Lage Raho Mamu log...

Ae Bhai hua kya ...
Mamu Log Munna aur Circuit fir aa rela hai. Mamu log sab maze karo. Pichle baar jab yeh lab sabka mamu kiya tha apun pura sixer maare tha picchar dekhne ka.
Apun ko mast lagela tha. Is baar to woh nayi ladki bhi aayeli hai...kya naam hai uska Vidya, mast ladki hai mamu. Chinki se bhi acchi hai.
Apun sacchi bolta hai pichle baar apun khub hasa tha, khub roya tha khub masti maarela tha is picchar main.
Aaj apun jayega raat ka show. Saala kaam kar kar ke bheje ka Hakka noodle ho rela hai. Chalo Mamu log tum sab bhi dekhne jaana.

What to Blog???




Cartoon by Dave Walker.

This was the mood I am in most of the days. I found this great Cartoon Blog which allows you to put its cartoons on your blog.

KANK, Narayan Murthy and CAT

All the three entities are quite disjoint but predictably they come from me, I mean as always confusing and quite blurb.

KANK

Most of the people me have been so against this movie. Leave the people all the critics (I hate this concept of a critic; a personal view polluting other views), the media everyone has sort of slammed the movies. I kind of liked the movie. Anyway what do you expect of KJo movie. People say Shahrukh does the same things again and again I would say all Superstars are meant to be that way, Amitabh did uncountable movies of the same Comedy-Lost and found- Nirupa Roy Genre. Infact People love to see superstars in their way always. Leaving the 1.4 Million $ weekend collection in US apart even Bangalore all halls for KANK are full despite 3 parallel runs in multiplexes.

Last week I have seen around 30 shows on TV, 2 discussions in CCD, 1 at Purple Haze, 4 on phone, 5 at workplace, 3-4 on emails, 1 Economic times etc etc on KANK, Karan Johar and SHAHRUKH KHAN.

Narayan Murthy

Great guy looks that typical well-oiled IITian with typical specs; entrepreneurship was nowhere in the Indian corporate market some 20 years back, this guy made the term synonymous with everyone something different from those regular family owned company; I remember one of his statements “It is very easy to loose hope in this country but you have to stand and something it went like….” But he is good. I mean too good for a person who likes to read only Physics books. Sometimes he looks to me a like an angry school teacher or something but what he has done he has instilled so much faith in us Indians about so many things (that’s quite loose I should be specific). Surprisingly one of India’s brightest Capitalists sorry he is not one but sort of successful businessman or something comes from communist background with only hobbies including that of listening to Radio. From pushing simplicity and showcasing it to world in the midst of success to having a tango with politicians his has been quite a cool journey. Good he will get some time to have fun after 60 as he retires now.

CAT

Every week on the auto to Rani Sarla Devi School were me giving my Mock CAT test series I just get the same feelings that this year will also turn out to be a Dud. Though the reservation issue is completely out of everyone’s hand right now but it doesn’t matter at all now. I know that I can never make it to CAT. Though I am clearing Quant cut-offs this time (last time I hit a 20 with Quant something like a Lara 400 or a Rooney Hat-Trick) but still that oomph feeling about BILLI missing. Boss it seems it is high time I start preparing now or I will die again. Running stupid CAT threads on mail and Pagalguy don’t solve much of the issue.

P.S: Though all these three things are not related but they have a common trait. That being that they are completely hogging all the visible spaces around me. Last two months in Bangalore newspapers and radios, and other than that television Mr. Murthy has been all around first because of 25 year celebration and then his retirement. Karan Johar is omnipresent on Music and Business channels and economic times also along with Shahrukh Khan. CAT I won’t talk much on that but that discussion eats up most of my time here and the Reservation issues are most read by me in the newspaper.

P.S.T.P.S: That was the longest P.S ever written and this acronym stands for P.S to a P.S.

Bangalore and my Belly

I was instructed by my favourite professor at college before leaving. Abhishek better look at your weight. Well I have been following him and looking after it.

First few days into Bangalore and I felt that Cauvery Water Supply for Bangalore has got parallel connections for Sambhar and Chutney. Anyway I have always loved South Indian food or for that matter any kind of food but excess of anything is not so good. But I still tend to manage it.

Chapter-1 Prasiddhi and Annakuteera

Former was better but I have been more loyal to the second one. Prasiddhi taught me that Banglorians are as addicted to Gobhi Manchurian as they are to Idli/Vadas. Both have fed me with Idli, Vada, n number of Baths (as it is written on menu), Ice Creams and Juices.

