Here is the blog - http://indiapolls2009.blogspot.com/
Through the blog, I hope to capture various activities from the ground on how parties mobilize workers and voters, on how the rallies and other campaign activities are held, how various media - different forms, languages and affiliations are reacting to the the election events and what do those who matter the most - the people have to say, or not have to say about the elections. I will also be keen on observing how the urban youth respond to the election activities and see how much of an interest they have in contributing to the most important activity in our democratic process - the elections.
I shall be cross-posting on this blog whenever it is appropriate. Hope all you readers (there are?) are doing well. Enjoy your meal, books, music, movies and sleep.
Showing posts with label My Projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Projects. Show all posts
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday, November 23, 2007
Teetotaller Of A Different Kind
It's a very proud moment for all of us at CircusMouse. And we wear that pride up our sleeves, literally. Hence the t-shirt.
What the bloody hell is this?
From the world's best blahg comes the world's best t-shirt. To cut the long storyshirt short, here's the t-shirt for you. Do not get distracted by the wonderful modull model posing with the t-shirt, pay attention to the wonderful t-shirt instead.
Front:

Back:

Damn, it's such a stupid t-shirt
Really? You either get it or you don't. And if you have not, get out on the road, walk for 23 meters - not a meter more, not a meter less. Wait there and ask the first female walking by
carrying a purple handkerchief. She will know for sure. Huh.
Ok, I've got it. How do I get the t-shirt?
See, now you're talking sense. This t-shirt might be the best piece of visible fabric your body has ever had on it. Of course, there are better pieces of fabric your body would've had on it and much closer than this t-shirt. But we have learnt our Moral Science lessons well and we know exposing is not appropriate. Hence, this t-shirt comes with an OK certificate from the Exposure Control Authority Of India.
If you want to get this amazing creation, indicate in the comments to the post or write to 10plus3i@gmail.com. Here are the details -
Size - The model in the photo above is wearing an M size t-shirt. So an L would probably fit most men to the tee. An M for most women?
Cost - Higher the quantity of the order, lower will be the price. Estimated price is Rs. 200. And we'll try to keep it within that.
Quality - Fairly Decent.
Delivery - It's that good, eh? That you want it delivered right away? We're glad. Tell us if you want the t-shirt either by comments or by e-mail. We'll see how many t-shirt we're printing, arrive at the cost of one t-shirt and then get in touch with you for the address. Delivery charges extra. Definitely lesser than most maternity hospitals.
To hell with you. Absolute bullshit this is. Such huge fuss over such non-sense.
We're happy. At least someone is honest. Now if you'd only let us what about the t-shirt makes you feel that way. That it's a t-shirt and not a t-short? That it has Gabbar and not Mogambo? That the idea in itself is ridiculous? Tell us, please.
What the bloody hell is this?
From the world's best blahg comes the world's best t-shirt. To cut the long story
Front:

Back:

Damn, it's such a stupid t-shirt
Really? You either get it or you don't. And if you have not, get out on the road, walk for 23 meters - not a meter more, not a meter less. Wait there and ask the first female walking by
carrying a purple handkerchief. She will know for sure. Huh.
Ok, I've got it. How do I get the t-shirt?
See, now you're talking sense. This t-shirt might be the best piece of visible fabric your body has ever had on it. Of course, there are better pieces of fabric your body would've had on it and much closer than this t-shirt. But we have learnt our Moral Science lessons well and we know exposing is not appropriate. Hence, this t-shirt comes with an OK certificate from the Exposure Control Authority Of India.
If you want to get this amazing creation, indicate in the comments to the post or write to 10plus3i@gmail.com. Here are the details -
Size - The model in the photo above is wearing an M size t-shirt. So an L would probably fit most men to the tee. An M for most women?
Cost - Higher the quantity of the order, lower will be the price. Estimated price is Rs. 200. And we'll try to keep it within that.
Quality - Fairly Decent.
Delivery - It's that good, eh? That you want it delivered right away? We're glad. Tell us if you want the t-shirt either by comments or by e-mail. We'll see how many t-shirt we're printing, arrive at the cost of one t-shirt and then get in touch with you for the address. Delivery charges extra. Definitely lesser than most maternity hospitals.
To hell with you. Absolute bullshit this is. Such huge fuss over such non-sense.
We're happy. At least someone is honest. Now if you'd only let us what about the t-shirt makes you feel that way. That it's a t-shirt and not a t-short? That it has Gabbar and not Mogambo? That the idea in itself is ridiculous? Tell us, please.
Labels:
Creative,
Experiences,
Life Update,
Media,
My Projects,
Personal
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Point Your Mouse To
No pun intended, unless you thought of that thing as a mouse. Let's not get into the pun trap, or punt rap for now!
Point your mouse to CircusMouse. Lot of action happening there. And someone likes posts on CircusMouse doesn't mean he's gay for me. Gay for me? Now, as a young thing would say - How gay is that, Sahu? Perhaps he liked thisguy's one's only post on that blog. Hence gay maybe.
Random Remembrances.
Point your mouse to CircusMouse. Lot of action happening there. And someone likes posts on CircusMouse doesn't mean he's gay for me. Gay for me? Now, as a young thing would say - How gay is that, Sahu? Perhaps he liked this
Random Remembrances.
