White and Christmas !

I had read on Tushar's facebook page a few days back that he was hoping for a White Christmas ! In Noida, having a white Christmas is not really possible, so I thought why not collect some white here in Milwaukee and make the day white for him ! so here you go bro, this post is for you and the white Christmas that you were hoping for !!!

This is how my walk to the office was a couple of weeks back !

A few days later, snow started melting and the green grass leaves were visible again !!

But a few cars were still covered with snow, like the one above and below... BTW I missed Radha when I took the picture below :)

The County team here has to work really hard to keep the snow off places where people walk...

This my friend Gaurav's Patio... we get a lovely view of the snow all around from his place !

And lets get back home to some warmth now... and this is me making the Shimla Mirch :) And did I tell you that it tasted yummy yet once again :)

And then it snowed heavy again last week... I even got a snow day off !!! It snowed about 12 inches in the night, bringing the entire city to a halt. Even the Milwaukee Airport was closed that day !

The roads were full of snow, the cars stuck, and walking difficult, with driving almost impossible !

See it was almost about a foot of snow like I said !!!

A Newspaper box and a cycle stand !

The shopping carts at a local store !!!

And I decided to venture out in the evening too, and saw some really beautiful views around... The snow does make a lot of things look much more beautiful than they are otherwise...

The Milwaukee Arts Museum view from my office, and the lake Michigan in the background.

A park near the Lake Michigan !!! This is where loads of Summer Festivals happen over the spring and summer time in Milwaukee !

Some more views from my office !

Some interesting pattern that snow flakes made on the glass walls in office !

There is more coming, as the snow does not seem to stop here :) Hope everyone has a great happy Merry Sweet Christmas !!!

Me is going out in a while to walk around in that park... and the temperature right now is around 0 deg Centrigrade !

Floor the 13th

My seat is on the 13th floor of the office building, and one of the nicest things that happens to me often is the morning sunlight falling on my desk (on the sunny days, which are not so common right now)...

This is something that brings a smile to my face almost every time !

Oh, and did I mention that I can see the vaaaast lake Michigan from my office too... its actually just a 5 minute walk away... Its beautiful !!!

You Hear I Tell !

You can tell a lot about the music the person is listening through headphones, even though you are not listening to it..

1. If the person is moving the head sideways, back and forth, (s)he is probably listening to some Indian Classical or something based on Rags...

2. If the head is moving up and down, slowly, then its probably some pop rock or a light peppy number

3. If the head moves up and down, faster, and the hands/fingers move as if the person is playing a guitar or drums, then its probably some rock rock... a bit harder than soft and softer than hard !

4. If the person's body is moving and the legs are tapping the floor, its probably a dance number...

5. If the person is doing something other than listening to music, it is probably just a random selection of music and a ligh volume

What else?

I am really missing the green room below the stage in my collage today! For some reason I am thinking of all the wonderful hours I have spent there !!!

Husbands and Wives in HINDI

What is the hindi translation of Husbands and Wives?

It is "Dil Kabbaddi".

There are movies which are adapted, there are movies which are inspired and for the time first time ever, I saw a movie which is a translation, and with different faces and characters, but the same dialogues, the same time of doors being slammed and opened, the same timing of smiles and laughter, the same reference to places, phew !!!!

Rahul Bose , Konkona Sen and Irfan Khan are real fine actors without doubt, but I am sad to see them act in this movie because all they are doing is speaking the same dialogues which were spoken in Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives" in Hindi and bits of english and trying to act the same movie out in different settings ! What were they thinking when they decided to do this? And Soha is such a misfit ! She has done a terrible delivery of the dialogues and expressions !!!

So if you were waiting to watch "Dil Kabaddi" I would say don't, rather watch the original !!! You will like it more for sure !

and while you are at it, do try to watch "Match Point"... what a smartly made movie... I liked it more coz it reminded me of London.. one of the places I love to love !

I am connected ! Are you?

:)



Tell me tell me !!!

Are you connected too?

