Are you Single?

Do you think Singles have to work harder? Probably because they cannot say to the boss, that they have a wife, or a husband or a kid waiting back home?

:D

Firefox 3

Firefox 3 Beta 1 was made available for download yesterday to be tested...

What surprises me is that this is available in Gujrati as well, however only for Mac and Linux... Why did they choose only this language of all the languages in India, and why is it that its not there for Windows...


Are there many gujju users of firefox and who use it on Mac and Linux?

wondering...

anyway... THIS is where you click, in case you want to try it out...

And after many many days, i forgot to have my lunch... not that its anything great or to be proud of... but i like it when my mind is occupied with work... it does not wander around with things that would trouble me otherwise...

Fill it up... and don't ask how !!!

There is a way to talk to people who work with you...

either you simply blame them for making a point, writing an email, sending a note or speaking something.. and turn them off to whatever you are going to say next..

or you first put your point across, and understand theirs and then see what needs to be done...

thankfully, i don't get as irritated as I used to get if someone does the first one with me... but it still does not piss me off any less...

and thankfully, of all the 60-70 people who have reported to me at work at some time or the other, none of them complained about me being the first type of a person...

Who can fill a bloddy form right if they are not given the instructions, and specially when the form is also an older version, which is not to be used anymore? and no one bothers to tell that to you either !!! and what adds to the irritation is the fact, that you had asked about the instructions months ago, and thats when it was treated as the least priority item...

I Ain't Got no Left Feet !!!

Its amazing what one good song can do to you...

I have been pretty dull since morning... and winamp just now chose to play "Mauja hi Mauja" from Jab We Met...

first thing i did was pause it, put the headphones one, increase the volume and PLAY...

and i could do nothing but dance while sitting in couch... well too lazy to get up you see...

My eyes closed... and what flashed through my eyes were

1. The jam sessions at college
2. Spectramind parties
3. Hughes get-togethers where we used to dance our asses out on our favorite songs being played over and over again ( the sariska outing where we played Dhol Mix of Summer of 69 over 25 times; the rain dance party when Summer of 69 ruled, followed by Amar Arshi's Kala Chashma)
4. Mantas party when we danced almost all night;
5. IBM's new year parties;
6. A couple of outings at Capitol, Ashoka in Delhi

Not that I am a great dancer, but I don't dissapoint... not myself neither anyone who gives me company !!!

I am getting a kick out of thinking about those evenings...

And while I was writing this post, Winamp decided to play DJ with Hare Raama Hare Krishna from Bhool Bhulaiyya...

and now in true DJ ishtyle, a twisty song from Hey Baby...

O Meri Jaan, na le le meri jaan... teri adaa...

Gustaakhi Maaf Kardi.. Ab to insaaf karde...
Apna Dil Saaf Karde.. Kehna to Maan le..

Jaane bhi De.. Jo bhi hua Jaane Bhi de !!!


Hey... could someone send me a link where I can get the list which is published in the Delhi Times every week, for the last weeks best songs?

Happiness Re-Visited...

This is what I am missing...

loads of laughter...
hills...
India...

Thanks Subhadip for clicking a picture I would treasure till my last moments....

Bro, could you send me the large size of this one.. i stole this one from your blog !!!

And for the records, this is when we stopped for a break at Rohtang on our way to Leh...

The video that we made on this trip is one of the best things I have ever seen or heard... thank you Deepak, Subhadip, Ankur, and Anubhav for that rocking trip...

here are a few more pictures from the trip...

Site Review : Top USA Online Casinos

Money has always been important. Actually after the barter system got phased out, it became more important... more because this is something that enables someone to have a higher buying power... which inturn in a lot of cases leads to satifaction...

Now there are ways to earn money... and ways to win money too.. What started from small rooms and games over a round table has now moved to the internet, for obvious reasons, and is taking shape and is THE thing of the future for sure...

Welcome to the world of Online Gambling and Online Casinos.. with so many of them available to try your luck, the internet users can easily be confused about where to go and what to choose. This is when websites like the TOP USA Online Casinos comes to a rescue, a site which has been very simply made and well presented would act as your guide, if you are in the US, to find safe and fun playing gambling destinations.

The main page has a top 10 list which is updates regularly, and provides
1. the link to the site
2. the payout %
3. the Rating of the website, and
4. a comprehensive review of the Casinos

Get inside a review page, and you would be happy to read about the ratings given on various parameters like the Software (Game Selection, Graphics, etc.), Trust Factor ( Security, Fairplay, Customer Support, Deposit and Withdrawal Options) along with Bonus and Promotions information. It also give you some amount of money in case you visit the casino site through TOP USA Online Casinos

The top bar on the side is simple and gives you links to an online poker room and a sportsbook, along with a detailed site map.. and help is not too far away either with a contact link and an email address

Overall, a very useful, no-frills, nicely presented site.

