Happy Deepavali 2009

Standard Fireworks, Peacock Brand, 100 Wala Lar Grand, Snake, Stone, Sparklers, Vishnu Chakram, Thara Chakram, Buswanam, Aerial color-out, Morning Idlis, Patti-Mandram, Deepavali Release.

These are the only faint memories that I have of celebrating Deepavali at home. It has been around 10 years, since I set forth out of home for college and work thereafter. In these 10 years I have been at home for Deepavali only a couple of times. I know for a fact that in the coming few years, there are very less chances of me being at home for Diwali. So here I am at the airport on the Diwali eve, taking a flight to Chennai. This was a very impulsive booking on my part, and a last minute decision. But I dont repent it. I am sure I will cherish this weekend for ever!!

So all you guys out there spending your Diwali with your loved ones and family, you should feel very special and lucky!! And those who are far away from their loved ones, gather with your friends and have fun, for this is a season of lights and you should brighten your lives with this light, wherever you are in this world!!!

Snapshot

Quote of the Month
மூச்சு விட்டு கொண்டிருப்பவன் எல்லாம் மனிதனல்ல.
கிடைசி மூச்சு வரை முயற்சி செய்து கொண்டிருப்பவனே மனிதன்!
A man is not defined by the fact that he is constantly breathing. One who persistently keeps trying until his last breath maketh a MAN!
(Heard this on Vijay TV rendered by a Tamil Poet and lyricist called Pa. Vijay).
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Book Recommendations:
1. Unaccustomed earth - Jhumpa Lahiri
Very moving stories, but most of the stories have a sad undertone.

2. My Days - A Memoir - RK Narayan
My Guru, My role model, my God, my constant companion. His life is as interesting as his books.
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Recent Good Movies :
1. Unnai Pol Oruvan - Kamal Haasan - Need I say more.
2. Kaminey
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Recent Board Game discovery:
Discovered an awesome game called RISK. The objective of this game is to conquer the world. A board game with skills similar to Age of Empires.
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Restaurants :
Chutney Mary (East Coast Road)
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NEWS of the Month
* Sensex kicking some ass now.
* 1 year anniversary of Lehman brothers collapse and world economies showing some signs that the recession is coming to an end (touch wood, in fact touch an entire forest ).
* Signs of water on the moon discovered as part of the Chandraayan moon mission.
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Highlights of the Month
Looking forward to the Singapore F1 night race this weekend!!!

The Writer's Block

My fingers are dancing over the qwerty
I really want write something from the bottom of my heart
I want to get my hands dirty
And make yet another start!

There is either a famine or a flood of ideas in my cerebrum
There are times I cannot write a single word
And times where I disgorge incoherent ideas in cryptic conundrum
That are worth only to be interred!

My fingers flop down on the keyboard due to lack of work in shame
They do what they usually do in such times without fail
I end up googling my own name, how lame,
And set forth on my usual meaningless web trail.

Dead-ends - Where New life begins

I was on the highway sooner than I had realized

You are part of the race whether or not you want to be

I set forth at full gear with

The wind on my face

The music on my lips

The feel of absolute power in my hands

I knew know fear

There were no strings attached.

I braved many distractions

It was important to keep driving on

I ignored the exits and short-cuts

They were only for quitters and losers

I ignored the warnings and the signals

They were only for the faint-hearted and weaklings

There were many obstructions

But it was important to keep driving on!

I started this journey with a dream

A dream that when I reach the end of my journey

Where there are no more roads

Where no man has driven to before

I shall erect my flag of success on virgin grounds

And bask in the glory of my achievements

But the roads never come to an end

Roads will never come to an end

It is for you to find that happy nook that others call the "Dead-end"

Where you need to carve a niche for yourself

That happy place where only your car can go through the gates

Where other cars can come, but they have to leave.

Life is funny in that sense

The journey does not come to an end

Because your destination has arrived

Rather it comes because you can no longer drive

Or make a conscious choice to end the journey

I am still driving

But wisely so now

For I am aware that I need to find my dead-end

Where a happy new life awaits!

Mi Primer Poema Espanol

La señora es mucho bonita.
A mi me gusta la señora.
Algún día voy a hablar con ella
ese día voy a cantar la la la

That girl she is really beautiful
I like that girl a lot
Some day I will talk to that girl
That day I will sing la la la

My Day in Brands

Colgate
Listrine
Garnier
Pears
Nivea
Johnson & Johnson
Kenneth Cole
Alain Delon
Woodlands
Seven Eleven
Magnolia
HP
NEC
MS Windows
Redoxon
Google
Java
Samsung
Starhub
Akira
Acer
Ikea
Listrine
Himalaya
LG

The Tiger Awaits

Keeping with the tradition of my airport blogging, this is yet another 1-hour-before-flight blog. (first time from the Budget terminal @ Singapore though).