We all can make a virtual network of sorts :)

I changed my Wireless Network Name to BhagwanJi today... Now I can be reminded of my connection everytime I switch on my laptop :P

Congress gets power, I get an IP Softphone

Congress is getting back to power in Delhi... while some people would not like it, I am not surprised by this situation and am rather happy to see Sheila Dikshit continue ! This time around some 60% of the janta voted and I feel most would be glad to see the result !

In the last 4-5 years, I have seen a lot of things changing in Delhi and more for good than bad and I am hopeful that they were continue. The way Delhi has worked on its infrastructure is commendable and while that should continue, I am sure the other things which need attention would get their due in the next few years !

So way to go team !

And I got a IP softphone today...


now I am ready for a true home office and would be available on my office extension irrespective of where I am sitting in the world ! how cewl is that ! The world of Outlook Web Access, VPNs, Xtra-nets, and Soft Phones !

PickNick

Went to a picnic last weekend with a friend and his wife...

Looking at the number of leaves all around, I can only image how pretty this place would have been in Fall !!! And I am sure its going to look very very beautiful when there is snow all around !!! I am waiting for a decent snow fall to go there again !

Enjoy the pictures !

Patterns on a stone slab !

Gaurav

The water has started freezing here...

And the leaves have dried up !

But the place still looks beautiful!

I like snow on my shoes !!! Subbu dekh le, ye joote yahan bhi kaam aa rahe hain.. Jai Woodland !

Prasha - Cook(er)

Third time in a row, cooking for myself did not disappoint me ! And I am nothing but extremely happy that the food has been great !

I am also surprised that I did not mess up the salt or anything else either !!! But this is a pleasant surprise !

And too bad there was no one to see the expressions on my face when I tasted food :) :/

I am getting there :) slowly but surely !!!


and celebrating with a nice banana split scoop is just the right thing !


p.s. thanks Joy for the title :D

Mirror Mirror On the Wall !!!

Who is the most surprised of them all!!!

Looks like shooting is becoming a pastime around !!! What the FKK has happened in Mumbai... every Tom Dick and Harry thinks they can hold a city to ransom just like that !!!

But then why am I even talking about Mumbai ! what the political parties do to the people is nothing less than this !!!

Its just the people who get killed at the end of the day !

मिर्च मसाला

क्या होता है, क्यों होता है,
कोई पाता है, कोई खोता है,

हस्ता है कोई रोता है,
जागता है कोई सोता है,

सपनो में सपने पिरोता,
अपनी नैय्या ख़ुद डुबोता

उल्टा सीधा अपलम चपलम
हर पल ये मतवाला है

वो जीना भी, कोई जीना है,
जो बिना मिर्च मसाला है !!!!

I for some reason cannot recall what this program was about, even though I remember this ingle and humm this often :) ... Mirch Masala !!! Refresh my memory someone please !!

Gorgeous !

What is it that makes women look amazingly beautiful when the breeze plays around with their hair? and when they decide to just come in front of the face?

I live in a windy part of the city in Milwaukee, and every morning when I come to the office, I see a number of them walking, with the hair freely tossed around by the wind... (I guess they have not started feeling too cold yet, good for me :) ) and they just look gorgeous !

I say...

Never say No, coz you Never Know !

Change of State Change of Color

The water below, turning into ice

The water above, turning into snow

Does not fall straight at you, but you walk into it ! Look up and around, and its a different world altogether ! The eyes just do not want to see beyond the snow flakes, flowing around ! (except when you are driving and/or are in a snow storm !)

The greens, browns, reds also turning into white !!!

It seems to be so different !

So is Life !

A bit too unpredictable!! You gotta live every single second of it !!!

While I feel encouraged to live every second right now, I also feel bad about wasting my time over things/people/incidents which were not really worth it... They have done some good for me for sure, first by teaching me a lesson, and then making it all more important for me to make up for the lost time ! Ok forget it... let me just turn the rear view mirror away for a while !

