Sri's Cafe

My Desktop

2008-11-24T01:50:00.003+05:30

This is my desktop on my Laptop . If you are interested to know how its done, let me know :)

Sridhar's Book Wishlist

2008-11-23T04:26:00.001+05:30

Tips on Visiting India at Squidoo

2008-08-10T15:43:00.003+05:30

Hi
I have just created my first Squidoo Lens to help people visiting India. Inspite of the increased focus on tourism and millions of tourists, India still remains both forbidding and overwhelming - forbidding to those who hear about the pollution, the crowds and health fears; overwhelming because of the sheer diversity in culture, climate, languages and religions.
In fact, visiting India can be the most unforgettable experience in your life, if you plan it. In this Squidoo page, I would like to offer them assistance through answers to specific queries, links and even reliable contacts. all this for free, just because I am interested to see more people discover India.

If any of you have any information or links, please write to me or leave a message on my Squidoo page.

Vizag and Araku Trip Report - 1

2008-05-20T14:25:00.007+05:30

I have finally managed to shake off the procrastination demon perched on my and write this travelogue. Whew!
Months have elapsed since the vacation, so please don't bicker if I miss important details like the coach number of the train we took to Vizag :)

With a few days of holidays+leave under our belt, we embarked on a much-needed, much-planned trip to the cool hills of Araku. The Visakha express steamed on time into the Visakhapatnam Rly station on a nice January morning. An auto then whisked us to the APTDC Rushikonda beach resort (approx. 10 km from the Rly station), where we had booked an A/C room (you can get more information here.)

We were shown to rooms in the first floor of a cottage overlooking the sea. The rooms are clean, but expensive considering the rate per night [of course, this was classified as a "resort"]. It was a cool morning and we soon settled down to a hot cup of coffee, while getting our first view of the sea. Shruti was pretty excited when we told her we would go and play in the "lake" later in the day.

Having completed the morning rituals, we stepped out to have breakfast in the restaurant attached to the hotel. Idlis followed by tea - decent but nothing to talk about.

By this time, Shruti was impatient to go and play in the water, so we walked down to the beach.

Rushikonda has a nice, clean beach, where the waters are not very forceful. There are breakers (sand or rock formations) which reduce the "pull" of the water. The beach in the heart of the city (Ramakrishna beach) is more crowded and more dangerous to play.

We had a great time playing the water and an hour later, we returned to our room, tired but happy.

After a insipid lunch, we booked a cab through the reception to visit the city. A memorable trip through the submarine museum, and then some tea and pakoda at a roadside cafe.

We then planned an impromptu trip to Kailasagiri hill, where there is a open temple of Lord Siva. It was quite dark by the time we reached there, so we had to quickly return and missed the great views of the city and the sea.

Our next stage was Araku by train, which I will cover in the next post.

Note: More photos on Flickr - Badge on the left sidebar tagged 'Vizag'

Life Insurance

2008-05-15T17:21:00.001+05:30

In the previous post, I discussed the importance of financial planning and the factors to consider for financial security.

An important component of securing yourself financially is insurance. In this post, I will look at the two major types of life insurance - what they are and what is the difference. I will also discuss how much insurance you need and what other types of insurance are available.

I have a Unit-Linked Insurance policy (ULIP) for life insurance. This means that the premium I pay is invested in stocks, mutual funds, bonds etc.

If something untoward happens to me, the sum assured + the market value of the units is paid to my family. Sounds good? Yes, but it is not good. At least not good for everyone.

Experts say that unless you have a family, especially kids, there is no need for Life insurance. After all, insurance is to provide for dependants when there is no bread earner.

So, all those fresh graduates joining organizations don't need to invest in life insurance. Yes, the earlier you take insurance, the lower the premium, which is the argument agents use.

However, from a pure financial perspective it doesn't make sense to invest in a life insurance plan when you don't need it. ULIPs also tend to have a lower sum assured and higher premiums.

Term insurance, or pure risk cover is what you should be looking at if you need Life Insurance. In term insurance, there are no returns (not even sum assured) if the claim is not made before the policy end date. Hence premiums are very low, while the cover amount can be quite huge. This is what you get when companies provide insurance or you get free insurance with credit cards/auto loans etc.

Then why do agents and insurance companies harp on ULIPs? Commissions, fund charges and other fees. Agents get higher commissions once a ULIP is sold (regardless of the the type of insurance, an agent gets some money for every policy he has sold throughout his career!), compared to term insurance policy sales.

Now that we have a basic understanding about ULIPs and term insurance, we have to answer the question of how much insurance we require. Again, experts agree that it should be around 70 times your salary!!! This takes into account sustenance of your family, education of children and associated expenses and also considers inflation.

For more detailed information, you could use one of the many free calculators available on the Internet, as in here, here and here.

Note: The above links are for information and not a recommendation of any sort.

Remember, you will also need other types of insurance - cars, home, home loans and health. We will look at them in the next post.

Organizing my personal finances

2008-05-12T08:28:00.001+05:30

del.icio.us Tags: personal finance, budgeting, saving

In my blog reading journey, I came across a few sites that made me think hard on organizing and improving your personal financial situation.

If you are like me, one of the millions who are not 'rich', then you need to think of managing your financial situation.

[By rich, I mean those who don't need to worry what happens if they stop working or doing business or whatever for the next 3 months.]

We have to put food on the table, mortgage payments, credit card payments and other bills every month. While it is not a hand-to-mouth existence exactly, we are also not very well off in a job loss situation.

What about death of the wage earner? Funds for retirement? Emergencies? Let me describe what I do and am sure most of you will relate to it.

I coast from month-to-month, making impulse purchases to maintain a 'lifestyle'. To save tax, I opted for life insurance (more on this later), based on information from colleagues and friends. I also invested in some stocks, IPOs and MFs - again based on information from friends and the internet.

Net effect - we don't have a financial plan. We don't know if these investments will yield the benefits we expected. We don't really know if the total return will be sufficient for retirement - life expectancy is up, which means we will need money for a longer term, medical costs are rising with decreasing quality of life.

Its not a rosy picture and one which we seldom think of.

Solution: Financial planning.

Planning your finance means assessing your net worth, defining your financial goals and planning your investments to meet those goals. While it is best to meet with a Certified Financial Planner to do this well, there are a few things you could do for a start.

1. Spend less than you earn

2. Look for ways to earn more (legally, of course!)

3. Stop using credit cards for routine purchases

4. Stop or at least postpone purchase that you don't need

In the meantime, read these blogs to gain more understanding - www.getrichslowly.com, www.binarydollar.com

What about you? Have you been planning? Do you have any advice to share with us? Let us know in the comments. Ciao.

Being techno-cool

2008-05-09T14:49:00.002+05:30

~~This is my first post using Windows Live Writer Beta, so if there are any glitches, please bear with me.~~

I have spent the past few days catching up on my blog reading. With my current "passions" being personal finance, photography and new Web 2.0 inventions, I have a lot of reading to do. In all this reading, I am seeing a few online tools that make me look like, ummmm, "net-unsavvy".

Of course, the folks at Lifehacker are not making things any easier for me by their constant posts about new innovations on the internet.

Do you have a blog with its own domain and ads, facebook account, flickr/smugmug/picasa albums, twitter, digg/del.icio.us/technorati, firefox with its extensions AND integrated all of them? Then you are not cool enough.

In the last few days, I am trying to become ubercool.

I am updating my blog (signed on to Adsense, but I need to confirm yet)
I updated my facebook profile and added new friends
I have a flickr account with more than 300 photos :)
Created a netvibes.com dashboard to get all my RSS feeds in one place
Added del.icio.us buttons and bookmarks
Trying to install Windows Live Writer (latest)

I want twitter and firefox, but the place I work doesn't allow it. Heck, it doesn't allow many things.

Anyway, do you think I am techno-cool now. What about you? Let me know about being techno-cool in the comments.

Technorati Tags: techno cool, techno savvy, sridhar, windows live writer, ubercool

A Trip to Vizag and Araku

2008-05-08T15:28:00.003+05:30

A mixture of personal and official reasons have kept me from posting for nearly 5 months now. My bad!

A major reason is my suddenly evaporated interest in blogging while another reason is an internal (internal to my mind, that is) debate on privacy. finally, I decided to continue blogging as a way to express myself.

Let me start with our long awaited vacation to Vizag and Araku. While I am planning to post the trip details by each day, it will take sometime to get my thoughts in order, since its been a couple of months and I need to bring up those memories.

In the meantime, you can look at the photos in my flickr stream.

Ciao and do mail me if you would like to see me blogging more regularly.

Your level of education to read my blog

2007-12-28T01:57:00.001+05:30

Are you in Elementary School? (more likely, your children are).

Then let me offer Congratulations, you can read this blog. Evidence is this tool, which gave me

Should I be happy that everyone can read my blog? or should I be hurt and read up on "A How-to guide for dummies for writing for geniuses on your boring blog?"

A more scientific-looking test here gave me the following results.

and said I should happy, considering typical readability levels of sites

But the egotist in me is unhappy, considering I hover in the popular novels range. Nah, I do not stoop to that level. But being close to the revered Reader's Digest is honourable.

But, my "conscience keeper" persona reminds me its nothing to jump about - no one reads this blog anyway! Sob.

BTW, for anyone who happens to read - this post celebrates the "Shashtiabdhapoorthi" (Tam Bram name) or 60th post :)

My new website demo

2007-12-25T15:49:00.000+05:30

Hi

As some of you may already know, I am trying to put up a virtual home. You can visit the demo and comment here.

Website: http://www.sridharj.com
Photo Gallery: http://sridharj.free-web-hosting.biz

The free web part will change when I have buy the web space. Currently, I am evaluating Bluehost and Dreamhost, although Bluehost is on top now.

