"avid reader of ur fiction"

Today was my last day in Tech Mahindra (formerly MBT) and I got a compliment from a unexpected person. I was going through the finance dept and saw my old friend sitting there. She was my father's colleague's relative and I met her when I joined.

Today as I went over her to bid adieu she said , "Your articles are realy good, I read all of them. Now I think I will miss them". Huh, that was unexpected. I never knew there was people like her sitting in the Finance Dept working all the time and still find time to read my fictions. In these 2 and half plus years we had a share of hi's and bye's but she never mentioned that she read those :). Hmm good time to say. I am moved.

Thanks Nandita

indian selectors

still they are a bunch of jokers

a grace that faded away

I was shocked to see him on the TV.
He was making fish fry on Foodie in Zoom TV.

18 years ago he shot to limelight with a world record stand of 664 runs with his best pal.
He was considered more talented than his best pal.
He had the grace and elegance of the typical southpaw. He was never afraid to cut and pull.
Soon he hammered 2 back to back double centuries for India. And is averaged 54 in Tests.
His crying face is still etched in my memory, when India didn't qualify for the final due to crowd trouble.

Later his fame and money would bring his downfall. He would not be able to control his fame. Had he done that it would have needed a big effort from the Wall's, Offside Gods and Very Very Specials to get into Team India. Soon he will play in the Kanga League and in the South African Gullies. He would play his part as an actor too, and now make his own favorite dishes for a gossip channel remembering the Vadapavs he and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, his best buddy, shared.

He is Vinod Ganpat Kambli.

pacha panam thathe..

A beautiful story about the current Award Winner for the Best Lyrics in Malayalam Film Awards 2005. - Ponkunnam Damodaran- http://www.deshabhimani.com/weekend/thatha.htm

rd uncut

I am very clear on the basic issue that I am here, and some decisions may have to be taken. You may not always be comfortable with the decision you take on a personal level. The hardest thing is telling people that they are being dropped, especially when it is a great cricketer or if it has been one of your colleagues. It is not easy. But you know that, when you are made the captain of a team, you are given the job to do what is right for the team, and if you are doing that with the right intentions and the right conscience, it is not a difficult decision to make.

Rahul Dravid, Captain, Team India Cricket. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7291_1629827,00900002.htm

jangoism

Its 2 am on the morning of 18th Feb when I am writing this post. I am back from a party. A Birthday party with my Jango Gang. It was birthday of Arun Jammy James and we were having all the Jangoistic activities; food,booze and cakings. Now what is the fun ? Fun was not when Nit's pulled AKVC to ground during his adventures, it was not when George and Hafees danced to "Ayyappante Amma Neyyappam Chuttu...", it was not when George sung "Pacha Kadali., Kulakkidakide..." and it was not when Arun was dipped in the chocolate cake.

To me it was when at the middle of the night when biko Vijay said, "Let's drive to NDA...". The answer was an unanimous YES, because to us Biking was never a NO. At 1 am partly boozy we set out. The NDA is a bit away from the concrete jungle of Pune, and the road is absolute beauty with everything that makes a biker thrilled - sharp curves, uphill climbs, dark road through the woods and what not.

Our start was nothing big, we rode slowly and steadily, took the curve from Chandni Chowk, stopped at the view point, chatted - brought out old memories of our bike trips.We chatted about each trips we had, the way I was missed out during last Harihareshwar trip, about how George came searching for me and Naveen in that cold night alone , how he was afraid after some time. Vijay explained about the thrill when one speeds to the maxima, how the biker behind chases him and how we had a healthy rivalry during our rides among the bikers :). Aswani, Sreejith and Renosh were more listeners, but they didn't miss the party.

And then we took off for another drive , into that lonely road through the woods, kissed the curves, wheeled up hill and touched the maxima. The cold wind was blowing on my face, I didnt have my helmet, yet I pumped in the accelerator, touched 85 kmph. It is an unexplainable great feeling which is a mix of fear and thrill, when you take around a curve at 60 + you know there is a danger around but the thrill will keep you going, the fear will make you control the accelerator and brake and finally you feel Roobaroo.

Tears were flowing from my eyes. Scientifically due to the cold wave, but emotionally too I was crying deep down the heart. Now the Pulsars were parked on that lonely road to the NDA. A few days from now I am gonna miss this. A Pulsar will take a different route while the other two will go straight. In the Trilogy of 2 Black and 1 Blue pulsar, the Blue will drive into the Blue.

