2x3x7 : A blog Par Excellence....

How many times have you felt that somebody somewhere out there is leading a life out there which you know but for an evolutionary accident and social conditioning you should be leading? Anyway as I was aimlessly blog trotting yesterday I came across this blog which riveted my attention and made me spend a marathon 6 hr stretch reading all the posts and rereading some of them.

His nick is Falstaff and he pretty much lives upto the character's reputation. His blog site is 2x3x7 (If you didnt get the hint on the play on the blog address chances are you wont enjoy the posts in the blog! )
Frankly it was the blog address which caught my attention first and from then on it was a fascinating journey. The panoply of posts covering quite a gamut of topics from Philosophy,Sociology,Books,Music,Movies makes one go awestruck. It is not merely the topics themselves but the logical way in which the posts are written makes it quite brilliant and a literary delight.

I dont know Falstaff from Adam and with all due deference to whoever it is it doesnt really matter. What fascinates one is the brilliant and erudite mind behind it. The posts engages the reader and makes one see the post in the eyes of the writer. Atleast some of the posts the topics on which one is interested. His cohesion of thoughts is impeccable and there is a clinical accuracy to the way in which he dissects an argument and puts forth his viewpoints.The cynical humor is the leitmotif of the posts and I was constantly reminded of the Shavian quote about cynicism...:)

All in all it was an intellectual journey par excellence. To put it more succintly the blog and posts rock! Totally!

Girish...!

p.s. Well the topics and viewpoints expressed in that blog may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you share even one similar interest you cannot come out without being impressed....

p.p.s I really wonder who is this guy...though certain inferences can be made as to "what he is possibly doing now and what he was doing!" Yes Yes I said the physical identity doesnt matter but still one does get inquisitive...

IQBAL : A Cliche which did not elicit a cliche....

IQBAL . It is not a secret that I am a hardened cynic.Especially when it comes to Bollywood/Collywood movies. Not that anyone cares ofcourse :whatthat: Yesterday I was asked by my friend to make a choice between IQBAL and NO ENTRY . I put up a snooty air and asked him what he would do if asked to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea? *Even* if the deep blue sea as in this case was awash with three err.."mermaids". 'Much vaunted eyecandy after a lack lustre software job' So tempted my friend.And the Devil in this case was 'unknown'. Literally. But better sense prevailed (actually NO ENTRY was housefull..) we opted for IQBAL. Now the story would have been done to death in many a place so let me say what it was about the movie which impressed me.
*Spoilers ahead*
The movie is a smorgasbord of the following cliches....
** A protagonist who is handicapped
** A protagonist who is from a minority community (which may or may not be intentional...)
** An underdog who excels amidst tribulations.** A sprightly,vivacious precocious sister for the aforementioned protagonist.
** A strict,initially intransigent father
** An understanding mother who has to handle the tough job of running with the hares and hunting the hounds.
** A promising talented artist(or sportsperson) who was duped in the past and never could go on to achieve his dreams. Yes Alchemist wasn't probably published by then. :p
** A villainous person who coerces the protagonist by putting him in a moral dilemma.
** Soundtrack which reminded you of snippets of Enya and Enigma.Somehow didn't sound original. Had a feeling of have-heard-them-somewhere-before
** A well endowed heroine who plays the love interest of the protagonist and adds to the err.."sizzle" element.
(Actually am not sure of the last statement above....I *could* have got confused with the distraction of the coochicooing couple sitting next to me :whatthat: whom I am pretty sure didntsee half the movie. I can vouch for it. I only hope they had a good time as much as I did. I mean watching the movie. )

