I have been listening to this song continuously since the last one week. By the way, it is a song from the recently released Jodha Akbar. It has got something that i cannot define. Something that forces me to take up music lessons. Something that awakens my inner self. Something that is so soothing. If you go deep into its lyrics, then you will know the stuff i am talking about, given that you are as sincere and as faithful as this song. AR Rehman has been known for creating such heart touching & mind numbing numbers and each time he does it, it seems like he is ever improving.
The song falls into the trance category, is magical & has been choreographed equally well. If you have seen the movie, then you would realize the importance of this song. Well, Jodha Akbar has other very beautiful songs like the Azeem-o-shan song, which i think only AR Rehman can produce in this world. I would recommend everyone to watch its video if you have not done that. Excellently choreographed again. The music of this film has an extremely important role to play to create the brand "Akbar" in the minds of the viewers. Oops is that statement too MBA'ish (or whatever you call the equivalent of software geeks in the MBA world) .
I guess this film will again go down the same path as Swades, where there was not much commercial success, but the film has a strong message. Ashutosh Gowarikar has been quite convincing as a director & should be applauded for such a grand effort. The film really takes you into that era & then when the film is over, you just want to know more about that era. Off course, the lavish lifestyle of the Emperor was the one thing most people would envy.
I would recommend everyone to at least watch this film on a big screen & get transported back to the Golden period of the Mughal Empire in India.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Flowery Love....
How often have you seen flowers in Bangalore. Beautiful glowing flowers. Full of ornate or grandiloquent expressions. I, frankly, have seen very few of them and that too in shops, rarely at homes. Or rather i have not seen too many homes in Bangalore. Either way, when i saw them at my home ( native place, a town in UP), i was surprised & felt close to nature as they say it. Really i have never developed this kind of enthusiasm to know their names (except a few famous ones). So this time i asked my mother the names of many of them. For the ones which she did not know,i asked other people. And with my Digital Camera, i took a lot of beautiful photographs.The most fascinating of all was the Gladiolus which is extensively used in bouquets. Other varieties that blossomed this winter season were guldaudi (Chrysanthemum morifolium), Marigold, some species of Dahlia unknown ones. The flowers were at their blossomy best during afternoons when the sun shown with all its & other warmth, which gave a nice cozy feeling during the harsh winters. One flower variety used to be awake only when it got ample sunlight, all the other time, it was shriveled.
Here are some of the pictures i c
aptured. 
A flower's appeal is in its contradictions - so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect. ~Adabella Radici
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Points of Authority
Yes you must have heard these words as lyrics of one of the songs from the popular band Linkin Park.
Linkin Park is clearly one of my most favorite Bands. I do listen to a lot of its songs everyday.
Points of Authority is from the album Hybrid Theory which has a lot of popular songs like In the End, Crawling, One step closer & Papercut.
It signifies a lot of things i have been going through lately.
I have enclosed a YouTube video for this song. Although its not really a video since it contains only the song's lyrics on display.
Linkin Park is clearly one of my most favorite Bands. I do listen to a lot of its songs everyday.
Points of Authority is from the album Hybrid Theory which has a lot of popular songs like In the End, Crawling, One step closer & Papercut.
It signifies a lot of things i have been going through lately.
I have enclosed a YouTube video for this song. Although its not really a video since it contains only the song's lyrics on display.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
My First Foreign Trip
This is about my first foreign trip. I went to the US of A on a business visa. It all happened by chance & abruptly. One fine day my manager called me & inquired if i would like to go to the land of opportunities - the US of A. I thought for about 2 seconds & said "why not !" . I would categorize it as abrupt as initially i was not supposed to go. One of my team mates' visa got delayed & hence i came into the picture. But i will never ever regret my decision to say Yes as it was an excellent journey both in terms of work as well as leisure. Though at times i would debate with myself if it was the correct thing to do when you have your CAT in about a month's time & for which you had studied quite hard. But at that very moment, it was like 'Nothing else matters'.
