We Need To Talk

Thums Up - The best Cola ever

2009-08-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Found in Singapore during my recent visit . Loved it ;)

Steve McCurry uses Nikon:)

2009-06-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

The master gave a talk in Kuala Lumpur and i had the chance to meet him and hear his experiences directly from him . An evening well spent .

Location: Kuala Lumpur

Note : In case the pics are not visible here all the pics can be viewed here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85783&id=524303960&l=2912e4ca5c

Steve McCurry signs and tells me that he also used Nikon .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_McCurry
http://www.stevemccurry.com/

Waiting in anticipation . I assumed that Malaysians true to the spirit will follow the MST , but to my horror i saw people have jammed in and were waiting from 2 hours before the event . Wonders never cease

He arrives . a very unassuming guy and very simple speaker.

He starts off with India and Holi . His pics from his last 30 years in this business

states that the tradition of wearing a Turban is losing relevance due to the westernisation and thats pretty saddening.

this classic and famous round of pics from Rajasthan , according to him were taken by chance while he was driving around !

One guys asks whether he uses any filters and enhancements . Steve says that all these pics were taken without any filters, flashes and no postproduction almost 25 years ago !

One of his various covers of Nat Geo. He quips that the guys is smiling cuz he was actually embarrassed as people around were telling him that he is being clicked

Thats Steve during an indian monsoon

A different view of Taj .

he says that he went back to the Taj later on to try to replicate this shot with the Taj in the back ground but couldnt as the rail tracks had been removed.

one guy asks how much of digital photography Steve does. He says that out of all the pics he is showing today only 10% are digital rest are all analogue .

Nat geo got lot of comments asking why the sunlight appeared to come from different directions and turned almost into a controversy. Steve says this was because he had used a wide angle lens and it distorted the pic.

This guy put on new clothes for the pic and it seems, borrowed his fathers AK 47 for this !!

Another pic which he says was quite by chance ;)

Steve doesnt usually photograph Celebrities , but made an exception for her . HE was very impressed by Aung San Suu Kyi

Cambodia - Angkor wat . He points out that he likes how the figures of the 3 monks on the right reflect the three towers of the Angkor wat . Loved it ;)

He says it took him quite a while to understand some cultural extremes , but once you understand the spirit and the motivation behind any gruesome practice you will GET it.

One guy asks whether he get model releases for his pictures. And he firmly says No , it is not required for editorial .

Steve plans to make a book on people sleeping across the world . This particular image was striking to me.

Another of his Nat Geo covers.

Steve says that people rarely are smiling in his pictures . In this pic the Mother and daughter had the same front tooth missing . To capture that , he made them laugh till they realised what he was upto ;)

he says Afghan women have the best facial features in the world .

Sharbat Gul ! all 13 year old at the afghan camp in 1984

He points out that the scar on her nose which was crucial in finding her 17 years later.

When he was on the mission to search for her , lots of women claimed to be Gula , and this was one of them. He says that one look at the eyes and you could easily make out that she wasnt the one.

The same girl who claimed to be Gula

Around that time a man came to meet the Nat geo team claiming to he the afghan Girl's brother . Steve says that when he looked at his eyes his heart almost skipped a beat and he knew they were close.

Finally she reveals herself in 2002 after more than 17 years

The team does all kinds of retina scanning and facial features to determine that she is the one.

He points out to the nose scar.

Sharbat Gula's Husband ,

Her husband says that he marriage to him was the her happiest moment till now . !!! steve didnt get it and neither did i . But he guesses that her life in the last 17 years has been pretty tough .

He quips that probably now they are in a condo in LA ;) due to the remuneration that they got

The picture that made the cover as "FOUND" He says that while photographing this , he ran out of film and he went in to change and she assumed that it is done and they left . Luckily he manged to get enough for the article and a cover shot.

2002 cover

Thats sheikh Abu pasha !! ;) Steve cracks at his own joke .

Kolkata Knight Rider - Now Fake IPL Logo !!!

2009-05-11T01:35:00.000-07:00

The Fake IPL Player has been one of the most interesting things to happen in this IPL2.0 and has surely generated a lot of curiosity and controversy alike.

It doesn't take a scientist to see that something is wrong with the KKR camp and now that they would be coming back very soon doesn't help their cause .

But another blasphemous thing is noticed. The Brand name of KKR .

Just check out these two pics from the screen grabs taken just now 11th May 2009. The first one from the IPL home page and the second one from the KKR website

You notice anything different ??

The word KOLKATA doesn't feature in the KKR's logo on it own home page !!!! weird very very weird .

What the hell is wrong with the marketing team ? This leads to so many questions and most of them would lead to a controversy . I tried googling for any news on this but just found a few snippets here and there , not done at all.

I am quite surprised that Kolkattans have not yet raised a hue and cry over this ! There should have already been a bloggerstorm on this

all the other teams proudly sport the names of their cities and states on their logos . If the brand names of the teams are not sacrosanct then for a more international feel we should just stick to the second names of the teams like Daredevils , Royals etc etc why go through this whole charade of having a regional Indian state/city name to ride on a pseudo euphoria of regionalism ??!!!

Looking for answers !

Cheers

P.S MY Apologies - this news HAS been posted earlier in April by Business Standard and also blogs like strat.in

But the IPL website is still carrying the old logo ! it surely looks too damn messed up to be true

Man Machine Mayhem Adrenaline @ F1 2009 Sepang Circuit Malaysia

2009-04-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Frame by Frame account of the First Turn of the First Lap of the Malaysian Grand PRix 2009 - Alive with Adrenaline

Phew ! F1 Qualifying done... ears and heart still thumping ;) Sepang Gallery 2009

2009-04-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Check out the F1 Qualifying race Pictures here

RAMA's PICTURES Man - Machine - Adrenaline

Facebook! the statistics - collated at 1600hrs GMT+8 30th March 2009

2009-03-30T00:56:00.001-07:00

The growth of Facebook has been phenomenal to say the least . According to this article FB is adding about 700,000 users DAILY! Found it hard to believe until I saw the topline stats

Active Users :
Jan '08 60Mn
Dec '08 140 Mn
Right Now(30th March ) 183,337,980
this is a 300%+ growth in 15 months !

Look at this
Photos Uploaded Daily :
Jan '08 - 14 Mn
Dec '08 - 700 Mn

Active Groups :
Jan '08 - 6 Mn
Dec '08 - 19 Mn

There are numerous other statistics which would be equally hard to belive but as they say fact is stranger than fiction.