- India- Australia Cricket Match at Chinnaswamy Stadium. [photos] No, we didn't heckle Symonds. But had awesome fun with Dada, Karthik and Powar fielding at the boundary right in front of us. Cricket will never die in India. And Cricket is a simple game of heart, mind, bat, ball and a couple of guards for safety. The excessively annoying TV coverage is doing no good to the gentleman's game
it isit once was. Hope though, is still alive.
- The mid-night trek to Skandagiri [photos] following the match. That I was tired and exhausted would be an understatement, and that I was a bicycle because I was too tired would be a wonderstatement. Puns aside or puns-a-side, I still have no clue about the source of energy that kept me alive during the trek. Thank heavens(we were definitely closer to it) for the life-saving omlettes and tea at the summit. The trek would be incomplete without the mention of birth of Joshi, a person who existed amidst us all along, but we had no idea about him. Thanks to a certain America-bound dude, we discovered his existence and he's been living with us since then. The day Joshi's true identity is revealed would be the day when this polite, gentlemanly, mature Nikhil Kulkarni's make-believe identity will be known. Till then, live and thrive, Joshi.
- A Walk In The Clouds, Caffeine, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Laaga Chunari Mein Aag, Morning Raaga (Oh fuck! How could I forget Apparao and Annapoorna? Wake Up!), Tout Va Bien (Everything Is Alright - that's the movie's name in English!), Un homme et une femme (A Man And A Woman)
- A special mention. We were brave enough to watch this one - The Brave One. Clovie, get out of the car! Those who suffered this at my hands, or my mouth rather, after this movie, should feel honoured. Gods (Warner Brothers, that is) have heard us and we have this great news - Warner Bros says “No More Female Lead Characters”?!
only to be followed by Warner Bros Denies Comments.
Huh, no reward for our bravery.
- The trips home, the series of forgotten birthdays, the chull that was finally put to rest a minute back (Aw fuck! Commander will go crazy over this!) , the falling ill and getting back to life again, Octoberfest, the Bangalore Book Festival, the visit to that insti, the scary predictions(I should stop doing that now!)......
- Pustakaaha
- Londonstani - rudeboy rules, rudeboys rule! Samira Ahmed, Product Marketing and innit! Absolute must-read.
- Games Indians Play - interesting, especially the application of the behavioural economics tools to understand why we are the way we are. In addition to things mentioned here, I want to become a Behavioural Economist. Very fancy it sounds. Absolutely. And that's not the only reason I want to become one.
- A book on the best upcoming writing in Indian English edited by Kushwant Singh.
- Plans are to read Butter Chicken In Ludhiana
during the upcoming trip to Kanpur. If the previous trip out of Bangalore was anything to go by, this one should be great fun! The same refrain again - but that was Mumbai! This one is no less either- Bangalore->Delhi->Lucknow->Kanpur->Lucknow->Delhi->Bangalore. Should be fun enough.
Labels:
Bangalore,
Been There Done That,
Books,
Events,
Experiences,
Life Update,
Literature,
Memories,
Movies,
My Projects,
Personal,
Travel
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Movies - Towards Achieving My Aim In Life
Not that I'm going to become another Madhur Bhandarkar, but watching as many movies as one can has never made anyone a bad film-maker, has it? So much ado for a movie update. But seriously, if I had only seventeen more days to live, I'd make start working on a short film Right Angle. I might as well start working on it right away, but why not? I need the space and the time for it, the luxury of which I do not have right now. Here's the list of movies I watched recently-

PS. Why Madhur Bhadarkar? I used to study and run a video cassette shop at the same time. I developed a liking for movies. I would watch all the movies in the theatre, first day first show! More in this interview - here.
- Not a 17% contented child as mentioned here , I can probably die a 23% contented child now. Have finished watching all movies made by Vishal Bharadwaj - Makdee, Maqbool, Omkara and now, The Blue Umbrella. Each of them is brilliant, with Vishal's earnestness and honest approach standing out. Watch The Blue Umbrella in a theater, otherwise one wouldn't be doing justice to the wonderful cinematography by Sachin K Krishn. I'll be following Abhishek Chaubey very closely now on. His work till now -
- Screenplay, dialogue, Associate Director - Omkara
- Associate Director-Maqbool, Makdee
- Associate Director & Screenplay-The Blue Umbrella
- Chakde! India -
decentgood movie. Couldn't have come a better time for it to do well. Independence Day, prosperity(?) all around, things looking more hopeful than ever for our country(yes) and for the youth(?). Pop-corn patriotism is very convenient for today's generation who do not have much time. Convenient for the producers too, pop-corn patriotism sells. On a related note, this is Celebrating Freedom from CircusMouse, our new blog. We don't have a description for it yet, please visit it and helps us find one. Warning : Very chaotic there.
- Naagarahaavu - the first of Puttanna Kanagal's movies I've watched. Ramachari's character is perhaps a better representation of the angry young man of those days. Even better than Amitabh's roles then? Not sure, need to watch more movies of the 70's to be qualified to answer this. But I liked the character played by Loknath the best. Ade namma speciality!
