Summer...Argh!

"The only good things about summer are Women's fashions and Ice-creams!"

The reason I'm saying this is... _____________ - Temperatures in Pune for the last 4 days - Sunday - 41.2 °C Monday - 41.1 °C Tuesday - 41.3 °C Wednesday - 41.9 °C _____________ Completely reeling under the soaring Temperatures and incessant Load-shedding...they expect us to study during this time :-X

Google in 2084...

Google, without a doubt, has become an inseparable part of our lives. So much so, that the picture below, appropriately depicts what Google will be like in the year 2084...!

Save the Vowels and the Spellings!

Are you tired of reading 'code' language like "hws u", "i m gr8, sup wid u?", "mes m immd"? Well, I am. 

Why are most of the people hell bent upon destroying English? Why don’t they use the grammar someone made with so much of pain? Have they already forgotten all the trouble they had learning tenses and other syntactical rules? Well if they did spend so much time in learning and improving their English, why not spend some more in typing it? 

Most of the people have totally shifted from a clean English to a totally full of slang and hard-to-digest English. The SMS seems to be the root cause, I believe. Imagine somebody SMSing you "Hpy Brdy" on your Birthday and you having to devote time to actually decipher it! (somebody actually wished me this way :-X) In my opinion, these people are just lazy. They use it to save themselves time and effort, yet it takes me double the time to read what they are saying. So I have to spend more time/effort, just because they are lazy? In trying to save time and money, they've compressed the sentences and words like they're some pathetic little .zip or .rar files. Please remember that the rest don’t have WinZip and WinRar fitted in their brains to decode this kind of a language; at least I don’t! 

Now what this has done is, severely affect their English spellings and pronunciations. I, myself, completely hate messing up with my spellings and grammar; not that I'm perfect with it, but at least I make a sincere effort in trying to be close to one! Again, I'm not expecting everybody to spell Connoisseur or Phlegmatic or Repertoire or Trousseau with sheer ease, but for god's sake at least don't goof-up with Definition or Grammar or Occasion or Vacuum! It just irks me when somebody misspells 'easy' words in spite of having all the tools in the world to check and correct them (read: use the Spell-Check option after typing anything, for once, please!) 

Hence, I'm a part of "Save the Vowels and the Spellings" movement - doing rounds on the Internet! It expects no flashy, flowery or snazzy English - A simple, not-so-hard-on-the-brain usage - without omitting the vowels and no spelling mistakes will be just fine :-) Join in.

Bas...Do Minute!

Okay, I heard a cousin of mine giving a recipe of a Cherry Pie and a Caramel Custard to her friend on the phone; so I thought I'd give a recipe to the only thing I know to cook…Maggi Noodles :-P Pretty basic this, but then you can always jazz it up...! Materials Required: (Rather scientific isn't it?) 1. Maggi Noodles (Of course :-D) 2. Maggi Tastemaker (it's included in the packet :-D) 3. Additional spices (depending upon your choice) 4. Two cups of water 5. Oil (if you aren't health conscious) 6. Tomato sauce, cheese (generously) 7. Vegetables, if you want (umm Cauliflowers, Tomatoes, etc) Procedure: 1. Take a pan and pour two cups of water in it and heat on flame 2. When the water starts boiling, add some oil, noodles, veggies, tastemaker, spices, cheese and stir 3. Keep stirring for 2 minutes 4. Transfer it to the plate and add sauce 5. Serve hot I guess that was pretty awesome an explanation! What say? Maggi Two-Minute-Noodles ready for consumption and if you've added everything correctly, they'll be awesome B-) Have Fun ;-)

My Blogging Quotient (BQ)

Something random I came across... Regular bloggers or even beginners who are 'into', rather 'under' blogging at the moment would quite enjoy this. I took the Questions, and I discovered that I am -

62% Addicted to Blogging!