Christmas in Karlsruhe

2007-12-24T19:51:00.000+05:30

Depressed, angry and lonely.

Those 3 words summarize how I feel right now. Depressed that I am not travelling to India tomorrow as planned, angry about the stupid service provider who is the main reason for this delay and lonely as there is no one to even talk to here.

Its cold and forbidding to step outside the house. So, you can imagine how i feel cooped up in addition to the adjectives mentioned!!!

What really bugs me is that these so called international companies do not have a simple helpline or even a reliable phone support. All my emails through their web-based contact form are lost in their inboxes. Worldbridge must be the worst service provider and I am not sure how they were selected. They charge a whopping $14 to provide information over the phone!!!

Anyway, some pics for those of you who are still interested in them.

A longing for clean comedy

2007-12-18T04:00:00.000+05:30

Thanks to fast internet speeds over here, I have been able to watch some movies, including ones which I had missed.

After seeing the movies, I have a desperate longing for clean comedy, comedy that can have you in splits even if you watch it many times. Jandhyala's movies are like nectar with his crew of Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Chandra Mohan, Sutthi Veerabhadra Rao, Brahmanandam, Kota, Sutthi Velu, Sri Lakshmi, Rallapalli and many others.

"Navvadam oka bhogam, Navvinchadam oka yogam, Navvalekapovadam oka rogam".

I have compiled this list of clips from Youtube. There are to many great films and I will keep adding to this list.

Conversation

2007-12-15T02:45:00.000+05:30

This was the best conversation I have ever had in my life. Those of you who know me also know what a sparkling wit I am (lol).

I was reading the other day somewhere about witty repartees and in a fit [tut, we are not talking about fitness here], I wrote this fictional conversation. to make it interesting, I have made myself the Protagonist [Thats how, self-acclaimed and progressive critics like to refer to the main character in a movie]. Beware, some of my answers are not scientifically correct.

Additions or modifications are welcome. Other types of wit, typically described as "sarcasm","irony","pithy" and various adjectives are frowned upon. come on, "frowned upon" is a figurative speech. I can't raise my eyebrows, if thats what you are after.

He: "Are you human?"
Me: "No, I belong to a sub-species of the human race called Pithecanthropus. This sub-species stands between the Neanderthals, you know those ones, right? with those funny-shaped heads? and between homosapiens."

He: "Are you joking?"
Me: "No, in fact, I belong to a sub-sub-species, called Pithecanthropus Erectus. This is the full name based on the scientific Linnaer method. There are two versions for this. The additional Erectus comes from the fact that they were the first human species to stand erect, goes one version. The other version is that they were the first humans to have an, er, you know what..."

He: "You didn't answer my question. Are you human?"
Me: "No, I am sorry, I am an intergalactic spider, masquerading as a human."

He: "Are you sick or something? you seem to be drunk in the middle of a day?"
Me: "To confess, I suffer from a disease of the mind called klypsositis."

He: "Is it also called insanity in common parlance?"
Me: "No, it is a state of mind, where the individual tries to invent new terms and uses bombastic sesquipedalian verbiage in an attempt to prove himself."

He: "We simply call such people idiots"
Me: "Thats the result of limited vocabulary, improper upbringing and self-taught knowledge. There are so many states of insanity as between 0 and 1 in a binary system"
He: "Thats ridiculous. Binary system has only 2 states."
Me: "I never said there were many."
He: "But you said..."
Me: "Yes?"

He: [Completely confused now]"lets think logically"
Me: I usually think logically. There is nothing new for me to start now. Do you have a techniques to separate your thinking?"

He: "I mean lets start again"
Me: "OK. where we started off was with humans called Pithecanthropus erectus and their eating habits."
He: "That was not our discussion."
Me: "Oh sorry, you are at the wrong table."

[I leave the table...]

By the way, the true master [or rather mistress] of wit was Dorothy Parker. One of her gems was "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. "

Read here some of her wit. Its a meagre list, but I am sure you all google well.

Kalari - Indian Martial Arts

2007-12-08T06:00:00.000+05:30

Awesome video. I would have run away the first day itself!!!

Diwali in Karlsruhe

2007-11-11T05:17:00.001+05:30

Today was different.

In a land 6,500 miles away from home, grey clouds and cold (really cold) weather, my heart was warmed.

It started with a call from a colleague of mine – “There seems to be an get-together of Indians in Karlsruhe to celebrate Diwali. Shall we go?’ Having nothing better to do, I said yes.

Later, another phone call from him – “6:19, there is a tram at the Marktplatz stop. Be there.”

I was there and got into the tram. There were a few Indian friends I knew and one or two I didn’t know. We all got down and went into a kind of Christian meeting place, which had been rented for the Diwali celebrations!!!

Oh my God!!! I never knew there were so many Indians in Karlsruhe!!! More surprising was that there were many families and not just students.

After paying a sort of entry ticket, we all sat down on long tables, where hot tea and biscuits were arranged. A cultural programme was arranged, which started off with a Carnatic vocal song invoking Lord Ganesha.

Then followed a series of bharathanatyam dances from kids – gorgeously dressed and performing really wonderfully.

It was good to be immersed, at least, for some time in the songs and forget our sorrow that we are not with our loved ones for Diwali.

However, there was a note of irritation for me. There were a large number of Germans also, who had probably come on the invitation of their Indian friends. They were the only ones who were really watching the performances and applauding. We Indians as usual were chatting and making friends!!!

Come on, respect the artist by at least remaining silent if you cannot appreciate the art!!!

We also had a Powerpoint (aaarghhhh) presentation on Diwali, which was the most untasteful point on the Agenda. Scenes/snaps from Bollywood movies, advertisements of sweets and some nameless documentary were stitched together in a silent presentation while the kids were changing for another performance. It was amusing in a way, though, as we all cracked jokes on it.

What was also funny was that a compere was explaining Diwali in English. I do not know to whose benefit, since I assume there were only Germans and Indians there. Well, if some Indians need to be explained...

This was finally over, followed by an extremely limited dinner (limited in the size of portions), in which we were too embarrassed to go for seconds (there was a huge line for firsts!). We said good bye to some of the new friends we had made and came back home. Overall, a very nice evening in an otherwise drab weekend.

Photos of this may be posted later.

Long time no see

2007-10-07T13:31:00.001+05:30

Hi folks,

Its been a long time since I have added to the Internet junk. With a growing up daughter who clamours for attention and severe restrictions on Internet access at the work place, there has been no time to post here.

The good news is that I am once again in Germany on work, so I should be a little more active here. I am typing this from a Paris hotel room, but I will be in Germany next week. There are a few friends in Germany, whom I would be calling up, so if you read this, don't be surprised.

I went sightseeing yesterday and visited the Eiffel Tower. Yes, I took some pictures, but due to some adjustments in the Camera made earlier, the pcitures need some darkening and post-processing. So, please bear with me while I do so.

More on France and Paris to come, so please be tuned and for God's sake, please come back.

Experiments in Digital Photography

2007-05-13T20:38:00.000+05:30

In a burst of Sunday enthusiasm, I opened Photoshop CS2 and did some post-processing on some photos I had taken earlier. Nature (landscape, wildlife, birds etc), indoor and macro photography - I have tried all of them.

Tell me what you feel about these photos. Honesty please.

A Rule Book for Consultants

2007-05-09T21:12:00.000+05:30

1. If you don't know, just pretend you know.
2. If you can't convince them, confuse them.
3. Use "buzzwords".
4. Never admit you are wrong. Just say that others may do it differently.
5. Know Powerpoint. It gives you the power to make half-truths into truths and lies into statistics.
6. All ideas originate from you. Others' ideas are polished to the point where the author cannot recognize them.

If you have more, please add in the comments section. But beware, you acknowledge that your additions become my property :)

Kruti - A Community Project

2007-05-06T01:24:00.000+05:30

A very close friend of mine, Raghav and his wife devote a lot of their spare time in running Kruti, a community project for slum children in school.

Veena, Raghav's better half, by all means ;), started this as part of a project in doing a personal improvement course, the name of which has escaped my mind now. It has grown to a good stage where it has helped the children dwelling in Gurppanpalya slum by creating "Joy, enthusiasm and dreams" for them.

I feel the last is quite important - that of allowing the children to dream of a better future, where their life is not just a struggle for a hand-to-mouth existence, but more rich and meaningful. A lot of projects are devoted to various areas such as education, health and more basic things, but this project is quite unique, in that it gives a new experience for those children. It has given them memories of a lifetime. Expressing your creative talent, which is not encouraged in more well-to-do families also, on a stage with so many people watching, would be so wonderful for these children.

The team has grown quite well and now counts more than a handful. I have been a strong vocal member, but as Raghav would readily agree, I have not done much beyond make some noises.

Part of the reason is geographical distance, but a major reason is that the group does not accept monetary contributions, yet, which is where many of us can help (with a few mouse clicks). However, the team wants us to go beyond such token contributions - if you really want to help, come down and work with us.

If you are in Bangalore and feel suffocated by the home-traffic-work-traffic-home routine, just drop in a few weekends. You will find that you find the "joy, enthusiasm and dreams" returning to your life.

You can visit the fledgling website at www.mykruti.com, where Raghav has yet to post details/pictures/videos of the latest event.

Do contact the team and let them know if you want to help. Help yourself.

Overdue Blog posts

2007-05-04T14:14:00.000+05:30

I have been quite amiss in posting here for sometime now. Part of which (psst, the only reason, actually) has been sheer laziness. In fact, I have not posted anything on my recent trip to Switzerland (I had planned on writing a travel log), nor my trudges into the woods near my place in Germany.