Chapter-2 Chandni Chowk and The Village

So after my initial tryst with Sambhar, Chutney's, Vadas, idlis and dosas Chandni Chowk was something good. I mean had Tandoori food there and better I didnt pay for it my friend did. So did he when we visited Village at Indiranagar. Nice food, anyway I have realised that from time I have started making moneyI have started noticing things like ambhience service quality and all that crap. They kind of looked Phoney in the good world of food but I dont know how they have crept in.

Chapter-3 Chinese...

Chung, Beijing bites, Rice Bowl, Gobhi Manchurian and Chinese movies have been really nice to me in Bangalore. Leave Chung where me and Vaibhav were fooled by a unusual sounding dish which turned out to be an omelet or Rice Bowl where food sucked somehow and Beijing bites which has been ok I feel more Chinese now. Suppose I could start working in a Chinese Restaurant now.

Chapter-4 Corner House

This has been my favourite part of Bangalore till now roaming on MG, Brigade and then going to Corner House. DBC and Hot Choco Fudge are awesome and I am glad Happa took me there that day. I have been there three times and feel like going there every weekend.

Chapter-5 Liquor oops...

I would better not say anything about it but from all my experiences I will never drink beer or whiskey sort off drinks. Vodka suits me so that’s ok. No more on that.

Anyway all these chapters close reminding me of DTC. Anyway I should better try to be a non-member now. Me living life now the Bangalorian way but I don’t think they must be eating such diverse food as me. Anyway now another career eludes me; a person writing Food Reviews. I mean I can earn money and eat too. Food has kept me involved in Bangalore, sometimes though my brain thinks that do I think from my belly???

Of football and beyond

Writing doesn’t necessarily give me pleasure. But it does when you write something on a topic which interests you a lot and you get appreciated for it. This one got me 500 bucks worth of book coupons for the one of the (there were other two) best article of the month on my company's mag. More than that gave immense satisfaction to get appreciated for something I always talk about think about. Finally putting it in words was fun.

Of football and beyond

32 teams, 64 matches, 1 month, 147 Goals, 21 penalties and one famous Head Butt later we finally have a winner. Italians though quite under shadows of their other illustrious rivals but still pulled off an amazing victory in what would be recalled for not being such an amazing World Cup.

Italians winning was always on the cards especially with the team they had, their defensive supremacy, a great forward line-up and an inspirational captain in Cannavaro and a coach in Lippi. Add to that the match fixing scam which may be the most horrifying scandal in world football in last 25 years but a blessing in disguise for most of the Azzuris, as last time they won the World Cup things were similar back at home. Though this team scraped through a couple of instances, like the group stage USA encounter involving 3 sending offs or the Australian last minute stoppage time penalty, the performance was consistent. And sometimes in big tournaments it doesn’t really matter how well you play but how you hang around when others are playing well.

According to me two of the best teams in this World Cup had an indifferent ending. Argentina and Germany were quite unfortunate in coming together on the quarter final stage which would have made a great world cup final. Pekerman’s men were prepared to make history but some unusually defensive tactics in the final moments against Germany and strange absence of Lionel Messi from team line-up wrapped it up for them.

Germany had high hopes riding on them and but everybody including their countrymen had not given them a chance of winning the Cup. But it seems whatever be the team and form; Germans are taught in school on how to progress in big tournaments. Everything changed for Klinsmann’s boys as the cup started. First the four goal drubbing of Costa Rica and the continuous winning run gave the hosts confidence of lifting the cup after 16 years. But the dream ended in great game against the Italians in extra time in semi final which was a match destined to be decided on penalties.

France with a poor start and an irresistibly boring coach were pure outsiders in the team. Simply because of the average age of first squad touching 30, few untested young players and a lone Henry quite indifferent from the one people know at HighBury, Arsenal. But with the team playing as a strong holdup defensive unit, things got better throughout the tournament for them.

Hey but in all this what happened to Brazil. Some Brazilian footballer once stated “Other countries have their history, we have our football”. And everyone agrees. On the night of 13^th June I was passing through Kolkata on my way to Bangalore; the occasion: Brazil was about to face their first match against Croatia. Half of Kolkata, everywhere from Howrah to the Salt Lake, was dressed up in Brazilian flags. I wondered what will happen someday if India qualify (the probability is too low, can be neglected). And the whole world cheered them; they were the natural favourites for those who don’t have anyone to support or even for those supporting some team. But for all of Pele and Socrates successors this was a disappointment. All of Santana’s beautiful game was nowhere to be found. Ronaldo’s weight was much more talked about rather than him breaking the Gerd Muller’s 14 goal barrier and Ronaldinho’s footwork was chopped of by some tough marking and his was an all means no end affair.