And then it came to me that I should also have my blog rated; you know - U, U/A, A or G, PG, PG-13, R... :-P Now that I'm almost near the 50-posts mark, see if you all can rate it. Just to run a routine check on the content... :-)

Sachin, Tendlya, Master-Blaster...GOD!

- When Sachin plays - big-city roads are easy and trains and buses ply empty at rush hour and the markets take a beating...  

- When Sachin plays - busy, ambitious executives ignore their calls and cancel their appointments and avoid their clients and miss their deadlines...  

- When Sachin plays - college Common Rooms are dense and tense and hushed as an entire generation sits on pins and needles...  

- When Sachin plays - school-yards are silent and playgrounds are deserted because those who normally make such a racket imitating their hero are all too busy watching him make batting look so ridiculously easy...  

- When Sachin plays - fathers who want the NEWS channel and daughters and mothers who always want soft stuff and brothers who fight for action, for once all agree on what to watch...

 - When Sachin plays - India forgets its differences and divisions and teeters between tensions and exhilaration and breaths and laughs and cries as one, as its heart fills with pride and joy...

 - When Sachin plays - all else is irrelevant...

I'd read these in Sportstar a long time back, but it is something that holds true for eternity. 

Just last week when I saw him come to bat against Rajasthan Royals for the inaugural match of the IPL 2, sacrificing my afternoon siesta seemed all worth it. He was once again greeted to a standing ovation. The respect the man draws all over the world is truly astounding.  

He has come a long way since making his debut against Pakistan in November, 1989, breaking like a zillion records. But what has been more satisfying is the way he has achieved them. Australia too has broken records but we all know how much they have lost on the way; they have lost the respect of the people. They might be a cricketing powerhouse but they no longer have role models. Sachin on the other hand has been an ideal ambassador for the gentleman's game and the perfect role model for millions of budding youngsters the world over.

There have been many legendary cricketers who have done wonders on the pitch; Shane Warne for instance. But if a boy walked up to his dear dad and told him that he wanted to be like Warney, the father would have to impart some wisdom on what-to-dos and what-SO-not-to-dos of Warney's life. And there would be quite a few things on the not-to-dos list!  

Sachin has not only been a great cricketer, but more importantly, the greater person. A champion on the field, and also off the field. When I try to recollect moments from the past, a couple of them vividly come to my mind...

• The 2003 World Cup clash against arch rivals Pakistan

The stage was set. And he decided to make it his own. Not only did he play an electrifying innings, but he gave us one of the most memorable moments in history - sending the ball sailing into the crowd over backward point. It was one of those 'I was there' moments. I was there...I was there when the Mumbai cha Mulga smacked the man they call the 'Rawalpindi Express'!

• The one that flashes across the mind is the Sharjah blitzkrieg (1998)

The back-to-back hundreds against Australia. Oh, and the look on Warne's face. The utter shock out of sheer helplessness. I distinctly remember the instance when Tony Greig was on commentary and Sachin had just hit another six. And all he said was "What a player" (pity I can't imitate his typical style, with all the excitement in the voice here). A wish: Before he decides to call it a day, I'd love to see the no-holds-barred vintage Tendulkar once again. To see the helplessness in the bowlers, to see him come charging down to the fastest of bowlers and mercilessly pull them through mid-wicket, to stand tall and effortlessly play the upper cuts over the keeper, to have the audacity to slog sweep spinners against the turn, to have the class to hit them inside out over the covers, and all the while innovating with his blade the way one can't imagine.




When Sachin plays, the world watches in awe...India comes to a standstill... Go commit whatever crime you want.. It will go unnoticed.. Because, even the Lord is watching!!! (courtesy: Sportstar again)  

The 'boy' turns 36 today...Happy Birthday Sachin!  

PS: An IPL hundred against the Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) tomorrow would be a fitting Birthday gift and a chance for me to go "Saaachinnnnn...Sachin, Saaachinnnnn...Sachin" all over again!

The General Question...err Elections!

