Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Screw the phone!
Samsung phone book offers a great feature of saving more than one contact number under one name. This is a handy one, since I always had to save the different contact numbers of the same person under different names in Nokia phone, which makes the phone book very cluttered. I have been a using this facility to the maximum possible extend that sometimes I have been dumb enough to save the numbers of different people under the same name, which always ended up in a disaster.
Now coming to the disaster part, I have a friend whose name, for the time being, can be assumed as X. And I know a professor also with the same name. While saving the phone number of the professor, I saved it under the same name, and didn't notice that both the numbers are listed under one single X.
Last week, on one of the days while I was enjoying my afternoon nap, I get a call from X. I get up, sees the name, and the immediate person that comes to my mind is my good friend X. I pick the phone, starts with a bang.
Me: Yes X, bol..
X: "Bulbs"
Me: Arey Tell daa..
X: Am I speaking to Sreejith?
Me: Yes, you are, Mr X. (putting pseude u know..)
X: Sreejith, this is Prof X here. Just wanted to talk to you about the meeting.
Me: "Bulb for two minutes.. I feel darkness inside my eyes, and suddenly my sleep ran away leaving me alone to handle this slightly confused Prof of mine.'
Me: yes sir, sorry sir, I thought it is my friend who is calling..
X: No probs, let us now discuss about the meeting..
From that moment, all my replies were formatted to the standard "Yes Sir", and I don't remember a single thing in the discussion. My thoughts suddenly became empty, and my memory seems to have core dumped at the right occasion (screw me..) and I had nothing to comment about his suggestions.
In the end of it, Me again: Sorry once again sir, I didn't know it was you calling. i was expecting a call from my friend who also has the same name..
X: thats fine, may be u can do one thing, you can save my number as Prof. X instead of simply X.
Me: yes sir, I will do it now itself sir.
X: Ok then, see you, have a nice weekend ahead.
Me: yes sir, same to you sir.
Over...
And thus ends the embarrassing phone call, and God knows how will I behave the next time I meet him!
And from that day, I started hating my phone..
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
How to eat Idli
1. The South Indian way: Squeeze the idli using the full hand, so that it mixes well with the sambhar/chutney and a thick paste is formed. What you get is the delicious idly- sambhar! Eat as much as you can, stop when you feel u cannot swallow anymore.
2. The North Indian Way: Hold the idli with your right hand, and break a piece out from it using left hand, dip it in the catouri of sambhar and eat it. After eating each piece, lick your fingers so that even the traces of idli is removed.
3. A Hybrid Way (These are followed by a third group, that cannot be regionalized.): After cutting the idli using both hands like the North Indian way/ using one hand, dip it in the sambhar using a spoon/ hand and eat it.
4. The modern way (?): Who cares about the taste, it is the table manners that matter! so eat it with spoon even if the idli is not soaked well in sambhar and the blandness remains.
The efficiency of these four methods are highly subjective and varies from the tastes of a person. If you ask my choice, I will go with the first one :)
Ha.. I said to my friend." Wow that is great. You know frog is considered to be a very tasty cuisine, and you know what?U wont get bird flu, and u are getting meat without paying anything extra for it! "
He has vowed to kill me the next time I happen to be anywhere near his sight. Hmmm...
The best part of the frog storty is, the mess manager offered bribe of a free icecream for not leaking the story. Well... we are in college saar...
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
East or West; Sachin is the best!
Remember how we won the sharjah cup, or how we reached the world cup 2003 finals, or many of the series that India won/ almost won.
And still he is great.. the India Pak series proves it...
This video of WC 2003 says it all...
Kudos Sachin :)
and thanks to arvind iyer and upright videos for the link!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Mclaren Unveils a New Look!
Mclaren unveils the new striking chrome livery in their car, which looks fabulous. This is a facelift from the silver and black model they have been using since 97. This change is believed to be the precursor to the arrival of mobile phone giants vodafone as the main sponsor of the Mclaren F1 team in 2007.Hope this year gives it a great start for what it is predicted to be a golden period for them, with Alonso coming into the line up in 2007 and join Montoya, and with a strong backing of Vodafone. They are expecting to rewrite the record books in the coming years, bettering their dream run from 88-92 when Senna and Prost were invincible, or the Schumacher era in Ferrari. But they will have to face tough competition from Ferrari, with the speculated line up of Kimi Raikkonen and the one and only one Valentino Rossi! Rossi has nothing left to accomplish in Moto GP, and he is bored of winning there, and is looking for more competition and challenge.