By any conventional understanding the numbers seems atrocius , FB has recently announced that they would cross 200Mn soon . Which , going by the above explosive growth , doesnt seem to be a long shot anymore .

My question is where is this heading ? By simple forecasting (not taking into account the exponential growth ) FB should have 1 Billion users by 2011end i.e in less than 3 years. Just Imagine.

I couldnt find the countrywise users of Facebook at one location so thought of compiling one just for fun : Here is a list (ref FB ad manager) for your reference (collated at 1600hrs GMT+8 30th March 2009) . This list would be in obsolete by the time i finish this post and upload it !! But surely it would be good fun to check out the new numbers in about a day or two !!

You my click on the image to see a clearer version. Please feel free to use this : Data source is from Facebook Ad Targeting , but do quote my page when you do that .

Thanks

Slumdog Millionaire - A review - Of Slums, Dogs and Danny Boy

2009-01-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

Slumdog millionaire - Warning Spoiler Alerts

On hearing about how Slumdog millionaire was getting rave reviews in the west , I was damn excited and ran helter skelter to check out the movie . My main thoughts was that the movie is based in Mumbai and directed by somebody like Danny Boyle so it would be really an awesome experience.
Also seeing some promos and I loved the fact that the movie looked “Indian” from the colors and people and the shots .
So you can imagine my disappointment on finally seeing the movie !!!
Let me explain
Some question for Mr. Boyle
Why is it that Irfan Khan and Saurabh shukla speak exactly how an Indian would speak English and our very own Slumdog Patel bhai speaks English in a pure Brit accent ?
Why is it that the cops, brother , goondas can mouth M@#$%#od every 2nd minute and our pure bred Slumdog doesn’t even utter the word even once! Even his brother speaks like how an Indian would speak english . I understand that the movie is in English and characters will speak English but then let everybody be equal , why to effect a pseudo realism by differentiating the characters by their accents ?
The younger versions of the protagonists speak proper Mumbai hindi and suddenly everything changes ? If Danny wanted he could have taken , instead of Dev, a proper Mumbai born and bred actor, just like he allowed Loveleen Tandon to cast the younger versions , but he didn’t .
Coming to the aspects of stereotyping – the movie was replete with the Indian stereotype.
Do Indians consider the Taj Mahal as a monument which they look up to or pray at times of severe duress? I don’t think so , then why shots of Taj were used so extensively during the critical juncture of the movie ( the final question at KBC).
The Amitabh Bacchan fixation – Again !!! but I will let it pass as it was shown very nicely and the young guy really made it believable .
The stark reality of Mumbai life coupled with the vibrant colour depicted , I read , was one of the most liked aspect of the movie - but I ask haven’t we seen this all in our homegrown movies like Satya , Ek challis ki last local, Mumbai Meri Jaan etc the stereo type of the stodgy disgusting policewallah, the brothel sequences, the menacing underworld don, the unrepenting gun-shots , brother kill brother sequences , money=power sequences , rape etc all these have been shown and shown better in some of our movies already . In fact if this style of filmmaking was released in India in the pre Satya days then it would have been a landmark cinema - no denying it . But in 2008 , for a viewer like me who sees almost every movie released , it is not something he hasn’t seen already.
Finally , why did they have to put the Bollywoodish dance sequence during the end credit !!! at that point I felt that the director is trying to make fun of Indian Cinema as it felt so out of place and forcefitted.
You may say that I am nitpicking, but I would say NO – nitpicking would be when I comment on things like we all know that KBC was never a live event and always prerecorded then why was it shown like being live ? anyways that was required for the flow and I understand that some cinematic liberty is ok.
Anyways now let’s come to the things which really stand out in the movie .
The first thing is that the director credits the audience with some degree of intelligence in simple shots like , when the protagonists see each other or speak to each after a long time they recognize each other immediately . This is very unlike normal Indian movies where brothers / couples/father and son don’t recognize each other if they are separated for couple of years! Lots of things are left for the audience to assume which I feel is a very nice touch. Small things like this make the movie stand out.
Most important - The music ..wow .. Rahman’s mark is all over the movie in every shot . In fact I think it is the background score which generates suitable excitement and tension at the right places . It is the music which stitches the narrative together .

Having said that , the movie overall didn’t appeal to me for the mere sake that it didn’t feel different . Which I really expected it to be . But I am sure that the western audiences will be lapping it up as it gives them a completely different way of story telling , vibrant colours and a cinema which is pretty exotic for them.
As for me , I just hope that Indian media doesn’t overdo the hype once Slumdog wins awards as if it is an Indian Achievement .
The only award which they should hold dear would be if Rahman wins which would truly be an Indian achievement and very well deserved , rest of the awards will be the achievement of the West only. For a movie which has only used an Indian theme for the western audience . For all you know it could have been Brazilian or Columbian theme and wouldn’t have been different.
Criticism is welcome.

_____________________________________________________________

The above piece was written prior to the Golden Globe results but now that I have seen the Golden Globe results, it validates what I have written . Western Audiences are lapping it up . The awesome thing is that Rahman won !!!!!!! quite an achievement .
Felt so funny when Kate Beckinsale kissed him and our poor ARR somehow composed himself. Kool stuff. Hats off to ARR for being the epitome of simplicity. I think the Academy should be forewarned about how to pronounce his name properly as RAHMAN and not as "ruhmen". Btw what the hell was David Duchovny’s joke about his name ? I didn’t get it and hope it wasn’t denigrating in any way.
Cheers to ARR.

Why dont they do something about their websites!

2008-09-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

Medium is the massage !

Yes i agree , but why dont people understand that when in deep shit it is better not to communicate than to communicate anything which seem pretty ... ummmm funny, ironical and in a way -sad !

Sample this - (All websites accesed at 8.15Pm GMT +8 on 29th Sept '08)

Career section of Lehmann Brothers

Experience Lehman Brothers
Make an impact. Engage your passion. Realize your potential. Around the world, the Lehman Brothers team is growing. Explore these pages to learn how you can build a career with us, and experience Lehman Brothers for yourself.

Investment Banking
We provide corporations, governments and other large institutions with the strategic advisory and capital-raising services they need to achieve their goals. This includes advice on mergers and acquisitions, privatizations and debt or equity financings. You will work as a member of project teams, gaining strong corporate finance skills. Investment banking draws on talent and resources from across different industry, product and geographic groups to deliver the best solutions to our clients.