Yes I hear some say "Really? I have seen them all in various 'avataars' before!What is the big deal about this movie then?"
Fellow brethren of the cynic club you know all there is to know, not much use for me to say anything to you. And others go..
"Well so what do you expect in a movie?it is not a documentary for heaven's sake! surely some leeway has to be given...and some of these cliches are necessary evils. As most cliches are."
And to them much as I would like to cock a snook I would have to acknowledge that they have a point. And this is precisely why after watching the movie one cannot help but detect a "feel good factor" prevalent among everyone(including me) who came out of the theatre with smiles on their face .(Though as a side note I would like to add the couple next to me were smiling for totally different reasons....:whatthat: ) I was smiling (or as my friend not-so-politely says 'st00pidly grinning") all the way back with a feeling of bonhomie towards all and sundry. I almost felt like a virgin would feel after his first night.(well speaking from other's experience ofcourse....) And was almost gonna offer my friend a fountain pepsi when out of the blue he asked money for the ticket. A solid 170 Rs. in the INOX theatre in Garuda Mall. And there ended all my bonhomie :whatthat: Even bonhomie has it's limit.. :(
Anyway trivialities and cliches apart Nagesh Kukunoor never disappoints with his dialogues...this movie is replete with one liners and thankfully were not "forced" or non sequitur as they were in Hyderabad Blues 2. Sure you second guess some of them but the feeling is more of a elation at matching a master at his own game than guessing what a dumb pupil might say...The acting is quite good and Shreyas Talpade will go a long way.Hopefully. Shweta Prasad as the precocious sister is brilliant too! :thumbsup: Her dialogue delivery is immaculate. And need one say anything about Naseeruddin Shah? He is a natural...on the lines of Tom Hanks one might say if feeling a little bit generous. Inspite of the lighter wallet(170 bucks!!!) I am feeling generous...:)
And those who felt slightly disappointed with "The Rising" might have something to rejoice about after seeing this movie. So I recomemnd go and watch it. That way atleast I will get the tickets for NO ENTRY......
Girish...!

Ah! For The Love Of Books....

Being "tagged" by both Ranjitha and Urmad here is the book virus...

Total Number of Books I Own:
Ah! a dicey qn...frankly I have no idea....quite a lot of them..though most of them are in circulation....and it being a long circle they still are in "circulation"...so cant exactly point to a particular number....

Last Book I Bought:
* The Trial by Franz Kafka
* Plato's Dialogues (Translated by someone I cannot recall now!)
* Autobiography of A Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda

Last Book I Read:
* The Stranger By Albert Camus (last completed book! Astounding book! will soon write a review...)

Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me:
Well this is an instinctive reply...in no particular order...
* Zen And The Art Of MotorCycle Maintenance( Robert Pirsig)
* The Stranger (Albert Camus)
* History Of Western Philosophy (Bertrand Russel)
* The Blind Watchmaker (Richard Dawkins)
* The Story Of Civilization(Will Durant)
there are ofcourse a lot more...one cannot forget the veritable treats of Wodehouse's,Dostoevsky's,Forsyth's and a lot more authors...

Tag five people and have them do this on their blogs:

Rajesh : Cos' am curious to know what he has been reading lately...

Johnny Boy : Cos' am curious abt his literary taste!

Meera : Cos' she reads anything even remotely English....

Suganya : cos' her writing is one of the best among the amateurs I have read....

Deepan : Cos' need to make him blog somehow....:P

Ah! For the love Of Books I would Give my Kingdom....

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun....

......what Cyndi Lauper forgot to add was "at the expense of the guys!" (pun intended!)

Much to my horror I am using the phrase "Sigh! Women!" much too often nowadays. And with a valid reason too. I can write paeans and have always eulogized about the grey cells of the fairer sex of Chennai city mostly because I have been fortunate enough to be acquainted with quite an eclectic bunch of them( and also more importantly there is absolutely no way any other viewpoint can be written...). Those were the halcyon days when I was still unfettered by the "corporate world" and well just didn’t have to worry about a roof above the head and where my next meal was coming from. So when I happened to stumble upon a person from a certain well known college the denizens
of which I have been acquainted for quite a long time. In fact for the past six years(except last yr) I knew quite a lot of ppl from that college and was pretty much informed about the ongoings and politics of the college. This for me as an outsider was terribly boring just as the reminiscence of it now is to you :p. But ever the polite listener I always offered a willing closed ear and slowly became cognizant of the kind of conversations these ppl had. Of course they form just a small sample set and is not exactly representative of anything but still it was a time pass and
always gave me an opportunity to pass on the observation with a holier-than-thou tone

"Seriously you women...I just cant understand you ppl and your squabbles. We men seriously are easy at bonding. The topics of Sex, Booze and Women would unite male of the species irrespective of his race,boundaries,prejudices and in most cases his sexual orientation .The topics are panacea for ice breaking. Works all the time. "
(A vindication of this "astute" observation from me was done by none other than Seinfeld himself as I was told during one of my gyaan sessions. Let me assure you we both (Seinfeld and myself i.e.) arrived at this independently after a prolonged observation of human nature and well coming to no obvious conclusions chose the easier one....)

I know it is pretty sad but afraid that's how it is. Not that we men are not capable of "intellectual" discussions et al but can assure there is a very very slight chance of such a conversation happening between two guys who meet up for the first time...