The General Elections tomorrow - and I'll be casting my vote for the first time! Turned eligible a good four years back, but somehow didn't register for it, until last year ("A responsible citizen in one post - following Traffic rules and all to one who hadn't registered to vote until this day"...thinking this, right?) Just before D-Day, we, the "first-timers" were busy updating ourselves on the current political scenario; as in who are contesting the elections for which political parties, etc! Just then, Fräulein R pops up this Question - Q: It is time to elect a new leader, and only your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three candidates...

• Candidate (A) - Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He’s had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day (Umm, you can consider something "local" instead of the high-sounding martini :-P)

• Candidate (B) - He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon , was a drug addict in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening

• Candidate (C) - He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.

Who would you vote for???

Video: A Tribute - BE Computer 2009 (MCOE)

The reason I'd to suspend my A-Post-A-Day endeavour is here - A tribute, in the form of a video, to all my batch mates - BE Computer 2009, Modern College of Engineering! I've been working on it since the last 5-6 days...and needless to say have put in a lot of effort to come up with this; donning the hat of a Script-writer, an Editor and a Director along the way :-P The purpose was to compose something that would be cherished by each one from my Batch in the times to come... The video is already up on YouTube...feel free to comment on it, regardless of you being a part of the video or not :-) I'll try and get back in the 'groove' :-P...till then enjoy my first "baby" - my Home Production!!! :-D ;-)

Laa'jawab' !

I, as an ideal citizen, was abiding by the traffic rules (I always do!) at one of the busiest junctions in Pune. Having already stopped twice at the same signal, I almost cursed when I missed the third by a whisker. The counter displayed another alarming 90 secs for the light to turn Green... No sooner had I turned-off the engine of my bike than I was startled by some shameless honking behind me; as if urging me not to pay heed to the Rules! Pretty disgruntled, I, without looking back, pointed my finger towards the Red-light (aah, certainly not 'The Finger' :-P) Glancing at my rear-view mirror, I could see two guys, about the same age as me, thoroughly enjoying the horn-harassing along with intermittent throttle-raising at MY utter displeasure. Realizing that I was not the one to succumb under those 'childish stunts', one of them asked, more in a tone of arrogance than anything else... "Kay re #@$%#, shikshan JASTI jhalay ka?" Now if they had the cheek to ask me this, I'd my own repertoire of retorts - good enough to serve as a slap in the face for the rowdies... "Maza shikshan jasti nahi, tumcha KAMI jhalay!" I bided the next 30 secs; thoroughly enjoying my 'victory' at THEIR utter displeasure! Wotta a riposte lad, wotta a riposte!!! PS: I'm pretty certain I heard touché from behind! B-)

Observations & Realizations

For my previous post, I kinda expected at least a couple of comments. So I guess I need to infer that either nobody read the post or 'The Test' was so easy that nobody bothered commenting or lastly, nobody was able to solve 'The Test'! I hope that the last option rather be not true. Whatever be it, it'll not be a deterrent to my 'A-post-a-day' endeavour... :-)

*****

Now that I'm on the threshold of graduating (completing Engineering, woowie!), I observed some things; I realized others, during all these four years of college. So, this post is about some observations I've made and some realizations I've had over the past couple of years... - Observations Observation 1: You'll find yourself nodding and smiling at people whom you absolutely hate or are jealous of. As soon as the person passes you by, you say a****** in your head. And guess what? He's doing the same behind you. Observation 2: You'll be standing somewhere looking at a hot chick ("the chances of you being in an Engineering college then, are less", did somebody say that?) A couple of seconds later, a very lame looking guy will come and start talking to her. Then, together they'll leave with the girl riding pillion with him. This happens more than once. After some days, you'll get so used to the ritual that you won't even ask the question - "Why him? Why not me?" Observation 3: There will never be any hot babes in your class. They will always be in the other section. And they'll have at least 3 girls around them at all times. And when you're unlucky, you'll even have a couple of guys talking to her. Basically, if you're thinking you're gonna talk to her when she's alone, you might as well start finding a new girl. - Realizations Realization 1: Asking for another sheet (supplement) in a test while almost all of the class doesn't know anything doesn't do a lot of good. The teacher might like you but the students certainly won't appreciate it. Bottomline is, the teacher is only there for one semester. The classmates are there for 4 years! Realization 2: Hoping that the teacher wouldn't notice you laughing your heart out when you're sitting right under her nose, doesn't go a long way in proving your intelligence. Realization 3: Going to the office for some Principal-related work to realize that you're not aware of the 'latest' Principal. But then, by the rate at which they change in my college, I'm not the one to blame! Oh shit! I just realized that I still have to appear for a Practical and a Viva and the Theory exam; and I haven't even started studying. But all these years I've observed that this situation is no different :-P PS: Observations 2 and 3 are completely hypothetical (can't expect anything more while studying Engineering, right?). Though I'm damn sure, guys out there will second my observation in general!