Paid Post by Smorty

You pay more... I pay less...

Imagine this...

You go to a monument somewhere in India and go to the ticket counter...

There are two windows there... which read

Indians : Rs. 20
Foreigners : Rs 250

I would not be very happy to read this... not that i don't want India to earn more money... not that I did not feel awkward when the foreigner had to pay in $s, but right now its going to be a oranges to oranges differences in the ticket prices... it feels a li'il more embarrasing somehow...

When I was showing a german friend around Delhi a few years back... it was kind hard answering the questions that she asked about why foreigners have to shell out more money than Indians at so many places? do you have an answer to that, something that I can give to people who ask me about travelling to India and visiting all the grand monuments that we have.

Also thing like these, also, in a way encourage the street shop owners to charge the tourists more that the actual price of the stuff they are selling? Something that most of the tourists label as cheating?

Indian authorities have now decided that tourists should now pay in INR instead of $s because the value of rupee is increasing against the $...

Read more about it here.

I wonder how it would be when I have to pay £20 for entry to a museum when someone in the UK pays £2... i guess I would never be able to visit anything...

Almost Lost

While eating my favorite Doritos and having Litchi Juice in a Pint Glass i write this post...

I almost lost him yesterday.. and why because of one simple reason.. i was not careful enough..

I am talking about a small plant with yellow flowers that i got for my room sometime back... the instructions said that i need to ensure that the soil is damp and moist and that it needs water once a week... i read the instructions and was happy to see the yellow flowers everyday in my room...


now what happens day before yesterday is that i come home and for some reason i had to change the place where i had kept this small plant... and i realised that it was dying... the stems were loose, the flowers dull, and leaves almost giving up...

i felt so bad about it and added some water quickly to it... maybe because the room is pretty warm the water had evaporated earlier than usual... but for whatever reasons, i was loosing my lovely yellow flower plant...

i checked it yesterday, and it was better... and today its looks as if its kinda improving... i hope it lives for some more time...

It forced me to think, as if it needs a trigger, but still, about people... don't we at times treat people like i treated this plant... they are good, we feel nice that they are there, we look at them feel good, they are around we feel happy... but miss out on that small attention that they need to stay that way... and also wonder when we loose people as to what went wrong...

I think that staying alone has made me more sensitive towards people that I care for, and at the same time makes me want more from people who I feel should take care of me... No, I am not looking for attention here, not at all... I can manage pretty well on my own... and am doing that too...

the crux of the post, that i wanted to write about, is that this incident just reminded me to do something, however small it may seem, for things that give me something... and not because i am returning a favor... but because I should...
And lights are coming up slowly all around... the one above are being put up on Lamp-posts in Horley, where I live...

keep walking..

Happiness...

is

Music

specially when you are walking

on a road

which has minimum traffic

in a weather

which is cold and wet but its not raining

and you are hit

by wind on your face... lets call it cold breeze for pleasure :)

and रफी साहब sings

गम और ख़ुशी मे फर्क न महसूस हो जहाँ
मैं dil को उस मुकाम पे लाता चला गया

(Gham aur Khushi Mein Fark Na Mehsoos ho Jahan
Main Dil ko Us Mukaam Pe Laata Chala Gaya)

I was smiling throughout my walk today i guess...

Thanks to

Manna डे who sung... आयो कहाँ से घनश्याम
Kishor दा who sung... एक हसीना थी एक दीवाना था
and a few other lovely singers who gave me company...

aaj maza aa gaya... sach !!!

ello... ek aur mast gaana...

jihal-e-masti mukun baranjish
Bahale hijraan bechaara dil hai...

sunai deti hai jiski dhadkan
tumhaara dil ya hamara dil hai...

wo aake pehlu mein aise beithe
ke shaam rangeeen ho gai hai...

zara zara si khili tabiyat
zara si gamgeen ho gai hai...

aisee evening ke liye clapping !!!!

God bless

Choti?

One of my friends calls her daughter Choti Mishi... no she is not the younger of the two or three... she is the only kid as of now... but still she is Choti Mishi..

Cute...

Maybe the mamma thinks she is the badi Mishi... :D :D

Choti Mishi is a darling.. God bless :)

Junk Food, and a story from Junks...