- Ananathana Avaanthara by Kashinath. Kannada industry needs more people like him. People like him, Upendra, Jaggesh whose work maverick, unconventional approaches add a new dimension to Kannada film-making. But what has happened to Sunil Kumar Desai to make a sub-standard movie like Kshana Kshana? Forget the review, Shri Desai has set certain standards with his earlier movies. At least live up to them, Sir?
- Movies I caught up with now, as they released during the time of my shift to Bangalore -
- Guru - huh, they shoot it in Karnataka and pass it off as Gujarat! The movie fails to capture the magnitude of Dhirubhai's empire. Perhaps his story is such that one can't put it together in a 3 hour movie. Maybe one can, if they do away with needless songs and not give extra time to characters just because they are played by Aishwarya Rais and Vidya Balans. Ratnam Sir, is Mahabharat still on? Forget Lajjo, make Mahabharat. Please!
- Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd - Minissha Lamba, Minissha Lamba, Minissha Lamba, Minissha Lamba, Minissha Lamba, Minissha Lamba. Well made movie.
- Ek Chalis Ki Last Local - This movie would be more tight and crisp if unnecessary songs and sequences could have been done away with. Nonetheless, it was about Mumbai Meri Jaan and that more than makes up for all the shortcomings in the movie. Laree Choote. At the last count, it was 2643 - number of times I've played it.
- Movies I slept half-way through -
- Choker Bali - will someone please explain why it is such an acclaimed movie? Maybe I do not know the meaning of the italicized word. Finding its meaning should be a rewording exercise.
- Yatra - my yatra to bed only got faster while watching this. Again, will someone please explain everything about this movie. Art movies, more often than not, are definitely enjoyable. But this one wasn't.
PS. Why Madhur Bhadarkar? I used to study and run a video cassette shop at the same time. I developed a liking for movies. I would watch all the movies in the theatre, first day first show! More in this interview - here.
Labels:
Bollywood,
Life Update,
Movies,
My Projects,
Personal,
Photo Posts
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Too Much Is Too Bad
Sometimes it rings so true, what our grandmothers used to tell us and we never used to listen. Too much is too bad, isn't this what they used to tell us?
Once upon a time, there was socialnetwork utility named Facebook which was known for its simpicity, ease of use and uncluttered look. And then the big young man announced the FaceBook Developer Programme, which let developers create different applications for Facebook's users. They said Facebook would be a social OS, some said it could even be the next Microsoft. Wait, some even called it what? A data black hole. Then came applications which let users let their friends know of their moods to applications which let throw sheep at their friends. Great, they said. Initially, driven by the hype and interest, they lapped it up. And then, they started removing these application one by one.

What happened after this? We'll know soon.
PS. How many of you are on Facebook? More importantly, do you visit it regularly? If yes, what is it that makes you visit it regularly?
PPS. Too much isn't too bad when it comes to blogging. Here's announcing the launch of CircusMouse, a blog which I'm not able to come up with a description for. Promises to be lot of chaos, fun and entertainment. Check it out and let us know!
PPPS. Have you checked eye5 lately? Regular posting has resumed there as well. Planning to revive 10+3i. Hopefully, some good news on that front soon.
Once upon a time, there was social

What happened after this? We'll know soon.
PS. How many of you are on Facebook? More importantly, do you visit it regularly? If yes, what is it that makes you visit it regularly?
PPS. Too much isn't too bad when it comes to blogging. Here's announcing the launch of CircusMouse, a blog which I'm not able to come up with a description for. Promises to be lot of chaos, fun and entertainment. Check it out and let us know!
PPPS. Have you checked eye5 lately? Regular posting has resumed there as well. Planning to revive 10+3i. Hopefully, some good news on that front soon.
Labels:
Commentary,
Internet,
Media,
My Projects,
Observations,
Research,
Social Networking,
Technology
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Ek Sapna Lekar - Our own campus song!!

Listen people, literally!
To this song.
To download,
Username : railneer
Password : laloo
The song has no relation whatsoever with the choice of the username and password!
I have suo moto decided to call our band - !Xobile as a tribute to Russel Peters!!
Credits
Bharath J,EC,BE IV;
Jojan V Jose,ME,BE IV
Mrinabh Dutta,CO,BE IV
Nikhil Kulkarni,CO,BE IV( Me,of course!)
Shubham Srivastav,Btech II.
Produced by 10+3i
Music and Tune.. Bharath and Joji
Lyrics.. Nikhil and Joji(some hindi words from hari)
Synth.. Bharath
Voice.. Joji(some chorus by Nikhil)
Lead guitars.. Mrinabh
Bass Guitar.. Shubham
Recording.. Kenny
Editing.. Bharath and Chinsi
About the song
The song 'Ek Sapna tha' is a typical campus song which echoes the sentiments of us final year students who are about to leave the college in a few days' time. The song talks of the good, bad times we spent together and also looks at the future, about how the money we'll earn is no of value compared to the evenings we spent together.
Must admit that the lyrics though are a little on the paler side, but that was the best I could come up with. That I am a South Indian is no excuse, but somehow we were hardpressed for time and that whole project came off in two days flat speaks a lot of our commitment. Seriously! I guess none of us slept for those two days and that morning when we recorded the song on the terrace, everything fell into place so well and the world was suddenly more beautiful. Some sense of acheivement that was!