Solve these A-Level Questions

Scroll down for the answers...

Miss Universe/Earth/World/India...Transvestite. Whatever!

Till a couple of years back, I used to make it a point to at least know the names of the "beauties" who had won the above mentioned contests. These days, there are so many of them that most of us don't even care. At least I don't. Just yesterday, I came across the new ones in the News. It caught my attention mainly because of the statements of one of the winners - "I am pursuing [blah blah] and I believe [blah blah] and the environment are inter-related" she says. "So I could relate to the intellectual side of the pageant very well" she adds. Makes me want to cough. What intellectual side is she exactly talking about? How to apply make-up in three easy steps? How to cat walk and how to keep your tummy tucked? Also, how to act really surprised/shocked when your name is announced and you get to do the balancing act with the tiara placed firmly on your head. Even though this is may be an extreme example, you get the point, right? Maybe I’m being too cynical here, but do we really need pageants like these? Does anyone take the winners seriously? Most of them are reduced to eye candy. All of them talk about their love for the poor and how they will go about changing the world etc., yet, none of these "social acts" done by these beauty queens get any media time. I would think that she would've spoken about the social causes that she supports in this interview, but she dutifully goes on to talk about Bollywood and her interest in pursuing a career in films. Have these beauty pageants become a tool in the hands of women who aspire to get a break in films? I think that's the situation at least in India, if not the rest of the world. The names that come to my mind are Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra, Dia Mirza, Tanushree Dutta…I can go on and on. You get the picture.

Replaying Old Advts and Songs

Ever since I saw the CD Collection of Malgudi Days at Crossword in the evening, I haven't stopped thinking about Indian Television and the shows / advertisements / jingles that we used to watch in the '90s (good ol' DD). I couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of these...

I, along with Aai-Baba have tried to collect some of them in this post -

• Mile Sur Mera Tumhara - Composed beautifully, this song reminds of my childhood days and is undoubtedly the best on National Integration and Unity! I think DD National should consider playing this song once a week at least...(they actually used to)

• Humara Bajaj advt - We hardly get to see such genuine advt these days!

• Jungle Book- Chaddi pehen ke phool khila hain :-D

• Mahabharat Opening Credits - Every Sunday morning, every single household in the country had this song blaring from their television sets..I’m dead sure!

• Orangie Orangie - I love you Rasna!

• Famous punch line - I’m a Complan Girl! I’m a Complan Boy!

• Old Liril Commercial - I’m surprised that they allowed a bikini-clad woman to be aired in an advt in 1975 :|

• Doodh Doodh Doodh - It’s fresh. It’s pure. It’s co-operative Milk! Not so sure about that anymore. Lovely ad though.

• Cadbury India Advt - Kuch Khaas Hain

• Purab Se Surya Ooga - Rashtriya Saaksharta Mission. Beautiful composition and the concept.

Some advertisements I couldn't find -

1. Boost Ad (Kapil Dev) - Boost is the secret of MY energy…OUR energy!

2. Vicco Turmeric Nahi Cosmetic...Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream :-P

Please feel free to add to the list...