From the section BUSINESSES

Businesses
Lehman Brothers takes a "One Firm" approach to business, working together across our business groups and actively bringing all of the Firm's resources to bear for our clients. Lehman Brothers maintains leadership positions in equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, investment banking, private investment management, asset management and private equity. Consistently ranked among the world's top investment banks, the Firm's network and access to local and international markets enables it to quickly and effectively solve its clients' diverse financial needs

In the history section :

1840–1859
The history of Lehman Brothers parallels the growth of the United States and its energetic drive toward prosperity and international prominence. What would evolve into a global financial entity began as a general store in the American South. Henry Lehman, an immigrant from Germany, opened his small shop in the city of Montgomery, Alabama in 1844. Six years later, he was joined by brothers Emanuel and Mayer, and they named the business Lehman Brothers.

From Merrill Lynch :

Career section

What Merrill Lynch Offers You
At Merrill Lynch, we believe in the limitless potential of each employee, so we offer you unparalleled opportunities to work on challenging assignments, build your career and realize your potential.
Our premier brand, worldwide presence and diversified capabilities create a dynamic environment of exciting opportunities to explore on a global stage. Working alongside industry-leading professionals and thought leaders, you will experience the satisfaction of creating breakthrough solutions for our clients.
Expect to be a contributor, a collaborator and a colleague. Expect professional achievements and personal fulfillment. Expect continual growth and success.

SNIPPETS FROM MORGAN STANLEY's website

Company Information
From the number of our offices and employees to the experience of our management and the quality of our financial results, the facts about Morgan Stanley tell an impressive story.

CAREER SECTION
What makes Morgan Stanley a leader?
Morgan Stanley is one of the world’s largest and most respected financial services companies, with a long-standing reputation for excellence on a global scale. We have a remarkably broad and diversified business, providing financial products and services across all the world’s major markets.Above all, what has always made Morgan Stanley a leader has been the exceptional talents and passion of our people. Wherever they work they share common business principles, starting with integrity and excellence in all that they do. Our people help Morgan Stanley to foster long-term relationships by providing our clients with consistently rigorous thinking, reliable execution, and unsurpassed access to financial markets.

For the record let me state that i dont have anything against the i-bankers. They are a pretty intelligent lot.
Love the way the placements scenario at the IIMs and the top-105 colleges put forth every year and you can bet that the salaries are usually USD -> INR ( at the point when the INR is at the most depreciated level) . Would love to see the placement scenario this year.

Fine , i think you get the point . so i wont rub it in , but as they say that every crisis is a learning , at least this crisis proves to me

1. Professionals at any level can make mistakes
2. Experts should always carry a sack of Salt
and
3. No skill is indispensable . So diverify.

The situation is sad and ironical but lets learn before we get the 'ibank syndrome'

Cheers

ROCKING ON .

2008-09-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

****1/2
Watching Rock on!! was like being transported to the day when our whole PG batch was watching DCH and guess what , this time I was watching it with office colleagues. One of my friends so aptly put it, "the movie world is changing with us"
This movie is definitely not about Rock music its about relationships in the backdrop of chasing ones dreams, making compromises , living life as per norms.
The movie is also about Rock music , complete with an "inspired" climax stage design from the Pink Floyd PULSE concert . All the tracks are awesome and after seeing the movie you will enjoy the tracks even more . In fact Farhan Akhtar is a revelation his imperfect voice is what gives depth to the songs. A rock song video simply wouldn't work when you know the guy is only lipsyncing. The songs just grow on you. Dominique is another revelations - great voice she has.

The only hitch, unlike DCH where you could identify yourself with at least one of the 3 characters or a mix of 2 , here not all the characters are fleshed out properly. You only get the hang of Aditya and Joe but the other two are merely sidelined and you cannot connect. Have taken half a star out just because of it. But again this is only because of the phenomenal precedence of a movie called DCH !

Thoroughly enjoyed it and reiterated my belief till now ; you may be good at your job but it doesn't mean that you like doing it. It is upto you to make a choice , and if you don't make your destiny somebody else will .
Cheers Enjoy

Brands which will not work... back home.

2008-07-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

These are real pics and NO special effects ! these are ACTUAL popular brands in Egypt. .

Why they will not work in India ......Self explanatory !

Non Indian Readers who do not get the meaning .. please write to me and i will give the explanation separately :)

Cheers

Knight is Dark !

2008-07-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

Awesome movie ... Christopher Nolan is a genius ...
I watched Memento, Batman Begins , The Prestige, The Dark Knight all in the last one week and boy what an experience .

Action, Masala , thrills , dialogues ....... with brains .

Watch it guys

Some gems from The Dark Knight

Why so serious??

****
Madness is like gravity all you need is a littleee push !

****
“Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money.
They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.
Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
****
If you are good at something ….
….never do it for free !
*****

“You either die a hero…
or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

*****
Now the Pièce de résistance

you either leave as an EA…….
or work long enough to see yourself become a CC

cheers

P.S the last one- for the uninitiated - EA - Exceptional Achiever , CC- Consistent contributor are the appraisal rankings and needless to say getting a CC is not an achievement ;)

The Antwerp Cut !

2008-06-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

26th June , Antwerp

Wow- finally here in Belgium – the birthplace of Herge, the creator of Tintin. Have grown up on the adventures of Tintin and I can boast that I have all the adventures which I have been collecting from my 5th standard, securely stored in a trunk in Coimbatore.

Okay coming back to Belgium , here on work so not much time to see around , but still quite fascinated by the beauty and the sheer simplicity of Belgium compared to other European countries.

Just back from a fabulous dinner with colleagues , a Bengali and a Belgian! Quite a combo , must say ;)

Some interesting trivia which I wasn’t aware of , for one the origin of the staple French Fries . Belgians claim that the French fries is originally Belgian ! They had a custom to have small fried fish with their meals and when the lakes froze they didn’t have a choice and cut up potato into thin slices and fried it to accompany their meals. And the story goes like when British / American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War 1 they tasted it and at that point the official language of the Belgian army was French! . So one thing led to another and thus the grand invention of the ‘French’ Fries.

Whatever the truth , Belgians are supposedly the largest per capita consumers of potato.

So now you know it .

Another thing which my wonderful colleague revealed was that there are – note this – there exists pure vegetarian restaurants in Belgium. Not only in Belgium in most of the European countries ! Although they are a rare breed but they do exist!

This was a complete news to me , and I need to really see one . would take a picture and frame it .

So now you know this also.