"Hey there Do you really agree with Descarte's idea of duality of mind and matter?"

"Well that is something to ponder about especially after Kant's Critique Of Reason...."

Now am not saying such a conversation cannot/will not take place. Just that it is more likely to take place after this initial exchange...

"Hey d00d did you read Aishwarya Rai is among the top 10 most beautiful women? "
"Ya but she cannot even hold a candle to Angelina jolie..man she's hawt!"
"Totally agree with you! Now coming to Cartesian sense of duality...."
The incident is of course exaggerated. There is still a lot more ground to cover before Philosophy even has a chance. Again sad but true.

But I digress. As I was aimlessly orkutting and blog trotting I came across a bunch from the aforementioned fav college of mine. And these are snippets of it....take a deep breath,have some water,dictionary and preferably Google page open with you and read on...

"POST MODERNISM IS FABULOUS AND QUITE ADDICTIVE. i happen to worship ginsberg and kerouac to begin with! i got into post modernism when way back in school and it's been a constant obsession.
post mod is not really nonsense...allow me to introduce you to derrida, foucault, baudrillard, jameson...post feminism...post structuralism..sassure..chomsky...they rock! sriously kid..remind me to give you a couple of my books..you'l rethink your conception of post mod. post colonial litt is also brilliant..."

If that hasnt hastened you to pray whomever you pray (if at all you do) this one definitely shall make you...

"I agree with you as far as the linguists are concerned. But we're talking about nonsense poetry here. No, no, not Edward Lear. But the school of thought and poetry which just puts together meaningless words. That's just pretentious. Kerouac is more full of shit than most post modernists - his only competition being Ginsberg. I don't even consider Langston Hughes a modernist, though. He's too articulate and rhythmic for that. I'm talking purely about the manic depressives, the doped writers who are, as you and I would say, in a bit of a "mub". Come on, Bumble. It's ostentatious and never has a serious point. Much like the current Indian female
writer. It's all about fancy words. I'd prefer a straightforward Chomsky to a complicated Saussiere, wouldn't you? "

Beseeching though the tone is I confess If only I knew who Chomsky was I would give my unsolicited opinion....and if you wanna calm your mind by listening to some music think again....

"...to really enjoy beat and soul start with jazz and blues...do a bit of harlem di..you'l love langston hughes! the post modernism that is covered in our syllabus is SHIT. we do nothing of any significance. we do verryy little theory and absolutelt nothing on identity politics, gender discourses, deconstruction...and don't even get me started on post mod art...pop culture...pastiche..the simulacra..."

Ya run for your dictionary.I just did. And if you thought it was just literature students who are obscurantist listen to this friend of mine doing something in Genetics ...

"...oh dont talk to me abt Dawkins!! he has a reductionist approach to Evolution and his critic of Lamarckism is not tenable. Do you know he was accused of being an anti-Saltationist in guise? Seriously! you shld see the way he goes against Gould's punctuated Equilibrium...."

I am glad I dont know any Political Science students...and this from a guy whom himself has been accused of using jargon and being obscure a lot of times!!!

I cant help reminiscing about the Engineering days when the conversation between my class girls, if at all anything to do with studies(disclaimer: To my knowledge) would go something like...
" Hey did you complete the assignment? Did you use the Darlington circuit or...?
" No I used the Colpitt amplifier...you see there is a prob with Hartley Oscillator..."

Yeah I had no idea what they were talking about either but could rest in the knowledge that it was "technical" which I was not interested in anyway. .Ah! the good ol' engineering girls who always finished their assignments letting us guys copy it and in rare cases even do that for us....what would we have done without you ppl?:)

Sigh!Women....

Girish...!

The Wonder Years....

I dont exactly recollect what it is about Wonder Years which brings a smile to my face everytime I think of it or snatch a rare episode from the net. To say it mirrored my adoloscent life would be paltering with the truth cos' frankly my life was anything but that. Nor was the life led by Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) a reflection of my inner desires. Ok maybe we did share the fancy for Winnie Cooper (Danica Mckellar);) Not that I am a connoissuer of acting but both of them did a stellar job in the series. And more importantly there was consistency in the characters along with the expected changes which adolescence brings for the good odd five years the series spanned. Not to forget the brilliant narration of Daniel Stern in the background as the grown up Arnold.To sing paens about the series is not this blog was intended for. Though on its own merit it deserves more than a blog entry :)


