Not just Tech by the sea

The magician

2009-10-21T06:20:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I could not relate to any movie more than I could with Kill-Bill. It was probably sufficiently insane for me to relate to. Plus there was that underlying tragi-comedy that seems to be part of every film Tarantino makes (or at least the few films of his that I've watched). Inglourious Basterds is definitely (another) masterpiece of his. Every character in the movie was special, but if forced to choose my favourite, it would probably be Frederick Zoller at the moment (!) (and of course, closely followed by Col. Hans Landa).

As with Kill-Bill, the soundtracks in this movie were beautiful - my favourites:

1. "green leaves of summer", Dimitri Tiomkin & Paul Francis Webster

2. "one silver dollar", Gianni Ferrio

3. "un amico", Ennio Morricone

I want to watch this movie again!

slippa, slippa!

2009-10-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

[Hero setting sail on one of the great voyages of
his life and might we add, at great personal risk.]

"yo-ho-ho! and a glass of a milk,
i am the pirate, smooth as a silk.
red, blue, purple, and umm..yellow!
colorful river? no, wait! its a rainbow!

one-a-slippa, two-a-slippa,
three-a-slippa, slip!
four-a-slippa, five-a-slippa,
six-a-slippa, slip!

flash! a flash from the sky,
is it the time, to say goodbye?
who is this girl, who watches me?
she does seem nice so please, be :)

one-a-slippa, two-a-slippa,
three-a-slippa, slip!
four-a-slippa, five-a-slippa,
six-a-slippa, slip!"

Hero a.k.a Rowdy Ranganna, "Memoirs of my travels".

'the madman'

2009-10-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

[P.S: It is recommended to skip this poem and go back to either 'slippa, slippa! ' (above) or 'yipee, yipee takeyashi! ' (below). I'd do the same, everytime.]

So one evening, as I was walking down an isolated lane back in Indr'ngr , the sky above me suddenly became aglow. Almost as if a million chrysanthemums had decided to bloom in unison. It was cold and in the distance, I saw what could only have been a madman, dancing. And the traces of a strange song he was singing reached my ears.

"runnin down the street,
to catch them pearls
in the crimson sky.
painful heartbeat.

my friend! i clap.
a brown-headed barbet,
in solitary flight.
it draws for me, a map.

for a journey i set on,
only yesterday.
damn! have i lost it,
are you really gone?

barman, make it quick,
a pitcher of hope.
the sun is setting,
was i really so meek?

runnin down the street,
to catch them pearls
in the crimson sky.
painful heartbeat.

see flashes,
love and loss,
fire and ice,
a hundred clashes.

risen and fallen,
picked up the pieces
but bruises remain,
bent but is it broken?

planes crash,
so do plans.
grab the life-jacket,
in a desperate dash.

can't find them pearls,
they look down on me,
i think of your eyes,
your lips and your curls.

runnin down the street,
to catch them pearls
in the crimson sky.
painful heartbeat."

yipee yipee takeyashi

2009-09-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Disclaimers:
1. No resemblance intended to any living or dead ... umm, superheroes.
2. Those on the run are greatly encouraged to go straight to the abridged version(s) below. Alternatively, you may choose to actually read the poem, with a (black) PLASTIC bag at arms distance.

ok, enough said! now for ze masterpiece of the day..

Chorus:
baheri paele pausu padta,
(see its raining outside)
Gloria paap timbun vata,
(poor Gloria is getting drenched)
yeay kasale, tigale maakshi kaun asa,
(who is that! running towards her?)
saathe gaeun, Puttu dhavnta.
(it is Puttu, with an umbrella)

Puttu:
bow-bow! janank vairi suryu dista,
(bow-bow! ppl see the sun when they look up)
toghu palelari matti dista,
(they see the earth when they look down)
khauche mhantana panpolo dista,
(they think of panpolo when they are hungry .. ok wait, panpolo?!)
maka purai-karin tunchi dista :)
(I can only see you everywhere :) )

Gloria:
bow-bow! haav tughale kitiri wait karta
(bow-bow! I wait for you so long)
tughale-chi sidekick tuka baheri sona :(
(your own sidekick dosen't let you outside :( )
jalari haav hangachi basta
(still, i sit out here in the rain)
kasan karu,....tughal wairi mogh asa.
(wat to do, I ... sorry, end of translation!)