The song is quite popular in the college. Hope you'll like it as well.
We are open to all kinds of criticism. KIND Criticism we mean:)
Labels:
Been There Done That,
College Days,
Music,
My Projects
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Rush Hour-2!
I AM BUSY!!
Sounds too good to be true, but truth can sometimes be unbelieveable and physically drainful.
0. Before anything, read this first. Feels good. Some sense of accomplishment.
Even with exams round the corner,project partners breathing down my neck, we are working on a short film!!Screenplay's almost done. Work on the script is underway. Poor Kaak aka Akshay has been assigned the dirty job of writing the script! Keep visiting this blog and 10+3i's site for more!
1. Pune Trip was GOOD!
2. Mahabaleshwar BETTER!
3. Watched Euphoria perform for the second time. Palash is a great
entertainer. Crowds(read females) just love him.
4. Went to Goa en route home.Spent 63 minutes in Goa, in the train that is!
5. Watched Cinema Paradiso, A Clockwork Orange, In which Annie gives it those
ones,The Doors and a Kannada movie in the theatre, sitting right in the first row!!
6. Read 'Of no Fixed Address' by Kaizad Gustad. Yes, the same Boom to bust guy!
It's about a writer on constant travel.Since I believe I'm bit of a both, traveler
and a writer, it was a perfect foil for my journey.
7. People back in Dharwad haven't changed much.Well, some have!
Maybe I have changed too much to notice any changes in them. Maybe the sight of this studious first bencher in school turning into a docuwallah with long hair was a
bit too hard for them to digest!!.
A post on the journey and back sometime soon
here. How soon? Fellow idiots
involved in the making of the shortfilm and my project partners dictate how I
live my life now!!So, can't say.
8. Holi was fun in a different kind of way. Sameer and co. didn't want to go to their college hostel to play Holi as they feared their shirts being torn!!Being a true blue hostelite,I wanted to burst our laughing. Because they are my friends,my mockery of them was only restricted to a sly smile with a hiss.
9. Felt good catching up with Ashutosh, Manasa, Neha, Ruthwika. Met
some new people.Pramod was a revelation and a very pleasant surprise. He HAD
heard of the movies mentioned above and had watched some of them too! The
show has just begun, what say,Pramod?!
10.I know it might come as a surprise and shock to most of you.Even I was shocked and awed by her beauty. I've found my life partner.She's pretty and pretty close to my younger sister and my marriage to her will be subject to my sister's consent. Even when I was home, my going around with her was only after my sister relented after much persuasion. I hardly know her, but I've got all my lifetime trying to explore different parts of her mind and body!
And now I'll say that I was only talking about my sister's Kinetic!I'm now
experiencing what others call and even I call as writer's block. Was only trying
to check if I could get back to writing. Looks like the world has to wait for
some more time for that 20% finished novel to see the light of the day!
P.Ses or PJs(whatever you call them)
1. If Kapil Dev would've appealed too much, would he have been renamed Kappeal Dev?!
2. Are the gastric juices in cows called Mow-biles?!
Sounds too good to be true, but truth can sometimes be unbelieveable and physically drainful.
0. Before anything, read this first. Feels good. Some sense of accomplishment.
Even with exams round the corner,project partners breathing down my neck, we are working on a short film!!Screenplay's almost done. Work on the script is underway. Poor Kaak aka Akshay has been assigned the dirty job of writing the script! Keep visiting this blog and 10+3i's site for more!
1. Pune Trip was GOOD!
2. Mahabaleshwar BETTER!
3. Watched Euphoria perform for the second time. Palash is a great
entertainer. Crowds(read females) just love him.
4. Went to Goa en route home.Spent 63 minutes in Goa, in the train that is!
5. Watched Cinema Paradiso, A Clockwork Orange, In which Annie gives it those
ones,The Doors and a Kannada movie in the theatre, sitting right in the first row!!
6. Read 'Of no Fixed Address' by Kaizad Gustad. Yes, the same Boom to bust guy!
It's about a writer on constant travel.Since I believe I'm bit of a both, traveler
and a writer, it was a perfect foil for my journey.
7. People back in Dharwad haven't changed much.Well, some have!
Maybe I have changed too much to notice any changes in them. Maybe the sight of this studious first bencher in school turning into a docuwallah with long hair was a
bit too hard for them to digest!!.
A post on the journey and back sometime soon
here. How soon? Fellow idiots
involved in the making of the shortfilm and my project partners dictate how I
live my life now!!So, can't say.
8. Holi was fun in a different kind of way. Sameer and co. didn't want to go to their college hostel to play Holi as they feared their shirts being torn!!Being a true blue hostelite,I wanted to burst our laughing. Because they are my friends,my mockery of them was only restricted to a sly smile with a hiss.
9. Felt good catching up with Ashutosh, Manasa, Neha, Ruthwika. Met
some new people.Pramod was a revelation and a very pleasant surprise. He HAD
heard of the movies mentioned above and had watched some of them too! The
show has just begun, what say,Pramod?!