As was the leitmotif of the series the vicissitudes of "growing up" can have quite a lasting impression on one's mind.For a lifetime. This series has a nostalgic feel to it as it reminds me of a particular friend who urged me to watch this series. I was fifteen then.A very dangerous age with the hormones just setting in both the sexes and there is a very thin line between "friendship" and "love". And if the person happens to be a close friend (Guess I need not expatiate on what I mean by a "close friend" during adoloscence) the thin line almost becomes invisible and you spend half the time plucking the imaginary rose petals saying you-know-what. Ah!those days of indecision...and innocence! When sharing a giggle over Eric Segal's "Love Story" and publicly debunking the "idea" of even "love" and how "ridiculous" it even sounded! Maybe I have the same views now(maybe not..) for a totally different reason but I confess at that time I wasnt serious..or even honest. The fact that she wasnt was pretty obvious as things later transpired but I still vividly remember that walk years ago when we discussed about everything under the sun but that. And yes "Wonder Years" occupied a greater part of the discussion. I recollect she had a lovely voice (or I maybe guilty of exaggerating her singing skills..as fifteen year olds tend to :)) and her all time favorite was Sam Cooke's "Dont Know much About History..". Quite a romantic setting dont you think? in hindsight it looks that way...but at that time it seemed just normal..like it had been for the past three years.....

It's been almost three years since I spoke to her. Almost five years since I saw her.What led to this distance is immaterial in the present context but the memories of those times will never fade away. Rather I dont want it to. And this auld langsyne is the result of watching a particular favorite episode of Wonder Years of ours..."She,My Friend And I"...recently.

Ah! Those Wonder Years....

p.s. This is dedicated to that one person whom I doubt will ever read this....

Top 10 Symptoms Of A Lazy Blogger

10) When you visit your blog daily if only to update the shout box.

9) When lack of access to net is your excuse for a "creative block".

8) When you have more number of "drafts" in your blog account than actual blog posts....

7) You invariably wait for that one big post which would catapult you to fame of blogdom.

6) When you are more interested in changing the template of your blog than
update the contents.

5) When you are too lazy to even change the template.....

4) When in your list of "blogs to vist" your blog is the last....

3) When in your list of "blogs to vist" your blog is not even there...

2) When the total number of words written in other's "comments" is more
than the word count of your blog.

1) When you have been intending to write the blog on Lazy Bloggers for a
long time but just was too lazy....

Me,Myself and Taler Geo

It has been almost five years since I first got acquainted with him. I still remember

the day and date vividly. May 27th 2000. Since then he has been an integral part of my life. For Better or worse. His name is Taler Geo. His was an ever inquisitive nature unbridled and uncorrupted by the influence of contemporary society. One could say he even had this holier-than-thou attitude when it came to anything "traditional" and almost a mock disdain for things irrational. And almost all the time had impeccable logic to prove his assertions. Most of it I couldn’t comprehend and pretended to acquiesce with him. There was no point arguing with him much. Not that he was a bad listener but he had the annoying habit of switching off his mind if anything mundane comes up in the conversation. Guess it was his nature. He gets bored easily. And also could be because he is lousy at small talk. And guess unable to contribute to the conversation he prefers to think about something else. He claims to be the "dispassionate observer" of humanity and the world.
NEUTRAL PERSPECTIVE.
That's his choice phrase for dispensing his gyaan on all and sundry. Other than a mock smile and oh-you-still-don’t-and-will-never-get-it laugh and shrug off the shoulders I haven’t seen him express any type of emotion. Atleast not publicly. If at all he "feels" any other type of emotion he analyses it and dismisses it with the cold knife of rationality. Not exactly the right person to go for a career being an agony Aunt I guess. Even after years I am not able to comprehend him..not sure whether he understands himself. And has a weird sense of humor. More often than not I don't get his "jokes" but so far have never accepted that to him.

That is all abt him..for now.. And his motto...
Truth is objective, objective truth.
That is all ye know, and all ye need to know

If that hasnt set the alarm bells already welcome to my world...and well his too.

IIM B Results Are Out....And So Am I.....

Ok that's that. Frankly I am not that very disappointed. Ok maybe a teeny weeny bit but hey not as much as ppl wanted me to be! the irony is ppl(my well wishers no doubt..and tnx and all that jazz...) are disappointed that I am not disappointed enough.... Enough rambling I guess. So as of now it's CAT 2005 again. And have learnt the bitter way PERCENTILE MATTERS!
So Long And Thanks For All The Tips....