Turning off the comments on this post !!! This was written in a mind frame and thoughts which were triggered by the untimely and sudden death of a very dear friend... I am not really sure that the post reflects what all I have been thinking... and I am not really sure I feel like talking more about this post !!

Apologies if you had a comment to make !

Ishq !!

तूने दीवाना बनाया तो मैं दीवाना बना,
अब मुझे होश की दुनिया में तमाशा ना बना...

Tune Deewana banaya to main deewana bana,
ab mujhe hosh ki duniya mein tamasha na bana !

One of my favorite songs, sung unbelievably beautifully by Abida Parveen... I do not understand the song completely (Nida please HELP!!!!) but I can listen to it over and over and over and over again !!!


One thing that I love about the Sufi style of music is that God is loved more than prayed in front of... Almost every song is a representation of the true love for HIM ! Ishq, Mohabbat are the words that seem so pure with Sufi Music...

तू मिला भी है तू जुदा भी है
तेरा क्या कहना

तू सनम भी है तू खुदा भी है
तेरा क्या कहना

ये तमन्ना है के आज़ादे तमन्ना ही रहूँ
दिले मायूस को मनुसे तमन्ना न बना...

तुने दीवाना बयाना तो मैं दीवाना बना...
अब मुझे होश की दुनिया में तमाशा न बना...

tu mila bhi hai, tu juda bhi hai
tera kya kehna

tu sanam bhi hai, tu khuda bhi hai,
tera kya kehna

ye tamanna hai ke aazade tamanna hi rahoon,
dile mayoos ko manuse tamanna na bana

tune deewana banaya to main deewana bana
ab mujhe hosh ki duniya mein tamasha na bana

Ask me for the song, if you are fond of Sufi music, or if you'd just like to hear it !

Another song that sounds out of this world in Abida Parveen's voice is "Chaap Tilak Sab Cheeni Tose Naina Milaike"... I am listening to it right now, and words cannot really express what I feel when I listen to the Dholak, Tabla, Harmoniam adding Magic to brilliantly sung Song !!! Let me go to a different world listening to these songs !!!

Later...

5 things you (might not) know !

Random things are really not that random if you climb a few stairs up and them see them... It all seems to fall in perspective of the person.. but then for the sake of a tag, let me still call the following 5 Random Facts about me !!! (I think I am supposed to write 7, but I will pass with 5 :)

So thanks to Vineeta or Nairvee, here we go ! 5 things about me, which you might or might not have known ! (I have been asking her to write something for Chai Ki Dukaan, and now I can be after her life to write it :P)

1. I can never get over how beautiful mountains look... Every single time you see them, you can see something different, some more majestic and grand than every before...


2. I can still not figure out what is my favorite element from the PanchTatva... The Fire, The Water, The Sky, The Wind or the Earth... Is my love for my village related to Earth, or The way I can keep looking at the sky for ages, represents my love for the Sky? or the fact that I feel Fire is one of the most exciting things to look at, proves that I love FIRE !!! not sure... But the fact is all of these elements can feel so delicate, so pure and harmless at one point of time, and at the other make you feel like a nothing in front of them !!!


3. My love from photography comes from my love for people... I enjoy getting involved in conversations when I am travelling more than taking pictures, and these conversations make me click !!! the mood at a tea stall, the people in a bus, passengers at a railway station... are the people that I like to first, before taking a picture of them...


4. Joy in my life comes from the small and simpler things ! talking to kids on the streets, walking around with a friend, getting a call from a friend i have been missing, doing something for someone i like, and so on a so forth...


5. I don't know how to react to surprises... Even if I am very happy, I cannot really express it if I am surprised at the same time.. the Irony is that I might look totally blank and speachless when a surprise is thrown at me !!

Done Dana Done Done !!!

Khush Vinnie the pooh?

Fall of Winter !

Its interesting, rather very interesting how the small snow flakes keep floating around you, and then come stick to you when a gush of wind brings them closer... You can even see the shape, thanks to the larger ones, and just admire this careless flowing around of pure white particles all around with silence!