History is history because of its recall value or the processes it forks throughout a nation.

Moments like a 17 year old Pele scoring in Swedan’58 or Tardelli’s goal scoring celebration in 82 final, or Maradona’s controversial and the beautiful goal in ‘86, Zidane’s brace of goals in 1998 Final or Ronaldo’s redemption in 2002 World Cup were moments which no football lover will ever forget. This world cup had plenty of goals but failed to give moments of such standard which will be etched permanently in our memory. Though there were exceptions starting with the Argentinean team goal which arguably contested for the best team goal ever with Carlos Alberto and Pele’s Brazilian goal in 1970 against Italy or the Maxi Rodriguez goal in extra time against Mexico or be it Ronaldo breaking the Muller limit everything threw up glimpses of game’s greatest. Also the inspirational defending by Fabianno Cannavaro leading to Italian conquest almost got him the player of the tournament.

Though the ups and a “single down” witnessed by the greatest footballer on this planet (post-Maradona era) was the story which stood out in this world Cup. Zidane came from retirement to salvage a French team filled with stars (old ones) that had failed to deliver in the last World Cup and Euro and showed why he is considered what he is. All the time he grew into a force which he was known to be, and quite understandably was voted the Best Player of the tournament. Also he gave to the tournament what could be known 20 years from now as the “Head of God”. Him head butting Materazzi in the final was a moment that threatens to be a blemish on this great footballer’s career, but inside somewhere I felt so sad later on for he has entertained us right from his Juventus days to the Galactico ones and has given hope to so many people around the world not only as a footballer but also as a great humanitarian. This was truly Zizou’s world cup.

Of the other players who had an impact on this world cup were Klose (winning the golden boot), Robben, Podolski, Fabregas, Torres, Materrazi, Grosso and some unknown quantities from Ghana and Ivory Coast.

As Thomas Friedman says the World has become a flat level field he didn’t mean it for football. But the performance especially put in by Ghana and Ivory Coast showcase the football powerhouses having a slight shift of power. Though this transformation will take time but the next world cup in South Africa will promise much more. And as always the world supports the underdogs so they will have supporters by their side.

But what football gives us on the pitch is much less than what it actually contributes to the world. Everywhere from the slums of Rio where little kids working as drug peddlers stop their job and get into the game to Iran where women cause a stir and demand rights for more freedom while watching and playing the game. In the debt and war ridden Africa or even in a country with rich sporting talents like Australia it gives hope to people. Football pulls people away from the bourgeois routines of life and places them in a surreal world well beyond definition. It is this dream which the players and fans paint together which even a Pablo Picasso would have taken a lifetime to decipher. This dream has no place for hunger, poverty, war, fear, racism and terrorism.

Let the dream never end…

DDLJ...revisited

Next week Kabhi alvida ... is coming out. For a change me planning to go to PVR this time rather than my favourite hall in Bangalore ( Kamkhya @Rs 35). One thing I need to do is take one of my buddies to the movie. Last shahrukh movie he saw was DDLJ. Anyway DDLJ; I wrote this thing few months back, thought I would push it here. A review for DDLJ...

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge aka DDLJ....landmark would be too petty a word to use for it. In first look it looked a follow up to the previous year 1994 Super Duper hit Hum Aapkein Hain Kaun. But its predecessor could at best be titled an extended shaadi video this remains a classic. Well 1995 remains a landmark year also another trendsetter and one of my all time favourites Rangeela took to screen. But so strong were the winds of change that DDLJ brought that swept all.
Economically DDLJ is right up there but what it did was the opening up of now prevalent (and sometimes the only existing) NRI markets for movie. This movie tapped a market the second third generation Indian in foreign countries. They hungry for DeshPrem(not loving me:P) and our movies getting the much needed globalization push.

Now coming to the movie. In true sense story remains the same old one...the boy girl affair with the girl’s dad as the tingling factor. But what was different was the packaging. Girl loves boy but not in the age old silly gardens of Mumbai but those of Europe. Love on travel was a concept which was new to Indian cinema and so was the coming back to India and all the melodrama associated with it.

The director sure did milk Punjab the most showing the great and shining India (please some one remind the Chopra’s that this is the state with the most skewed sex ratio in India) and thus evoking the melodramatic intensity necessary for such a big movie.