Let us keep our fingers crossed, hoping to see one of the greatest fought battles in F1 in the coming years
Go Mclaren!
Coffee
11.30 PM, Qwiky's Coffee Shop, Ascendas Park, Taramani, Chennai: I ordered one Black forest and Frappe Mocha. It was good, but not filling at all. The bill came to Rs 65.
Doesn't it sound really strange? In our earlier days, we used to look at the tea and coffee shops as an affordable way of refreshment. The Madras Kaapi, or the filter coffee they sold are equally delicious. We can see a lot of people who take a small break from their hectic work schedule or long journey, drop in these shops, sip the hot cup of coffee/tea and resume their work/journey.
Now, in this new age (?), with the advent of the coffee shops like Barista, Cafe Coffee Day, Mocha and Java Green, the purpose of the coffee shops needs to be re-defined. They are far from affordable. I am talking about the worthiness of the money being spent there. To understand the reason why we expend so much there, We need to pay a visit to these shops. For example, I never felt that I needed to go to Barista or CCD. Once I went to Besant Nagar Barista with my friend, I sat there chatting with him for more than an hour over a cup of coffee. I observed two people playing chess in the next table. And I was told that Barista is a place where one can relax, sit and chat or play chess or read a magazine or play guitar over a cup of coffee with his/her friends, which I would otherwise have done on the seashores of the beach (I mean the chinwag). The bill I am paying there accounts for this ambience that is created as well.
After this incident, when I was in Bangalore for a weekend, I went to meet a close friend of mine. At that time, I felt it as my obligation to take her to Barista, and I proudly suggested us going for a chat over a coffee there. Off we went to Barista, and I ordered two cups of coffee and a pastry after paying an exorbitant bill. After a few minutes into the conversation, my thoughts wandered over something and I was nodding my head passively to the loquacious dear friend of mine. In a few moments, I could see her shaking my shoulder, and asking me where am I?
I shamelessly lied to her that I was pondering over a comment she made sometime before, and she got impressed and resumed her talk.
I was cogitating over the term Metrosexual.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Moin "The gentleman" Khan
He started his new campaign with statements such as "Sachin is scared of Shoaib; and that is why he walked away despite not getting a nick in the Faisalabad Test!" How can any sane guy come up with such an abysmal reason? I can understand if he is reasoning out that Sachin's form has dipped over the years, and he is in the twilight of his career. That would have been a much more convincing and natural reason to argue on Tendulkar's career. ( I have a different opinion though.Sachin's career is far from over. Go Sachin!) The prediction based on this scare factor is something ridiculous.
Now here is an excerpt from his latest article in The Hindu dated Thursday, Feb 9th 2006.
Unsporting appeal by India
Moin Khan
| `Dravid has let himself and his team down' |
TIMELY REMINDER: Being a seasoned campaigner Inzamam-ul-Haq has to be thorough with the rules of the game in order to be a perfect role model.
I believe it was very unsporting of the Indian cricket team to appeal against Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for obstructing the field and that too at a very crucial stage of the first One-Day International at Peshawar. To me, it appears that the Indian team was desperate to win the game by hook or by crook, no matter even if it came at the expense of the norms of this sport known as the gentleman's game.
I don't blame Suresh Raina for throwing and then appealing. He is new to the game and his enthusiasm is understandable. But the back-up by skipper Rahul Dravid is deplorable. He is not new to the sport and should have realised what consequences his decision would have on the series (being played under the banner of Friendship) and likewise, on his personality.
Spirit of the game
A captain needs to stand tall and handle situations, specially when they come at critical stages of the game and, I think, Dravid has not only let himself down but also his team. I am dead sure that if Sourav Ganguly had been captain, the matter would have been defused tactfully and sportingly. But probably Dravid still needs to go a long way before he can fit properly into Sourav's shoes.
I understand that according to the laws of the game, Inzamam was out and if he does not know the laws, then it is not the fault of the law but Inzamam himself. But my point is that there are several cricketing laws that we don't follow because they are not considered within the spirit of the game.