I will miss Jangoism.

tech mahindra

I am a Tech Mahindra-ian now. For another 8 days ;)

wall emotional :)

After 16th December 2003, 16th February 2006 may be the day when Rahul Sharath Dravid got emotional like anything.

On that day Dravid smacked MacGill to the fence, kissed the Indian crest on his cap and hugged Agarkar.

Today Raina pulled Farhat, Dravid punched his fist and was hugged by his teammates at the balcony of Indian Dressing Room in Multan.

Congrats Dravid, that was a brave win against the odds. Fitting reply to critics including me :)) .

romance @ notting hill

st valentine

I saw her receiving flowers from the flowerwallah while I was entering the office.She was there along with me waiting for the lift too. She wore a bright rose top and black pants. The Roses that adorned the bouquet were Red, as her honey dip lips.
She opened her flip phone and dialed a number.
"Ashok, Did u send me the flowers?"
"No"

She dialed another number
"Anand, You send me these flowers ? They are lovely"
"Flowers!! Am I mad to send you flowers?"

She dialed another ..
"Vicky, Its you right ?"
"No Dear, I wished to send, but by the time I send it to Mansi, my purse got empty."

She wondered, who sent her this.

Little did She know it was Me, who sent it.

Who is She ? I Don't Know
Who Am I ? I Don't Know
Why did I send then ?

Valentine's Day is a Rs 10 crore business in India

an update

Dears,

My Frustrations Updated - Enjoy :-)

PS: I have been getting feedback for this new story asking if this has happened really. That Thin Line Between Sin And Salvation is NOT a true story and this have never happened and will never happen.

athanu.. that is..

.....
.....
.....
Kitchan : athanu .. that is !!
Kitchan : u saw
rajamanikyam !!
Dhanush : no
Dhanush : where did u get that - athanu, that
is - ?
Kitchan : it is frm rajamanikyam
Dhanush : no, I wont agree, it
was always said by our economics sir in the college
Dhanush : our good old
ramachandran sir.
......
......

That was a small excerpt from my chat with Kichan today and I came to know that one of the most famous lines that malayalees say today is what our sir used to say usually in college lectures.
Our One and Only Economics Sir, Ramachandran Sir.
It was he who bought life into the boring techie classes in the 5th Semester.
It was he who taught us, Money is what Money Does.
It was through him that we learnt the nuances of DEMAAND and Supply.
It was his oneliner- Athanu, That Is that was superhit among us , for we used it everywhere we could.
Yet it was us who crucified him from the hostel highlands, because he gave us less sessional marks than we expected.

Regrets.. ??
Yes, a bit, deep inside the atriums of the heart.
Yes, when thinking of that one moment of immature, cowardish, and weak act.
Sorry Sir.

And How dare Anwar Rashid copy that ? ;)

But then .. athanu, That is.

now that's why he is called god..

That truth, like all great truths in life, is very simple — halfway down Mount Tendulkar is still higher than most peaks in Indian cricket. A battle weary, ageing Tendulkar close to the twilight of his career can still — on his day — do things with the bat that most other batsmen can only dream of.

The Story is here.

remix, mux, max,mex ..... what is it ??? - (it is slow melody)

Are we disrespecting our yesteryear singers? That was the SMS poll that was aired in Asianet TV on Sunday. The situation that prompted them to open a poll was about the usage of an old song "Pacha Panamthathe" - music by one and only Baburaj and sung by Kozhikode Abdulkhader - in a new film "Nottam" by music director M. Jayachandran. Initially I thought it would be a pakka remix like the Hindi ones or the Nee Madhu Pakaru types. But this one was beautifuly done by M. Jayachandran, obivously the best of the lot today, after the late Raveendran Mash. Even though it would not be as equivalent to Baburaj's tune, it is not the remix that you think of Beats and Drums. It is just pure soft melody( I heard only the Pallavi) . Infact I will say, its just a new tune for the same lyrics. The issue is now bought up by te son of Abdul Khader, and that is why the media has caught up with it.
Frankly I feel if Baburaj was alive today he might have accepted that song with whole heart. And if these people have seen the today remixes then they would have understood how beautifully M. Jayachandran has recreated it.