10.I know it might come as a surprise and shock to most of you.Even I was shocked and awed by her beauty. I've found my life partner.She's pretty and pretty close to my younger sister and my marriage to her will be subject to my sister's consent. Even when I was home, my going around with her was only after my sister relented after much persuasion. I hardly know her, but I've got all my lifetime trying to explore different parts of her mind and body!
And now I'll say that I was only talking about my sister's Kinetic!I'm now
experiencing what others call and even I call as writer's block. Was only trying
to check if I could get back to writing. Looks like the world has to wait for
some more time for that 20% finished novel to see the light of the day!
P.Ses or PJs(whatever you call them)
1. If Kapil Dev would've appealed too much, would he have been renamed Kappeal Dev?!
2. Are the gastric juices in cows called Mow-biles?!
Labels:
Been There Done That,
Humour,
Life Update,
My Projects,
Travel
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Where the streets have no name!
THIS is the good news. The editing of the documentary is complete. People who've seen it have liked it and it's getting more than a release on the college LAN. Next week will be hectic with it being screened in colleges in Surat(begining with our college of course!).
In about fifteen minutes from now,I, along with my class are leaving to Pune for an industrial visit to Infy. Ther real reason of course is a visit to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. I'm not carrying my handycam as I plan to spend time reflecting on ,thinking and planning a few things.Of course, there will be pictures posted taken with friends' digis and a travelogue. Can't wait to meet Ram,Raghuram,
Jiju and others in Pune.Just hope our hard working software engineers have time for me ;)
In about fifteen minutes from now,I, along with my class are leaving to Pune for an industrial visit to Infy. Ther real reason of course is a visit to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. I'm not carrying my handycam as I plan to spend time reflecting on ,thinking and planning a few things.Of course, there will be pictures posted taken with friends' digis and a travelogue. Can't wait to meet Ram,Raghuram,
Jiju and others in Pune.Just hope our hard working software engineers have time for me ;)
Sunday, December 18, 2005
The Ultimate Pot-boiler.
Ok, this certainly is not the best of my posts.It was inspired by this and the sorry state of roads in my home-town Dharwad.This was the best I could come up with after traveling almost the length and breadth of Mumbai for JMET and NMAT(One more post definitely needed for that).Dharwad->Thane->Powai->Koparkhairane->Vashi->CST->Dharwad.That was quite a trip and this post was written during the return journey. This was the best my tired mind could come up with.Have some more posts in the offing on my father's experiences as the returning officer during the upcoming Gram Panchayat and Zilla panchayat elections here. They talk of decentralisation of power and village empowerment, but all that has happened is that the rot has precipitated down to the bottom.Imagine a village being divided not only along caste lines,but also along political lines now.Politics is one of my favourite subjects and I saw how little of that is reflected in this blog.
Returning to the current post, it could have also been titled
The Monk who drove his Ferrari over a pot-hole.
or
Zen and the Art of pot-hole maintenance.
or
Harry-potholer!
or
The Autobiography of an Unknown Pothole
or
The Argumentative Indian Pothole
I don’t exist on paper.(I exist on road, of course!). what I meant to say was that I don’t have an official existence like most of you. The census of 2001 was conducted well before my ‘birth’ and I doubt if I’ll survive till the time the next census is carried out in 2011. Actually, the whole pot-hole community around me has been officially declared . In the dusty files of the Public Works Department consigned to some corner, they have been given the best possible burial a pot-hole can ever imagine. Covered with the supreme quality tar, and then rolled over by the strongest road-roller in the whole region, specifically ‘bought’ for that purpose. That is all ‘for the record’. The actual story is something else. Neither the tar came nor the road-roller. The holes weren’t filled, what were filled though were the beds of the executive engineer who floated the tender, the bank lockers of the contractor and the cup-boards of the minister. The minister actually made money twice. Once, while awarding the contract and the second time a 20% cut in from the same contractor after he began working on the ‘project’. That was two years ago. Some work was indeed done. It was the perfect patch work ever done. It was patchy both in terms of the quality of the work and also that it left lot of patches were still left untouched. Those which were covered up soon opened up and in pothole-speak, they are called ‘ghost-holes’ . The whole colony talks about them in hushed voices. Children pot-holes aren’t allowed to go close to them. That is why the area around those ghost-holes is quite deserted.
In the slum world, I live in what is the real world equivalent of a small locality in a city. there isn’t much of an activity, but once in a while I’m woken up from my slumber by a truck or two running over me carrying heavy goods. It hurts, not only physically but also in the heart. Not only these people run over you but also abuse you with choicest expletives for no fault of yours. It may sound a bit cynical, but we potholes do extract our pound of flesh. The faster these guys run over you, more is the pain they suffer. These humans are so strange. I’ll never be able to understand them. Two days back, this handsome hunk was riding what has been our latest nuisance, the hayabusa. He mutters such obscenities under his breath it spoilt my whole day. And yesterday he comes again, with his friend in the pillion, runs over me again and thanks God for my presence there. The reason?. He gets that ‘close touch’ with his -friend. These humans think that Gods must be crazy, but what they don’t know that it is them who are crazy. Just the other day he was cursing me no end, but at that moment he was glad I was there. I could make that from the gleam in his eyes. I pray to God to give me enough strength and make me grow in size such that the next time he runs over me, he gets such a ‘touch’ he’ll never forget in his life.