I was both very thrilled as well as anxious towards my trip. The beginning itself taught me that its not that easy. My flight was scheduled to leave from Bangalore around 6 30 AM in the morning. I didnt sleep the whole night. Well how could I ? i was excited for the trip as well as afraid of missing my flight. It all began with rigorous checks & customs interview which went pretty smooth. At the airport itself, i was told that i would miss my connecting flight which was about 90 minutes after i landed at the Heahthrow airport. The Flight was delayed by half an hour at Bangalore itself & there was no point in catching a connecting flight at Heathrow & it would be insane if it was just after an hour you land at the Heathrow airport. Thats what a British Airways official told me. So they booked me into an American Airlines flight from London to Los Angeles & then another American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco (SFO). At first, i didnt realize it but later it came to my mind that i would be late by around 4 hours ultimately.
So it all started with a nice welcome by the British Airways crew in the morning at around 7. The flight was good & it was the first time i was inside a giant 747. Believe me it was gargantuan.
Unfortunately i got an aisle seat which i did not want. But you cannot cry & throw tantrums like a kid when you are on an official visit. Right ? I sat down & was absolutely amazed at the amount of entertainment offered inside the flight. It was enough for me though it is nothing for everyday travelers who want more. I was busy most of the time switching channels & watching different movies at different times. After around 3 hours, a feeling of numbness started to grip my body. At that point i realized that whatever is written inside the in flight magazine about the various exercises people do to keep numbness away is true. I also slept for some time & it felt as though i was being transported to an altogether different world as if it was a space travel with all the fatigue of an air travel gripping my body slowly & steadily.
It took around 10 hours to reach the Heathrow airport in London. London from the top looked like the old architectural city trying to keep pace with the modern world & doing it well in fact. The airport in itself is enormous & it takes easily more than an hour to go either outside or catch a connecting flight to another destination. But an airport like that i have never seen in my life. It is the busiest airport in the world with around 4 runways.
After reaching London, i kind of felt rejuvenated. I was excited that 50% of my journey is completed both in terms of time as well as distance. But i was wrong as later, i found out that it was only in terms of distance not the time. I was pretty apprehensive about the later part of my journey. The reason being that i couldnt see any Indian passenger in my flight to LA. Believe me it is a lot easier if you have some Indians to look around because you know they are always there to help you. But i was a solitary traveller. My other team mates had already reached USA one day before & i was the only one left.
I boarded the American Airlines flight & really there was too any things American regarding that flight. After British Airways, the whole culture changes when i boarded the AA flight. The air hostesses, the food, the decor, the people altogether changed. Although i had made it a point to eat non veg only occasionally but i didnt know what was in store for me on the flight. A Air hostess came to me & asked "Chicken or Beef" . I said chicken as i knew there would be nothing to eat except bread in Veg. That gave me the feeling of being a loner, again.
I landed in LA & my next connecting flight was again in one hour time. By the time, i figured out LA airport, i had only 35 mins. By the time i found out my departure terminal, i came to know one more thing. I reached the terminal 25 mins before flight time & i was told to miss my flight as it was against the rules to catch nay domestic flight after 30 mins are left.
I was again rebooked on a Frontier Airlines after some 2 hours. So once again i got a beating & was eventually late by 9 hours as compared to my earlier time. The night flight from LA to SFO was fantastic in view as it flew along the western coastline of USA. It was really amazing.
Finally, i reached SFO, took a cab & reached my hotel. Little did i know that it would turn out to be the most stressful & the most amazing journeys of my life. I learn many things which i will keep to myself. For now, its good bye
I was both very thrilled as well as anxious towards my trip. The beginning itself taught me that its not that easy. My flight was scheduled to leave from Bangalore around 6 30 AM in the morning. I didnt sleep the whole night. Well how could I ? i was excited for the trip as well as afraid of missing my flight. It all began with rigorous checks & customs interview which went pretty smooth. At the airport itself, i was told that i would miss my connecting flight which was about 90 minutes after i landed at the Heahthrow airport. The Flight was delayed by half an hour at Bangalore itself & there was no point in catching a connecting flight at Heathrow & it would be insane if it was just after an hour you land at the Heathrow airport. Thats what a British Airways official told me. So they booked me into an American Airlines flight from London to Los Angeles & then another American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco (SFO). At first, i didnt realize it but later it came to my mind that i would be late by around 4 hours ultimately.