Junk food is tastier than the regular food... ever wondered why? well i feel because when you are eating junk, you are not really thinking but only enjoying :) not that you cannot enjoy while you think... but enjoying is more fun without thinking for sure :D

I had a nicey nice pizza today... what fun digging into that lovely vegetarian pizza full of brll peppers, jalapenos, olives, sweet corn, and yes.. the fattening cheese... but then i had it after long walk in the bloody 4 degs of cold...

i loved that walk... a few things kept coming back, no matter how hard i tried shooing them away... but then i managed to leave them somewhere on the horley town centre bus stand... what a relief...

talking of Pizzas it reminds me of a brilliant day that i had very long time back.. i guess in 2001.. i remember it because that time i was working in Global Groupware...

well, what happened was the I had to go to office... well not really.. i just made that story up because i wanted to meet my then girlfriend... and i offered mom dad a ride to RK Puram... my chacha's place... the plan was I would drop them there... pick up my girlfriend... come home... call some friends over, have a party and then drop her and go to chacha's place to pick mom dad up...

everything happened exactly like how we thought... except a blunder...

we had ordered pizzas for food... i had kept the pizza boxes to be thrown when we were moving out.. and asked her to pick them up... now in rush i forgot all about them... and when i reached chacha's place i suddenly was reminded of this.. i called her up, and asked where did she threw the boxes... and as luck wanted it.. the Pizza boxes were on the washing machine... bang in front of the door, waiting for mom dad to arrive with me...

now there was no way i could remove the boxes now.. and i was already on my way home with mom dad.. thinking about how on earth am I going to save myself from being killed !!!

well.. when we reached home.. i volunteered to open the doors.. took the keys... opened the door... picked up the pizza boxes... and put them behind the safe in my room... what a CLOSE SHAVE it was... i blasted her off for this... and then almost died laughing on what could have happened to me !!! oh boy...

i can still laugh at that day...

and today comes to an end...

May tomorrow bring peace and happiness to all.. Amen...

...

Do you read what you see or what I wrote?

Walking with myself...

Walking is a nice thing to do...

depending on how you'd like it lets you talk to yourself, sing to yourself, be quiet, be sad or be happy or whatever...

or you may just walk...

i did... primarily because i was feeling too restless in my room yesterday... it was very warm and cozy, and probably thats exactly what i did not want at that time... so i picked up my jacket, the phones ( which i will not when i go out for a walk now, probably) and went out..

walked for about an hour before i came back... and in a much better shape mentally than before.. i could appreciate that warmth in the room better now... and was feeling more at ease as well...

realised:

that i can humm one song for about an hour... and when i attempt to change the track, i will get back to the original within 5 minutes...

that i need a music player with all my favorite oldies.. somehow when i am alone, the new songs don't strike that chord that the oldies do.. maybe because i can sing along better.. whatever...

that i could resist the temptation of looking at my cell for a while... the first half i just kept looking at if off and on again... dunno what was i waiting for... but maybe i needed something to break that silence, before i got to terms with it...

and that walking helps you with acidity too :)


i hope i can gather enough courage to change clothes and get out of my room again tonight... its getting real cold these days here... as low as 0 degs which is predicted for today... right now my igoogle says that the temprature is around 8 degs outside...

Blog and Get Paid...

Blogging is fun... Blogging is a certain medium to dump your thoughts out of your mind and heart and feel better... and blogging is also a medium of spreading awareness... and recently blogging is a good, rather a very good way of making money...

Are you wondering why would anyone get paid to blog? It’s not that complicated actually... Blogs work like advertisements, we all have seen that... good blogs also make those adverts worth it because they help generate some money both for the blogger as well as the advertiser... and blogs also help increase the rating of websites which is not becoming important every minute with the online world getting serious about a lot of things...

Tushar introduced me to Pay Per Post sometime back and I did like the concept, though not really getting hooked to it completely. With Pay Per Post, you get paid to blog about something, like in this case PPP itself... it give you a very nice interface to see what opportunities are available, and which ones do you qualify for basis your page ranking ( which also means that you have to have a good Google page rank before you can start getting that money), you can choose one of these opportunities and write about it on your blog, post it back on PPP and you get paid after a while, usually 30 days... do that regularly and some money comes to you at the end of every month...

I think this is a very good way of sustaining my online presence... I have so far used the money to buy domain names, purchase my flickr account and renew it, so it’s been a good experience so far... Hope it continues :)

sat sun...

Saturday happened... and got over pretty quick as well... with some washing... some walking... some shopping...

Sunday was planning to go to a bird park about 2 hours away from home, but looks like its going to be raining today... so I am home.. resting again...

Good that I get my favorite TV shows every morning here too... Just Shoot Me, Will and Grace, Everybody Loves Raymond, Fraiser, and a few more... all of them... good good...

have been thinking about a few things.. may be later... right now, i gotta find the torrents for Heroes...