Abridged version, English:
"Puttu and Gloria"
Abridged version, Doggylish:
"bow-bow! yeah eayaaaa yayaya
.... bow-bow!"

So you think you have enemies? well then, we have splendid gifts for them!
(they will sing songs in your praise .. if they survive i.e.) So, send in your orders today!
1. poem on rustic-looking paper (enzyme wash) with golden frame - Rs 1199/-
2. with pics and original Puttu-Gloria pug-marks on the border - Rs 2199/-

coorg!

2009-08-28T23:35:00.001-07:00

ahem..

1. (mis)leading a female lawyer into a jungle,

2. climbing up a hill with a pyschiatrist,

3. playing antakshari with a chartered accountant,

4. sleeping in a tiny room with a newly married couple besides you,

5. not being able to sleep all night thanks to 4.,

6. leech-attacks, which cause your blood-stained foot to become a minor celebrity overnight,
..and oh! lest I forget,

7. a l'il bit of trekking and rafting as well :)

If any of the the above sounds like fun, then boy! you should have been there.

pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/narsimh/CoorgBMCTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCKCZ4oDXl9-zHA&feat=directlink

(Note: due to certain constraints such as ( legal ) threats, (very) limited moving space and (doctor-patient) confidentiality rules, only pics of items 6 and 7 above might be available, sorry! )

Of a marriage and a romance

2009-08-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last week, Nikky, a cousin of mine got married to his long-time girlfriend Winny. Now, Winny's family is rustic Punjabi while Nikky's is traditional amchigele. The resulting fusion of cultures over the two-day long festivities churned up some real good food ( see footnote below) and a couple of hilarious incidents. Sample the following piece of conversation between an aunt of mine, whom I refer to as S and an aunt of Winny's whom I refer to as R. Now, S has been studiously trying to avoid any contact with Winny's family while R is hungry and I am helping her to the dining hall. On the way, this fortuitous encounter between the two ladies.

S: "hahahaha" ( always begin conversation in a universal language )
R: "hahaha" ( see? it works! )
S: "aapki Punjabi thodi alag lag rahi hai" ( Now, R is actually one of the few true-blue Punjabis around and is visibly embarrassed that someone has accused her to be non-authentic, that too based only on her laughter).
R: "err.." ( silently cursing the saas-bahu serials on TV for falsifying Punjabi accents )
S: "haan, I understand now...aapke yahan Marathi jyada bolte honge na?" ( ok, now wait for it..)
R: "Paranthe? nahi - humhare yahan to roti hi jyada banti hain" (hunger and accent have taken it's toll on R, she hears Marathi to be Paranthe).
(At this point, I convulse with laughter, much to the chagrin of R and S. Next, even more unbelievable, as I walk away, I hear R and S ditch this happening conversation on linguistics and proceed to one on recipes for methi paranthas.)

At another time, I was dragged by Winny's brother into their sangeet - which is some sort of traditional song-and-dance function. An elderly uncle of the bride takes up the dholak and doles out cheesy Bollywood numbers and everyone dances. I did too. In fact, I think I must have been in the mood because the videos show me doing my dirty Bollywood number. Anyways, so the next day was the reception where there was a DJ belting out some contemporary tracks. For some reason, I didn't feel like dancing this time. However, an aunt of mine, lets call her T, suddenly became, how shall I put it gently..wild. And she seemed to want me to partner her in whatever tribal dance she was now initiating. If it were not so embarrassing, it would be terribly funny - I am sure all my cousins had a good laugh watching me escape T.

Meanwhile, far away from all the glitz and glamor, my grandfather lay on a hospital bed with grandmother by his side. As I shuffled between the wedding hall and the Hospital to carry food - and news - to them, I couldn't help but marvel at the silent romance in the air. One that seems to be thriving long after all the lights and flowers must have been withdrawn from their wedding hall. Love must be. Like wine.