Fine enough for now , gotta catch up on my sleep , long day tomo .
Looking forward to the evening as I have to go to Amsterdam where I am catching up with a few of engineering college mates.

That is something which has gotten me really excited. Should be good fun.

Catch you later .

Cheers from the city which is the largest trader of diamonds in the world and guess what, the Belgian Diamond trade is controlled by Indians!

Have given some snapshots from the country of Lace, Chocolates and Beer . Hope you like it .
Gdansk and Good night.

Cricket and Commentators

2008-06-15T02:41:00.001-07:00

Cricket and Commentators.

Just read Aamir Khans blog and was intrigued by what he had written on 3rd June in the post titled “The Great Sachin”
---------------------------------------
The match last night was certainly exciting but what made it a unique experience for me was that I had Sachin next to me. You will find this hard to believe but Sachin was able to predict every ball before it was bowled. “He is going to bowl a bouncer next”, “This one is going to be a slower one”, “Full tilt outside the off stump”, “and Next one will be a yorker”,“ Short of length”. It was uncanny. HE GOT IT RIGHT EACH TIME!!! No wonder its so difficult to bowl to him. He has an amazing instinct. And he told me his logic for each prediction which I won’t share with you as I don’t want to reveal how his mind works. But all of us were dumbfounded with his instinct and his acumen. So at the end of it I told him next time we watch a film together I’m going to tell him what’s going to happen next!
-----------------------------------

This was a revelation. We have grown up on Sachin and have followed his rise to the pinnacle of cricketing glory. However these are some things which is not known to the public and it can only be theorized and anticipated. We will know for sure that he would know tremendously more about the game than any of us – but the fact that he can actually get into the minds of the players and give such kool insights is very exciting.

I am just waiting for the day when he becomes a cricket analyst and commentator. Just imagine what kind of interest he can bring to the game by his analysis and insights into the happenings on the field. This surely would be a welcome break from the current commentary levels.

In India almost every guy knows the nitty gritty of the game and can very well understand the basics and the happenings on his/her TV screen . But it is a sad state of affairs that the current breed of TV commentators fail to understand this and dish out their ‘sparkles of wisdom’ again and again through their microphones and we as sorry spectators are victimized to all this.

The IPL has been a success and has brought to light some facts which were not in the open earlier.
India has tremendous talent which has not yet been tapped
Indians and Pakistanis and Australians can play together in a team etc

Apart from the above , the audience was bombarded with 40 days of incessant commentary , from the so-called cricket experts ! We might not have noticed it earlier as the games were spread over , but the IPL has clearly brought out the fact that we are lacking good commentators and lacking BIG time.

Radio commentary is probably the toughest as you have to create the aura of the game in the listeners mind. Initially the transition from Radio to TV was not smooth , the commentators felt the need to describe the happenings on TV in full detail, forgetting the fact that now the audience can SEE !
This still hasn’t been understood by them over all these years .. and now they even go a step further by actually READING out statistics written on screen .

And to add insult to injury they give out some priceless gems by the way of analysis .

I am just jotting down a few which comes to my mind and right now I am watching the India –Pak Kitply cup final and needless to say most of them are being heard right now.

Category :
‘Expert Insights’

It isn’t over till it’s over.

The only way to slow down the run rate is to get a couple of wickets.

They need a 4 in every over to cover up.

Suddenly the match seems to be evenly balanced

Everything can change in one over.

He needs to bowl the Yorker now .

They need to rotate the strike

That 4 will really pep things up.

Odds are against India but one good over can change it .

It is going down to the wire.

They need to keep their wickets and score runs.

He needs to move his feet , he needs to judge the line and length and strike the ball cleanly.

The field is set for the off-side , he shouldn’t be bowling down the leg ! ( as if The bowler enjoys bowling like that )

This one takes the cake – at the beginning of a run chase – the batsman need to keep calm , keep wickets , rotate strike , keep the score board ticking and not allow the required run rate to go out of hand ! And I thought that they need to do something else.
He needs to take a single and retain strike.

I get a creeping feeling that it isn’t over yet - (if it was over you wouldn’t be sitting here and giving such lousy comments right . )

LBW not given - Maybe it was jussst outside the leg stump.

In the airrrrr – fielder getting underneath ittttt – and he misses ! ( I am watching it on screen buddy and I need a commentator to validate what I just saw !)

While waiting for the 3rd umpire decision on a very close call – It is given Not Out – and the commentator says “It’s a right call” what the heck while seeing the umpteem replays he didn’t commit and after the decision is flashed he actually agrees ! C mon man you are a cricketer as least take a bloody call .

‘Some abused phrases and terminologies’

The ball went like a tracer bullet. Ravi Shastri’s contribution

.The ball is appearing like a football to him.

They have to find a few boundaries now.

No fast bowler will like to be hit like that! (As if spinners love to be hit)

From here India needs a miracle to win the game.

He is not playing his natural game. I cant understand what’s happened to him today?

Dhoni was looking for this length and he gave it a good whack for the maximum.

On Sehwag:

Innings when is going good

He is such a wonderful player he can make room and slam any ball and if he goes on like this the match could be over very soon

When he gets out on 7

he tried something odd by making room and it was not required.

C Mon man give him a break and his due. He has at least brought India's name along with Bradman and Lara in Tests, even if you ignore his achievements in One Days and T20

Another gem from this match:

32 runs required 12 balls 1 wicket remaining and Dhoni on strike, Ishant at the non-striker end, Afridi to bowl and L. Sivaramakrishnan says - I don’t think he will be looking for a single , he should take a few boundaries in the first 5 balls and THEN take a single . Wow – this was an awesome insight from an expert commentator which I didn’t know at all!

If you have some more classics like this then do feel free to add on to it in the comments.

I am desperately waiting for the commentators to understand that their job is not to just describe whats happening on the field , they need to give insights , anecdotes , predictions , analyze those statistics etc and not insult our intelligence by rattling off what we can see.

Need more Harsha Bhogles desperately as now we are going to have many matches and we might as well start watching the matches MUTE.

Sachin you listening .

Mumbaiii!

2008-06-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Marine Drive as viewed from right opposite the 'B' Road Then and Now

Had been to Mumbai, recently - after a year ! Had a great time with friends . Shuba came to visit and that made it really awesome. Went on a nostalgic trip down memory lane alongwith her on the Marine Drive, B Road, JS Hall ! (Summer of 2001) . The time of Summer internship when the Gullu gang discovered itself . I for one had one of the best time of my life in those two months . Staying with Rocky, GM, D, PC and Goyal + Sachdev and Amogh close by The excitement never used to end as we discovered and rediscovered ourselves. Even after 7 years we share a special bond and although most of us are living miles apart a common factor which binds us even now is the Summers! Cheers to it. Hopefully one day we will try to bring all the experience of those 60days into words!