I expected something really bad at the Budget terminal. I should say that it is not that bad, except that I really miss the free leg-massagers in terminal 1 and 2.


Enough banter. Let us talk about something intellectual. How about the third-law of thermodynamics: that the entropy in the universe is ever increasing. (hopefully I still remember it correct from Thermo-D 101)

If I am part of the universe (or maybe the universe is part of me :D ) then I am certainly a good contributor to the increase in entropy.
Some of my actions recently definitely fall into the distribution of entropy contributing activities from the set : {weird, abnormal, eccentric , crazy)

Some of the really "entropic" things that I did recently:

• Last night at 2 AM I had a strong craving for hot spicy noodles and a keen desire to watch Michael Madana Kamarajan. Thanks to the Gracious God and Myself I had both accessible at home. And BOY I did really enjoy both at that Ghastly, ghostly hour!!!
• I suffer from a chronic disease called "IMPATIENCE" and the doctors have given up on me. Recently at the LRT Station (light rail transit) I really got impatient waiting for the lrt and I started walking round and round the platform ("the Pentathol" scene from Gunaa). A concerned SMRT Railway employee stopped me and asked if all was OK. I retorted saying that this is my way of exercising since I don't get time to exercise after work. (which was partly true btw.) He went away chuckling to himself.
• I actually made a "Check-list" before this trip for my packing and the list of items I had to do before departing. Now is that a sign of AGEING or really a Curious Case of my extraordinary Project management skills applied to daily living. Weird!!!

Now playing: Confusion confusion (Kotha Bangaru Lokam)

Snapshot

The following two books are my recent good reads.

The Gifted - Nikita Lalwani
The story is about an Indian immigrant family in Cardiff (Wales). The head of the family is an Indian mathematics professor and the main character in the story is his "gifted" daughter who is a maths prodigee. The family's aspirations are centred around the girl and the whole plot is about how this affects the normal living of the girl. I really enjoyed reading this book,especially understanding the psyche of the girl. For example there is an instance where the girl prays to God to get her out of a problem by counting to 30th digit of "Pi", the transcendental number.

Show Business - Shashi Tharoor
Excellent parody of the Bollywood industry and closely resembles the life of Amitabh Bachchan. Shashi Tharoor has devised an intelligent structure to the book, with chapters resembling film-shooting takes. I really enjoyed the monologues of each character.

Other reads

Introduction to Freud - comic series

This was quite an eye-opening read. Came across some shocking theories like the Oedipus complex. Overall the book was a good introduction to Sigmund Freud's theories some of which are quite relevant. Freud says that reason is not an obvious outcome of the mind but an outcome of a struggle between the ideal and raw-inconscious mind and the practical conscious mind.

Now playing:

Kangal Irandal - Subramaniyapuram

Dreams on Fire - Slumdog Millionare

X-Ray of a Confused Mind

The scariest place in the world at times is within your head!

The Climb Resumes...

For years I have been climbing steep mountains
I have never feared hanging off steep ledges
The sharp rocks have seldom hurt me
I was undeterred by the pain my arms
And the ache in my legs
I was steady in my resolve
To keep climbing higher and higher
Until I reached the ultimate summit!

Everything was fine until my recent fall
The fear of failure has crept into me like poison ivy
Self infliction is nothing but an easy solution
I seek pleasure in pain
I seek solace in my solitude
I seek refuge in my goblet
Hoping to drown in the rednesss of the wine
That liberates my inner spirit!

A faint voice within me frantically calls out
Begging me to just hang in there
And that the tide will turn
I hear the voice of reason calling out loudly to
Pull myself out of this abyss
For I have been at greater heights
The climb now should be faster and easier
The perils are not strangers anymore.

I may now hold on to my rope tighter
Every step of mine might take longer
I may rest after each exertion and my breath may be heavier
But at least I have resumed my climb!
And I vow that I shall keep climbing
As after every fall the only way is UP!

Contentment

I stare out of my window at the grey night sky
And see a lone faint star in the distance.
The clouds annoy me for this reason.
Why do they want to deny me the simple pleasure
Of gazing at the bright stars and counting them?
A finite entity attempting to grasp the infinite.
It is not that I want the stars all for myself.
I do not wish to roll up the sky
And hang it in my living room to adorn my wall.