Get well soon, ajja. And congratulations! Nikhil and Winny.

[Examples of good food during the wedding: marvala-pana phodi (wild leaves dipped in a batter and deep-fried ), sanapolo ( type of dosa usually consisting the seeds of a vegetable, walwal ( mixed vegetables in coconut milk gravy) and dudhpaak (you should be knowing what this is). OK so this was only lunch. For dinner, we would have all possible chaats plus the regular biryani and paneer gravies. Haha. I hope Nikky and Winny celebrate all their anniversaries in similar style! ]

trickle trickle trickle, did you say duddha sheet (milk-rice) and some l'il pickle?

2009-07-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

A(arg)h Srinidhi Sagar,
i can hear a growl each time i pass thee,
but thats just my stomach warning me

Srinidhi Sagar ( from a safe distance )

i still make my way inside for a tea
but i am the chosen one, so i order their idly.

i make my way to counter D
brave, perhaps guided by my destiny

lo, behold, whom do i see, but Nanjappa 'lungi',
something was different, he was wearing a kurta, you see.

for in all of indiranagar history,
there has been one ingredient shrouded in secrecy,

indiranagar @ noon (it is a mysterious place)

with nanjappa wearing a shirt, i wondered if i would be lucky?
and sure as hell, the sambaar was insipid, how could it not be!

for the secret ingredient was not entirely a mystery,

But I ain't gonna disclose it here, so please bear with me.

Close-up, with Nanjappa 'lungi' in the background.
(sorry for the fuzzy picture - by this time, ze stomach was growling).

[Epilogue:] God, why do i suck so much at poetry?
can't i have a better muse, if only secretly :P

My Third Music CD

2009-07-16T02:42:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make - I am a pirate, or at least was. First there was the internet and it's gauche websites such as 'dhingana.com' and some' songs.pk', etc., etc. Downloading from these sites seemed shameful at first, but you soon get used to it. Then there was the LAN in hostel, where you could find virtually any kind of music, for free. And the fact that someone else had already done the dirty downloading work for you, made it easier to listen to. But the fact remains, that a lot of these singers and musicians must be in penury (only a few measly crores) thanks to people like me. Anyways, so I HAVE actually bought a couple of music CDs - three, to be precise. The first was a Nelly Furtado CD ( ok, so I had a crush on her in my teens ), the second was the Slumdog Millionaire one ( before it won any of the awards ), and the third which I got only yesterday and which has completely blown me away, has tracks from the upcoming film 'Kaminey'. I think the music of this film, and probably the film itself, is going to go the cult-classic way - think 'Johnny Gaddar' - a lil ahead of it's times and multiplex-types, but rocked anyways.

First off in this CD is 'dhan te nan', that snazzy, seemingly typical Bollywood disco number. But - but, it is not really as vulgar and mindless as some of the other ones we have been subjected to- the 'race' soundtracks come to mind (I hated the movie, too). 'Dhan te nan', has a soul to it, a passion that seems to be reflected off contemporary urban India. It celebrates a 'bindass, but with intent' kind of attitude. Just the kind of song some of us might have danced their hearts out to in college. The video is good too, no over-the-top suits or boots for Shahid Kapoor. No item-girls either. Just one measure of passion and two measures of madness (I know, a fine distinction there). And oh, just a hint of darkness. Second off the CD is 'fatak' - the first time I listened to it, I missed the point. I thought this is a great song, thats it. But then, it struck me - when Sukhwinder Singh sings, 'yeh ishq nahin asaan', he isn't being only philosophical. You see, he wants you to use protection :D This song should be made compulsory in high school music curriculum - the kids will love it, don't you think?. Third major song, 'raat ke dhaai baje' - I think this is a mediocre song to listen to (only relatively) in isolation but I am pretty sure it will fit in very well with the situation in the movie. Especially if it's shot around Priyanka Chopra ;) The fourth major track, 'pehli baar mohabbat' is subtle - they don't make too many of those, do they? Singing of first love ( and what the protagonist believes, is his last love :P ) this song, I am afraid might just grow on you. So be careful. Finally, we come to what must surely be the masterpiece, the title track 'Kaminey'. I don't know if I am allowed to do this, but have a look at these lyrics penned by Gulzar, "..kabhi zindagi se maanga / pinjare mein chaand la do / kabhi laalten de ke kaha / aasmaan pe taango". You have to listen to Vishal Bharadwaj singing this one to feel the magic. And oh, you almost get the feeling that 'Kaminey' is like the nicest word you can use for somebody (which it used to be, once upon a time ).