Saurav Ganguly being "press" "gang"ed to step down!

Alright the pun in the title didnt work out to my satisfaction but hey so didnt the indian cricket team! I dont really post forwards in my blog (I hardly post anything which is ofcourse a different matter..) but this one was way too hilarious not be preserved for posterity and didnt reach the customary trash bin which invariably every forward wihch I get lands up in. This is a consolidated list of the Ganguly bloomers which has been doing the rounds in the net...the sarcasm in most of them as scathing as that of the English press! If you havent read these before and have a wry sense of humor you will appreciate it!;) Oh ofcourse I forgot to add you will be able to appreciate it a lot more if you are not a Ganguly fan...;)

You can see the following message behind maggi 2 minutes noodles pack: Step 1: boil one cup of water Step 2: as soon as ganguly goes for batting, put the noodles in the boiled water and put the tastemaker. Step 3: stir till ganguly is onfield. Step 4: As soon as ganguly is back in pavilion, your noodles r ready to eat.

What is the next number in the series 21, 12, 12, 1, 2, ... . . .
Only Ganguly knows it. Because these are his scores in the latest Test series

This is the precise summary of the third test match, as expressed in DH - Editorial today: India's defeat Sir, The Indian cricket team losing the third Test match to Pakistan in Bangalore brings to mind an old Arab proverb: "An army of lions led by a sheep can be vanquished by an army of sheep led by a lion "

Phone call for Ganguly! India Pakistan Match has started. As to be expected, it’s a charged up atmosphere and the heat is really on! .......... India is put in to bat. As to be expected, three wickets down, for a measly score. .......... There is phone call for Ganguly, at the Dressing Room. The Team Manager picks up the call. .......... “Hello ! I am Ganguly’s friend speaking . Can I talk to him now ?” ......... The Team Manager replies : “Sorry ! He has just gone in to bat . ” ....... The caller replies “No problem . I’ll hold the line ! ”

Height of Optimism : Ganguly applying Sun screen cream on his face when he goes out to bat

After a BIG partnership between Tendulkar and Dravid, Tendulkar gets out of the bowling of Kaneria. Ganguly comes next. While ganguly is taking guard.. pakistan close fielders shout with confidence " Come on Danish... try for Hat trick"

Shoiab Akhtar admits Ganguly is faster and quicker than him. "I haven't seen any one get out so fast. Man, I envy his speed. I am quick but he is quickest.", he says. "I think I should now cut my run up short when I bowl to him. Or else, he might be gone when I am half way thru my run up."

1) What is common to a 100 mtrs race and Ganguly's innings? Ans: They both last for the same time

2) How can u say "Get Out" to Ganguly politely? Ans: Ask him to go to bat

3) If Rahul is "The Wall", what is Ganguly? Ans: The hole in the wall

4) How can Ganguly save time everyday? Ans: By not bothering to pad up

5) Who is the only cricketer who does not bat, bowl or field and yet plays international cricket? Ans: no comments.......

6) Why has Saurav Ganguly been recommended as the fielding coach for India after retirement? Ans: No one else can provide catches as easily as Ganguly

Best Seller by Ganguly: Back to the Pavillion in 2 minutes

Ganguly to donate all his bats to charity. "I don't require a bat nowadays", said the Indian southpaw.

Q: Any Guesses which is Ganguly's favorite movie? A:Gone in 60 seconds

My IIM B interview.....

I know it's been quite some time since I have posted anything...anyway hope to be regular from now on..:) This is copy/paste from www.pagalguy.com/cat where I had posted my interview experiences..


Hey looks like am the first to inaugurate today's proceedings! anyway thither I furnish my details...

Name :
Venue : IIMB@9AM
Work Exp : 9 months
backgrnd: ECE Engg...

Case study: A certain Ramakanth is a MBA from an institute in US and is working in some publishing company now. He had done a market study and realized there is a market for print edition of encyclopaedia of Indian mythology. His boss is not so cool abt it so it is shelved. But there is a person Mr. Giri Murthy who is interested in Ramakanth's idea. Eventually the boss leaves the company and Mr. Giri takes over the mantle. Mr. Giri is all for the idea and decides to go ahead with the print edition stuff. But our good ol' Ramakanth has other ideas now. He thinks there is more market for an online edition of the encyclopaedia. our Mr.Giri is not-so-cool abt it and now Ramakanth's promotion hangs in the balance..so what does he do?