But this is just a momentary lapse
For I am filled with brimming gratitude
For it is the clouds that bear the rain
that paints the earth in hues of green
that ensures my thirst is quenched.
I quietly close the window making a vow to myself
That I shall consciously try to be content with what I have!

The Long Awaited Journey

Blogging from the airport has now become a tradition for me :).

This has been a year of very few trips or journeys.

• Jakarta in January
• India in Jan / Feb
• Malacca and Mt Ophir (Malaysia) in September
• India again now in December.

I am now going to India(chennai) after almost 10 months, my longest strech away from home. Hopefully the next year brings a lot of good change !!
Till then Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!

As usual a verse to end it all, based on a real experience today.

I shook my hands with an old neglected gentleman and he felt happy.
I wished him good luck and seasons greetings and he felt elated.
He came towards me and embraced me and I was almost in tears!

Forgotten Face - Aasai Mugam Marandhu

Excerpts from one of the many gems of Bharathiyar. I heard this song recently in a concert and was totally moved by it. Apparently Bharathi had written this song when he lost his mother's photograph (the only photograph and memory he had of her).

ஆசைமுகம் மறந்து போச்சே - இதை யாரிடம் சொல்வேனடி தோழி?
I have forgotten that lovely face, whom shall I share this grief with ?
நேசம் மறக்கவில்லை நெஞ்சம் - எனில் நினைவு முகம் மறக்கலாமோ?
The heart has still not forgotten the love, alas how can I forget that memorable face?


தேனை மறந்திருக்கும் வண்டும் - ஒளிச் சிறப்பை மறந்துவிட்ட பூவும்
வானை மறந்திருக்கும் பயிறும் - இந்த வையம் முழுதுமில்லை தோழி
One cannot find in this whole world :
Bees that have forgotten honey
Flowers that forgotten the splendor of light
Crops that have forgotten the sky


கண்ணன் முகம் மறந்துபோனால் - இந்த கண்களிருந்து பயனுண்டோ?
If I forget the face of krishna, then what is the use of my eyes? (Krishna is a placeholder for his mother here).
வண்ணப் படமுமில்லை கண்டாய் - இனி வாழும் வழியென்னடி தோழி?
I no longer have your photograph, now what is left in life,tell me my dear friend ?

Con-Verse-sation

17:28 VK: arz kiya hai.....
17:28 VK: Tairna hai to samundar Mein tairo,
17:28 VK: Nadi naalo Mein kya rakha hai,
17:28 VK: Mohabbat karni hai to apne watan se karo,
17:28 VK: In bewafa hASino Mein kya rakha hai......
(If you want to swim, do so in the ocean. What is there in the ponds and rivers. If you want to Love someone, find someone from your own country. What do you see or what is there in these disloyal damsels?).

17:32 Me: wah wah...may i kindly ASk you to qualify these bewafa hASinAS..
17:33 AS: this shair is for the NRI
17:33 VK: indeed

17:37 Me: in continuation with VK's effort with my rusty hindi :
17:38 AS: best of luck to us
17:38 Me: here you go..
17:38 Me: tairna aata to samundar kya aASman Mein tairunga
17:38 Me: pyar karna aata to ek nahi hazaaron hASinon se karunga
(If I could swim then i would do so in the skies. And if I was capable of love, I would love not one but a thousand damsels.)
17:38 AS: aaage?
17:39 Me: this is like kabir ke dohe...2 liners
17:39 AS: dohe still follow a format
17:39 AS: a reply to a shair should be a shair
17:39 AS: 4 liner on 4 liner

17:41 Pak Poet: Gul hui jaati hai afsurda sulagti hui shaam
17:41 Pak Poet: Dhul ke niklay gi abhi chAShma-e-mahtab se raat
17:41 Pak Poet: Aur mushtaaq nigaahon ki suni jaaye gi
17:41 Pak Poet: Aur un hathon se mAS: hongay yeh tarse huay haath

17:42 Me: translate plz
17:42 Pak Poet: Translation

17:42 Pak Poet: The morose evening is lost in the silhouette of a fading sun
17:42 Pak Poet: But soon, it will coMe out bathed in the moonlit night
17:43 Pak Poet: And those eager eyes will be heard to, one more tiMe
17:43 Pak Poet: and these longing fingers will be entwined with those fingers again

17:43 Me: whoa ur verse is it?
17:43 Me: awesoMe
17:43 Pak Poet: no... faiz ahmed faiz
17:43 Pak Poet: Pak Poet:
17:43 Pak Poet: winner of Lenin prize, 1985
17:43 Me: nice
17:45 Pak Poet: correction: Lenin Peace Prize, awarded in
1962...