Second coming

2009-04-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

While I adore the concept of democracy, politics to me is at best a form of entertainment - I am sure all the news channels would agree. But I do have my opinions. Below is an excerpt of my post in a recent Facebook debate:
---------------------------------
..... I support neither political party - for at least the past few years, I have held the opinion that the need for personal power, rather than any specific ideology is responsible for most politicians being in their field. I have also held the opinion that a technocrat, and not a 'politician' should be given the responsibility of leading the nation. I am sure most of you would also have cribbed at some point or the other, about the same thing. Today, for the first time in my memory, there is a clear option which meets my expectation: Dr Manmohan Singh. It seems a miracle that he might also be accompanied by P.Chidambaram as the Home Minister. With these two men at the helm of the nation, I will be able to sleep in peace for I know that I might die at the hands of a terrorist (whoever may be at the centre), but finally, finally, my idea of India as one nation will be relatively safe.

Pras, I disagree with your assessment that both sides are equally intellectually bankrupt - that is simply not true. I think both sides are equally remarkable at what they have done for the country inspite of leading such fickle coalitions. I am proud of my government for bringing to light such visionary acts as the Right to Information , and the National Rural Employment Guarantee. I attribute such schemes not to the Congress Party, but to the particular leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh and his bureaucrats. He is not a weak Prime-Minister - you might agree that taunting him as one is a sure sign of envy and is in such poor taste! I must add here that I am also proud of some of the achievements of the previous BJP government. I think I am, for some vague reasons, a proud Indian.

In summary, I have always believed in individual people and not in parties (which I tend to think of as cabals rather than upholders of some ideology). As such, if I had got my voter ID card on time (damn you, fake agent!), my vote would have gone to the Hand, without doubt. I will be assessing the leadership of both parties yet again, when the next elections come.......

------------------------------
On a lighter note, every guy on that debate, save for me, was a BJP sympathizer while every girl was a Congress supporter. Can you believe that! Is it the chauvinism in the BJP ad campaigns that is working (both ways)?

With this, dear readers ... (and faithful bots - I love you all), I am back.

silence - how loud can it get?

2007-07-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

"its while working on speech, that I began to study silence." I change remarkably fast. Thats both good and bad. Good because my agility is a potent weapon. Bad, because, its a two-sided weapon. More often than not, I've lost good things in lifge because my frame of reference shifted and they were no longer good, or good enough. thats sad, coming to tjhink of it. Without some sort of a quasi-permanent frame of reference in life, what use if that constant stream of actions, seemingly directed towards some goal decided partially by onself, partially by fate. Fate- is there a mathematical model for it? Like say, a hidden markov model. Lets say there are hidden forces at work. You, me, nobody except the entity/entitites called God by certain wise men and alo by the rest, know these hidden forces. Not even they can alter it. A stack of Gods, I think you might like to call it. At the very top, there is nothing, quite surprisingly. Anyway, so as I was rambling, let us construct a three state hidden markov model for fate. For many reasons I need to find out.. about the stack of GOds and about the hidden markov model for fate. And then perhaps, I can change at will.?

30 March 2007 - AD!

2007-04-28T01:51:00.000-07:00

A night to celebrate and remember. In keeping with wing tradition, a beach party for getting a job. Check out the pics :) -->

Cheers!

Class Trip - Simply Rocked!!

2007-03-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

I belong. To a group called 'tronix07' and Im proud of it.