MICA 2002 -1st year Batch pic

Power of mind : The slight 'tap'

2008-05-27T03:13:00.000-07:00

Here is my reply to one of the posts by Amitabh Bachchan on his blog here http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/2008/05/25/day-36/#more-109

Just some thoughts, Sensible - maybe or maybe not !

-------------------------------------------------------

Hi Mr. Bachchan,
Have been addicted to your blog for last 2 weeks and this is the first time I am posting . Your post of the 'MIND' made me write .
I completely agree with you that we use only a fraction of the power of our mind during our life time . Although whether it is 33% or 10% is contestable . Nevertheless , the bottomline is that we dont use 100% percent of our capabilities.
Some people who are able to reach to the depth of their minds and cull out a extra iota of thought, idea and convert them to action are the ones who would be definetely 'labelled' as more successful leading to being famous /known/ or just more content.

However i would like to debate the point wherein you gave the impression that working long hours, stretching the day to the maximum, doing mind boggling number of 'activities' in a single day is actually akin to using more redundant unsed potential of the mind.
I would rather attribute it to will power and deep personal interest in the activitiy and obviously a more disciplined life.

According to me this is what makes a polevaulter get a gold medal , this is what makes an explorer discover a new land , this is what makes a man write an autobiography and influence people . BUT, the above did not lead to the invention of electricity or the concepton of the Art of Living or simple theory of Non Violence.
According to me using more than average potential of the brain would result in a 'tap' which has a Domino effect , which goes on to affect another being and another and another for possibly an eternity. The people who do that are the people who would have learnt the art of scraping the depth of the human potential .

Similarly , Mr. Bachchan would be remembered for being the star of the millenium , probably one of the most famous man , an entertainer par excellence, the best example of a family man , hardworking , astute, gentleman, an inspiration and a 'complete man' . However , the 'Tap' seems to be missing.

YOu know sir , my worry nowadays is that i dont remember anything about my great grandfather /mother and it has been only about 40 years since he passed away (i am only 30yrs) ... just imagine if ones own family doesnt remember anything about you in just less than half a century . Probably for a more famous person it would be about double that and for you it would be probably 4-5 times that . BUT what abt after it ?

Leaving a legacy behind is one thing and leaving a leagacy with a 'tap' for the next domino is another thing .... .

You have made a start by exploring your ability to influence people by this blog ... i am sure this might just be a beginning of the 'tap' which would create millions of ABs fr the future .

Pharoahs tried to 'force' their memory till almost 3000 years (till date) by building something which 'lasts' But i am sure you will agree that 'Jesus' would last more that the Pharoahs if we put them to a race.

Enough of my ramblings . Hope i made some sense

Cheers

Ups and Downs !

2008-05-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

Life is like a roller coaster . I am sure you all have heard it many times , at least I have., Now what does it mean , does it mean up and down in career / love / relationships/ money/ lifestyle . Is it like a sinusoidal curve?
C Mon, it can’t be all that simple. The whole concept of that if there is an Up there has to be a DOWN. If we give this even an iota of our though then it wouldn’t make sense.

If we believe in the Up and down then this is what will happen:

You wouldn’t dream as you would , obviously believe that there is no use . After all you have to come back to the same level so what’s the whole f!@#ing point

You wouldn’t invest in relationships – what’s the point , things are going to be good for a while and then it would be back to normal or perhaps worse.

You wouldn’t want a promotion – same argument.

But I guess it doesn’t take a scientist to understand that life is not sinusoidal. The amplitude of the wave is not constant . The pitch of the wave is not constant.The ups and downs are not constant .

Wow that’s a different thought.

It means that if we do things properly we Can take it to different levels.
It means that if we put effort in a relationship it will pay off
It means that the more you dream the more you can achieve commensurate to your efforts

So ? you may ask . This even a paanchvi pass can articulate.
Yes ! I say . But we surely made more sense when we were in 5th standard than now .

Just thought of brushing up my memory. This is required when we are over 30.
Basic things are forgotten.

Good night .

Long time no see -

2008-05-09T15:05:00.001-07:00

Intezaar ka phal meetha hota hai . Check this out.

My Latest trip to the SIWA OASIS. For those who dont know about this please google it and read for yourself.

Mind boggling place and highly recommended for those who like to tread a not-so-beaten track. Pic taken at the GREAT SAND SEA on the Libyan border

More pics here

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20397&l=1216b&id=524303960

I bet you will love it.

P.S - I know that conceptually this is not an original photograph but i guess somethings are just meant to be 'inspired' from .

Of Towels and Packs!

2007-11-09T03:47:00.000-08:00

The term metrosexual male is been in vogue for quite some time however it has taken a fillip to the next level recently. The advent of salman, hritik , john and also the others "i go to the Gold gym" club had really turned the concept of a male macho unkempt sexy look on its head. Now even parlours claim in bold words that they do facials, pedicures and manicures for men.

despite all this , even now , if somebody asks you ...

"Hey dude, are you a metrosexual " .. you are unsure "Uh Huh!" you go .."what 'exactly' do u mean by a 'metrosexual' ? " ...."i am pretty straight you know" ... to the layman there is still a vestigial perception that a metrosexual male can either be a filmstar or a gay.

Now even this vestigial peception will be thrown out lock stock and barrel..... as on today.. the diwali . welcome the advent of the TOWEL and THE Six packs ...have you noticed , two of the most hyped movies in recent history are selling themselves on the towel and the six packs !!! where have the rain drenched sari clad heroines gone ?

Already i am reading in the reviews about how there is an 'item' number in both these films .... uh huh! Where are we headed ?

for the first time (in my limited knowledge ) the censor board has cut a scene from a sequence which happens to be a solo song of the ............HERO !!!!!

movies reflect the current culture , they say. they also act as tipping points for a culture to accept and change somethings . these two movies will probably bring about THE most fundamental change in the popular culture .

Finally guys will be able to claim that they are a metrosexual and not feel doubtful about it .

But where does all this lead the girls!!