Book Review: Shantaram

This is what a fellow blogger-friend had to write about the book. Couldn't agree more with him. I'm sharing it along with some of my own inputs in it...

*****

One of the most thought-provoking books my little reading has made me privy to - 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts. It is about an unbelievably amazing story about an Australian Criminal finding a new way of life in Mumbai. The book seems to contain everything. EVERYTHING! From Crime to Passion, from Love to Hatred, from slums to riches and from negativity to divinity! My heart sank when I first had the glimpse of the 900+ page brick of a book. But little did I know then that it would be one of the most enjoyable and fast paced 900 pages I have ever read. So let me reassure you here not to be intimidated by the size of the book. Let me sketch the outline of the book a bit here... Gregory David Roberts (GDR), the author, once was convicted in Australia for armed robberies that he had been undertaking in order to feed his Heroin addiction. He breaks out of the highest security prison in Australia and escapes to India on a fake New Zealand Passport. He lands in Bombay, becomes associated with local people and makes lot of friends. Fate takes him through several turns in life in which he becomes (mostly by choice) a slum dweller, a 'doctor', a Cholera warrior, a Passport faker, a black market currency exchanger, a smuggler...just to name a few roles! He sees the real India starting from Mumbai to a remote village in Maharashtra. He is put in an Indian jail, survives hired assassins, survives road accidents and survives one more heroin addiction. Of course, all 900+ pages are full with lot of such incidents. What makes this book special however is that it is (mostly) biographical. I would assume fiction has been used to a good extent but still most of the story really took place with the person. But going through a tough life is one thing, and putting it down as a book to which readers can relate to is other. This is exactly the place where GDR’s writing career before his Heroin days in Australia comes to help (Yep, was quite intrigued with all this, so had done a Wiki on the same guy). Hence there is this book that is at its best in telling a true story, in a way that stirs you. Several times in the book you identify yourself with one or the other characters making it an extremely interesting book. Of course the portraying of characters is so well done that Didier, Khader, Karla and last but not the least Prabhakar (his "Lin Baba" is so from-the-heart :-) ) do not seem like strangers anymore after a few pages. You would start relating to those people independent of the other characters and I am sure you will map them to people you have known. The book is also unique because it's one of the rare books in which a foreigner has taken a deep plunge into the deepest of Indian society's complexities and also done a successful job of understanding the underlying unifying theme (phew, quite an alliteration there :-P). Of course he admires Indians for what it is but never hesitates a moment before showing things that are obviously wrong. And the best of all are the one-liners from several characters in the book that leave you pondering over them for hours or years depending on your own shallowness or depth. I think most of the credit for making the book 'great' goes to these random notes that appear to be so original and fit as much in the story as they do in your own life. Yes, there are flip sides to this book. At least in my opinion it becomes too ‘poetic’ at places. Several times in the book you will find sentences like "the ocean of her eyes had the freshness of first rain over the dryness of my heart" (I made this line up but you get the idea, right? ;-) ) There are several such metaphors and other figures of speech that could have been done away with. Then I think the book could have been trimmed a bit by a couple of hundred pages; A tighter editing would not have hurt (the Afghanistan-Taliban part gets too monotonous) So read this book if you are looking for an excellent literary work that takes you through so many aspects of life that you could possibly not have been able to go through on your own. This is one book that makes you feel all your efforts invested in reading habit worthwhile. I'd been so deeply engrossed in the book when I read it that I can't possibly wait to watch the movie - Johnny Depp plays the protagonist and our very own BIG B plays Khaderbhai! PS: The common question from most - but why the name Shantaram? See, I'm not interested in being a spoiler (aah, professional critic :-P)...I'd be glad if you check it out yourself. This book is vaguely in the league of Papillon by Henri Charriere . So if you liked that book, chances are that you will like this one too. I have read that book and well, liked it a lot. Q: Such a big review??? A: Shouldn't there be some proportion with the book-size and I love Direct Proportion :-P

Ants In My Pants. Baseless Rambling. Tags.