Last week, we left for a trip that would turn out (unexpectedly) to be one of my best ever. Maybe it was the company. So, on the night of 26th March, a motley group of around 50, left on a bus, that was probably just a truck with a roof, to Chikkamagalur, a district in Karnataka. Our target was the 'Hebbe Falls'. We arrived early in the morning, and refreshed ourselves at the Department of Horticulture guest house. it was a decent joint, much to my surprise.
Now, in this group were Sundi and Mabhi, the most avid trekkers in Surathkal. I should have known I was only asking for excitement when I decided to follow them around for what I thought was a stroll in the park. it began with Sundi deciding that the level road didnt quite challenge him enough, and took a sudden detour through the first opening he found in the forest. (We were a couple of thousand feet above sea level, and standing in the middle of some plantations and tracts of forests in the mountains). Wow.What a detour that turned out to be! The path(actually there was none, we made our own..) kept on getting steeper and steeper, and eventually I found myself hanging almost vertically on a tract that consisted of mud, very slippery mud. I had to catch hold of small roots that had sprouted in places, and use them to heave myself up. It was exhilirating, to say the least. I was in mortal danger, and was loving every moment of it. Anyway, somehow, with Sundi's help, I made it to the peak, and must say, the trek was totally worth it. But Sundi and Mabhi are not satisfied easily. They had seen a higher (and steeper) peak..So then we finally met up with the rest of the gang, and had breakfast at some canteen which was also decent.
After this, we left for Hebbe falls. This ws another long but easy trek and whn we finally reached the falls, I realized what the big deal was about the place. It was spectacular. I mean, you can imagine how THE best waterfall should look like, but nature always seems to do it better than you can imagine.

We played around in the water and I really enjoyed being in water after quite some time. We then came back to our guest house, and had lunch. Needless to say, again, the food was decent. Then, in the final round of trekking, we left for what was called 'Z' point. Wow! this trek was too amazing. We had lot of fun on the way and on the point itself.

Finally, sunset over..we came down , had dinner and left the place. It was fun to be with such great guys in such an amazing environment. Cheers to the people who make up 'tronix07'!

A wild wild week-end!

2007-02-03T00:32:00.000-08:00

I had two trips last week end, both enjoyable in their own unique ways. The first, on Friday, was a solo trek to Ranipuram in Kerala. I was trekking after a long time and it felt good to be in the midst of nature. At times it was scary too, especially when I took a wrong path and found myself in 'wild elephant' territory. I eventually managed to scale the peak at a height of 750 mts above sea level. Damn tiring trek, but an excellent one at that!

The second trip, within an hour of returning from Ranipuram, was to Gokarna, this time with a bunch of friends (around 14). Now, being in Surathkal for four years has made us all beach-veterans, but the beaches at Gokarna simply took our breath away! Amazing variety of treks too, right from the simple path-over-a-hill to rock-climbing. The water in a couple of beaches was perfect for swimming, and the shacks et al on the beaches gave it a very laid-back and touristy atmosphere. We had fun, to say the least!

The coastal regions of Kerala and Karnataka are truly wonderful places to be in!

My own little piece of Heaven

2007-01-21T06:17:00.001-08:00

For the past so many days, I have been playing football on the beach. You feel liberated in front of the gigantic sea and enormous expanse of sky above. You realize that whatever you do will scarcely affect the universe and feel compelled to enjoy the sights and sounds of life without care. Yet, at other times you gaze at the sunset and introspect on your actions and thoughts. And, of course, when you get time in between, you play football with a bunch of great guys, mostly from my own wing.

We play without footwear and take our game very seriously (at times) :D

Easily one of the highlights of my 'education'!

Maybe its Silicon!