Photos, though, have been posted in my Flickr account (see my flickr-badge in this blog). Hopefully, I will come out of the limbo and write something, although the fingers on one hand would still be too much a number to count the regular readers of this blog.

Ravi and Sid, on the other hand, seem to have some creative juices flowing, although I wouldn't wonder about that in Sid's case - He is supposedly the "Creative Shocker" and from what I read in his blog, could become a good screenwriter for Bollywood/Tollywood films (for his great people characterization skills, lol).

What I like about these guys (and many others, which I unfortunately seem to lack) is their ability to create a blog post on everyday occurrences. Must have been Income Tax guys in previous lives - getting something out of nothing...

See ya

Steinhuder Meer - A Trip report

2007-04-01T20:15:00.000+05:30

Yet another Saturday dawned and with it, an extreme reluctance to stay at home. I had done some research the previous day on Steinhuder Meer, one of tha largest lakes in Germany. It is close to Hannover and would provide multiple photo opportunities for me.

So, with a friend and his family in tow, I went to Hannover, where the tourist information center gave us pretty clear directions on reaching the place.

We boarded a train to Wunstorf, which was exactly 12 minutes away. From the bus station, a bus deposited us 30 minutes later in front of the park.

Much to my disappointment, the man at the information centre cheerfully told us two things. We cannot cover the entire lake, since we were on foot (Bicycle or car would be preferable) and the boating facilities would be open from the next day only.

We, however, did not let these smallthings weigh us down. So off went on foot. while I did not get to see much variety of flora and fauna, I had a pleasant evening. However, there remains a sore spot in the trip, since it is definitely a romantic place and I really missed wifey dear.

Do you detect this feeling in the couple of photos posted here? I leave it to you.

Steffi Graf - Proposed for Marriage

2007-03-29T11:27:00.000+05:30

No. I am not the one proposing. I already have been condemned. You can't execute a man twice for no crime (once is ok).

This is a video I found in YouTube. Steffi, I thought was one of the greatest athletes of all time, but she is also a master in repartee.

BTW, she has a great smile. Look for it.

Long walks, Alu Bhajjis and movies

2007-03-25T05:02:00.000+05:30

Had a lazy saturday (samstag, in German). Compared to the past few weeks, no going out anywhere today, so got up late.

Made some filter coffee after quite some time. Aaaah, the aroma of fresh-decoctioned coffee is to be smelled!! After a quick and weird breakfast of broken "Instant Dosa" and "Italian Salsa dip", I settled down to organize my online photos. I have been postponing this as it is some grunt work. i find it hard to decide on what exactly I want - professional-looking albums hosted on a third-party photo album site such as flickr/myphotoalbum? or create a small black canvas around each image with copyright info?

I browsed a few photo-hosting site looking for alternatives to Flickr. Some friends tell me to try Picasa, but somehow there is some element that is missing. Or it may be that I may not be clear of what I want.

Afternoon turned out to be quite sunny, so after looking through my favourite nature sites - indiabirds.com and indianaturewatch.com, I brought out the photographer from within me. Both of us went for a nice stroll through the woods near my place. Although I did not get any good shots of birds, there were a few photos that I liked.

Macro Photography is also a fast becoming a favorite of mine, so I took this photo.

By this time, it had cooled down considerably with a cold wind. After a few purchases to sustain me for Sunday, I decided to go back and make something different to eat for snacks. Crispy, tasty Alu Bhajjis with strong, hot tea!!! Mmmmm, heavenly.

With that, I settled down to watch a movie and lo, finally found the movie I had been wanting to see for quite some time - Godavari. Very nice movie, reminds me of times spent with the Missus. More on that later. See ya.

Sid's Rantings and Musings: Pokiri Pandugadu Spoof - 'Yes' AP Consultant

2007-03-14T02:50:00.000+05:30

There is a good amateur video doing a spoof on the movie "Pokiri". What I liked most was the creativity in juxtaposing scenes from the original movie in this video.

Posted at Sid's Rantings and Musings: Pokiri Pandugadu Spoof - 'Yes' AP Consultant

Khosla ka Ghosla - A movie review

2007-02-22T02:01:00.000+05:30

As promised in my previous post, a review of a more cheerful movie. But again, don't look here for the plot :)

My first impression of the movie - funny, yet subtly showing us how limited choices we have in our dealings with the big bad world outside. Some facility for "tit-for-tat" looks the most promising wa to get back at more powerful people.

Boman Irani - As I said previously, he is one of the best actors around, probably will rank as one of the greatest. In this movie, he is the perfect "landshark", the typical specimen of the class. Looks cheerful, but there is always an undercurrent of menace, seething below the surface. Just put a pebble in his way and you bear the full brunt of his anger.

Again, he is also a fanatic "devotee", seeking to bribe even God, through his piety! Enjoys all things money can buy, but believes that land is the one thing that will never lose value. How true in these days!

Anupam Kher - Actor par excellence, he is a perfect match for Boman. You can immediately substitute your father in this role - has worked hard throughout his life to build his own house, has many dreams about it and waiting for them to come true.

If you are as normal hearted as most young people, you cannot hold back the faint glint of tears at Anupam Kher's "father" - he wants his children to do well, but still is protective when they don't "shine". He wants to be as a friend to his children. He wants his children to stay with him, but is ready to let them go if it makes them big in life. Behind every tough-looking father, there stands a tender-hearted man, who is afraid that being gentle always makes his children go wrong. Tremendous.

Parvin Dabas - Typical IT guy, wants to be big in life - going to America. But like all of us, has too strong ties to hearth and home. Torn between ambition to be something and his family and lover who need him, he has our sympathies.

Tara Sharma - "Girl next door" suits her. Not a drop-dead bombshell like other heroines fit only for running around trees when the hero wants, she comes across as a normal, good-looking girl, who is modern, but still shy enough to wait for the guy she loves to make the first move.

Navin Nischol - he has been around too long for me to talk anything. A veteran, he carries off his role with ease. As a run-down actor who has seen glorious days, you can understand how he feels when he has to act like a rich guy. To be on equal terms with the paranoid Boman is not a laughing matter and Navin plays the role of a frightened, yet determined man to perfection.

The crew - cinematographer, editor, screenplay, dialogues - complement wonderfully the director (Dibakar Banerjee). It really takes guts to produce such a movie - no big stars - just a story that takes place hundreds of times every day across India, an excellent cast and crew and some really wonderful story telling ability from the director.

Although they are two completely different movies, the two movies I have reviewed so far - Being Cyrus and KKG - are two offbeat movies that somehow have my complete admiration. Acting, Direction, Story are completely different from run-off-the mill Bollywood movies - but more importantly starting to make journeys inwards into the minds of people.

We now have producers and directors and yes, more importantly actors, with courage. that I applaud.

Finally, I have to place on record my admiration to the "Man of the movies" - Boman Irani. Hats off.

Being Cyrus - A Movie Review

2007-02-15T03:15:00.000+05:30

I am stuck in Germany where the only English TV channel available is BBC News where the code for the news ticker is written below:

for(i=2;i>1;i++)
{
Displaynews();
Waitfor10minutes();
}

Before you start looking for the comment field (you humans are hasty, as Treebeard would say), let me tell you what this has to do with a movie review. Everything, indeed. The only source of any entertainment is the Internet. But you can only browse so many sites till it becomes boring. then what? Movies. Aha.

With some trusty software, I now can download and watch some of the movies that I missed while I was in India. "Being Cyrus" was one of them.

My first impression is "what a classy, dark" movie. Although the plot seems to have been lifted from Hollywood [May the story writer forgive me if I insulted his intellience, but history...], the film surpassed my expections in every sense.

I knew Saif Ali Khan was a good actor, especially after Dil Chahta Hai and Hum Tum, but this film is a landmark in his career or a turning point in his career or "anyone of the most inappropriate cliches" as he would say in the movie.

His entire mind is opened to us, the grim reality staring us near the climax, where all your opinions about everyone in the movie turns. There are no "completely pure" heroes and heroines around, no song and dance routines, no dishum-dishum - just a terrifying look inside a dark mind. A mind that nevertheless seeks to understand its role in the world.

Boman Irani, as has become a habit with him, is outstanding. As Farookh Setna, he epitomises the thousands of men, with big ambitions but no talent, who think being loud and violent is an achievement!

Naseeruddin Shah, is slightly disappointing, although it is his role that is to blame. As a great artist who is lost in art and in his earlier glorious days, he is the only truly innocent character. Dimple Kapadia, as Katy or Katie (how does it matter!), is simply too good. Although she keeps complaining about Shah being dirty, it is she who is always scrtaching her itches, in more ways than one :). Her ambition to be someone (she only dreams of being great), and how that ambition is exploited is the plot.

If you thought I was going to tell you the plot as it is a movie review, let me tell you that I have re-defined the term. I promise though that this film will make you queasy, uneasy and thinky (ok, I made up that one!).

Not for the faint-hearted, this movie, especially for those who think the world is either white or black. There are many shades of grey in between and the various characters fall in those shades. Just everyone's selfish attempts to inject happiness into their otherwise miserable lives, but no one knowing the right path.

One thing I can say - Indian Cinema has genuinely matured. If anyone talks of Bollywood as revolving around Shahrukh Khan or Masala or whatever, watch this movie first.

Now, time to go to bed or rather as Mr. Setna or Cyrus would say, "Whatever be the result, the king and the pawn go back into the same box." Whatever I write and you read, we have to go to sleep at the end of the day. Ciao!

Psst: There is another review about a more cheerful movie coming up. So Cheer up!

Snow, At last!!!