Don't you just hate them table climbing food seeking ants? I do. They've completely taken over my table and I've been throwing them onto the floor for the last few hours. I'm pretty sure they're gonna take their revenge on me in the night. After all, I can't really stop them from climbing my bed, can I? So there's a bright chance that by the morning I'll be sporting hundred-something ant bites on my body. And that doesn't sound exciting...Nope.

*****

Was talking to a couple of friends over a Masala Dosa. One of them (code-named: Mademoiselle T) mentioned this in the middle of a discussion - "Every man wants to be his woman's first. Every woman wants to be her man's last!" Food for thought, fodder for debate! Whose line is it anyway?

*****

Alright, enough baseless rambling. I should just get on with this new phenomenon of tags -

1. Last movie you saw in a theatre? Delhi-6 (If you haven't seen it till date, please, pat yourselves on your back!)

2. What book are you reading? The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

3. Favorite board game? Scrabble

4. Favorite magazine? Reader's Digest, of course!

5. Favorite smells? The smell of earthen land showered with cool Indian rains is beautiful

6. Favorite sounds? The Sound of Silence…and everything in The Sound of Music

7. Worst feeling in the world? Being a failure. Oh yeah, that feels pretty bad :-(

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up? It depends on the dream ;-)

9. Favorite fast food place? Burger King for the win!

10. Future child’s name? It doesn't make sense to decide that all by myself now, does it? :-P

11. Finish this statement - "If I had lot of money I'd…? …write a book, print it and publish it!!! :-D

Instinctively...I'd love to spend it ;-) For people I love and for things I love to do :-)

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? No. Thank you!

13. Storms - cool or scary? Cool, very cool

14. Favourite drink? Water. Sugarcane juice and Kokum sarbat are delicious too

15. Finish this statement, "If I had the time I would…"? Sleep more! :-D Simple

16. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice? Black perhaps. They've always been brown to some extent

17. Name all the different cities/towns you've lived in? I've lived in just one city all my life. And since almost everybody knows it, I'm not going to mention it here.

18. Favourite sports to watch? Tennis, Football, Cricket, F1 and Olympic sports.

19. What's under your bed? Right now...ants. Lots of them waiting for the lights to be turned off so that they can creep up and bite me. They don't know I've drunk poison. Hehe :-D

20. Would you like to be born as yourself again? Oh yes, yes, yes……exactly as I am: just with a little higher value of the X-coordinate (:-P), a little more beautiful, and a little more intelligent :-D . Actually, no...then it wouldn't be me :-P

21. Morning person, or night owl? Can manage both actually...depends on the need really

Don’t mind either, as long as I can sleep :-)

22. Over easy, or sunny side up? Does it help one get more sleep, whatever it is?

23. Favourite place to relax? In my [imaginary] girlfriend's [imaginary] arms. Hehe, it doesn't get cheesier than that :-)

24. What song are you listening to at this moment? Rhim Jhim Gire Saawan from the movie Manzil starring The Big B (wishful thinking...I wouldn't even mind if it pours incessantly right now :-D)

25. Favourite ice cream flavour? Vanilla. Yep, I’m simple love that

PS: How about you all tagging yourselves and posting the same as comments? I'm waiting...

Time For Some Gully Cricket!