So it all started with a nice welcome by the British Airways crew in the morning at around 7. The flight was good & it was the first time i was inside a giant 747. Believe me it was gargantuan.
Unfortunately i got an aisle seat which i did not want. But you cannot cry & throw tantrums like a kid when you are on an official visit. Right ? I sat down & was absolutely amazed at the amount of entertainment offered inside the flight. It was enough for me though it is nothing for everyday travelers who want more. I was busy most of the time switching channels & watching different movies at different times. After around 3 hours, a feeling of numbness started to grip my body. At that point i realized that whatever is written inside the in flight magazine about the various exercises people do to keep numbness away is true. I also slept for some time & it felt as though i was being transported to an altogether different world as if it was a space travel with all the fatigue of an air travel gripping my body slowly & steadily.
It took around 10 hours to reach the Heathrow airport in London. London from the top looked like the old architectural city trying to keep pace with the modern world & doing it well in fact. The airport in itself is enormous & it takes easily more than an hour to go either outside or catch a connecting flight to another destination. But an airport like that i have never seen in my life. It is the busiest airport in the world with around 4 runways.
After reaching London, i kind of felt rejuvenated. I was excited that 50% of my journey is completed both in terms of time as well as distance. But i was wrong as later, i found out that it was only in terms of distance not the time. I was pretty apprehensive about the later part of my journey. The reason being that i couldnt see any Indian passenger in my flight to LA. Believe me it is a lot easier if you have some Indians to look around because you know they are always there to help you. But i was a solitary traveller. My other team mates had already reached USA one day before & i was the only one left.
I boarded the American Airlines flight & really there was too any things American regarding that flight. After British Airways, the whole culture changes when i boarded the AA flight. The air hostesses, the food, the decor, the people altogether changed. Although i had made it a point to eat non veg only occasionally but i didnt know what was in store for me on the flight. A Air hostess came to me & asked "Chicken or Beef" . I said chicken as i knew there would be nothing to eat except bread in Veg. That gave me the feeling of being a loner, again.
I landed in LA & my next connecting flight was again in one hour time. By the time, i figured out LA airport, i had only 35 mins. By the time i found out my departure terminal, i came to know one more thing. I reached the terminal 25 mins before flight time & i was told to miss my flight as it was against the rules to catch nay domestic flight after 30 mins are left.
I was again rebooked on a Frontier Airlines after some 2 hours. So once again i got a beating & was eventually late by 9 hours as compared to my earlier time. The night flight from LA to SFO was fantastic in view as it flew along the western coastline of USA. It was really amazing.
Finally, i reached SFO, took a cab & reached my hotel. Little did i know that it would turn out to be the most stressful & the most amazing journeys of my life. I learn many things which i will keep to myself. For now, its good bye
Monday, May 07, 2007
Australia -- The Invincibles
Yes you read it right. Its about the the Australian Cricket Team. Most of the people reading this blog would be going all berserk thinking about the reason that bolstered me to write about the Australians, ahem, the invincible Australians after such a long time. May be i am a tube light which takes its own time to glow or may be i am so fascinated by 'the' team that i still cannot think of anything else.
The actual reason is the celebration of the return to the blogosphere after so many days in fact months or may be a year ( i am not too sure). i definitely missed writing blogs. I wanted to write about a lot of things like my first foreign trip, and many many more things. I will cover them over the coming few days. That is a promise.
Coming back to Australia, few lines sum up their 2007 campaign.
" They were good in 1999. They were unbeatable in 2003. They were unchallengeable in 2007."
What a team they are !!. Everybody in Australia must be dreaming of being part of one such team in their lives. Every captain must be thinking of leading their sides to the success that Australia is often attributed with. Words are few for such a great team.
From Glenn Mcgrath to Adam Gilchrist, from Ponting to Hayden, from Hussey to Hogg, from Clarke to Bracken, every one of them is a star in themselves, yet they play like a team.