Batsmen don't run for singles or twos when the ball is deflected off their bodies or bats from throws, batsmen pick the ball and throw it to the close-in fielder or the bowler when it falls close to them. So much so, when Greg Chappell told his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball under-arm, it was also within the laws of the game.
(Incomplete)
Let us go back in time to the Chennai Test in 1999 (I am not sure of the dates) India tour of Pakistan. India lost the match by 12 runs, despitea valiant century by Sachin. During the match, Moin Khan makes a blatantly false appeal for a catch off Ganguly after the ball had clearly gone off the shin pad of silly point into the ground, and the fielder picked the ball after one bounce. Moin Khan appeals, umpire Rudi Coertzen confirms with the leg umpire and gives the verdict against the batsman.
Where was the idealist and gentleman inside him then? Was he a barbarian then by any chance? And mind you, the Indo Pak relations was much worse that time, compared to now. Considering Ganguly's form during that period, one could conclude that the bad decision cost India the match.
Coming back to the Inzy issue, there is nothing wrong in the decision, as rules are rules, and the rulemakers know the fact that Cricket is a gentleman's game more than you. The rules are to be followed if made, and there need not be any exception for them.
Mr. Moin's argument of not following some rules as they are bad for the game's appeal, is utter nonsense and doesn't hold any ground. The non-stop sledging of the golden boy Afridi is something which is a part of the game spirit and the gentlemanship, isn't it right Mr. Khan?
In Moin's comment, I could see a person who is very low on self esteem, and a desperate attention seeker. He is in a situation where Sidhu was two years back. What will you accomplish by making unjustifiable comment like this Mr. Moin? May be its time you look at your ideologies and principles before talking about others.
In the future, Mr. Khan, please watch your words. Don't make provoking statements such as India trying to win the match through hook or crook. What were Pakis trying for long? Is ball tampering, that you guys practiced some divine way of winning the match?
Shame on you Mr. Khan.
Finally, a small digression from the topic, my website is finally up, one can check it up at http://geocities.com/narayanansreejith
Monday, February 06, 2006
Chembai
I was never really interested in Classical Music. So far, my classical music interests were circumscribed to listening my mother practicing at home [she is a good singer. I believe she should have chosen her career in music and then I would have been a celebrity's son :)], accompanying her for some local concerts, listening to my relatives singing (there are a few carnatic music enthusiasts in my family) or the ones that come in TV. Still, I never tried to capture the essence of Carnatic Music. Nor did I try to differentiate between the raagas and thaalas in the krithis and keerthanas they sing. I have listened to a lot of people speaking enthusiastically on this issue.
Recently, one of my friends forwarded some links to the websites dedicated to Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. By then, I had listened to Shine on you Crazy Diamond umpteen times, was going through the torture of listening to Bohemian Rhapsody for the nth time, where n tends to infinity and had a lot of songs queued up to play. At this point of ennui, I decided to try something different. As I was apathetically browsing through these links, I stumbled upon some downloads of Chembai concerts. I, still in lethargic mood, casually clicked on Entharo Mahanubhaavalo , downloaded it and started listening to it. That was the beginning of my latest preoccupation. I was totally bowled over by the booming metallic voice of chembai. With that voice, he is still melodious and precise with the swaras. This is excellent, and to some extent, impossible. No wonder he is one of the greatest Carnatic singers of modern era.
The classical music is one of the most difficult art (any art form for that matter is difficult, requires a lot of effort and dedication from one's part) to practice and perform, due to the significance given to precision and voice modulation. Moreover it requires a lot of imagination and creativity from the part of the performers during raagavisthara, and what comes out is a masterpiece, a quality work. Music is a tapasya, seriously.
From that moment, it has been a day now, and I have been listening to various concerts of Chembai, over and again, and this will continue till I get hooked to something else. Moreover, I have decided to try and understand the gist of these keerthanas, raagas and thaalas. Hope I have the perseverance to accomplish that ;)
Chembai songs can be downloaded from here
Sunday, February 05, 2006
A night Journey
Destination: Chennai
After waiting for half an hour in the travel agency office, the bus to madras came at 10.00 pm.As I was totally absorbed in malgudi days, I was in no mood to board the bus. Oh man! What a book it is! R K Narayan is one of the best writers that I have ever read so far.