More than anything the movie belonged to Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. This was one of the best from the pairings whom we loved in Baazigar and after DDLJ in KKHH,KKK...blah blah blah....Supporting casts was great especially Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher(as the father of RAJ) and Mandira Bedi(without her noodle straps ;))...hehe

Raj and Simran are unforgettable and so is the music of the movie. Though I should mention that out of the 13 which DDLJ won (filmfares) they didn't win the one for best music which went to Rangeela instead. But music remains as good as it can get with each song a super hit.

Also this began the start of marketing skills being put into the movie. I mean this was the first one of which we saw "the making of"...never before we did hear of anything similar.

Boss none can argue its presence among the best in Indian Cinema. I have watched it 40 odd times....still not bored of it...still very much DDLJ...And a change that DDLJ brought that every time a get onto a train I stand on the door and wait so that a nice girl comes running up to me and I extend my arm and.......obviously nothing would happen. If I am lucky enough she would rather miss me and don’t misunderstand me for a beggar or something :)

Technorati Tags: Shahrukh Khan, DDLJ, Kajol, Movie Review

quite a random story

Wrote this thing about 2 months back. held this back due to IP issues. I mean it was his assignment which was outsourced to me. Gosh I have been into this shit before joining the software industry. Ok Now the product releases...

This is nice stuff. One of my friends got this assignment. Thought that I would give it a try too. This was something about making up a story using six keywords,

The keywords were,

Merger, Court, Specimen, Jungle, Corrupt, Train, Code.

Thought first about a fantasy plot but then shifted to a Oil economy based masala sorts story. Have a look.

/*

* Story Starts

*/

Vincent is just waking up. He doesn't know when he did go to sleep though. The surroundings feel more than surreal to him. As if he was in a Jungle it seems. Infact he was in one.

He didn't remember what he was doing last time round. Though the trauma and the pain is too much to think about anything else. He gets up and sits on a heavy corner stone. He has nothing nearby no person, no animal (that's what he fears now maybe). Suddenly he gazes on the bag nearby.

The contents with due respect are to be looked at. But all broken he doesn't have the courage to see the stuff. He just hopes it carries a bottle of water.

The bottle is there half empty as his mind right now. No place to go it has hid it self in a deeper jungle it seems and it would be a difficult code to cracked. He sits there gulping the water and pondering over what had happened.

Lolita was quite a cool headed chick in her high school days. Though a law degree meant that the head was forever to be burnished in a court fighting merger battles with her clients. As her firm mostly managed merger and share market deals. Though today was no different from other days the streets of Frankfurt were visibly different to her. She could sense something but as always she had that peculiar feeling.

Salim was a migrant working with the British Rail. He came to this country some 30 years ago with a dream to do something. After working with oil giants Mexaco he had changed his job to British Rail after there London office shifted bases. His job Profile quite simply to clean train toilets. He hoped he had a better job a family but still couldn't help it. He still to realize the fortunes beckoning upon him are too near.

Down in the South American forests still Vincent wanders. He has to get out but before that he wants to know what happened. Vincent is troubled by the fact the Venezuelan authorities would make his life a hell when he gets out. Marred by corrupt politicians and bureaucracy the country's oil fields recently had a strike. And that's what brought Vincent all the way from Paris to here. As an energy analyst working in Geneva he was always driven by the oil industry and turbulence involved in it. His mission in Venezuela was to send back to details of the strike and analyze the plans of Mexaco corp. residing in Frankfurt that had plans of expanding in Venezuela oil fields.

Actually Mexaco corp. had that nagging feeling that they wouldn't make through. So they tried to enter the Venezuelan Oil firms through mergers and takeovers of small firms. And that's what Lolita's firm was looking at. Lolita was handed this high profile case. And during investigation she met Analyst hired by Mexaco Vincent.

A business meeting ended up on Bed the next day. Through there relationships earlier both had been relatively unsuccessful. So this one too rather scripted on a cold base. Though for Lolita this was a nice change from the regular German boys much more open.

Somewhere around this time in London Salim ends up another day cleaning toilets of the train. Needless to say there has been nothing new in his life for the past so many years. Though at Mexaco he had a great time because the food was given to him for free. That saved him a lot of money. Here cleaning specimen of human waste he had rather being bored and with no one to talk to life ends up eating you. Salim though had a unique habit of collecting a piece of garbage daily. I mean whichever one he liked from the lot. He had a range of them. And he had an archival of these strange items fascinating to strike fortune out of filth someday. Though down beneath he knew it was rubbish as the stuff he was collecting. On that night he plans to rearrange the stuff. Cleaning items going through old files.