The most eminent characteristic that they exhibit is that at least one of them performs everytime which is their most successful strategy that has made them magesterial. Although they are a bit aggressive on the field & may be even sledge, but they know their job well. They may have made Cricket irksome, but it needs a lot of hard work, a perfect framework for players to come up, challenge themselves, lot of sweat, skills, talent, craft them all together to set such high levels.
It will be worth mentioning that through out the tournament the team which came closer to them in terms of challenge was Sri Lanka who were deservedly in the finals. None of the other teams had the capability to come & play such cricket. I hope the other teams soon realize the gap between them & Australia & make cricket as interesting as before (lots of things to write but feeling sleepy :) )
The actual reason is the celebration of the return to the blogosphere after so many days in fact months or may be a year ( i am not too sure). i definitely missed writing blogs. I wanted to write about a lot of things like my first foreign trip, and many many more things. I will cover them over the coming few days. That is a promise.
Coming back to Australia, few lines sum up their 2007 campaign.
" They were good in 1999. They were unbeatable in 2003. They were unchallengeable in 2007."
What a team they are !!. Everybody in Australia must be dreaming of being part of one such team in their lives. Every captain must be thinking of leading their sides to the success that Australia is often attributed with. Words are few for such a great team.
From Glenn Mcgrath to Adam Gilchrist, from Ponting to Hayden, from Hussey to Hogg, from Clarke to Bracken, every one of them is a star in themselves, yet they play like a team.
The most eminent characteristic that they exhibit is that at least one of them performs everytime which is their most successful strategy that has made them magesterial. Although they are a bit aggressive on the field & may be even sledge, but they know their job well. They may have made Cricket irksome, but it needs a lot of hard work, a perfect framework for players to come up, challenge themselves, lot of sweat, skills, talent, craft them all together to set such high levels.
It will be worth mentioning that through out the tournament the team which came closer to them in terms of challenge was Sri Lanka who were deservedly in the finals. None of the other teams had the capability to come & play such cricket. I hope the other teams soon realize the gap between them & Australia & make cricket as interesting as before (lots of things to write but feeling sleepy :) )
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Obsessed with GOOGLE
Its been a long time since i have been waiting to write a blog on Google. Especially after reading 2 Books more or less based on it : The Google Story , The Search. I will try to post a separate entry on the Reviews of these books but this post only broaches about Google - The company.
The title justifies what i feel & i can say with a lot of conviction most people in this world feel the same.
Foe instance, take my example. I have almost completely switched over to using Gmail than Yahoo Mail. Not just because of the storage but because of many other features which are not in other email services. At first, i was reluctant to use Gmail, but gradually i was enamored with it. Although Yahoo has introduced its new UI (which is quite cool by the way), but still it lacks some features such as the grouping of similar messages. And its been decades since i stopped using Hotmail for the simple reason of it being not HOT anymore. Then comes Orkut which is a social networking service from Google. I was able to find some 2-3 of my friends with its help. Friends whom i knew when i was in Class 2, but never seen after that. Wondrous isnt it ?
Then there is Google News, which has become a single news repository for a majority of people in this world (i can bet that). Google Maps (with local search) is one extremely useful service but sadly its currenlty for US & UK people only. I am insanely waiting for it to come to india.
These services are the most basic ones. Then there are many more viz. Google Calendar, Google Earth, Google Video, Google Desktop Search, Picasa, Blogger (through which i am writing this blog) which i think require a separate post.
And if i discuss the life changing effects of http://www.google.com, then i can write a whole novel on it.
Although both Yahoo & Microsoft & other start-ups are trying to catch up with Google & they are doing it quite well, it still remains to be seen if these companies are successful in their attempts to attract a large chunk of online traffic.
All products from google can be found on this link : http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/
The title justifies what i feel & i can say with a lot of conviction most people in this world feel the same.