(Disclaimer: The above ofcourse are not the exact words but the gist is the same)

Well the discussion was fine..couldnt find anything amiss with it. It was a nice discussion and culminated in the inevitable conclusion of "having a balance between both print and online editions". We were abt 7 of us and abt 3 of them are PG visitors...Tejaswi,Anuradha,Jathin...(might have erred in the spellings..so numerology conscious ppl plz excuse!:mg:)..guess time you ppl posted as well than merely being visitors! Anyway the arrangement was on the basis of ur CAT REGN number...so junta speculating abt "profiles" etc etc can relax...but as it happened except one everyone had work experience...

Interview: Frankly I was disappointed with the interview inspite of having a "super cool" panel and "super cool" interview. And That was the whole problem. Almost everyone in my panel had a great interview simply because there hardly seemed to be any element of stress!!! Out of 20 odd minutes my interview lasted I was asked on my work for almost 15 minutes!!! It was like explaining to my friend abt the kind of work I do and all! Though they did have my SOP in front of them hardly anything was asked from it...:( And I couldnt do much to "lead" the interview cos' frankly there wasnt any scope for it unless I made a totally irrelevant point which I didnt. Since I was counting on my SOP to lead the interview all the great ideas which I had to change the world just stayed where they originated from...in my brain! :( Being the last one to be interviewed in my group didnt help things either...and to see how "impressed" they were with the kind of work I do was evident from the yawns which to their credit they were trying hard to stifle...:) All in all didnt think it was worth the effort of verbatim reproduction but hey got lucky with the panel...or Did I? guess the final results will answer that qn....

Girish...!

p.s. I so wanted a "stress interview"!!
p.p.s No technical qns..no current affairs based qns...zilch! nothing! aught! nada!

Don Mclean comes Clean...

Ok couldnt think of a more lousy title but did like the creativity in this song. If you are the type who croons a song notwithstanding the reaction of the ppl arnd you will like this!;)
http://live.indiatimes.com/ppt/081104/index.html

Yesterday...I was 21.....

Yesterday
Beatles
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday

Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be
A shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly

{Refrain} Why she had to go
I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong,
now I long for yesterday

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide
Oh, I believe in yesterday

{Refrain}

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday

Mm mm mm mm mm
------------------------------------------
Much as this sounds like the lamentation of a soul deeply in "love" with the opposite sex(sometimes not necessarily :D )what am trying to delineate is the metamorphosis of my life from what it was 3 months back. I turned 22 today. And with a macabre sense of irony am reminded of the book Catch22 by Joseph Heller. Without knowing the destination I cannot take the first step forward and without taking the first step forward I don't know what direction and inevitably the destination am gonna reach. There has been a lot of changes in the past 3 months and in the context of my life some of them quite radical. Still there is a sense of ennui around me and a marked sense of lazy arrogance. The most important thing I have learnt is the meaning of the words "priority" and "time management". And like all important things in life I just know the meaning of them cos' have no "time" in my "priority" list to implement them :D.
Also today happens to be the completion of 2yrs of the forum www.pagalguy.com/cat and have met some of the most interesting people from varied backgrounds.
And on a trivia note there is an Ayn Rand connection to September 2nd as well. Anyone familar with Atlas Shrugged would have noticed the recurring date Sept 2 in the magnum opus. Apparently Rand started writing the book on this date 58 yrs ago. And staunch followers of her philosophy celebrate sept2 as the "Objectivist Day"! And 36yrs later I was born with an objectivistic but not-so-capitalistic attitude! you think it's coincidence? I think so too:)

A special thanks to all those ppl who wished on my birthday here and to all those who called up too:)

And a very Happy birthday to the other 17,687,970 ppl with whom I apparently share a Birthday too according to probability sans statistcs :D

Sayonara..hope to be back more often:)

Dr. Jekyll: Where are you Mr. Hyde?