I often wonder about my parents. The elder potholes in our colony have taken such care of me that I don’t really miss my parents. But sometimes during the night I wonder if my parents might be among the countless stars in the sky. I dream of leading a quiet, peaceful life with papa pot-hole, mama pot-hole and a lil’ brother pothole until another one of the devils runs over me.
Let me share a secret with you all. We pot-holes are not actually very sure about our gender. Most of us assume our genders. What makes our situation even more piquant is that we are not ‘born’ normally. We come into existence by an , a tiny somewhere ‘evolves’ into a fully-grown pothole. I often wonder about what my name could be. Few days back, a bespectacled engineering student was almost kicked to by his friends when suggested a name for me. ‘Harry Pot-holer’!. His idea didn’t quite appeal to his friends. I guess I know what name I like. A female, the most beautiful I have seen till date, came close to me, slowed down and passed over me with such gentle care that I almost felt like I was in an embrace with her. Then with her soft, silky voice she gave me a name-‘Oeemah’. Yes, my name is Oeemah.
Ok, I guess it’s time to move on. I wish you all the best in this roller-coaster jouney called Life. And remember, no profanities the next time you come across a hurdle(pothole) on the road or in your life. It’s your creation and that your backache is not my headache. Don’t fall down, but recover soon and keep your eyes wide open and reach your destination without any hitches.
Returning to the current post, it could have also been titled
The Monk who drove his Ferrari over a pot-hole.
or
Zen and the Art of pot-hole maintenance.
or
Harry-potholer!
or
The Autobiography of an Unknown Pothole
or
The Argumentative Indian Pothole
I don’t exist on paper.(I exist on road, of course!). what I meant to say was that I don’t have an official existence like most of you. The census of 2001 was conducted well before my ‘birth’ and I doubt if I’ll survive till the time the next census is carried out in 2011. Actually, the whole pot-hole community around me has been officially declared . In the dusty files of the Public Works Department consigned to some corner, they have been given the best possible burial a pot-hole can ever imagine. Covered with the supreme quality tar, and then rolled over by the strongest road-roller in the whole region, specifically ‘bought’ for that purpose. That is all ‘for the record’. The actual story is something else. Neither the tar came nor the road-roller. The holes weren’t filled, what were filled though were the beds of the executive engineer who floated the tender, the bank lockers of the contractor and the cup-boards of the minister. The minister actually made money twice. Once, while awarding the contract and the second time a 20% cut in from the same contractor after he began working on the ‘project’. That was two years ago. Some work was indeed done. It was the perfect patch work ever done. It was patchy both in terms of the quality of the work and also that it left lot of patches were still left untouched. Those which were covered up soon opened up and in pothole-speak, they are called ‘ghost-holes’ . The whole colony talks about them in hushed voices. Children pot-holes aren’t allowed to go close to them. That is why the area around those ghost-holes is quite deserted.
In the slum world, I live in what is the real world equivalent of a small locality in a city. there isn’t much of an activity, but once in a while I’m woken up from my slumber by a truck or two running over me carrying heavy goods. It hurts, not only physically but also in the heart. Not only these people run over you but also abuse you with choicest expletives for no fault of yours. It may sound a bit cynical, but we potholes do extract our pound of flesh. The faster these guys run over you, more is the pain they suffer. These humans are so strange. I’ll never be able to understand them. Two days back, this handsome hunk was riding what has been our latest nuisance, the hayabusa. He mutters such obscenities under his breath it spoilt my whole day. And yesterday he comes again, with his friend in the pillion, runs over me again and thanks God for my presence there. The reason?. He gets that ‘close touch’ with his -friend. These humans think that Gods must be crazy, but what they don’t know that it is them who are crazy. Just the other day he was cursing me no end, but at that moment he was glad I was there. I could make that from the gleam in his eyes. I pray to God to give me enough strength and make me grow in size such that the next time he runs over me, he gets such a ‘touch’ he’ll never forget in his life.
I often wonder about my parents. The elder potholes in our colony have taken such care of me that I don’t really miss my parents. But sometimes during the night I wonder if my parents might be among the countless stars in the sky. I dream of leading a quiet, peaceful life with papa pot-hole, mama pot-hole and a lil’ brother pothole until another one of the devils runs over me.
Let me share a secret with you all. We pot-holes are not actually very sure about our gender. Most of us assume our genders. What makes our situation even more piquant is that we are not ‘born’ normally. We come into existence by an , a tiny somewhere ‘evolves’ into a fully-grown pothole. I often wonder about what my name could be. Few days back, a bespectacled engineering student was almost kicked to by his friends when suggested a name for me. ‘Harry Pot-holer’!. His idea didn’t quite appeal to his friends. I guess I know what name I like. A female, the most beautiful I have seen till date, came close to me, slowed down and passed over me with such gentle care that I almost felt like I was in an embrace with her. Then with her soft, silky voice she gave me a name-‘Oeemah’. Yes, my name is Oeemah.