GOOGLE
There is not a single day when i dont visit a google site. Be it google or gmail or orkut or blogger or trends or news etc. By visiting i mean actually use it in a meaningful way. This mountain view company has brought a sea of change in my life (might be the same with others). It has forced me to make a separate bookmark folder for all its services in my firefox borwser. Week after week (sometimes within a day) it comes out with new softwares which have the ability to change people's lives.Foe instance, take my example. I have almost completely switched over to using Gmail than Yahoo Mail. Not just because of the storage but because of many other features which are not in other email services. At first, i was reluctant to use Gmail, but gradually i was enamored with it. Although Yahoo has introduced its new UI (which is quite cool by the way), but still it lacks some features such as the grouping of similar messages. And its been decades since i stopped using Hotmail for the simple reason of it being not HOT anymore. Then comes Orkut which is a social networking service from Google. I was able to find some 2-3 of my friends with its help. Friends whom i knew when i was in Class 2, but never seen after that. Wondrous isnt it ?
Then there is Google News, which has become a single news repository for a majority of people in this world (i can bet that). Google Maps (with local search) is one extremely useful service but sadly its currenlty for US & UK people only. I am insanely waiting for it to come to india.
These services are the most basic ones. Then there are many more viz. Google Calendar, Google Earth, Google Video, Google Desktop Search, Picasa, Blogger (through which i am writing this blog) which i think require a separate post.
And if i discuss the life changing effects of http://www.google.com, then i can write a whole novel on it.
Although both Yahoo & Microsoft & other start-ups are trying to catch up with Google & they are doing it quite well, it still remains to be seen if these companies are successful in their attempts to attract a large chunk of online traffic.
All products from google can be found on this link : http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/
Monday, May 15, 2006
This year: Formula 1 = Fantastic one
After so many stodgy Formula 1 championships, this year's F1 promises to be a cliffhanger. Till now, Fernando Alonso seems to be the palpable champion. This guy has got all the requisites for a champion. He does
not make any unforced errors, has a superb car, has a lot of patience, diligence & attitude. In my opinion, there is only one thing that differentiates him from Michael Schumacher, which is experience. And this expereince really helps you to learn to accept defeats, a characteristic which was quite evident, when last time in the German Grand Prix, Alonso was second & his facial expression told everything (Reference : http://in.rediff.com/sports/2006/may/12raja.htm ).
Inspite of all the winning qualities, i somehow feel that Schumacher is going to win this year's Championship. I dont know what makes me think that Schumacher will win, but the remaining races are surely a must-watch.
For Schumacher to win, Alonso has to perform badly in at least one of the races, although the chances of that happening are minimal. One more possibility would be Schumacher winning 90% of the remaining races. With 12 more races to go, anything can be possible. The next 4-5 races are going to be vital as they might essentially seal the fate of the championship.
not make any unforced errors, has a superb car, has a lot of patience, diligence & attitude. In my opinion, there is only one thing that differentiates him from Michael Schumacher, which is experience. And this expereince really helps you to learn to accept defeats, a characteristic which was quite evident, when last time in the German Grand Prix, Alonso was second & his facial expression told everything (Reference : http://in.rediff.com/sports/2006/may/12raja.htm ).Inspite of all the winning qualities, i somehow feel that Schumacher is going to win this year's Championship. I dont know what makes me think that Schumacher will win, but the remaining races are surely a must-watch.
For Schumacher to win, Alonso has to perform badly in at least one of the races, although the chances of that happening are minimal. One more possibility would be Schumacher winning 90% of the remaining races. With 12 more races to go, anything can be possible. The next 4-5 races are going to be vital as they might essentially seal the fate of the championship.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Ignorance is a bliss --- is it ?
If you are thinking that this post involves some philosophy regarding the title, then you are at the wrong place. The title "Ignorance is a bliss" may have been the target of several discussion groups, but here it is stated in context to something. That thing goes here:
"It is common practice to see boys roaming around with girl friends. But what happens when one of the friends of the boy is in close proximity to the couple. What does the boy do ? Ignore you or introduce you to his girl friend."
Most of the times i have noticed that the boy chooses the first option. Quite uncanny huh !
There are umpteen number of times i have come across situations where i happened to see one of my friends ( or take seniors) along with their girl friends and they simply ignore even after making eye contact. Its very similar to a party situation where you go & say hello to someone & that someone is not at all looking at you & just walks away & you become the joker.
Is it that the boy is so timid that he is actually worried of his girl friend being purloined by his very own friend ( Believe me that does happen sometimes). Or something else...
If any of such guys is reading this post he may have the best answer to this. For some people "Ignorance is a Bliss".