2007-01-17T03:51:00.000-08:00

Is it natural to desire freedom? Then again, what is freedom in the first place? Is freedom a commodity or is it a right? Has capitalism been the best promoter of freedom? Do I have no other business other than to ask such silly questions? (the answer is NO)

For me, freedom means the instant implementation of a new idea. How does 'instant implementation' relate to freedom? Imagine I'm in a 'non-free' world and I have this great new idea. I should probably have to grovel before somebody to make him listen to the idea, not because he has the resources to implement it, but because he is entitled by law to decide on its worthiness. Then, I should probably have to spend long hours thinking about the social implications of standing up for a new idea in a non-free world. Finally, having convinced hajar people that my idea is worthy, I should probably have to beg, borrow, or steal some resources to implement it. In an ideal 'free' world, it takes zero time between having a good idea and watching it in action.

On a parallel note, it is not Dubya who can bring freedom to the Iraqis and the rest of the (oil-producing) world. It is instead, the humble (ok, maybe not humble) chip-designer who is building those next generation communication devices that will make it possible for civilizations to converse with each other, learn from each other and finally live with each other in peace. Devices that would have been impractical to build without semiconductors such as Silicon. And for that reason, I believe that Silicon is the torch-bearer of freedom in the 21st century.

No prizes for guessing who is going to become a chip-designer. Then again, I might liberate you if you shout out the answer. (Note to Dubya: Silicon is not a Democratic Presidential candidate, or an Islamic nation. You dont have to send in (more) troops to 'Silicon').

A total of 9.25*

2007-01-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

Do Not Watch Bhagam Bhag howsoever bored you might be and how much ever money anyone might offer you to watch it. I have not given it one star. I have given it a quarter of a star, and that too because of the presence of Paresh Rawal. If you do go for it, do not waste your time in asking for a refund. Not only are the film-makers dumb, they are also mean. Instead spend that time in visiting your doctor for a mental check-up soon afterwards. 0.25*

Almost a week after watching Bhagam Bhag (and still in a dazed state ), I chanced upon 15, Park Avenue on the LAN. I was already an admirer of actors such as Rahul Bose and Konkon Sensharma. These are people who often perform roles of common men and women, yet stand out for their potrayal of difficult emotions and complex thoughts. Shabana Azmi was a revelation to me. Her potrayal of a middle aged University Professor was terrific and the whole academic set-up around her was very realistic. A commendable job by itself. However, the main theme of the film dealt with a schizophrenic patient potrayed by Konkona and the whirlpool of events that occur with her at the centre. Everything in the movie seemed to have been deeply thought over and overall the film was very simple yet powerful and that was due to a combination of some terrific acting and a good script. I was deeply satisfied on watching this film. It does not try to depress the viewer at all unlike some other contemporary 'offbeat' cinema and only intelligently treats the issue of a person with a illness. In fact, whether she (Konkona) is ill at all is also debated in the movie. I am still wondering on why the film-maker (Aparna Sen) chose to give it a meta-physical ending (or did I miss something? ). It would be interestng if it turns out that Shabana Azmi's references to Quantum Mechanics (pretty accurate, I was waiting for a goof-up, it being a Bollywood movie and all! ), in particular the quote regarding an event changing as it is being observed was intentionally related to the climax where Konkona disappears to a (parallel?) world. In any case, I was left shouting 'encore' at the end of the movie. (4*)

I love to watch movies in general. They use technology in varying degrees in order to ( sometimes) create pieces of art. A good example: The seventh seal by Ingmar Bergman - It is multilayered and hauntingly deep. And cinema rarely ever gets better than this. Thats about all I can say about it. (5*).

splurshh!!

2007-01-02T06:27:00.000-08:00

The child slipped again on the rocks. He didnt have time to sit down and cry. He could smell it now.. he wiped his hands clean on his rugged shorts, and darted down the slippery slope through the dense foliage on either side of the narrow path. When the path ended abrubtly, he stood still for a moment. He looked up and felt a sense of belonging with the universe, more pure than any sense of belonging he had ever felt. And then he heard it, "splurshh!". His momentary sense of nirvana was broken. But he had no time to grieve. He would live in the world and yet be detached. He would suffer like the water that crashed onto the rocks, and still enjoy just as the waves would still crash onto the rocks, even if given an option. It was time. He turned his face to his left, and felt the breeze tingle his cheeks. He gazed in awe at the sight. It was first glance.

This, is my first post. testing 1 2 3.. :)