No, it did not snow much last week, but this sunday morning, I could see the small whites flowing all around... It was beautiful, but the wind makes it very hard to enjoy anything, and all you want to do is rush back home !

I am living not too far away from the office, just about 10 minutes away on foot... and I am wondering how would it be to walk around when its just snow all around !

I am not too far away from the Lake Michigan either... I see it everyday from the 13th floor of my office building, and the calmness of water and the view of the lake is beyond words !

Its been a crazy time so far... so many things to do, and so little time ! But thankfully, everything is falling into place... I have a new apartment... nice, big, without a view though... I still do not have any internet connection at home... and nothing to boil water to make tea in :P Though I think putting some water in the cup and using the microwave is an option too !

Also, a photography exhibition is on, in Delhi these days... and it has 5 of my prints on display too... Please do visit if you have sometime ! I have not been able to see it myself, but I was really very very happy to the large prints !!! They looked fantastic !!! Not sure how they are looking after being framed though !

More details HERE and HERE

English, whats the big deal?

One of the best experiences of working in a foreign country is the way your thoughts about English, change !!!

In India, it still stays a BIGGGG deal, and in the UK or US, its just another language... We still look down upon people who cannot speak english and are more comfortable in their own languages, but here I really do not see people judging you by the language you speak !!!

There are people who speak English ridiculously, and some who have a horrible accent, or have a very very very heavy MTI (Mother Tongue Influence) but guess what !!! It does not matter, till you can "communicate" well !!!

I say, forget about how well you can speak English, and how many bigg words you know... just think of how well you communicate... rest does not really matter !!!

One of my meetings today was chaired by a lady from China, had 5 Indians from Gharwal, Punjab, Maharashtra, UP and Madras, and all the Americans had a different accent too !!! still the meeting went super well !!!

English, after all, is no BIG DEAL !!!

Just notes

I have never liked meetings... more often than not, not much comes out of them as a result except some sleepy heads, lost faces, messy notes etc... and looks like I am going to be attending/driving/managing meetings for atleast 80% of my time, if not any less !!!

I am not used to this... but so far the account looks pretty bright for me personally... at the same time there is much going on in the small head of mine ! Not having some of my friends around to talk it out, is bad !!!

Chai Ki Dukaan would see much reduced activity from me in the next few days, while I try to settle down in Milwaukee... Catch you later and thanks for reading !

In the Sky for long !

My flight took off from Delhi @ 0140 hrs Sunday and right now its 0600 hrs Monday !! Close to about 28 hours !!!

Phew !

• 3 flights 9 hrs, 8 hrs, 1 hr
• 3 time zones IST, Amsterdam, Central
• 2 breaks 4 hours, 2 hours
• 2 movies, Cars and the Dark Knight
• 2 meals (Italian and Mexican) and lots of Orange Juice
• 2 naps 4 hours, 2 hours

and I am here... feeling like a Zombie right now! Will manage to stay awake for another hour or so, so that I can sleep the entire night (hopefully)

Brown Walls and the Sounds of Flute !

My restless of not being able to drive for a long time, took me to Fatehpur Sikri last weekend, and one our way back we decided to see the Ghats in Vrindavan... I am so glad we did !!! Got to see a completely different view of the town of Krishna !

While I feel lazy about writing in complete detail about the trip, please enjoy some of the pictures below...

A vehicle typical to western UP.. Called "Jugad" and made out of a Diesel Genset/Water Pump fitted with used automobile parts (Steering, Suspension, Radiator, Headlights) and a wooden body over a hard suspension chassis ! (Photograph by Tushar aka Burf)

Camera overuse and exploitation ! :P

A boat in Yamuna waters !

One of many kids at Mazaar of Khwaja Saleem Chishti...

ASI works hard to keep the Sikri clean and green ! and it shows !!!

A wall in the Jodhabai's Mahal ( Its refered to as her Palace, but there are no historical evidences to really prove the Jodhabhai used to stay here)... The pictures below are from the same palace...

I am going to away for a couple of days... maybe more !!! Will see you all soon at the Chai ki Dukaan !!!