It must be nearly ten yrs since I read the book “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert L.Stevenson. At that time I did find the book interesting though not fascinating. Well you can’t blame a 11 yr old who was into Nancy Drew’s And Hardy Boy’s then to appreciate such a magnum opus. Of late have been thinking abt this and realized that there is a Jekyll and Hyde in everyone of us. No I am not going to allude the “evil” part of humans as Hyde and the “good” part as “Jekyll” simply because I don’t believe in it. Evil and Good are simply a matter of perspective and circumstances. There are no absolute tangibles to describe them and are relative. Well be that as it may coming to Jekyll and Hyde part my definition of them is thus,
Jekyll: The serious side of man
Hyde: the jovial happy-go-lucky side of man

I think most of us commit the fallacy of dismissing a person as “serious” and “lightheaded” prematurely without giving the other person an opportunity to explain themselves or observe them in different surroundings.. It is a very common phenomenon and the problem is at a given time only one of the personalities is dominant in a person. I have tried (unsuccessfully) to do the balancing act and have fallen between the two stools once too often. So what defines me the best? Jekyll or Hyde? Frankly I don’t know the answer to that myself. Many of them would be surprised that one or the other exist in me at all! (ignoring the fact that many will be surprised I have a personality at all :P) Have wondered whether it’s a conscious decision which makes a particular personality (here Hyde or Jekyll) dominant. I think it has got to do more with the first impressions…*if* I had portrayed the Jekyll side of me first that is the one which takes dominance in my subsequent interactions with the aforementioned person and Mr. Hyde just doesn’t have a chance cos’ the other person is not willing to accept you! Ppl claim I am trying to be something which I am not and ask me to be “normal”! I will be at a loss of words to explain to them cos’ partly have no idea what to say myself. Then there is the drawback of exposing the Hyde side of you first. One cannot indulge in serious discussions that easily and you have to continue playing the part. This might seem like I am very “confused” chap regarding what I exactly am but of what I have seen this is something which almost everyone goes thro’ either consciously or subconsciously.
Also a lot depends on the person whom you are confabulating with. Guess the first impression one has of the person also plays quite a role in making a particular personality dominant. So next time you see a “funny” or “serious” person think again…a lot depends on how you portray yourself to them too ;) After all communication is a two way thing….and to end up I would like to quote Carl Sagan though a bit out of context..
“ Absence of Evidence does not mean Evidence of Absence! “

HUM TUM....Another Bollywood Humdrum!

Creativity has almost become defunct now in Bollywood. Not that I had any hopes from it in terms of challenging cinema. But should admit of late the quality of films being dished out to the "discerning audience" is at it's nadir. With the glorious exception of Ram Gopal Verma's films I don't look forward to the release of any Hindi film. Not that I am an aficionado of Tamil films either. Again Mani Ratnam,Kamal Hassan and Shankar being the exceptions. But as I mentioned elsewhere the trash ratio of Collywood is lower compared to Bollywood. IMNSHO an average Hollywood film is comparable to the best dished out here. Well alright guess I am a stuck up snob when it comes to films but hey that doesn't make my observation any wrong. Now coming to Hum Tum where I was dragged on to it by my friend and his inamorata to the Woodlands theatre . It was 8 yrs since I last went to the theatre...
...cut to the present...

About the Movie: *if* I have to write abt the story (?) it would take me less than two lines. So I am gonna desist from doing it. (Ya thank your respective Gods). It is "loosely" based on When Harry Met Sally (WHMS) and did not do justice to the film at all. Ok let me first say what was in the movie. Saif in his stereotyped flirtatious role. He still seems to be carrying on that image from his "Yeh Dillagi" (If my memory serves me right) days. And looks way too old in this movie to pull it off. Ppl do age in 10 yrs you know. Though he does seem comfortable in the later part of the movie. Initially as a “college” student….well (shrugs). Rani looks gorgeous if her make up man has been kind to her or *if* you have been lucky to doze off in between. Sorry even she isn’t worth the 60 bucks the ticket I spent for! ;(
The rest of the cast does not warrant any special attention. Ah yeah. The Story. Saif comes from a rich family (boy! Were you “surprised???) whose parents are estranged (ample foundation for sentiments to come later) with an ultra cool dad. (the new synonym for clichéd is Bollywood!) Rani is as usual from a rich family too with a Punjabi mother (Atleast I am not sure..hey this is not a movie review..these are my interpretations not facts) and the story is how they “hate each other initially and then fall in love” (yawn!!!!!) Add doses of sentiments..family values…man woman bonding (Bollywood style!) ,designer clothes,forced humor,shameless lifting from a Hollywood film and not doing it justice fully and what have you? “Hum tum”! Some of the visuals are pretty good ofcourse…Paris and Amsterdam…but hey me want some “reality” and more importantly “originality”!!

How is it different from WHMS? In every way possible. The two reasons why WHMS became popular was :
1) Woman faking orgasms
2) Platonic friendship: myth or reality?