2007-01-26T21:17:00.000+05:30

Finally, one of the things I wanted to see in life became reality. It started snowing here!!!

We had been having intermittent cold "spells", with rain and very cold winds, but not snow. People here are saying that the winters are getting delayed year on year. Whether this is a sign of climate change is difficult to say, but hey, I have no complaints now.

It is fun to be in snow, its not so slippery as ice and you can have fun. For those of you who are wondering about the difference between rain, sleet, snow and various avatars that water can take, you can go here. We have a few photos that need to be transferred to the computer. Will keep you updated.

Now I realize how the world can be in back and white, no shades of grey. For those of you who can relate, enjoy!!!

A Trip to Amsterdam - Part II

2007-01-13T03:42:00.000+05:30

There has been quite some delay in updating my readers on my trip to Amsterdam , for which I do apologize.

The next morning, we took the mandatory-in-Amsterdam boat trip through the canals. While it was ok, considering that our guide spoke English (and was indeed very witty), it would have been better if we had been allowed to zip through in a speedboat.

Alas, just to prevent my sort of people from disturbing the peace of the city, Amsterdam city administrators limit the speed allowed in a boat to barely a crawl.

Of course, we could have rented a pedal boat, but with just two of us, we would have ended up with legs that would know only to pedal!

After the morning trip, we sauntered for a while on the city main road, eventually had a pathetic lunch (french fries and a coke), and then spent some taking photos.
Then we met a colleague who was working there and then walked along the city roads till dark. Finally, we had an early dinner at an Indian Restaurant (again bad service) and then went to bed.

Morning, we took the train and reached home sweet home in the late afternoon. overall, a wonderful trip, marred only by the fact that we were there in winter. Summer, I am told, is the time for a visit. Roadside cafes, with tables on the road, tulip gardens (a speciality of Amsterdam's neighbourhoods, I am told) and wonderful other places nearby (Delft springs to mind).

More photos are available on my Flickr photostream (link on the left panel of this blog), but for lazy readers, here are a few.

A trip to Amsterdam - Part I

2006-12-27T15:36:00.000+05:30

A dream comes true. I visited Amsterdam over the Christmas holidays for 4 days with my friend.

Having got a good deal on the hotel for staying at Amsterdam, we looked forward to the trip very much, as every person we spoke to had only praise for it. Of course, when I was in India, it was one of the great European cities, bordering almost on legendary.

We reached Amsterdam around 3:30 pm and took a tram (the service is quite good, although i have my doubts on its capacity to handle a very large population!). After about an hour of searching, we finally located the hotel. Addresses in the city can be quite confusing, since main roads do not have the house numbers sequentially!

The hotel - The Sphinx - was decent, although there might be a law suit waiting to happen because of the narrow, spiralling stairs.

We spent the next few hours roaming around the Dam Square (see image above), which is the city center and very close to the Central Station.

After a few hours visiting the, umm, tourist attraction..., we had dinner at an Indian restaurant. One difference in this Indian restaurant was that the indians serving inside the restaurant were polite to us. It has been a source of perennial irritation to me (in Germany, especially) that Indian restaurants don't seem very welcoming of Indians, especially guys-only groups. One reason I can think for not getting a lot of attention is that tourists from other countries will need explanation of the menu. That is OK. What is NOT OK is the almost rude nature of service.

The next day was spent in visiting the two famous museums, Rijks and Van Gogh. It was a time well-spent, although for some of the paintings, we pretended to be art connoiseurs, looking at the paintings from different angles and trying to talk knowledgeably :) [We even had a tourist eagerly listening to us!]

The two museums are close to each other and you can buy reproductions from them of the masters.

We bought a few paintings and some postcards that we think we can use as smaller paintings. I know now what makes something world-class. Basic facts about the paintings is only one part. History, situational commentary and above all, the overall presentation. I was very impressed by the background, the lighting and even the fonts used in the museum. I will post more of these pictures in my Flickr account, as Blogger is not allowing more pics in this post.

We finished the two museums late in the evening and the rest of the night was spent in going around the Flower market and the canals. Look out for "Amsterdam Part II."

Top 10 Reasons: A Case for restoring Monarchy in India

2006-12-21T17:26:00.000+05:30

I was watching some old films recently and I couldn't help wondering about the systems of Government in the old times and now.

Most kings and queens, at least in India, held their royalty as a kind of service to the people, although there have been monarchs on the other side too. We have come to view concentration of power in a single person as the most dangerous thing that can happen to a group of people.
I agree. Examples abound in history and present of bloodthirsty kings. But then, is our current system any better?

Maybe yes, because of the fact that we can choose whom we want, but I feel we have degenerated as a society to the point where honest people do not look upon politics as a profession or a way of service.

Lets assume for a moment that we revert to being a Kingdom (apologies to the feminist crowd here) AND we get a line of rulers who are benevolent monarchs. What would happen?

Top 10 lists are the fad now among blogs, so I will list my reasons in the same format:

1. We can be sure that the country will not split into chaotic city states.No more Chhatisgarhs, Telenganas, Nagas...
2. Delegation of power will mean just that - it will not become "Lets divide the land. You rule there, I will rule here".
3. We can easily counter corruption, although we may not be able to completely remove it.
4. Justice for the wronged can be immediate, instead of waiting for eternity. Escalations paths clearly defined.
5. No incentive for rowdy-sheeters and hiding behind under corrupt politicians.
6. The police can do their jobs, without fear of transfers and suspensions. They will not have to stand guard for people who have to make a visit to the bathroom.
7. No more elections and the associated rigging, demands for contributions for "Election funds" and more importantly, the cost of conducting elections.
8. No Unions who will strike and march on the slightest pretext.
9. No votebank politics, so no communal clashes.
10. A single military policy that doesn't change with Governments.

[You may think up more, but since this is a Top 10 list, I will stop here]

I know, there is no guarantee of "benevolent" monarchs, true, but do we really have good
politicians in democracies? We have to choose between two or more evils, none of whom really
care about the country.

Shruthi gives a warning

2006-12-15T12:15:00.000+05:30

I recently discovered Motionbox, an excellent site and probably up there with You Tube. So, I uploaded a video and sharing it with you.

For those of you not in the know, Shruthi is my li'l daughter who is the source of joy to us.

Added: Video Editing by Ravi

A Bored Blogger

2006-12-12T14:31:00.000+05:30

What does a blogger with no readers for his blog and with no work do? You could tell him that he ought to stop blogging and do something worthwhile, like reading other blogs.

But hey, I am a compulsive and mostly impulsive blogger!

With no respectable hobby to speak of (such as painting!), I turned to an activity that is despicable even by my standards - sprucing up my blog. Oh, not the background color or the designer font variety, but the new online buzz - "Widgets".

Yes, the small itsy bitsy things that sit on your blog and show content from somewhere else. You will notice a few of them right now, let me see, Flickr Badges, Weather and temperature, receiving posts through emails (as if anybody is reading them!) - sorry I got carried away.

I am now searching for "cool" widgets to just occupy myself. YouTube widgets, Countdown timers, News widgets etc.

Thats the danger sign, I recognize it, but the lure is too strong. With no comments for any of the last few posts, I think the next thing I will do is to put in the comments myself [Thats when you can have me committed for "Compulsive Adolescent Blogoticitis"!]

Last I knew, there are more than 150,000 blogs in India alone , out of which about probably 1000 have good traffic. Others like mine are ramblings of a bored blogger.

Since this post also may not see a reader, I will post a message to myself:

"Hi Sridhar. Welcome to the blog."

Ordering Pizza? Read the rants of a Pizza Delivery guy

2006-12-10T16:37:00.000+05:30

While browsing through some interesting questions on Yahoo Answers, I came across a question on "tipping".

The answers were intesresting and as i started exploring the links stumbled upon this interesting page - http://www.jungworld.com/rants/pizza/

Read this to understand the "other" side of the story - the complaints the delivery guys have against the customers.

To avoid any grumbling, tip them more!!!

In a restaurant, I generally tip only if the waiter/waitress has been polite and patient while we decide whether to order "Malai Kofta" or "Panner Butter Masala" with my "naan"! Of course, if we are to serve ourselves the "Biryani" with one hand, I never, ever tip.

For a delivery, I generally do tip, but again, it depends on the guy. If he does it as if its a job, then he is getting paid for it anyway!

Mark Twain's The Mysterious Stranger

2006-11-30T23:27:00.000+05:30

I recently read "The Mysterious Stranger" by Mark Twain. It hit me and hit me bad!

The plot and words are simple, the message subtle but it leaves you groping for answers. After reading it, I sat for an hour trying to make sense of the multitude of thoughts floating around in my mind. The recent happenings in the news - Iraq, the Pope's visit, various conflicts, religious wars, political zealotry - everything fitted perfectly into what he wrote 100 years ago.

Man has found every single existing way to divide humanity - Language, race, religion, race, politics, money, power - in short innumerable.

Is there one single uniting idea? No.

After reading this realistic story, I am sure we don't need "Judgement Day" or "End of Kali Yuga" to destroy the earth.

We are doing all we can to destroy the human race and in the bargain, this planet also. Love and affection seems self-centred.

How can I enjoy more? How do I become more rich? And I want these immediately.

With such thoughts, do you think humanity has a chance? As Mark Twain says, we should let go of the pretense of "civilization" and claim we are just mammals.

A Trip to Munich

2006-11-29T18:13:00.000+05:30

I visited Munich with a colleague last weekend. We had a meeting on Monday and could have made the trip on the same day, but we wanted to see and experience one of the biggest cities in Germany.

With a hotel booking and the address of a close friend, we landed at Munich on Saturday. The "Hauptbahnhof" or the Central Railway Station was clean and BIG and reminded me of Chennai Central. Shops and Stalls were mostly open throughout the night serving travellers food, drinks and other things.

