Sunday, October 22, 2006

The Routine

After getting into the routine of catching 2 trains to my workplace and trying to pick up the frozen stuff from the shoppin malls for lunch - i was kinda settling down. The major problem was - Cornflakes.Bread nd jam and black tea for break fast(Miss all those Dosa,idli,poori and all). The hotel here doesnt play any channelsonTV-u need to buy a package for extra money. You have to drink the water straight fromt he Tap and yes - there is no Tap in the Loo - only tissues.
Justbefore the weekend I move into the apartment which is going to be my address for the next few months. And come saturday - It is Deepavali. One of the most pale and colorless festivals i have ever had. Me and a friend decided to visit this Swaminarayan temple(oneofthe biggest temples outside india) and after travellingforabout 2 hours we reach a Marble palace :)). After we see the marble gods - we plan to go to westminister - where all the londons tourist attractions are. After seeing the Big Ben and after having a Big Mac(Diwali pey Big mac :(() we went into London Aquairum and man this place was awsum(check o ut my Album on orkut). Once we come out of aquarium and decide on the souvenier we plan to watch a hindi movie - Jaane mann. We travel for abt 1.5 hrs and then go to this big Multiplex(forum is nothing). We buya a ticket for Rs650(Yep i am still converting) and then go in to see just 4 other ppl in the theater(whoever said hindi movies Rock in UK). So finally after a loong day - we have yet another Burger(now at Burgerking) and start back for home.
And by now - I think I am getting into the groove of Onsite(as my techie friends would call it).
And Haan the latest news is that 'I COOKED' for the first time todady. And this I did for myself and my roomies. And the bigger news is all of them are ALIVE :)).

Bye Bye for now.

My First week in London

Finally am writing this- had thought about doing this on day one.So how am i feeling- have just started to settle down..lo sotza emotions.Many firsts for me this past week.My first Flight(not to forget the first immigration check,boarding pass and stuff). Then the interesting peopleI met on the journey( I have a talent to pick upa conversation with absolute strangers). Then My taxi in London was a Merc -S class (WoW). A five star hotellocated in a area with historical significance(Called Greenwich - Yep the place where we gt the GMT from). Then the search for FOOD on day one :). Getting to know the various rail transport systems and how to use the automated ticketing system. How to use the Calling cards(trying to get the best out of each). The conceptoffrozenfoods (you get something called 'Pilaurice' which looks like 'lemon poha' and the gravy here are as bland as it can get).

Going to office on day one - the first thing that came to my notice was - London is trying to be India,no kidding. You have loads and loads ofppl in Trains.Theplace is kinda dirty(you findppl throwing the ciggeratte butz everywhere). Yes - lotza pretty and fashionable faces in train. Ppl dun care a damn to show their emotions in public ;).

Many morestuff to say,but will signoff now. Will be back with some more soon.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Its lonely @ the top

Yeah! That is what Pete Sampras,the tennis legend of modern era told the reporters when asked-How does it feel to be World # 1 for so many weeks. Now with the ongoing British Open Golf and every one being interested in Tiger Woods's comebackhad he gone some where?), it's a De Ja Vu situation for me.

In sport or in real life its a fact that people are ready to pull down a successful person on the first oppertunity. If we look at sports- you can find innumerable instances of 'Greats' being pulled down from their Number 1 slot at every possible oppertunity present. Whether it was Pete Sampras,Andre Aggasi, M.Schumacher, Tiger Woods - every one has had to face the situtaion where the whole world(read media) want's to see them lose. And it must be tough for them to comprehend the attitude,because these were the same peolpe who had cheered them on when they were rookies and were climbing up the ladder.

The other part of the story is, where the cycle comes one full circle and the same people start supporting these guys when they are trying to come back from a bad patch - as is the case with Tiger Woods today - where it was written that the Tiger wouldnt roar again and now the media is all Ga Ga about his form in British Open .

Strange are the ways of the world.

'Human' Emotions???

I have always wondered whether animals too feel the same emotions that we feel,if they do- how do they show it? The whole reason behind this thought is from the fact that I see atleast one Dog dead on the highway I travel to work every day. On one hand I see a group of dogs roaming around,playing and stuff. The next day I might see one of the dogs dead on the road crushed by some speeding vehicle. And I always thought - how would the other dogs react to the situation where they will have one dog less ,with whom they had interacted the perevious day. Its kind of strange that if a human being meets with a accident there is a group which circles around and makes the necessary arrangement for the injured, but in case of animals nobody cares a damn.

Today morning,I did get some answer to my question though. A pup (of a street dog) had fallen into the open water tank in the park near my house and had passed away. Now its mother has been sitting in front of that dead pup from the morning. Its a very very sad picture. Guess they also go through the same emotions as we do but they are not as expressive as we are.

Will end on this sad note. Hope there will be no canine casulties on my way to work tomorrw.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006



1st and 2nd july saw some of the greatest sporting moments. For me it was the moment where masters of the individual sports stood up and showed to the world what they were made of.To begin with Zidane showed that he was still better than the best in the game of football. The likes of Ronaldo,ronaldhinio and other big names could only be mute spectators to the magic of zidane.Then on sunday Schumi in his Scarlet ferrari - drove a near perfect US-Grand Prix to show the alanso's and the Kimmi's of the F1 that he is not done with it yet. It was his 87th victory and his 4th straight win in IndianaPolis, where only 9 cars could finish out of the 22.Finally late into the night(IST) Rahul dravid made sure that India have a decent score to defend against the W.Indies with another resilient innings and then Kumble showed the world(yet again) that he is a match winner and Age has nothing to do with performance and commitment.All in all a superb weekend for some real good sporting action. It always feels nice to see the old war horses perform and deliver.

KARMA V/S MI:III

Year - 1986Show man Subhash ghai's first foray into Multi starrer block buster movies.Story - Reputed jailor,(dilip Kumar) engages three death-row convicts to forma team to combat the terrorrist camp of escaped prisoner- Dr.Dang(A charecter which has become a peice of history in indian cinema-played by Anupam Kher).The movie deals with how these criminals go about finishing of the natioanl enemy no.1.

Year - 2006Twenty years later the we have MI:III.Story -Super-spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has retired from active duty to trains new IMF agents. But he is called back into action to confront the toughest villain he's ever faced - Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an international weapons and information provider with no remorse and no conscience. Hunt assembles his team - his old friend Luther Strickell (Ving Rhames), transportation expert Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and background operative Zhen (Maggie Q), to rescue one of his very own trainees, Lindsey (Keri Russell) who was kidnapped while on a surveillance detail of Davian. It soon becomes evident that Davian is well-protected, well-connected, and downright malicious, forcing Hunt to extend his journey back into the field in order to rescue his wife, Julia (Michelle Monaghan), and uncover IMF double agents in the process.

You cant ignore the similarities in the story and the scenes(Ok,the action sequences are not comparable).Especially the scene where Dilip Kumar slaps Dr.Dang and he says -"Tumne is thappad ki goonz suni...ab main tumhein is goonj ki goonj sunaoonga". In MI:III you have Owen Davian asking Ethan about his family and coolly threatening him that he should not be much worried about the 'rabbit foot' but should be worrying about his family.

And did we say Bollywood guys are copy cats.Or is it that the Holly folks have started getting 'INSPIRED' by us.