Its alright when the boy has not noticed you and you are constantly looking at him waiting for him to say "Hi" first. In that case the boy's friend is so cunning that he was actually waiting for such a situation to take place & then he can say that his friend was ignoring him. In such cases the boy, his being zero fault, is the victim again.
This Post is not intended to harm anyone. Just an observation...
"It is common practice to see boys roaming around with girl friends. But what happens when one of the friends of the boy is in close proximity to the couple. What does the boy do ? Ignore you or introduce you to his girl friend."
Most of the times i have noticed that the boy chooses the first option. Quite uncanny huh !
There are umpteen number of times i have come across situations where i happened to see one of my friends ( or take seniors) along with their girl friends and they simply ignore even after making eye contact. Its very similar to a party situation where you go & say hello to someone & that someone is not at all looking at you & just walks away & you become the joker.
Is it that the boy is so timid that he is actually worried of his girl friend being purloined by his very own friend ( Believe me that does happen sometimes). Or something else...
If any of such guys is reading this post he may have the best answer to this. For some people "Ignorance is a Bliss".
Its alright when the boy has not noticed you and you are constantly looking at him waiting for him to say "Hi" first. In that case the boy's friend is so cunning that he was actually waiting for such a situation to take place & then he can say that his friend was ignoring him. In such cases the boy, his being zero fault, is the victim again.
This Post is not intended to harm anyone. Just an observation...
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Life is Changing....
My first Post on BlogSpot.
Yesterday night while i was about to sleep, a thought occured to my mind about how much change i have undergone since i left college. It seemed unacceptable yet plausible. More responsibility than the earlier times is a conspicuous answer. But there is more to it if you look deep inside.
Here is the explanation from different angles.
Talking about Professional lives, there is a considerable change in the power of grasping and the ability to understand. For eg. professional life gives you a thorough understanding of how things actually work. You can relate to pragmatic instances that you have come across and yet not realize them at that time. There is a lot of difference between what is taught in schools & colleges and what a guy learns in the industry. This difference more or less is attributed to the Indian education system ( Will write a Blog on this topic later).
Then there is Personal life. When you start earning, things suddenly change. You get more responsible. You sort out priorities with time, manage so many things at one time that you dont even have the time to think about subtle things that make life beautiful. For eg. From this point, believe it or not, everything you do has some impact in your life later. The impact may be rewarding or unrewarding. The unfortunate thing is that not many people can visualize the effects of such doings. Even if someone intervenes, you can say that you are earning now & will do whatever you want to.
I can go on writing about this citing practical instances about how people have changed after college (many of them being my house mates) but lets not focus on them right now. Thats an altogether different topic which needs a separate post.
One more change i noticed is i have written a blog about all this which was not the case earlier.
I might write more on this as i relaize more & more..
Yesterday night while i was about to sleep, a thought occured to my mind about how much change i have undergone since i left college. It seemed unacceptable yet plausible. More responsibility than the earlier times is a conspicuous answer. But there is more to it if you look deep inside.
Here is the explanation from different angles.
Talking about Professional lives, there is a considerable change in the power of grasping and the ability to understand. For eg. professional life gives you a thorough understanding of how things actually work. You can relate to pragmatic instances that you have come across and yet not realize them at that time. There is a lot of difference between what is taught in schools & colleges and what a guy learns in the industry. This difference more or less is attributed to the Indian education system ( Will write a Blog on this topic later).
Then there is Personal life. When you start earning, things suddenly change. You get more responsible. You sort out priorities with time, manage so many things at one time that you dont even have the time to think about subtle things that make life beautiful. For eg. From this point, believe it or not, everything you do has some impact in your life later. The impact may be rewarding or unrewarding. The unfortunate thing is that not many people can visualize the effects of such doings. Even if someone intervenes, you can say that you are earning now & will do whatever you want to.
I can go on writing about this citing practical instances about how people have changed after college (many of them being my house mates) but lets not focus on them right now. Thats an altogether different topic which needs a separate post.
One more change i noticed is i have written a blog about all this which was not the case earlier.
I might write more on this as i relaize more & more..
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