After some confusionwith the U-Bahn trains (we had wrong information from my friend, but we trusted our intuition and didn't do what he said), we reached Garching, where my friend picked us up. We went to his place and some delicious Upma.

We then went to our Hotel and checked in. It is strange that in the enlightened FDR and in an international city like Munich, checkin time is 2:00 PM and checkout is at 11:00 AM. If you happen to check in at 12:00 noon, you pay a full-days rent for 2 hours! Luckily, we avoided it.

Bathed and clothed, we went to the King's Residence, a palace of the erstwile ruling dynasty.
One thing I have never understood about Palaces: How did they avoid getting lost?

You can see some of the pcitures in my Flickr photostream now.

We had a nice dinner at an Indian Restaurant called "Indian Mango" and went to sleep. By the way, there are many Indian restaurants near the central station, but they need some walking!

Sunday was spent in a visit to the Tegernsee, although we got delayed and reached it after sunset, by which time it was pitch dark. My friend, Shiva, was justifiedly furious because we arrived very late to his house (from where we started to the lake). It seems we could have seen the Alps! The loss was indeed ours.

That was our short but memorable trip to Munich.

Badge of Honour

2006-11-23T03:32:00.000+05:30

Finally, I am acting the part of a geek!

I got myself a Badge, a Badge of Honour (yes, I use the British spelling still). I was able to create and use a Flickr Badge, which you can find by scrolling down and looking on the left.

Come on guys (and girls of course) [Its always safe to be politically correct] whats the next coolest thing. Bring it on.

In Germany

2006-11-01T18:14:00.000+05:30

I am Germany now on an office work! You can imagine why there have been no updates from me. I will find some time to write more on this.

Some photos can be seen on the left panel in the site. You can also find information on the weather here and sympathize with me (sob)!!!

Ramanujan's Magic number

2006-09-27T11:21:00.000+05:30

I took an auto to work today. Usually, I say the place where I want to go and by the type of shake of the driver's head, I get in or try another. I don't notice the auto or its driver (and the meter, as Aparna often reminds me).

Somehow I noticed the registration number - 1729. After racking my brain for some time - it wasn't long, you see, since I have one equivalent to a mini calculator and searching is lightning fast - I remembered that this number occurred in Ramanujan's biography. Hurrah!

He was sick and was in the hospital when G.H. Hardy, Ramanujan's mentor and collaborator, came to visit him. Hardy disliked formal greetings (and was uncomfortable doing so) and he greeted Ramanujan with "I came in a cab with the number 1729. Seems a boring number." Then Ramanujan replied, "No Hardy, No. Thats a very interesting number. It is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways." Thank God, I didn't take up mathematics as a profession!

Unfortunately, both Hardy's and Ramanujan's biographies (atleast the ones I have read) are silent on the numbers that form 1729. After a looooong time, I figured them out. Can you do it and beat my record? I did it in one light-year.

Lets see if you know your high-school physics and math - Figure the numbers as well as the flaw in the blog.

The Mad Morning Rush

2006-09-18T11:12:00.000+05:30

The morning has been a disaster. We woke up late, very late, in fact. Rain outside made us draw the blankets closer to us and sleep on blissfully, ignoring the shrill shrieking of the alarms (yes, multiple alarms!!! Lazy folks...). Suddenly, the time was 7:00 AM. In another half-an-hour, I had to be at the bus stop waiting for the interminable ride to office.

We experienced a mad rush that has not happened in a long time. First, I put some toothpaste on some ancient toothbrush that had somehow evaded my wife. Then I dropped some more toothpaste in trying to balance the mug and the brushes. finally, the morning rituals were done.

Then I was crying about the ironed clothes, which turned out to be in my in-laws home and which we had forgottent to bring the previous night. A mad scramble ensued, when my wife declared that it was my problem and refused to help me (she also had to get ready). Luckily, I had finished my bath, so a defeat was avoided there ;)

In all this commotion, she had forgotten about the milk that she had set for boiling on the stove. When I came out wearing some clothes (?), I heard a noise from the kitchen and found black milk throwing out so much smoke to warrant a vist from the fire brigade. The vessel also had joined the fire, I guess and hence the smoke was too much to bear. I proceeded rapidly to get the cup of coffee and promptly spilled it!

My morning cup of coffee, the elixir and fuel was gone, and my cup of woes was filled! A look at the clock was the last straw that broke my back (and no, I am not a camel). The bus would have merrily passed my bust stop a few minutes back.

Rummaging through cupboard brought forth some dusty socks, then the shoes with the laces still on and I was ready, head hanging for having missed the proverbial bus.

Finally, through a set of different transports - RTC Bus, auto and finally my own office bus (which I miraculously boarded at about 3/4ths of the distance covered), I reached office more or less on time.

All this "hurrying" when my daughter was not in the house. I am imagining the scene when she goes to school at 8 AM. I wonder what will happen when there are two kids.

I have decided to build bathrooms for each of us, complete with all facilities such as mirrors and combs.

Addition: Traffic in India - Humorous, but true

2006-09-13T12:26:00.000+05:30

I had read this quite a while before, but forgot completely all about it when I wrote the previous post.

Traffic in India (A Description) - This is written by a Dutchman; very humorous and very true.

Note: Google gave me this as the most probable source. If its not, please let me know so that I can correct it.

Me First, Me First! - Impatience in city traffic

2006-09-09T10:11:00.000+05:30

A phenomenon that has been bothering me for quite some time now - the increasing use of the horn and a palpable impatience among people driving in cities. Although I am talking of my city Hyderabad here, I am sure readers from other cities will be able to identify with it.

You get onto the road and you are immediately met by a cacophony - two wheelers, autos, buses, trucks, cars and everything in between. All vying for that inch of forward space in the next lane. Speaking of lanes, there is a great deal of confusion among drivers on what exactly lanes mean. Some of the drivers I spoke to believed that the right lane is meant for speeding vehicles while the left lane for slower ones. Other drivers were of the opinion that the left lane was for light vehicles, while the right lane was for heavy vehicles like buses and trucks.

The greatest menace is either (depending on which mode you travel by!)two wheelers or Autos (a motorized tri-cycle, not dissimilar to the tuk-tuks of Singapore). Even Bangalore, which is supposed to be the city of educated individuals who have been abroad has fallen prey to this phenomenon.

I clearly remember that when I visited Bangalore in1996, I got down at the Cantonment Railway station and was going to a hotel in MGRoad at 6:15 AM. The auto fellow was most polite, carried my bags to the auto and drove with good traffic sense. We stopped a minor junction and was surprised to see that traffic lights were working and everyone was honoring it.

Fast forward to 2004. It was 10:00 AM on Hosur Road. Traffic signals were not working, there was no policeman and might was right. I was not afraid though. I have been brought up in hyderabad, where "convenience" has always ruled over "order".

Apart from this chaos, there is a new factor that has come into play - impatience. I recently witnessed a car "lightly bumping" a two-wheeler because he was not giving room to overtake! I see people zipping on the main roads, while they drive more slowly in areas where there is little traffic. A friend of mine aptly summarized this as "I need to be ahead of everyone. I don't care a hoot what happens behind me."

I feel this is related to the increasing stress at the work place, where a picture of your family waiting for you at home and your boss is berating you at office is always nagging you. A sense of guilt and stress seems to be the reason behind this impateince, which again is behind the increasing number of accidents.

I am not sure what the cure for this could be, but I am pretty sure that I am going to drive a little more relaxedly.

Why a Creative Commons License?

2006-08-24T09:41:00.000+05:30

I put up a Creative Commons License [http://www.creativecommons.org]] on this blog quite sometime back. I did it in the spirit of the open source movement in computer software (alright, I confess, I did it because I thought it would look good], but it is just now I realize what it truly means.

Copyright generally intends to protect against using the same material and extending it/modifying it. But the GNU came up with the hugely popular GNU Public License (the GPL), that , in a way, allowed the Open Source and Free Software Movements to be so successful. While the GPL and other similar licenses provide a way for use in the software segment, the CreativeCommons license is intended to provide the same benefit to writings, speech, music and other such "artistic" pursuits.

There are multiple varieties of the CC license, but I chose this particular one specifically becuase it allows commercial use of whatever I write. My writing may be YAJB (Yet Another Junk Blog) dotting the blogosphere, but twenty years later, these blogs might be the discovery of the year or something (which would mean that we had reverted to our ancestral abilities!).

Anyway, when someone wants to use it for their own use, I see no reason why it shouldn't be for commercial reasons as long as I get some credti. Too often, I find licenses to restrict "creations" from commercial use, which is contradictory to the "free" and reasonable use of such creations. If someone can make money by using my work, so be it. I can't see any way to make money out of it, so if I get some credit atleast, its fine. Thats also the basis for some of the "really free" (free of cost) software that we get. Many of them are outstanding and are given away simply because the authors feel that it should do some good work.

Ofcourse, since this is also not my professional area, I don't mind. What do you think? If you have any arguments for convincing me to change this, I should be glad to do so.

Why no posts from me?

2006-08-22T09:32:00.000+05:30

Whew.

I have something to post now. I am happy about it because one fan asked me why my posts have stopped!

I will now tell you why I have not posted for nearly a couple of months! While Jakob Nielson may frown on it [http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html - Point 7], Eric Raymond would be proud when I quote him "If you don't have anything to say, Shut up" [http://catb.org/~esr/html-hell.html].

BTW, Nielsen may be mollified if he sees that I have been doing at least one thing he keeps saying: Links on my blog are the full Hyperlink, not just here and here. These links go nowhere.