About the first naturally have no idea or empirical facts to back up (as yet ;)). Abt the second have loads to say. But that’s got to be another day. The movie was a classic because it was more in sync with the American life. The screenplay was much better and brilliant acting by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan added to the positives of the movie. Now naturally one cannot make a replica of WHMS in hindi…where “sex” is still taboo (Hawaas and Murder fans plz excuse!) and whatever does p-l-a-t-o-n-i-c mean anyway??? So Hum Tum is the “best” they can dish out. And insult the intelligence of the viewers (Did you forget abt the “snob” part?) And THAT ladies and Gentleman is THAT.

My Political Stance...

First of all due credit to Guhan for suggesting the site www.politicalcompass.org ...think it's a pretty good and accurate one. Though I hadn't thought deeply about some of the qns asked and hence had to answer impromptu. That might have affected my political ideology a bit...but overall think it's a pretty good estimate. Great site d00d! Well am not exactly surprised seeing where I am placed in the international chart..;) Though am not that much of a LEFTIST. The anomaly could be because of the aberrations in answering some qns. What say Guhan? we seem to have almost the same political ideology ;)

Are you "Orkuted" yet?

Looks like the "socializing" bug has bit me too ! From an extremely private individual with closeted thoughts here I am coming out "split wide open"! Of course I am exaggerating:) The thing is last fortnight or so there has been this intense desire to “let go” and go full throttle into the world. Well whatever. Not sure how many of you guys have heard of this site www.orkut.com . I heard abt it a month ago when Suzy mentioned it in passing…I had no idea but got curious and went to the site..and viola! Was greeted with this message…

“orkut is unique, because it's an organically growing network of trusted friends. That way we won't grow too large, too quickly and everyone will have at least one person to vouch for them.

If you know someone who is a member of orkut, that person can invite you to join as well. If you don't know an orkut member, wait a bit and most likely you soon will.

We look forward to having you as part of the orkut community. “

OH YEAH! Alright let me admit it I got curious. I mean what the heck was there in the site anyway? But then had to curb my curiosity since no one had found me worthy enough to be “orkuted”;) So I followed their suggestion and waited a “bit”..except that “bit” turned out to be a month and slowly the existence of such a site faded away from my memory. Then as destiny would have it I got two invites to be “orkuted” in the same day! One from my cousin and another one from Anil . Boy! Was I getting famous enough to be “orkuted”;) Anyway thither I went and did the mandatory registering blah blah. This site boasted of abt 3.3 lakh members when it was established just 5 months ago. Not doubting the authenticity of the data given it was impressive. Anyway there are lots of “communities” in it no doubt catering to almost every interest of yours but what was sorely lacking was ironically the QUALITY of posts. There were some glorious exceptions of course still overall disappointing. I was bored with reading the lacklustre responses and posts even in communities like “Psychology”,”Evolution” and all so did the next best thing. Started going thro’ the profiles of friends of friends etc . And it brought out some curious and very valuable information.
1) There are a large number of single eligible girls out there
2) And some of them defy Murphy’s law. Am not talking abt the Beauty*Brains= negative constant thing but “All Good ones are taken” ;)
3) There are lots of desperate guys out there as well :P

And viola! Here you have a dating site! Frankly as of now seeing the quality of interaction going on the cynic in me can call it only a “dating” site in the garb of a community one ! Anyway who is complaining?;) And the hilarious part was the “testimonials” which one can write for one’s friends. And they way some of them were “coochicooing” online was disgusting/funny whatever was the intention. But it’s a good networking site. Infact a very good networking site as it is amazing to see how many mutual friends one has. But as of now unless the quality of posts increase it will remain only that…a dating site. If you wanna join mail me;) or wait a “bit” longer….someone somewhere out there will soon “orkut” you! :D :D

Not as easy as I thought...

Let me admit it. The transition from my pc to online blog is not as easy as I thought. Cos' since this is in the public domain I have to rethink everytime I post. And moreover was busy the last week with the PG meet and my trip to Bangalore. Anyway as of now this blog looks clumsy...me too lazy to edit! Anyway let me see what I Can do in the following days to come....

So it's officially out..I have gone Public :)

So from sporadic diary writing to pc to online the transition has been indeed late. I love writing and dispensing my gyaan...to myself. Perhaps that was the reason why I desisted from posting it public. But it had to happen someday and well so as Bryan Adams would say or rather sing it.. "Here I am " :) So dear blog expect me more often here and no I am not going to bore you with the mundane happenings in my life...will rather you bore you with my perceptions of it ;) So till next time..take care....