PS: The songs of this movie has won Best Male and Female Playback Singers award in Kerala State Film Awards announced today. And wonder what, the best lyricist is Ponkunnam Damodaran for this song I mentioned above. Now who wrote the song ? And when? In the early 70-80's or in 2005 ??? I am confused :-(

PPS : The Award was awarded posthumously. So I guess it should be in the old times only. Come what may I have become a fan off this. There can't be any more slower melody than this.
"Pachapanamthathe punnarapoomuthe, punnelil poonkarale.
Uchakku Neeyente Kochu Vaazha Thoppil Onnu Vaa Ponazhake".
So beautiful, so simple and so Paimkili ;) (Added on 8th Feb 2005)

jm.. truly jangali maharaj..

I went to Pune Central this Saturday. Rode back on my pulsar through the JM Road. One place I love very much in Pune is that road, which streches from the Deccan to the Mumbai Pune Rd. But only the starting 2 km of jm road is exotic. JM road is Jangli Maharaj road. Don't know why that name, but I think it is due to the temple over there. I have fond memories associated with this road.
Earlier when I didn't have a bike our Pune explorations ended at this road. We will have a little bit of shopping , a browsing in the Crossword ( even though we have nothing to buy), have a look at the girls around, and finally will have a food & drink at the Ruchira. JM Road was our soul as it was the easily accessible place from our place. Me , Sachin and Rahul got addicted and every Saturday it was just, "Chall, JM Chalte Hai" and we will just leave for JM.
JM provided us everything we needed, books , cassettes, shirts, food, coffee - how can one forget the homely Poona Coffee House. There was our famous Ruchira Hotel, were we dined and wined, the closed down Deccan Theater where we had our cheap fun movies :-) and ofcourse Crossword.
Offlate, after Sachin's departure I have not been to there. Infact, I have gone there only once after that. May be my awkward timings and our cooking extravaganzas are casuing that Hmm .. 22 days and counting, I will miss JM ..

ente ellam ..ellam

Sirinjum Thethescopum mattum pudikkathirinja intha kaiyalle enne veenameettavachathu,
Marunthum Medical terms mattum uruvida therinja intha naakkile ezhu swarangaleyum kudiyirukka vachathu
Ellame ennode rukku than Ente rukmani, Avalaayirunnu ente guru ente ellam ellam..

Lalettan .. in "Thamburu Kulir Choodiyo" a song in Sooryagayathri.
Thanks Sree for that song and for that wonderful trip we had in the US.

rang de... revisited

Was able to watch a good program on B4U Music. Cinematic, it was about Rang De Basanti the film that awakens a generation and how things happened. All were there - from the Producer, to the director, to the stars, to the cameraman, to the script writer, lyricist except for the Boss - A R Rahman. They were talking abt how things turned up, how AK accepted the script, What Soha felt when doing a particular screen, What the script writer wrote for Laxman Pandey- when he faces Aslam in the hospital, etcetera etcetera.

Few interesting things from that show.

1. How Ziddi Ziddi... Armaa came up in the song Khalbali - Prasoon and ARR were thinking of putting in an apt word there during the compositions and Boss was not happy with the going. Then Prasoon just said - its Ziddi Ziddi Rahmaan - They need a little time to put in Ziddi Ziddi... Armaa
2. All the songs were compsed beautifully, but Aamir liked Roobaroo. That was the real one which touched him coz it bought in the meaning at the right time. Relieved after Mission Completion. Kitchan also felt the same.
3. Atul Kulkarni agreed with me. He also felt that no one could write a script where a politician leaves away his idealogies to tell Sorry to his political or idealogical rival. His most difficult and favorite scene was the one where Laxman Pandey accepts Aslam. "It could have been expressed in two pages of dialogues. But Rakeysh just wrote a 'Sorry'" said Atul

PS: There was movie in Malayalam a couple of years ago called "4 The people" in which 4 college students fight against corruption by either killing the corrupt person or causing him some harm. They hosted a sight for the public to receive complaints and they will execute the job in anonymity. In the end they vanish into the thin air.

PPS: Smelling something somewhere. I know Kitchan won't agree with me. But Still Worth a Think :). Saying all these I don't take any credit away from the crew of RDB. Its a wonderful movie. Go Watch It.