Timestamp

Amazed at how some things that never bore you, such as

1. Midnight maggi (from the old ANC times)
2. Godavari (still to figure out my fixation with this movie)
3. Sunday morning Top 10 movies (with dosa substituted by bread-omlette and coffee)
4. RK Narayan and PG Wodehouse (doing a revisit now)
5. Friends

Pudhu Kavidhai - Mini Verse
The markets may be bearish
But never lose the bull within you
Feed him with some positive thinking
And reap profits lifelong!

Oxygenic Verse

Lines from Tamizh MA

Exchanging our stories
We blended into the air
Even if our conversations end
I am content and happy in the shadows of your silence

P.S. : Tried my hand at tamizh after a long long time. I still enjoy writing in Tamizh.



LEISURE - Excerpts from the famous poem Leisure by W.H. Davies

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

P.S. : Shot that sunset picture from the house, on one pleasant evening.


Lines from A Song in Jab We Met

Ham Jo Chalne Lage Yeh Raasthe
The route that we have treaded
Kho Jaye Hum Kho Jaye Hum yun la pata
We are lost and are clueless where we are
Janaa Kahaan Na ho pata
Neither do we know where we are heading to
Par Manzil Se Behether Lagne Lage yeh raasthe
But yet this journey seems to better than the final destinations themselves!

P.S. : Lights outside Capital Tower Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

Bullet Points

Health Survey

A recent health survey in India by Nielsen Company consisting of 20,000 respondents revealed that among various conditions:

• 54.4% (~11000) of the respondents had a household member affected by High BP.
• 45.7% (~9000) of the respondents had a household member affected by Diabetes.
• 12.2% (~2400) of the respondents had a household member affected by Depression.

I believe that among the various conditions, depression is the most sinister, as it has a significant impact on the home ecology. It is the combined responsibility of the entire family to rescue the affected person out of the condition.
Source : Reader's Digest

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Mittal Trivia

• Richest man in UK and 4th richest in the world
• Vanisha Mittal (Mittal's daughter) had the world's most expensive wedding in France.
• Mittal built his first plant outside India in Surabaya Indonesia at the age of 26.

Source : Wikipedia

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Spirit-ed Women
A recent article I read in a magazine (Outlook) states the following about women and drinking:

• Women are more likely to get addicted to alchohol even with casual drinking.
• Women get intoxicated with even lesser amounts of alchohol.
• Women account for the annual 25% increase in alchohol consumption in India. (this does shadow the fact that Males are causing the rest 75% )

Did you also know that:

• Alchohol dehydrogenase is the enzyme that digests (metabolises) alchohol and this is secreted (by the liver which is the largest human internal organ) in lesser quantities in Women.
• 1 gm of Protein or Carbohydrate contains 1 Calorie. Whereas 1gm of Alchohol contains 7 Calories. (1 gm Fat contains 9 Calories)

Disclaimer: I am not being judgemental nor in advisory mode here. It is just a reminder to all us spirited individuals that we are one hell of a live-r (deliberate malaproprism) and while living life to the fullest we should use our judgement while revelling in high spirits.

Life is Like That

Scene 1 : Nationality

A guy talking to a girl.
Guy: Are you Indian ?
The girl replied back.
Girl: Yes of course I am Indian.
I was flabbergasted. It was like they show in the movies. The trees stopped swaying, the birds stopped in mid air, the waves in the sea froze for a second and the whole world came to a stand still.
Do you ask why?
This whole scene took place in the Indian High commission in Singapore.

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Scene 2 : SMS Eavesdrop Monday Morning

( I happened to eavesdrop (of course accidentally) on a lady messaging her boy friend on the train.)
Janice: Oh am so sleepy this morning. It was a tiring night yesterday and it got pretty late ;)
Peter: Yes it was tiring but good fun.
Janice: Thanks for organizing the friday gathering.
Peter: Hope you enjoyed my friends on friday.
Janice: I did. But I enjoyed you better yesterday!
Sometimes Singlish is too short to convey the meaning. Just remember to change "you" to "your company" in the above conversation to get the right meaning. :D

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Scene 3 : S-Team Boat

(Conversation in a office meeting to organize an event. Of course the names have been changed but are indicative of their place of origin.)