In short, there hasn't been anything motivating me to write, so I have kept quiet. Also, I have been kind of busy with some activities that have left me with no time for any online activities. If any readers have good things that you think I should look at, let me know.

The loss of Personal Identity due to the Internet

2006-06-14T10:46:00.000+05:30

The recent Webmail privacy scare has made me think a little deeply about my "electronic profile."
[OK, the thinking fried my brain cells, but thanks to evolution, I have new ones.]

1. Many of us are taking broadband internet connections which come with static IPs

2. All of us swear by Google Search and many of us have become greedy in accepting GMail as our primary mail source.

3. All our records are now online, thanks to government computerization (that looks like an oxymoron to me).

4. We create our profile on discussion forums, IMs and other websites. Most of them are registered using the primary email addresses.

5. We never even think of communicating by post. Email is our life.

6. Blogging and Wikiing are our major activities every day.

So many more ways exist where we bring our life online. Even basic investigation would reveal gigabytes of information about you. As Brad Templeton puts it brilliantly, "we are building a surveillance society" [see http://www.templetons.com/brad/gmail.html].

For example, Google keeps all data about the searches we conduct[http://battellemedia.com/archives/002272.php]. Coupled with static IPs, GMail and personalization, Google can build a complete profile of what we do using all its tools by using our IP as the key. On the same lines, webmail providers scan our emails looking for keywords to put in ads. Coupled with the fact that we rarely delete emails [thanks to "2 GB and counting"], we are laying our entire life open for anybody out to see!

To be fair, it is not only email that causes so much information about us to be available to people who want [ The Fuss About Gmail and Privacy: Nine Reasons Why It's Bogus -http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/4707]. Although it is titled GMail, it is true for most webmail providers.

Let me clarify, I am not out to crucify Google or any other provider [I am using blogspot to write this, remember], but only give an example of the kind of information that can be gathered about us. Already, employers trawl the Internet for details on their potential employees [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/us/11recruit.html?_r=1&oref=slogin]. What I wrote in an unhappy mood 10 years back can be used against me!

In short, someone can build a comprehensive profile about you in a matter of days, notions you have outgrown may be used against you.

I am thinking of using email encryption [but how do I get my readers to use the software necessary to decrypt my emails?], proxy anonymizers, cookie-less browsers and other privacy software, but is it enough? I don't think so.

Beginning Photography

2006-06-09T17:27:00.000+05:30

I have discovered a new passion - photography, in particular, nature photography. How did I, a confirmed couch potato take up this? Especially when it means lugging heavy equipment across not-so-flat trials? And an expensive one to boot?

Thanks to www.indiabirds.com and its author, Vijay Cavale. I stumbled across his site one day and fell in love with his photos. That was the beginning of an amazing journey, a journey that so far has opened a new world for me - a world where dawn finds me in the middle of a beautiful jungle, with birds and animals welcoming the dawn in their own ways. A world where everything is so tranquil and soothing, away from the hustle and bustle.

Then I got myself invited to www.indianaturewatch.net, a place where some of India's best photographers publish their photos for the world to see as well as answer queries on the forums.

These are some of the best sites by Indian wildlife enthusiasts on birds and other fauna.

Vijay and a couple of people from IIFM, Bhopal have created a software application that is indeed a boon to budding naturalists - an application that has many details, including calls (sounds) of birds in Central India. You could download this application free of cost at http://www.iifm.ac.in/downloads/lark/

Now, a return to my attempts. I bought myself a Panasonic FZ7 Digital Camera, after agonizing long over it. It is a serious camera for a nature photographer, although not "professional" equipment, but I guess I could take some good pictures along the way if I added some accessories to it. Most of my "nature" photos will go to the INW site I mentioned earlier, but I might be tempted to post some here if I see some comments asking for it ;)

I hope I am able to continue on this wonderful path that some of my fellow human beings have chosen to walk.
[These links have been provided in good faith and to bring to light some great work being done, so kindly refrain from any actions that could destroy such works.]

The Screen is mightier than the Pen

2006-05-18T10:51:00.000+05:30

Its been a couple of weeks since I posted. Lack of good things to talk about. You wonder? considering that all newspapers (at least the top ones) do decent sales? I have become so jaded by the repetitions that I have become de-sensitized to the violence and negativity that surrounds me.

I however could not resist talking about this - DVC remains one of the best books I have read. Coming from me, thats impressive, if I say so myself. I have been waiting for the movie ever since I heard about the idea.

Today, the Bombay High court will decide if I still retain the freedom to watch the most-waited fro movie of the Year, The DVC.

In a country where the book has been a rage, banning a movie may look strange, but is enlightening in another way!

It makes it obvious that the The Screen is mightier than the Pen, which is, in turn,mightier than the Sword.

Is faith so much on shaky ground that it needs to defend itself against a film that questions some beliefs rather than depict Christianity in some indecent way?

The criticism of the movie makes me wonder if the film is a faithful representation of the book or it has added some gory details that make it less palatable to its critics.

If only we can have a "Demo" version for such films!

The killing of Suryanarayana by the Taliban

2006-05-03T13:32:00.000+05:30

Outraged. The word that occurs frequently in all the media pieces on the killing of the Indian Engineer by the Taliban.

Beheaded and dropped on a dusty god-forsaken place in a country where an AK-47 sells for 50 bucks. For what? To show who controls the country? To show that they do not want anybody to bring them to decent living standards? I think they do this because development will bring in outside influences. People will start new industries, buy property and settle their families, Universities and schools will come up - in short, Afghanistan will become a place to live.

With education comes knowledge and the thirst for freedom. Men will follow their heart instead of morbid interpretations of the Holy Quran.

I think the leaders of the Taliban are men. Yes, men, since no other species can become as deranged and mad for power as man. They don't even have the excuse of "Jihad" for this murder. This is the evidence that the Taliban surely are terrorists.

Now that the family of Surya has been taken care of, lets turn to India's response. Aside from a few standard scripts on "not bowing to the terror", there is no concrete step taken to punish the people responsible.

My opinion is that the powers that be fear that any military action could trigger off another mass terrorist activity in India itself. "A few for the good of the many" seems to be the guiding principle here. We don't have the courage to follow Israel. There is a report floating around that states that India knows who did it and where they are. Why don't we load a few planes and bomb the whole area? OK, that was maybe a little too much for the "peace-loving" us.

In essence, there are two questions: Will India avenge Surya's death? Can we do anything to prevent such killings?

Response to Harshad Oak - Staying Alive in Software Jobs

2006-04-13T11:16:00.000+05:30

Harshad makes a strong case for software companies and employees to wake up before too much damage is done to bodies and minds of these young professionals. Staying Alive in software.

I agree with him on most counts. Where I disagree with him is that he makes it out to be us vs. them. Who is "Them"? The leaders of the software companies.

Let me hold the lamp (before the oil runs out) to what IT has done to India:

1. It has put India on the world map. It was there, but no one noticed it earlier, except as a former colony.
2. It has made Indians believe in themselves.
3. It has given millions of young people a better standard of living, allowing them to dream things that would not have been possible before. I ask, how many students in 1980 would have hoped to have a car at 25? Visit other countries at 25? Shake hands and stand tall with the rest of the world? Only a handful from IITs. Now, everybody has the opportunity.
4. It has increased the importance of getting a good education.

Let me specifically answer some of Harshad's points:

>"Working 12+ hours aday and 6 or even 7 days a week is more the rule than the exception."
Do you know why this is so? As with any complex issue, there are multiple facets.
1. Most of these people do NOT spend all the 12-14 hours working. In fact they take work breaks between tea. Anybody honest enough would admit so.
2. Competition is making all of us agree to insane contracts. Feeding the belly will anytime take priority over "work-life" balance. However, I do agree with Harshad that some of us do this to justify our salaries. But many times, we don't have a choice.
3. We are not good at estimates. Any task that actually takes 200 hours, we estimate it as 150 hours thinking that the customers will ridicule it. We also do not have the skills to communicate our concerns in a rational and convincing manner.

>"The reason I feel this culture has emerged, is the servile attitudeof the companies."
After almost 60 years of independence, we have not lost the colonial mentality. We also have taken Gandhi's "Customer is God" too far. God is not biased and is not out to take advantage of us.

>"Has anyone in India ever worked on a project that wasn’t“extremely critical”?"
Try telling any team that the project is not very important or critical to the customer. Motivation levels drop down and people become complacent. I am sorry to say this, but we generally cannot work in a disciplined manner unless a sword hangs over us.

>"How many Indians in India are thought leaders in their software segment? - Very few
How much software innovation happens in India? - Minimal"
Both these questions are related. Indians as an cultural entity hate to take risks. Security is our primary concern. We are more concerned with keeping our jobs rather than innovating. We, like the Japanese, are experts in applying old thoughts in new situations, rather than creating new thoughts. "Whats in it for me? Can I see results today, tomorrow, this week?" is our concern.
Hmm. Another post is brewing on the similarities in older cultures - the need not to change or innovate.

I must say that I strongly agree with what Harshad proposes to change the culture. We cannot remain outside the system and criticize it. We have to change the system by being a part of it. If we are enterprenuers, we have to do R&D; If we are senior managers, we have to say no to insane deals; If we estimate, we should not accept below the belt estimates. Its upto us to effect the change, not to some great leader who sits in the tower.

Damn, I wish I had said that!

2006-04-11T17:18:00.000+05:30

Some of the quotes, quips and witty repartees I wish I had said. Lot of websites have this collection, so why blog about it, wasting the internet space? I asked myself. I compiled this list for myself, so that I could use them. Then I decided to share them with you. Now don't use them in a conversation with me!