After getting settled in my seat, I opened the window to escape from the suffocating odour of the agarbathis lighted in the bus. By 10.30, almost all the people in the bus were asleep, and I was watching the splendid buildings in the electronic city. The buildings of Infosys, are real architecture marvels, thanks to Hafeez Contractor for coming up with those world class designs. The sight of the long road with building on both sides, illuminated by the street lamps is something very special. The signboards of Biocon also blended beautifully with its surroundings. These are the rare occasions when I really felt the need for a digital camera to capture those moments. I really miss them.
By 11.00 PM, I was the only person awake apart from the driver, thanks to the rhythmic snores of my neighbour! I could see the long lines of Trucks, waiting to get the traffic cleared, and I realized that I am nearing Hosur. Finally the bus went past the arch, on which it is written “Thank you for visiting Karnataka State” and after a few meters came the welcome note from the Tamil Nadu State.
After going past the Ashok Leyland factory, I checked my mobile phone status, and its still in roaming, and the place is shown as Attibele. I was wondering the plight (?) of the inhabitants of Hosur with the cell phone network. They may be getting roaming signals at one moment and the normal ones at the other! Hope the network won’t crash in such situations of intermittent roaming and the normal signals! I waited hoping that I will be receiving the normal signal, as I had to send a few messages to my friends. The balance in my phone was Rs 4.16, and with that, I can send just one message in roaming.
I don’t know how long I waited, sometime after Hosur, I slipped into oblivion, and the scenes that were moving past me went hazy, later to be replaced by the simulations of my mind! I could visualize the last three days of my stay in Bangalore coming and going past my mind. At one moment I was enjoying the Ian Anderson show, chatting with my friends at the other and at my achol's (auntie) place in another moment. After what seemed to be a short nap for half an hour, I woke up, picked the cell phone from the floor (it had slipped from my hand…) and checked the status, which showed Guindy, I got up, picked my baggages, ran to the door and got out of the bus and walked straight on the lonely road towards the bus stop. The time was 4.00 AM.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Bhai ka resume
**************
Name:Pakya Bhai Supariwala
====
Objective:
=========
To obtain a challenging position as a Crime Implementation Analyst (CIA)
Education:
=========
* B.S. (Crime Technology) Tihar Jail, India, August 1994
* M.S. (Criminal Sciences) Virginia Prison for International Smugglers
and the Unlawful Activists(VPISUA), August 1996.
Thesis:
======
"On escaping from high security prisons like Alcatraz with minimal
efforts"
Coursework:
==========
Cop Psychology, Plastic Explosives Technology, Bomb Controls and Timer
Device Theory, International Smuggling and Drug Trafficking, Object
Oriented Crime Design
Work Experience:
===============
* Research Assistant, LTTE Labs, Jaffna , Aug 1990-Aug 1991
* Worked on the prestigious Belt Bomb project
* Developed instant death cyanide capsules in orange, strawberry; and
mint flavors (Patent# 007,13,666)
Summer Internship:
=================
Dawood Ibrahim and Haji Mastan Associates, Bombay, June1987-July1990
* Worked as a hitman and was responsible for many supari style killings
* Participated in election rigging in Bihar and made hafta Collections
Honors & Achievements:
=====================
* Won 1980 Gabbar Singh Memorial Award (given to child prodigies in
crime)
* Member, IPKF (Indian Professional Killers Forum) student chapter
* Performer of the year in 2004 General Elections in Bihar & U.P.
* Strong hold on Govt. & NGOs.
* Specialized in extortion,illegal construction business & fake academic
degree supply.
References:
==========
* Dr. Charles Sobhraj, Full Time Prof., Tihar Jail, New Delhi
* Dr. Chandra Swamy, Visiting Faculty Tihar Jail, New Delhi
* Dr. Dawood Ibrahim, Overseas Projects Manager, Dubai
Bye all... now hurrying to pack my baggages!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Bangalore Beckons!
Apart from that, I will be meeting my school friends who are now in bangalore. And finally the Jethro Tull Show. This will be an occasion to shrug off the disappointments that happened during Led Zepplica show (Click here)
Bye for now.... need to start packing...