Ok, I guess it’s time to move on. I wish you all the best in this roller-coaster jouney called Life. And remember, no profanities the next time you come across a hurdle(pothole) on the road or in your life. It’s your creation and that your backache is not my headache. Don’t fall down, but recover soon and keep your eyes wide open and reach your destination without any hitches.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
a Kit-Kat break
I am completely lost for words. The earlier enthu for writing is longer there. Need to get serious on certain things, and even if i don't want to,am having to spend less time of some things quite close to my heart(enough of listening to my heart, my mind tells me), blogging for example. I seriously don't know why has this numb feeling overpowered me and I know I'll overcome it and be 'normal' again cracking pathetic PJs, rubbing people the wrong way with my stupid posts, coming up with those silly poems and stories written sitting in the last bench with some sensible posts interspersed here and there.
Thankfully Bharath has a digicam and Mrinabh, a mobile cam. That means my photoblog will be updated regularly. Keep visiting that. But I just can't conjure up enough energy and brains to write though there is no dearth of subjects that I can write on. The photoblog will be running though.
No time to search the world around
Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
When I come around
-When I Come Around(Green Day)
In the meanwhile discovered some more bloggers, want to add their blog links in the links section, make my blog look nicer..but just can't..the numb feeling you see..
Shayon- my-labyrinth.blogspot.com
Komal- meriawazuno.blogspot.com-do visit her blog for her story of the deluge in mumbai.
A fellow quizzer, UC participant-Almost useless!- lifesucz.blogspot.com
and page 3 of blogging...meet rahul bose, deepak chopra, mallika chopra, rahul khanna, nandita das,shekhar kapur, anupam kher, milind deora, vandana shiva,kanika chopra and many more on intentblog.com
till my next post
nikhil
Thankfully Bharath has a digicam and Mrinabh, a mobile cam. That means my photoblog will be updated regularly. Keep visiting that. But I just can't conjure up enough energy and brains to write though there is no dearth of subjects that I can write on. The photoblog will be running though.
No time to search the world around
Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
When I come around
-When I Come Around(Green Day)
In the meanwhile discovered some more bloggers, want to add their blog links in the links section, make my blog look nicer..but just can't..the numb feeling you see..
Shayon- my-labyrinth.blogspot.com
Komal- meriawazuno.blogspot.com-do visit her blog for her story of the deluge in mumbai.
A fellow quizzer, UC participant-Almost useless!- lifesucz.blogspot.com
and page 3 of blogging...meet rahul bose, deepak chopra, mallika chopra, rahul khanna, nandita das,shekhar kapur, anupam kher, milind deora, vandana shiva,kanika chopra and many more on intentblog.com
till my next post
nikhil
Monday, September 5, 2005
The battle heats up-Microsoft CEO: 'I'm going to f---ing kill Google'
my shift key has a problem, so no 'capitalised'(exactly..that's what one of our teachers said..all keywords in java should begin with 'capitalised')letters and my mind's not working. i donno the reason. is it because of the excess of movies that i'm watching or is it because i'm attending more classes this time!

continuing on the google-ms war, here's a piece i stumbled across on slashdot. it is a great site for people who are intersted in tech-trivia. they call it a site for nerds and i don't quite consider myself to be one. reminds me of one funny incident though. microsoft came calling to our campus for recruitment and i thought my knowledge of msn spaces, the mappoint technolgy would be of some help. and as it turned out i failed to clear the 'written' test which was quite 'technical'. that's ok as i don't quite fancy my chances with things 'technical'. but what amazed me was that even in the interviews that followed, there was not even a single 'hr' question. it was pointers, arrays, data structures, algorithms, compilers all the way. and this idiot thought his hours of meandering around the world wide web would be of some help! how naive of me! sometimes i feel i should have drowned in object oriented programming than spend time deriding bush's objective of occupying iraq. but surprisingly, when pause for a moment,i don't repent what i did! thinking that that one hour test would have made a difference of around 3.5 lacs to my annual salary!!was just wondering what makes the differnce? that duration of one hour of the test or the 'wasted years' (that's also the song playing rt now!, how ironic!!!..f*&k..the song is by iron maiden!!now my mind's working!!). to me it was that one hour that made the difference. my thoughts on placements din't go down well with many people here(like most of my thoughts!). and i hate to talk/write about placements, but couldn't miss this one as it was about ms.congrats siddharth!
google is also planning to come out with an operating system to challenge windows.
(writing 'remember i told you this first' sounds like crap to me now!!)let's see.
will post a list of movies/books that i've drowned in of late. talking of movies, am planning to start a blog on the 'other bollywood' ,the sensible indian cinema, indian movies in english, not the american desi, chai types...my gyaan of such movies is decent enough...and want to 'specialise' in that.just like my photoblog on hoardings, posters and notices!
if anybody can get their hands on cds of the following please write them for me. all freight charges will be borne by me.