Irodov Vadapava: Let us think of some idea to organize the company yearly event for team building
Pierre Fries : I had thought about it. How about a cruise on a ship and a boat party?
Jollygood Steak: That seems to be a nice idea,
Akram Kebab: Company Compliancy Policy IPC Section 666A does not allow this stating this as Employee Loss risk. What if the ship sinks drowning more than half our employees!
Jollygood Steak: Is that bad after all ;)

Life, A Riddle and Ten Questions

"I asked of life what have you to give me?
Life answered back : What you have to offer!"

(This was a poster in our bedroom which has always been there since as far as I can remember)

Riddle

When you utter my name I disappear. Who am I or What am I?
This riddle was from the movie "Life is Beautiful" (Italian movie).



Two alternative answers
1. Gratitude
2. Silence


Questions

1. Why are we selfish at times (or most times)?
2. Why can't we put others' needs before ours?
3. Why do seek recognition from others? (for e.g. why do I feel happy when others leave comments on my blog)?
4. Is there a purpose to life and if so are we doing our duty?
5. Why is money so important inspite of not being important?
6 Why can't we speak our minds?
7. Why is the mind so devious at times?
8. Is there a good and bad side to our brain/thinking?
9. How do I know that I am intelligent? Is it by proving that I can solve a difficult mathematical
problem or by cracking difficult exams or scoring high on an IQ Test?
10 It is 3 AM in the morning and am I crazy to be blogging at this hour?

Pollen Moments

The school bell rang at exactly 3 PM. Raghu came rushing out of his biology class. Raghu belonged to class 5 in Wesley High School. He was a very bright and inquisitive student. He located his red "BSA StreetCat" cycle in the stands and enthusiastically cycled back home. He parked the cycle by the window and locked. He inspected the reflector at the rear of the cycle. It looked a bit dusty. He kneeled down and started polishing itwith his saliva. It was now gleaming in the evening sun. Beaming and satisfied with his effort,he rushed to find his grandmother in the kitchen.

Grandma: What is up Laddu(sweetums)? Why are you brimming with so much excitement?
Raghu: Grandma, we had a very interesting lesson today in Biology. It was about osmosis. I am going to do some experiments at home with raisins and grapes. Can you give me some?
Grandma: Sure you can take it, but tell me what you are going to do with them?
Raghu: I am going to put the raisins in water. The raisins should absorb the water due to osmosis and bloat in size. When ripe full grapes are kept in water they lose water due to reverse osmosis. When grapes are preserved in sugar water they will retain shape and water.
Grandma: For this you need to experiment? I know this more from my kitchen experience than from my Class II education. Do you see those big array of jars there. Those are all different fruits and vegetables preserved in Salt and sugar water for pickling later. I don't know anything about "aash-maashish" though.
Raghu: Hmm. Not bad, Grandma, I think I can put your practical experience to some use later. I am off to do my homework now.

Some days later, Raghu is just back from school and finds his grandmother in the garden behind the house, planting some saplings.

Raghu: Excellent grandma I found you at the right place.
Grandma: Little Rascal! What weird question do you have for me today?
Raghu: Let me put you test. Can you tell me how trees come to existence and grow?
Grandma: How else, but from seeds sown in the soil?
Raghu: But tell me where seeds come from?
Grandma: Seeds come from the trees themselves my dear!
Raghu: Aiyoh! Patti(Grandma)! You don't know anything. Dont you know anything about pollination? Flowers are pollinated with pollen grains and they become fruits. Seeds come from the fruits which grow into trees later.

Raghu goes near the hibiscus shrub, carefully picks the stamens from the flower and crushes them so that he has a thin layer of pollen in his hand and carefully blows air over his hand so that the pollen fly above the flowers.

Grandma (amused at his antics) : Little Doctor, what are you upto?
Raghu: (Indicating at the two Guava fruits hanging from the guava tree with great pride and his head high up)Grandma do you know who created those fruits? It is me!
Grandma: What are you blabbering? What do you mean you created those fruits?
Raghu: Did you not see what I just did? I pollinated the flowers myself by blowing the pollens. In a weeks' time you should see some kind of fruit in the hibiscus tree too!
Grandma: This is all going way above my head now. And don't try any more of your artificial stuff in my garden. I will preserve it in my own natural way.
Raghu: Don't worry patti I know everything! Next week they are starting Human Physiology and I will learn how babies are born at school. I shall put you to test on subject quite soon!
Grandma: WHAAAT!