1. These are my opinions and I agree with them.
2. This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force - Dorothy Parker
3. Due to cost cutting measures, the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off.
4. For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain.
5. My brain has two parts - the left and the right. The left has nothing right in it and the righ has nothing left in it.
6. I always am careful of work-life balance. I take workbreaks in the day.
7. Your palm tells me that you will have severe problems in life till your 27th year. After that, well, you will become used to them.
8. The meek shall inherit the earth, whats left of it.
9. Coffee isn'y my cup of tea - Samuel Goldwyn
10. Given a choice between the devil and the deep sea, I will always take the devil. I can't swim. [Ok! I slipped this in, wondering if you would notice. It doesn't look too funny, does it?]

And BTW, another reason for compiling and using these quotes is "The nicest thing about quotes is that they give us a nodding acquaintance with the originator which is often socially impressive." - Kenneth Williams"

Cast in Caste

2006-04-11T09:53:00.000+05:30

The ugly head rears up again. I was in the eighth or ninth standard, when we had just 30 days of school in the entire year. The rest were spent happily at home, when all other adults were seriously debating the Mandal commision's recommendations and its implementation.

This "caste" based politics once again is dominating the political landscape of India. Now, it is no longer simply a political issue. Its an issue that will define India in the future. If the reservations are implemented, we will give the world the signal that underneath our sophistication, we still are uncivilized.

A National Commision for Backward Classes is now coming into force. I wonder why use the term Classes at all. Does Class means caste? Is it the politically-correct term? The guidelines that the NCBC uses to determine the inclusion into the OBC list are an eye opener. Most of the definitions can be used for any castes, including the forward classes, since the criteria are mostly economic-based. I am sure that all castes have their share of well-to-do as well as the economically backward sections. Then how can certain castes completely become Backward classes, whereas others, even though their economic status is on the bottom, be called as Forward classes? Beyond comprehension.

While I can agree that caste continues to have importance in personal issues like marriage, it would be laughable if somebody says that it matters in daily life. Do you go to a shop and ask the shopkeeper his caste before buying?

[appended after posting]
I found out that calling a person by his caste name is derogatory and is considered punishable by law. this applies only to certain castes. I, for one, can never know which caste is forward or which one is backward. I belong to a "special" backward class - the "intellectually backward class!
[/append]

The Worst Ad Awards

2006-04-11T08:39:00.000+05:30

I take a look at some of the ads which are...Yuk. Plain Yuk. Lack of creativity or the theme chosen, reasons don't matter.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Winner is the "Jumbo dumb Tata Indica Xeta car Ad."

1. After seeing the Tata Safari and the Sumo Victa ads, I thought the Tata Motors guys had hired a great ad agency. The Tata Indica Xeta ad, however, makes me rethink.

4 dumb girls ask an even more dumber guy for help in lotioning them! (the lyrics are quite good though, in a way!) The ad is supposed to convey that sometimes you don't get a second chance, but here is another chance to buy the "improved" Indica. I will neither take the girls nor the car. Maybe I am the dumbest.

Now for the Number two award, This goes to country Club for the most "hairy" ad.

2. Saving money for advertising is ok, but this really takes the cake. Who wants to see a 40+ guy in shorts (maybe he is younger, I don't know) parachuting down onto a beach? The CEO of Country Club thinks he is revolutionize the ad world. If he really wanted to save a few pennies, he could have shown the wonders of his club minus himself.

To top it, CC offers members plots in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I guess the fine print will show that this comes with a bonus - You get some "Tigers" in your backyard.

If you have your nominations for these ads, send them to me. We'll have a category-based award nite next.

Requests for "cultural performances" are also being taken. Rush in with your requests. The only criteria is that the performers should keep in mind that the theme for this Award Nite would always be "Less is More" This applies not to the Food and Drink, but to the clothes you wear for the performance.

A "Judas Gospel", encrypted phone calls and other stories

2006-04-07T08:54:00.000+05:30

[THE CAFE sometimes has people coming in and reading stories. You might wonder at the meaningless variety in the stories, but thats what you expect to hear in THE CAFE]

Mr.Dan Brown, another controversial subject for you to write a book. Judas "The Betrayer" Iscariot did it at Jesus' Behest

Phil Zimmerman, the man who invented secure email protocol, PGP , has now ruffled government feathers by releasing Zfone, a software that can make internet-based calls secure. But debate continues to rage between privacy rights activists and the security people on how such technologies are being used by terrorists to avoid detection. Read more here

The US is going to dogs - no offense intended, but reading this made me wonder if I am dressed properly.

A different type of Bees

2006-04-07T08:47:00.000+05:30

Now this is something that amazes me. 12-13 yr olds spell words that even a dictionary author(that sounds strange, there must be a different name for those who write dictionaries, but I digress) would not have (even?) heard. Spelling Bee contests.

I have only read about the birds and the bees, that too after I became of age (whatever that means!)

Jim Corbett - "Carpet Sahib"

2006-04-04T14:14:00.000+05:30

A hot Sunday afternoon, I was browsing through my small book collection when my eyes fell on my beloved hardbound "The Jim Corbett Omnibus"

Ahh! I still remember reading it in my 8th standard at a friend's house. The hours of joy and wonder at the style of writing coupled with the interesting content had me immersed in the book when all my other friends were playing.

I still feel the same stirrings in my heart when I read this book. For me, it rates as being one of those timeless works, on the lines of Pride and Prejudice.

I recently read Corbett's biography and some other real-life anecdotes somewhere. I was saddened when I found that Corbett left India during Independence, believing that Indians would consider him a "foreigner" and that he would not be welcome. I guess he made his only mistake - unfortunately, we have lost much.

If Corbett were still alive when the following happened, he would have understood that his love of India and her people was unmatched and those people revered him almost like a God. Now to the incident:
A group of people were doing a short video on Corbett near Kumaon. An old, old man came to the shooting and asked to meet "Carpet Sahib." He had walked non-stop for days to this place and was taken to the actor who was playing the role of Corbett. He fell at the actor's feet and said that he had never believed in the story that Corbett had left India and died in Africa!

Great is the reverence one feels after reading him. Consider how people who knew him felt about him. It is indeed fitting that India's premier wildlife park is named after the man who has fired the imagination of thousands like me.

Howz this for a hobby??

2006-03-22T16:14:00.000+05:30

If I only I could do this

http://www.cnn.com/offbeat/

Years from now, Sotheby's and Christies would be setting up auctions for my paintings...

BTW, all I can do is to dream about the money I could make.

Searching for a hobby

2006-03-22T11:10:00.000+05:30

Read the title carefully guys! I am looking for a hobby, not a hubby.

I was trying to register for a site today, where I was asked to list my hobbies. "What is a hobby?", was the question swirling in the cup of coffee on my desk. Is it something that you like to do? Then why are you not doing it as a profession? The evilly-inclined part of my mind appeared and started answering my question with another question.

Because I would be broke trying to call myself a "book reader" - came the answer from the angelic part. (If you have trouble following this, picture two figures, one evil-looking and the other with wings, dressed in white. If you still have trouble, don't ask me for another image).

The debate thus raged on. Luckily, there was another part of my mind, the one which I like to call "the cynical, lazy" part. This figure represents the "Thinker", but the only problem is that it never DOES anything. Let me slip into that part and see whats going on...

"Hmmm. So whats a hobby? It is something that you do because it breaks the monotony of your job. All jobs get monotonous after some time, right? Okay, not all jobs. Fashion photography, travel writing etc. Some of us have jobs to kill for and pay to die for.

What else completes the definition? A hobby must be indulged in fairly regularly. Good point. Playing a chess game with a neighbour once in a year doesn't qualify as a hobby. But when you seldom see the sun in a month, where is the time for hobbies? (A swig of water, to lower my stress levels, which increased just thinking about 'time').

Okay, lets move on. What hobbies can I choose, assuming I can pursue on weekends. I want a hobby that is not the usual "stamp-collection" types. Nor the wisecracky "eatin 'n sleepin". I want a real hobby. Take up a game? Naaah, too much muscle strain. Music? I have no ear for it (My family tells me that I have to be the most musically-uninclined person on earth. You have to admit. They are right sometimes)."

By this time, the bad and good parts of my brain had stopped their battle. They were as bored about this as me. A recent advertisement flashed by me - a recent one for one of those soda-cola types. "Chod na yaar. Pada raho shanthi se."

Great. Next time someone asks me for a hobby, I will say, "SCI Meditation". Short for Soda-Cola Induced Meditation. Yippeee!

(In the meantime, if you have got a suggestion for me, say psst.)

River Cauvery - A Previous Post

2006-03-14T11:46:00.000+05:30

An older post, somewhere in June last year. The rains came later, probably because the Rain God read this blog ;)

End of the Cauvery

P.S: I had posted in a seperate blog, foolishly, as I was new to the concept of blogging (and I thought I was a geek. Scary!).

Science Today - Can you understand it?

2006-03-09T11:18:00.000+05:30

Politics, Cricket and religion - I thought these were the only topics Indians could talk and argue about in public. I therefore perked up my ears when I heard a discussion on a bus on, hold your breath, "How understandable is today's science?"

I got interested and decided to join the conversation. The key message that I could understand was that science and the society were growing apart from each other and we no longer have true scientific greats who can bridge the two worlds. Men like Richard Feynman, Bohr and our own Bose. Another point that disturbed me was that scientists are no longer considered above reproach, morally speaking. There have been numerous instances where scientists have made false claims or supporting unscrupulous companies and governments that their credibility has become eroded.