Suddenly catches glimpses of a golden file. He didn't kind of remembered when he caught hold of it but still cherished it a lot. While opening the file the word "Venezuela " caught his eye and something struck him. He started reading the documents.

Lolita's trouble was far from over after her involvement with Vincent she got away from the deals Mexaco was pulling off. She was quite not into it. So may be she didn't get a wind of the changes to come. Suddenly one day Vincent got a call directing him to go to Venezuela. There had been some trouble with one of the mergers and the government had intervened.

For Vincent it was a chance to sort them out and get good place in his position other than having a chance to see the beautiful Venezuelan girls.

So he left and Lolita gets back to the case which all places for her. The Venezuelan stir had affected the stock prices for Mexaco and things were showing trouble. One point in her investigation though came up. Years ago one of Venezuelans state head came to Mexaco office when it was in London. And met with the officials there.

Obviously with oil quite a recent phenomenon there it was no good for the company's authorities that time. People say he gifted some land and stuff.

Down in his home in some London suburb Salim was quite happy. He had a habit of following everything happening with his former company. So he read everything on it in the newspapers. Also he had read about the troubles brewing in Venezuela.

Actually a tribe was occupying the land in question. Obviously the Leftist inclination of the country though with a merger was allowing but still supporting the brewing trouble. Salim was happy now that he can crack everything up. And he saw hope for the first time in his life.

Lolita was in a meeting with the Mexaco's top guns at Frankfurt. Suddenly the meeting was interrupted by an important announcement. A man apparently a sweeper wanted to meet them with reference to this issue. Everyone was stunned. Lolita first thought of it as a waste of time. Then the man walked in. he was Salim.

Lolita was stunned, as were the others. Salim with that smile of his wanted 10% stake in the oilfields and a stake at Mexaco. Add to that cash payment of over 500 million $. The board was stunned. He was asked to wait. Lolita was the negotiator from Mexaco's side.

Salim had come up with documents to that land written on the name of Mexaco's subsidiary that time. With no relevance may be someone had thrown it away and it was with Salim, putting him at the helm of the biggest oil deals of modern times. Salim was not going to give it away cheap.

As they entered a room Lolita was cold. She knew it would be difficult but at the end some point Mexaco had to give up.

Somewhere near the controversial land in Northern Venezuela Vincent was traveling in a Jeep and suddenly some men drew close. Then it was off for a while.

Lolita and Salim had settled the deal. Salim was to hand over the papers for a beefy stake in the new project. Everyone was happy and some under room politics had already been played. Right after doing so someone cracked a rumor of the guy roaming around in Venezuela being responsible for everything. Though the deal was now to be cracked still this rumor was enough to add to anger of the tribals there.

Vincent wakes up in a forest now realizing he knew nothing. All tattered and left to be consumed by animals he had heard that these tribals never killed anyone that's the way of them punishing traitors. Poor fellow. Someone has to trample if someone succeeds.

Lolita was happy and has started dating a new guy now. Life moves on for some irrespective of what happens.

Salim brought a yatch yesterday after his mansion the previous week. Cleaning shitholes is history now.

---Thats the end I suppose.

I think I didn't get it right. May be the next one I can. Hope so. May be lesser charecters and a focussed plot required. Anyway this plot not worth the short story genre. Though heard few Science Fiction short stories to be just 3-4 lines. Amazing. Next one using same keywords a fantasy children story...hmm possible.

Anyway me blogging after quite some time. So I can be excused.

I write rubbish…but still throwing rubbish is better than storing it

I started this blog may be for the fourth or fifth time in March, wrote a couple of posts than off it goes again. The thing is that I can’t stick to a single wall at a time. Though March-April were quite busy with the project and after that a holiday with nothing to do I forgot about this. Actually I change interests much sooner than Paris Hilton changes her boyfriends but for a change I like to come back to it.

Last one and a half month in Bangalore has been quite full of all the stuff that makes the stuff. New interests are washing clothes, cleaning my house, bearing all the dogs who just today morning destroyed my doormat (and one of Kapil’s shirt last week), roaming in Bangalore hopelessly on weekends, eating ice-cream at corner house, eating out at N different places, going for movie festivals, meeting old school pals, visiting a pub and finding out the only alcoholic item I love is VODKA.

Add to that reading 6-7 books in which I found out that I as confused as Holden Caulfield or Opal Mehta, as innocent and caring as Doherty, as dumb as Oliver is at times and would want to be as enterprising as Akio Morita some day.

Ok throw the rubbish off my blog starts again. At least for now…