There's a general tendency among people taking to a particular sport when it's at its pinnacle or is in news for some exploits by any sportsperson. Roger Federer displays his silken touch on the court, the Tennis courts are full from the very next day; Steven Gerrard scores a scorcher, guys start searching for their studs and Club memorabilia; Sachin displays his vintage self, and the ground is packed to the hilt with a pool of white-shirts! I'm no different. Be it Tennis, Cricket, Badminton or Football (I fail at it miserably, so I limit myself to just dribbling the ball) - never have I missed a chance to try my hand at them. After the recent exploits in the world of cricket, more importantly for The Men in Blue, who're basking in a Purple Patch (the phrase I mean!) currently, it’s was time to revisit those days which were solely reserved for playing gully cricket! :-D Now, it’s been almost three years since I held a bat in my hand and played the game, and today - early Sunday morning, it was back to the basics than to the bed! The amount of space in our Society to play Cricket in is quite meagre, but then, that's where lies the essence of gully cricket, doesn't it? And when we were still young, innocent kids, the entire compound got together to play. I learned how to play the game here, right in front of my house, and yesterday, I walked down memory lane again. I brought a tennis ball (we never ever BOUGHT a ball, I was a 'provider' of the same during those times too :-P) and dusted my old bat and coaxed my Chaddi-Buddies to abandon their tasks and join me in the memory-lane. We started playing the all-time hit form of the game - 'Ek Tappa Out'! We played for nearly three hours...with old pals chipping in. Déjà vu! It was like staging a old-pals-reunion on our 'Cricket-field'. So much so that the ajji-ajobas, returning from their morning-walks, were quite dumbstruck seeing all the 'kids' play with the same élan, as they once used to do (Sigh! Nostalgic I'm) I had almost forgotten the quirky little things like calling out “Ball, please!” to passers by, whenever the ball went out of the gate and on to the main road; the common "Aaahhs!” whenever the ball missed the bat; refusing to give up my wicket unless there was hard evidence that the ball had hit the makeshift wicket; running behind the ball trying to prevent it from reaching the other end of the compound for a boundary (more importantly, not letting it bounce into the garden of one of our own 'Joshi kaku' :-P) and all the other funny little things that kids do when they play cricket. We reminisced about the time when cricket in the gully was a major event - kids from all over the neighborhood joining us, having Inter-Society matches... We once had installed a 60-Watt bulb through some very ingenious engineering and played through the night - our very own version of floodlight cricket! :-D Oh, those were the days!

It's A Punny World! :-)

My first job was working in an orange juice factory, but I got canned because I couldn't concentrate. Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the axe. After that I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn't suited for it. The job was only so-so anyhow. Next I tried working in a muffler factory, but that was exhausting. I wanted to be a barber, but I just couldn't cut it. I attempted to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced it, I couldn't cut the mustard. My best job was being a musician, but eventually I found I wasn't note worthy. I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn't have any patience. Next was a job in a shoe factory; I tried, but I just didn't fit in. I became a professional fisherman, but discovered that I couldn't live on my net income. I thought about becoming a witch, so I tried that for a spell. I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company, but the work was just too draining. My last job was working at Starbucks, but I had to quit, because it was always the same old grind. After many years of trying to find steady work, I finally got a job as a historian, until I realized there was no future in it. And after reading this post, you're probably going to experience Déjà Moo - the feeling that you've heard this bull before!