I guess the filmmakers are killing many birds with one stone . Have an item number with a guy .. you get the girls swooning in , and you get a happy and gay section of the guys hooked .... at the end of the day you get the other guys too as most of their friends - guy or girl, is already hooked in so you dont have a choice . neat huh !

think Ms sawant will have to find an alternative career .. Looks like that the" Item song " market is in for a complete change where the product itself has changed. Sari sales will be the next affected.

I am getting the reviews that both Saawariya and Om Shanti Om are a dissappointing final product .. and if they dont do well then it is good news for all those engineering college guys who culd revel at the oppurtunity to watch a good item number , however if they do well .. then boys get ready to watch every tom , dick , harry , raj, rahul, vijay .... sporting a towel and low rise jeans, getting drenched in the rain and who knows even saying the line "Bachaooo Bachaoooo ".. very sooon.

Cheers

The BOSS!

2007-06-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hi ,

Even if you dont know how to read/write/speak tamil the chances are really high that you would know that the above poster is of 'Sivaji' and the funky hairdo is on the superstar Rajini.

So What.... you may ask ? ..... okie , let me ask what was Rajini's last film's name ? , Which was the biggest release in Telegu recently. Who was the superstar of Kannada Filmdom?

Chances are that you may not be knowing these facts . BUT ask anything about Sivaji ..and i am quite sure you would give me at least some basic info . So it is not a regional matter anymore.

Sitting in country where the 'Sivaji' hype has not reached through word-of-mouth , i have been an objective viewer to the frenzy which has been kicked up back home. Have been following the pre-realease hype on the Hindi/English News Channels and Websites (cuz i dont watch Tamil channels out here) . And i have been made to believe that Sivaji is the biggest thing happening in India . Go to google's news page and type Sivaji and you find that the hype is not restricted to Tamil Nadu ,

__________________________________________________________________

Sample this :

Gulf Daily News
1000 Rajni fans may get to see Sivaji: The Boss for freeFinancial Express, India - 17 hours agoDUBAI, JUN 18: Around 1000 labourers here, including housemaids, will be able to watch Tamil superstar Rajnikant’s mega-budget movie Sivaji - The Boss free

...Rajini becomes the boss of downloads! Indiatimes

Sivaji The Boss: Sudden Emergence of a Massive Film Desicritics.org

'Boss' Rajnikant rocks Bahrain too Hindustan Times

Bollywood fans line up to see the 'Boss' in BloomingdaleChicago Tribune, United States - 3 hours ago... turned this weekend's Chicago-area premiere of the South Indian action movie "Sivaji: The Boss" into a party that drew fans from as far away as Seattle. ...

Sivaji opens with Indian tamasha Hindustan Times

Film fans riot over delayed screening The West Australian

‘Sivaji’ likely to break box-office records New Straits Times

Daijiworld.com

New Delhi: Rajanikant - Reigning Boss of Indian CelluloidDaijiworld.com, India - 6 hours agoNew Delhi, Jun 19: The hype and hysteria surrounding the release of Sivaji: the Boss in India and overseas needs to be seen to be believed but there is no ...Southern lights Hindustan Times

Sivaji-The Boss tickets for freeDaily News & Analysis, India - Jun 18, 2007PTI DUBAI: Around 1000 labourers here, including housemaids, will be able to watch Tamil superstar Rajnikant's mega-budget movie 'Sivaji - The Boss' free of ...UAE's poor Rajni fans to feast on 'Sivaji' Hindustan Times'Sivaji': Free tickets for 1000 labourers in Dubai Hinduall 15 news articles »
Sivaji: the BossHindustan Times, India - Jun 18, 2007The hype and hysteria surrounding the release of Sivaji: the Boss in India and overseas needs to be seen to be believed but there is no doubt about who is ...First take on 'Sivaji'- The Boss' Televisionpoint.com

SIVAJI ticket not available for Shriya SaranGlamsham.com, India - 5 hours agoSouth star Shriya Saran, the leading lady opposite superstar Rajnikant in the Tamil blockbuster ‘Sivaji - The Boss’, did not get tickets in Chennai to watch ...No entry for Rajni’s girl Daily News & AnalysisSivaji: All style but no substance Newindpress (subscription)Shriya flooded with offers NDTV.comall 4 news articles »
Newindpress on Sunday
Fans in city can’t wait for the BossKolkata Newsline, India - Jun 17, 2007Kolkata, June 17: When will Sivaji - The Boss, be released in Kolkata? This is perhaps the most frequent query posted online in various chat forums by the ...Who is the boss? Daily News & AnalysisSivaji heroine didn’t get tickets for her own film IndiaFM'Sivaji' reaches beyond Tamil Nadu Televisionpoint.comHindu - Merinews all 8 news articles »
Sivaji fetches Rs 11 lakh a day in taxTimes of India, India - 18 hours agoThe big budget Sivaji - The Boss is raining big money for the commercial tax department. The Rajnikant-starrer has fetched more money than any other ...
Dubai - Who's the Boss7DAYS, United Arab Emirates - Jun 17, 2007Dubai - Hard-up workers will be given the chance to view South Indian superstar Rajnikanth's latest hit movie 'Sivaji: The Boss' thanks to the generosity of ...
Sivaji : The Boss – Movie ReviewApun Ka Choice, CA - Jun 16, 2007... the end product fully justifies all the hype and hoopla that surrounded the release of Superstar Rajnikant’s magnum opus, Sivaji : The Boss. ...

'Sivaji' is the boss in SingaporeTimes Now.tv, India - 9 hours agoTamil superstar Rajnikanth's new movie "Sivaji" has premiered to excited audiences in Singapore. Hundreds have passed through the movie theatre doors since ...
Rajnikanth's `Sivaji' Makes Up for Lackluster Bollywood ShowingBloomberg - 10 hours agoIt's a pity that language will restrict ``Sivaji'' to being a minority pleasure and that the funny bits will get lost in translation. ``Sivaji: The Boss ...

______________________________________________________________

You get the drift , the phenomenon is not only in India , it is almost all over !

I had heard about the making of Sivaji in 2005 , that Shanker wants to make a film with rajanikant, and he wants to make a stylish movie with rajani doing everything what a normal hero would do. I thought it was a ridiculous idea and would be the downfall of both Rajini and Shanker ( i remembered the days of toofan, Jaadugar, mrityudand, lalbaadshah of Amitabh) Seeing Rajini in real life without the glitz makes it unbelievable that shanker could comprehend a movie like that ............... but all that was 2 years back .