war and peace- anand ptwardhan
matrubhoomi- manish jha
is raat ki subah nahin- sudhir mishra
black friday-anurag kashyap

continuing on the google-ms war, here's a piece i stumbled across on slashdot. it is a great site for people who are intersted in tech-trivia. they call it a site for nerds and i don't quite consider myself to be one. reminds me of one funny incident though. microsoft came calling to our campus for recruitment and i thought my knowledge of msn spaces, the mappoint technolgy would be of some help. and as it turned out i failed to clear the 'written' test which was quite 'technical'. that's ok as i don't quite fancy my chances with things 'technical'. but what amazed me was that even in the interviews that followed, there was not even a single 'hr' question. it was pointers, arrays, data structures, algorithms, compilers all the way. and this idiot thought his hours of meandering around the world wide web would be of some help! how naive of me! sometimes i feel i should have drowned in object oriented programming than spend time deriding bush's objective of occupying iraq. but surprisingly, when pause for a moment,i don't repent what i did! thinking that that one hour test would have made a difference of around 3.5 lacs to my annual salary!!was just wondering what makes the differnce? that duration of one hour of the test or the 'wasted years' (that's also the song playing rt now!, how ironic!!!..f*&k..the song is by iron maiden!!now my mind's working!!). to me it was that one hour that made the difference. my thoughts on placements din't go down well with many people here(like most of my thoughts!). and i hate to talk/write about placements, but couldn't miss this one as it was about ms.congrats siddharth!
google is also planning to come out with an operating system to challenge windows.
(writing 'remember i told you this first' sounds like crap to me now!!)let's see.
will post a list of movies/books that i've drowned in of late. talking of movies, am planning to start a blog on the 'other bollywood' ,the sensible indian cinema, indian movies in english, not the american desi, chai types...my gyaan of such movies is decent enough...and want to 'specialise' in that.just like my photoblog on hoardings, posters and notices!
if anybody can get their hands on cds of the following please write them for me. all freight charges will be borne by me.
war and peace- anand ptwardhan
matrubhoomi- manish jha
is raat ki subah nahin- sudhir mishra
black friday-anurag kashyap
Labels:
Google,
Internet,
Movies,
My Projects,
Personal,
Technology
Sunday, August 28, 2005
My photoblog
Am starting a photoblog. Have named it 'eye5'. I already have four eyes. The camera's is my fifth eye. Instead of posting pictures of what I'm doing, my hostel room, the fun that we guys have, I've decided to post pictures of hoardings and signboards which I come across. Being in Gujarat, goof-ups in spellings are not hard to find, even otherwise if a picture can be worth thousand words, a hoarding or a signboard is worth more than that!. It is Bharath's camera though. Hope to post atleast one picure a day.Here it is Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Of a 'cosmetic surgery' and ***THE GROUP BLOG***
Have nothing much to do these days and with no net in the hostel...am itching to run back home.
.My blog has undergone a minor cosmetic surgery.An 'implant' actually,if you happen to look at its left,you'll notice an enlargement.(The computer engineer I am, my 'pointless' mind wandered onto the 'silicon territory'!!!).Have added the cbox(too late to hop onto the bandwagon, is it??Almost every blogger worth his/her salt has one.So why not me??So much salt am I worth!!).Make use of it..Adi did the honours of inaugurating it...
At the risk of repetition,am repeating!! what I had thought of about the group blog.
And am expecting some happy news soon,will wait till I hear it myself and then share it.(whatever that means,even i dunno!!).Don't want to celebrate too early,that's what I meant.
********What am I currently reading*********
Into 30 odd pages of Raj Kamal Jha's 'If you are afraid of heights'.Almost picked up 'To kill a mocking bird' when I just happened to glance at this one and what more could draw me to this book than the fact that Mr.Jha is an Engg.grad(IIT-K mech) and journalist and an author. I can think of atleast one 'el(l)igible' author who would be inspired!!.What say, madam???
Will try and post the review..till then HERE'S more on the book.
S*it,my post on Gujju wedding gate-crashes is still to be written.(And I say I have nothing much to do here!!)
.My blog has undergone a minor cosmetic surgery.An 'implant' actually,if you happen to look at its left,you'll notice an enlargement.(The computer engineer I am, my 'pointless' mind wandered onto the 'silicon territory'!!!).Have added the cbox(too late to hop onto the bandwagon, is it??Almost every blogger worth his/her salt has one.So why not me??So much salt am I worth!!).Make use of it..Adi did the honours of inaugurating it...
****ABOUT THE GROUP BLOG****
At the risk of repetition,am repeating!! what I had thought of about the group blog.
1.Narrow down(or expand)the areas which the group blog would encompass.
2.Suggest a name for the same.
3.Might sound too far-fetched, but thinking of modeling it on the lines of
MIDDLE STAGE
4.Also check out-AMIT VARMA
5.And people please do respond fast, guess ditering won't help.
And am expecting some happy news soon,will wait till I hear it myself and then share it.(whatever that means,even i dunno!!).Don't want to celebrate too early,that's what I meant.
********What am I currently reading*********
Into 30 odd pages of Raj Kamal Jha's 'If you are afraid of heights'.Almost picked up 'To kill a mocking bird' when I just happened to glance at this one and what more could draw me to this book than the fact that Mr.Jha is an Engg.grad(IIT-K mech) and journalist and an author. I can think of atleast one 'el(l)igible' author who would be inspired!!.What say, madam???
Will try and post the review..till then HERE'S more on the book.
S*it,my post on Gujju wedding gate-crashes is still to be written.(And I say I have nothing much to do here!!)
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