Adding to the confusion are the raging debates on some of the cutting edge tools of science - Human cloning, genetically modified crops, stem-cell research. Are these valuable tools to aid humanity or marketing conspiracies by influential organizations? A case in point is the recent Avian Flu panic. While governments have chosen to spend millions buying vaccines and cures from a few companies, many human rights activitists are claiming that this is a big hoax to mint money (see "THE SCARE OF EPIDEMICS: What is the reality of the avian flu?" at http://www.abolitionist-online.com/article-issue02_maneka.gandhi.shtml).

Who will speak for science and humanity? Does our education system churn out people who can think of nothing beyond neutrons and betablockers or people who beileve that science is a way to help humanity progress?

We need answers to these questions and we need them fast.

My Search for good Blogs continues

2006-03-06T10:29:00.000+05:30

Many blogs that I read were usually about politics, films and the usual conversation-breaking topics. Some focussed on the author's observations to activities around him and situations he finds himself in.

Sidin (http://sidin.blogspot.com), Rashmi Bansal (http://youthcurry.blogspot.com), Vikas (http://bloodhead.blogspot.com), CuriousGawker (http://curiousgawker.blogspot.com), Sourin Rao (http://chappan.blogspot.com) - I felt were outstanding ones. A visit to each will lead you on to more wonderful people and more importantly to their writings, which can reveal their depth of feeling or their great sense of humor.

Some posts in the above blogs can also add to the general melancholy in your life (do we have any less?), as they bring you face to face with the miseries that some people call life.

I started this thread, since I could not find a list of such fine blogs in one place. Send me your favourite lists and we'll introduce readers to some great writing. Ciao...

My Search for Good Blogs

2006-03-03T18:39:00.000+05:30

I was bored on Friday evening, waiting for a phone call that would approve my presentation document I had sent. I was thinking of blogging and the train of thought led somewhere else, "Do we have some great blogs - serious, thought-provoking or just plain funny?"

My search took me through cyberspace, literally. There was one guy who even claimed that Google would shut down unable to make sense of the garbage that people keep posting in the name of "blogging."

Hmmm, I do not know if what he was talking may come true.

Another observation: Many people have their own domain names and publish their blogs on their website. Cool!

I was again working my brain cells - which are far and few - to find out if I could import all my blogs to a website of my own. The search led nowhere. I believe I can do this safely, since no one has read my blog, yet! But no, let me wait till some one does and leaves a comment.

Is that the phone call? Better get going. Have a nice weekend.

May the Universe find you on the same coordinates next week.

Are we cowards at heart?

2006-01-02T10:31:00.000+05:30

Hi,

Wish you a happy New Year, although I am feeling little morose myself. Pardon me if I ramble a little, which is certainly not due to an influence of alcohol.

I saw a man selling birds and rabbits in cages (I think it is a violation of law or atleast a sense of morality). I was outraged, but didn't have the courage to confront that man myself. I am now ashamed to look at myself in the mirror thinking that I would report this to some conservation group and let them take the man to task. All of us are brave when we are the head of a large crowd. I am inclined to think that even after millions of evolution, primitive fears still lurk in use, that individually, we are cowards. I guess there might be some respectable theory on this somewhere.

I am thinking it might be interesting to see if any of the "man with a cause" (forgive me for being politically incorrect) would still be with the "cause" if all the people marching behind him disappeared. How many activists and journalists would work alone if there were no organization behind them? On a different note, how many of the culture police, rebels and terrorists would continue their activities if exposed and no one comes forward to cover up for them? I think we would all flinch as if our clothes had been torn and we are left naked in public.

I guess in the heart of man, the flame of survival still beats strong.

Coming back to the topic, I am not letting my lack of courage bother me much. I will still report this, but I am going to make sure that something gets done.

May this year herald a new era of peace and prosperity.

Morning Raga, An Indian Film nomination for the Oscars 2005-06

2005-12-26T15:09:00.000+05:30

One of my favourite films of all time, Morning Raga, has been nominated for the Oscars under the best Foreign Film category.

The film is a masterpiece, blending Carnatic music (the traditional music of South India) with Western music in what I consider one of the greatest compositions I have heard. I never realized that such fusion could be good, that the words of Mark Twain would be disproved (East is East, West is West and never the twain shall meet - forgive me if those are not the exact words).

For someone who does not in general enjoy music so much like my family and friends do, the "Thaye Yashoda" song is the best song I have heard in my life.

Because I like this film so much, a short review (albeit with tinted glasses) would be helpful for those of you who are bored enough to read this blog ;)

I am not going into the story line per se, merely my thoughts. K.Raghavendra Rao, who is a well-known producer in the Telegu film industray has cast his son in the lead role. Unlike many such "star" sons, this guy has some great acting credentials, having been trained in London etc. His first Telugu film was a disaster, but he simply is superb in this film.

While Shaban Azmi is her usual brilliant self, Perizaad was a pleasant surprise. She manages to look convincing in singing carnatic, but that is not surprising, since these two North Indian ladies stayed in an authentic South Indian village and learnt the elements of Carnatic Music.

For those of you still with me, hear the song, "Thaye Yashoda" and you will know why I am raving so much about this little-known song. Its heavenly compared to the brayings that go about in the name of songs these days.

Some lesser known Cricketers I admire

2005-12-15T10:36:00.000+05:30

We all know of the famous feats of Sachins, Kumbles, Laras and the Pontings. There are other cricketers who may not be such geniuses, but certainly are highly talented and need mention. Although there are many such cricketers, I will touch on a few ones that I really admire.

These guys are all fighters to the core, bring a sense of calm in the midst of panic and generally make me uneasy if they come into play (if they are the opposition).

Russel Arnold - Sri Lanka's biggest mistake in the ongoing series was dropping him. A match-winner himself, I have seen him turn around those matches the opposition thinks it is winning! Unfortunately he comes in at No.5, 6 or 7 and therefore doesn't have the opportunity to score hundreds. A thorn in India's side many times, I would have promoted him up the order in Tests to bat near Atapattu and Jayawardene.

Micheal Bevan - A better known batsman, Bevan makes it look easy when he is on the crease. You have the Aussies on the mat, most of the recognized batsmen are gone and they need 70-80 runs with only the tail for company. In walks Bevan and starts running like hell. You think, this guy is just content with singles and twos, what is the harm in that? Before you realise, they need just 40 runs, then 20 and then surprisingly, they have won the match! Michael Bevan, 51 not out. again, no big hundreds since he comes down late in the batting order.

Robin Singh - One of my favourite cricketers, he was given a short shrift by selectors when he was younger and came into the Indian team very late (around 30, I guess). Immediately, the fielding standards increased. This guy was throwing himself around the ball so much, you would have thought it was a 16 year old! Batting late in the order, he was responsible for giving some butterflies in the stomach to the opposition with his late charges. His short medium pace was useful when the ball was swinging, such as in England.

India, Politics and the Culture Police

2005-12-06T16:50:00.000+05:30

I was reading about Khushboo, Suhasini and their harassment by violent mobs and was shocked... No, I shouldn't say shocked, disgusted would be a better word, since I perfectly knew what our people are capable of.

This is not the first time someone has been victimized by the culture police and by politicians in the name of "protecting Indian Culture."

I was in my engineering when I first encountered the culture police. There was a movement afoot at the university by student groups to ban women from wearing Jeans, T-Shirts and other Western clothes, since they were indecent! Their argument was that such clothes provoked male students, distracting them (Give me a break - If you get distracted by every girl wearing a jeans, don't bother going to "America".)

I could have understood if women had protested against other women wearing such clothes, but to a man, they were all men!

These were the same guys who would drool when an "item" song came on the screen during a movie. These are the same guys who would mistreat their parents at home. These are the same guys who wear T-Shirts with obscene graffiti.

I happened to ask some of them casually, "Can you tell me the names of Ravana's sons?" (Ravana was the Rakshasa king in the Ramayana, one of the two main mythologies of India). Out of about 7, 5 couldn't even answer one name. These are the guardians of our culture (snort).

When politicians join the fray, you can think of the mess that would result. This is what has happened in Tamil Nadu. Concerned by rising HIV infections due to unprotected pre-marital sex, Khushboo happened to caution against the "unprotected" part, but failed to caution against the pre-marital part. This caused righteous (another snort) anger among our concerned citizens, who interpreted this as Khushboo asking them to have pre-marital sex!

I belong to Tamil Nadu, but don't understand the thought process that goes on there. They build a temple to Khushboo, when she was into films, knowing the nature of the film industry. But she courageously speaks about some issue of concern and suddenly, hindu culture is tarnished?

We have come to a stage where any thought that does not go well with our self-defined morality is wrong, to be stamped out. I am wondering what would be banned next. Writing blogs maybe.

Blank Noise Project

2005-11-30T13:49:00.000+05:30

I read about a project on Street Sexual harassment by Jasmeen Patheja. I had to admire this lady from Bangalore, India for the simple reason that she is speaking out.

Reading about the reasons, I felt ashamed to be a male Homo Sapien. Gawking and indecently looking at women are bad enough, but pawing also seems to be common. I just have one word for it - disgusting.

What makes this worse is that people believe that the girl must have invited it by wearing indecent clothes! Can you imagine the gall of it?

I remember a similar opinion when I was at University. There was a movement to ban girls from wearing Jeans and T-Shirts to college as it was against our culture. These "culture police" were the same people who would wear T-Shirts with indecent captions, confuse characters in Mahabharatha and Ramayana (the two mythological epics in Hinduism), would mistreat their parents and drown themselves in alcohol given the opportunity.

The only way to defeat such utter insensitivity is for women to demonstrate they are equal; equal not only in intellect, but also in facing up to problems. Gather sane people, whatever gender they may be and fight. These are not issues to shrink from, as tomorrow our own sisters and wives may be the victims.