Kande Pohe - Eaten and Sung

It happened yesterday, as it does every Thursday, that Baba took charge of the kitchen for breakfast - allowing Aai her much-deserved leave from the daily task. I allowed myself to be cajoled into 'assisting' Baba! (Yes, it surely was that once-in-a-blue-moon time) Kande Pohe was decided as the menu for the same. I was merely a 'provider' for all that Baba needed - "Rohan, kadhai de". Dili. .... "Chirlela tomato de". Dila. " .... Something that was probably missing was Baba wearing a chef's attire, the chef's topi et al (my general knowledge tells me it's called a toque B-) ). But then, while the Pohe were undergoing a transformation, I heard Baba singing a song; I almost straining my ears to get hold of the words!!! (The 'exclamation' marks are for the song he was singing rather than him singing) "Aayushya Hey Chulivarlya, Kadhaitale, Kandepohe!" Those taking efforts to listen to Marathi songs will get it. This is a song from a Marathi movie Sanai Choughade which is written and composed by none other than Awadhoot Gupte! Quite a number this. I won't get into the intricacies of the same, but without a doubt the first Marathi song with a Rock arrangement which is sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. I finished the Kande Pohe (not the song :-P) with the lyrics of the song still lingering in my mind...not because I could relate to it (!) but because of the usage of some daily-used-words. Nothing jazzy about them. All-in-all a very unique song. Also, Baba couldn't have possibly found a better 'occasion' to sing the song. Hahahaha, Baba maza! :-D I'm adding the lyrics of the song for the interested - just go through them. Do let me know if you want the .mp3 of it; I'd be more than pleased to share it with you :-) * Kande Pohe (V) Bhijalelya Kshananna Aathavanichee Fodani, Haladisathee Aasurlele Halve Maan Aani Kantee Aayushya Hey Chulivarlya, Kadhaitale, Kandepohe (St) Naatyanchya Hya Bajaratun Vikretyanchi Dati, Aani Mhane To Varacha Julavi Shatjanmachya Gathee, Roj Natave Roj Sajaave Dharun Aasha Khotee, Pane Mitunee Lajalupari Punha Ughadyasathee, Aayushya Hey Chulivarlya, Kadhaitale, Kandepohe (St) Durdeshichya Rajkumarachi Swapne Pahatanna, Kunitari Yaave Haluch Magun Dhyanimani Nasatanna, Nakalat Aapan Haravoon Jave Swatas Mag Japtanna Aan Mag Dola Ughadave Diva Swapna Pahatana Aayushya Hey Chulivarlya, Kadhaitale, Kandepohe (St) Bhutakalchya Dhun Akshata Tandul Kele Jyanee, Aani Sajavala Khota Rukhawat Bhadyachya Bhandyani, Bhavishya Aata Rangavanyacha Attahasahi Tyanchas Hatavarchya Mehndivar Otun Limbache Panee Aayushya Hey Chulivarlya, Kadhaitale, Kandepohe PS: I can act as the translator if need be

Reader's Digest - A Marketing Initiative!

When it comes to magazines, Reader's Digest (RD) wins hands down for me; or rather, for the Pandit clan considering the no. of years we've been subscribing to it - right from Ajoba's time :-) (don't bother calculating the time span) The kind of articles it provides is quite amazing - ranging from the Real-life incidents to the special Interviews. Even the Humour is quite unbelievably unique and of the highest ranks. I owe a lot to the Word Power feature as well as the RDChallenge in helping me hone my related skills (? - did this pop-up somewhere :-P) Now the reason I'm acting as one from RD's "Marketing Team" is its March 2009 issue... A wholesome read I thought, probably because all that was published in it had a strong connection to my likings - be it the Quotes, Word Power, Humour, Challenge, Real-life drama or the articles on Photography, Memory and proper Word-usage (all those who take pride in uttering "anyways", must have a dekko!). RD's online version - http://www.rd-india.com/newsite/home/home.asp Go for RD! Rogerhan recommends it! Dhimpatika dhimpatika! The postman delivers the April issue as I write this...but Baba lays his hands on it first - shyat :-(

Padma Shri Aishwarya & Akshay Kumar

I'll tell you something...I read the newspaper (Pune Mirror to be specific) only because it gives me a lot of content for my blog. Here's one of them, which irked me to the limit - India has awarded Padma Shri honor to Smt. Aishwarya Bachchan and Shri. Akshay Kumar! For the uninitiated, look here (source Wikipedia) - Padma Shri (also spelt Padma Shree, Padmashree, Padma Sree and Padma Sri) is an award given by the Government of India generally to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Social Service and public life. (The word "Padma" means "Lotus" in Sanskrit) So, going by the trend, every movie star will receive Padma Shri at some point in their career. No problem so far. Let's read the definition again; especially these two words from the definition: "Distinguished Contribution". Now, I have no doubts about Akshay Kumar's acting skills (I could judge that from trailors of 'Chandani Chowk To China'). Also, I’m not going to comment on Smt. Aishwarya Bachchan's contribution to Arts & Social Service (the Wrinkled Hag :-X) If theirs is "Distinguished Contribution", I'm sure I'll be awarded Padma Shri too. It's just matter of time, folks! Watch me... :-P