TODAY .... the movie is released , Rajini looks younger , fairer and full of style . The first two thanks to technology and the style all inbuilt into Rajini ! ... He has managed to carry it off , Shanker has managed to make the movie ....period!

So people who had joked about aging -superstar- dancing -around- trees -dating -daughteraged heroine ... should be eating their straw hats now .

It is not so because the movie has got a bumper opening , it is because the movie has got a 100% opening all across the world and once you are able to get people who dont understand tamil , to watch a subtitled version of a movie , then you have ARRIVED !

Hats off to the PR and Marketing team of Sivaji , this movie is by far the most hyped movie of all times and the hype has paid off . The word-of-mouth , the constant attention of all english news channels the mechandise , the use of the internet , blogs , readers comments have all made it one helluva of a marketing campaign .

This deserves a Marketing Case Study status . If I remember correctly the last movie of Rajini - Chandramukhi was a big blockbuster in South , but such hype was not visible at that point altough it was only 2 years back .

So case in point - There was something done for Sivaji , some real good PR initiative which has made this movie into something like a cult phenomenom.

I am desperate to see the Movie , but have no choice right now . And seeing it on a pirated DVD at home will not be befitting the BOSS ..yena per ketale atharudu!!!! Hope i get to watch this soooon.

The Great Pyramids of Giza

2007-04-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

Seen this in Movies, Books, Magazines mostly through others eyes . This is how it looks through my eyes - Aweinspiring collection of 'stones' !
Hell, These Pharoahs WERE powerful!
More pics in my album

http://picasaweb.google.com/ramakrishnan.cn

I felt small - Period.

Brand Control Council of India

2007-04-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Brand Control Council of India

Perhaps the most engrossing news that has been doing the rounds nowadays, is the BCCI announcing new schemes regarding its conduct, pay schemes etc.
I was left wondering on why have they not introduced , Goals, KRA’s , the Deliverables , Hours of Training at the nets per year when they introduced performance based pay systems - in effect a full fledged ‘corporatisation ‘ of the Game.

So far so good - but wait did I miss out on something , I always used to believe that these people (players) have devoted their life to Cricket and becuz they were able to convert their dream to reality they are not in the Corporate rut and boy was I jealous . They were held in high esteem , not because they are famous, but because they dared to be different and had the guts to go out and play their heart out .
Now it is a different story now even they have to worry about year end
performance appraisals and month end paycheques poor guys , Crab Mentality cant have somebody happy ! .

Now lets focus on one of the rulings – No player can endorse more than 3 brands or is it companies or is it campaigns /Ads in a year . And no brand or is it company or a campaign/Ad can take more that 2 players at a time.

Now let me get one thing straight, Research people / Companies do research worth lakhs to find a ‘ brand fit’ between a celebrity and the Brand Values . Lot of MR people go to lots of places stay in great places to get out vital significant Quant and Quali insights into this whole process of Brand Fit . Clients Pay money , MR people spend effort and time period . But now …….
Although somehow all brand values seem to fit SRK or AB or Sachin or Dhoni for some weird reason . but we’ll let this thought pass for the time being!

So BCCI now has controlled how many Brand Fit possible in a year , C mon even if the MR people say that Uthappa is the purrrfect fit for your itch guard cream , you CANT do anything , you must go in for Kader Khan or Pawar (Not Romesh .. you twit ! ) …………Period.

What happens to the Sports Management firms ! nothing they will become like media managers , buy as much brands as possible and allocate it to the players………………. 2 each . Lawyers will get a lot of business as they would be fighting with the BCCI on how a Brand / Ad/Campaign/Company are all same things …. Uthappa would be doing Lux, Surf , Rin, Rexona but they are in fact Brand “Extentions” of only Two Categories ! (We might have some Players and lawyers taking up a crash course in MICA to understand the nuances …. Cheapo ! )

But but , having said that I am again slightly confused reg. the concept of a Brand Ambassador . In the case of sports , I had thought , a Sport becomes popular , more and more people watch it , few sportsmen become popular and their Brand Value is mapped and calculated using sophisticated matrices ( although Sachin will always get more than anybody no matter what he scores but that’s a different thing………! ) As higher number of eyeballs are captured , a brand thinks that by associating with this celebrity it can piggyback and get some leverage . So Far so Good.

So in effect it is supply demand thing , more the demand for a sports more the demand for the people playing the sport , and more the demand for endorsements . So in effect the people (public) who are raising a hue and cry over the endorsements done by players , when in fact it is due to THEM that they are getting any kind of work !

So stop watching cricket and they would stop getting endorsements !!!

hey ………. now that is interesting , I think the BCCI has actually done a BIG favor to the players . As anywayz they were not going to get any renewals of their contracts with Pepsi’s of the world , but now they need not get embarrassed they can always say that they have deliberately not taken up any endorsement for the sake of the country ! Kool Na .. BCCI wins, The Players Wins , The Public …… always the Ch#$@# a’s !

If you have read this far then I must appreciate your patience , anyhow the above thing did not make anysense to me and if it did to you , please please do comment . Would love to hear from you .

Btw, I am raising a PIL that SRk should reduce the ads that he is doing as his films are not upto the mark and also KBC is going down in TRP’s . there should be a cap on 1 ad every year and 1 extra ad for every hit movie he give . Sounds logical right , performance based incentive .. ha ha .

Leaving you with this thought, Turning a hobby into your profession is the most difficult thing to achieve, but once you do that it is no more a hobby!

Btw. If you wondering what has the image got to do with the article ...NOTHING ... I had just clicked it yesterday and was force fitting it .. thats all . Being a MICAn i could have given you a 20 point paper on the relevance of the pic , but lets leave it now.

Cheers

1st April

2007-04-06T03:47:00.001-07:00

Happy 1st of April once more .

Watch this

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/37480/04_2007/twtw010407_2/the-week-that-wasnt-with-cyrus-broacha.html

Good One... if you wanna know why Johnson & Johnson has expressed interest to sponsor the Indian Team and why on earth Virgin Airlines would not sponsor them.

Enjoy and would like your comments.

Cheers

Movement

2007-03-30T01:52:00.000-07:00

Hi there ,

so me has moved again ! Just was getting a 'settling donw' feeling in chennai and now it is Alexandria in Egypt . Will be posting lots of pics from here (hope so ) some links are here

http://picasaweb.google.com/ramakrishnan.cn/AlexandriaFirstTour

This is a phenomenally historical City ... Alexander & Cleopatra name pop up immediately when we say alexandria and of course Egypt itself is steeped in history. however the modern upcoming Egypt is a far cry from the greatness of its past . But more of that later.

Thought of the day - When you start feeling comfortable and relaxed at a place understand that is time to leave.

C ya

cheers

Rama

....of panoRAMA's

2006-11-30T01:51:00.000-08:00

Rainbow Panorama Near West Coast
Port Louis Panorama with Shuba

7 Coloured Sands Below

Okie guys ... i am sure everybody has heard about panoramic views Pano photographs etc.... I have been clicking Panorama's from quite some time...
during the Analog times .. the process used to be ;
Set the Camera on a tripod, set Degrees of View, select view, Take exposure Reading , Set expo

sure , click , turn 30 degrees , set exposure ,check overlap, click .. so on and so forth, Come back analyze stitch stitch stitch the snaps !!!! And make a Panorama !!!! phew...

In the Digi Age ... it is Just click , click , click ... download , open panorama make , upload and VOILA you have a peeeerrrfect Panorama ... Complete with exposure corrections ! Cropping etc .... even the keenest of the eye will not know where the pics are merging !!!

Technology AHOY ! Cheers and enjoy the panorama's above taken in Mauritius - A rainbow in full glory , a view of Port Louis and 7 Coloured Sands !!! Click on the images to see a larger file.

The Redux Phenomenon D2

2006-11-07T03:49:00.000-08:00

Hey DHOOM is back again .. and looks like it will be a surefire Boxoffice Blockbuster. All the Marketing Elements - word-of-mouth are in place. The bookings at Satyam Cinemas opened today and voila .. all Shows of D2 are booked till Sunday already . So point made! Mr Ghadvi , hope you have made a tolerable movie , cuz that should be enough to make it the biggest grosser this year. (Don , by the way has already grossed 75 Crores in first 3 weeks) . But the Eye Candy of D 2 will surely give a fight to Don ! - Vijay Vs Jay !!! ha ha

Will it work - Dhoom 2 ... or it will be a Doom 2?

One thing is sure striking .. In the Bollywood .. this probably is the FIRST sequel which actually has the Suffix "2" ... (In case I am wrong , please let me know the rite fact asap)

We are used to Sequels in Hollywood , Die Hard 1,2,3 (Each also had a tag line e.g. Die Hard2 - Die Harder ... etc etc ) , Omen Series, Rocky Series etc etc . But in India .. this concept has somehow not been utilized .
We have had sequels ... I just remember a few like "Nigahen" a sequel to "Nagina" , Vishwatma a sequel to Tridev , More recently Krrish a sequel to KKoi Mil gaya .... but one thing is apparent .. none of these were called Nagina 2 , Kkoi Mil gaya 2 or anything ...
There was one movie which i recal , Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part 2 .... but ... unfortunately there was no part 1 ..

So in my limited knowledge of Hindi Cinema , i can say that Dhoom 2 IS a pathbreaking trendsetter in its own right .

So I am going to get the booking done for next week . To watch D:2 !!! you guys can wait for some critic to blast the movie and rip it apart and thank your lucky stars that you saved some bucks by not going ....or go and enjoy the first movie which can be called a Genuine Sequel as it is not ashamed of the Prequel's name . .. leave it to you
Looking forward to D:3 - Back with a vengeance , D: 4 Redux etc etc
Cheers

P.S

I have a feeling Numerology does have a role too play in the tag '2" not being used ... probably Rakeshji Roshanji may actually give me some clarity . Some research needs to be done.

the inherent Life in Communities !

2006-11-06T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hi there ,
Nowadays i have the liberty to work from home . So have converted one of my rooms into my ER , Entertainment/exercising/E-internet/Escape Room also use it as my office whenever i get time . Some perks of sticking on to the same organization for some time .... (It helps believe me)

Was browsing around into the various online sites where i am a priviledged .. Mostly referring to the Networking sites like Orkut, Ryze etc (tho i am a member only to these two at present) . Just Bumped into one realy old friend of mine.with whom I had lost touch years ago and now it turns out that he is staying quite close to my house, here in T Nagar. That got me thinking that Orkut has actually helped me to establish contact with phenomenal number of people from my College, PG, School etc etc from aeons ago .

But the point that is bugging me is that , what is the kind of gratification that someone gets by "networking" or by establishing contact . If you have not maintained contact with a particular person then all said and done that person is not relevant to yoou in the current scheme of things !!!! so how on earth does it matter ???????????

but it does and we all know that . Although the affiinity that a person has for taking the pains to network , make friends is quite inherent . I have always been a person who would like to make groups , get people in , invlove them so it is hardly surprising that i have taken to such communities like fish to water.
But there are people who are still not comfortable with this medium . They woould sign up , but still not browse and search around and these would typically be people who do not respond to e-groups mails ... This is why i said this behavior is inherent and mostly not acquired.

Chalo enough of rambling for today . In case anyone has a point PLEASE do post comments.
C ya

Of Course by orkut url is http://www.orkut.com/Home.aspx?xid=4934638235748344497

ha ha c u there

The Genesis!

2006-10-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

Started the Blog way back last year in December '05 - as luck would have it - have not been very active in this . The reasons are many and the situations are different.
Anna and myself conceptualized a website called "We Need To Talk " over coffee at Amethyst. Lot of thought went into it but it didnt materialize . So i thought let me create a Blog instead for the time being :)
From December '05 till date there has been a sea change in my life . (This is probably an understatement) . Basically found the ONE :) - got engaged- 4 months Courtship - got married - went to mauritius - changed my Job location- Settled into the heart of Chennai - Now paying Credit Card Bills ..... phew!!!!!!!!!!!! you get the drift.

So i thought i may be excused for not Blogging ... for that matter Jogging.. ha ha ...
But let me make a resolution to keep active .. both online and offline ;)) I am sure Shuba would make sure of the second aspect at least!

Catch you very soon with lots of info and discussions.

First Post

2005-12-02T04:47:00.000-08:00

Namaste... Aadab .. Sasriyakal ...
" We Need To talk .... " The question is DO WE?

At least I believe that it is the single most important thing which defines humans and Human Relationship . This statement would be a very scary or a lovely one depending on the situation / the subject/ context / the person . Just imagine your wife/Girlfriend/Father/Mother/Sister/Friend/Boyfriend saying this to you and you will know where I am coming from .

Okie let me get on withthe business of posting on my own BLOG. Yipppeee.... Hope to make it the most interesting one on this side of the Universe real soon .
Cheers