Feelings from a distance...

The lights all around... the candles on the steps... the diyas in the house... the aarti with family... the friends coming over... the sweets... all that is happening...

and I will go back to a silent room... super silent infact...

learning to live with it...

मनोरमा

Listening to the soundtrack of मनोरमा these days, off and on... and I love it...

It at times reminds me of the kind of music Maachis had... needless to say the lyrics are good, music soothing.... and I think the movie has been made nicely too....

तेरे सवालों के वो जवाब जो मैं दे न सकूं ...
Pighle से अरमान हैं , दो पल के मेहमान हैं ...
आखों के आलों में चाहत की लौ जलने दो ....

बेहतरीन !!!

Music to my (y)ears....

the chirping of a bird

a voice long unheard

the sound when she breathes

my heart's beats when she keeps

the growl of my car

a baby's chuckle not too far

the air on the hills, the sound of the wings

the leaves falling on the walk, the water when the stream sings


whats music to your ears?

Die Another Day...

Coz today, i chose to live just right :) and like it too...

Warmed some milk, tasted it... and decided that its better to have some tea bag or coffee in it.. which means tomorrow i need to go to the market and get some tea bags and some coffee...

i should have had some sugar, but i replaced it with honey in milk...

and i spread some nice looking orange marmalade on the thick brown bread... i like that better than the mixed jam... something that comes close is the pineapple jam.. which i will get next...

and dinner is ready :D

And tonight, i watch Johnny Gaddar...

purrfect !!!


lunch today was a cheeeeeeeeeze pizza... with some extra pineapply toppings :D no good.. i just ate half the pizza and pineapple from the rest of it... and left the rest... temptations resisted for the tummy :D

chalta hoon abhi.. doodh thanda ho raha hai...

:)

One thing in this world that never fails to bring a smile to my face...

Reading Calvin and Hobbes...

And what a lovely day it is outside, the amount of chill that is nice to feel on your face... and keeps your fresh... the bright sun that warms you up just right... the nice yellow, orange, green colours all around...

super duper...

day did end...

So yesterday, it was actually not that good a day...

it ended with a terrible backache... thankfully a pharmacy was nearby and i could get a couple of painkillers before i slept... much better now...

Lets look at the good things too for yesterday...
~ Got two new line items to take care of, at work...
~ I got bread, and jam and honey for breakfast...
~ I downloaded a movie... hindi :D ye ye ... and i will watch it soon...
~ I found out that the Horley Library is open till 2000 hrs tonight, and I am going to find out more today...

so... its not that bad... the back is hurting though for some reason still...

God bless...

out of in...

I am not feeling good at all today... right from the moment i woke up...

Its empty... not a single word i have spoken since morning... except the thank you to the bus driver... and a good morning to lady at the reception in the office...

Looked at the amount of work... pretty neat it is... and will keep me occupied for a long time for sure...

Tried calling home... did not get through... tried calling a friend... did not get through either...

I guess I will start talking to myself soon :D

Or better... come back to the blog... Being alone and liking it and not liking it and rest, have been major contriutors to me writing on the blog for over 3 years now... and looks like its going to stay this way for a while...

Abhishek left for India yesterday... it was kinda strange to drop him at the airport... and he sms'ed he has reached just fine... so cewl... he is not going to like a lot of things there... but i hope he can find a lot of reasons to like India too... After a while, the comfort, the discipline everything makes life a li'il too easy in firangland... and thats when, if you are back in India... a lot of things suddenly look strange, and irritating... i have felt that myself, however I have been lucky to also see a gradual change in how things have been back home... and i am glad they are changing...

A few days back i got into an interesting conversation with a friend, about how friends happen... is it an automatic process? or just a function of time? and how do you loose people? is that an automatic process again? or just a function of time?

there is no specific answer to this question, I guess... when you start knowing someone, there is a certain need of an extra effort to let the person know that (s)he is wanted and there is something that can be looked forward too.. most of us intelligent people would agree that one should know this already and thats maybe why a walk towards friendship started, however I tend to disagree with that a li'il and believe that nothing is going to be mine without an effort... life is not automatic, it has gears...

Now I might be cruising at a steady speed after a while, but still to start with, i need to carefully select the amount of acceleration, the clutch, the gear level, the rpm everything... otherwise, its going to stop... a few patient ones would try again... and again... and after a while a few of us might just give up... The interesting thing is that in a day, we have to deal with many life's such geared mechanics... the getting ready for the office, the finishing the deadlines at work, calling or writing to a few people other than work, finding out time to do something that cheers you up... everything needs an effort.. but i guess EVERYTHING does need an effort...

Pretty long post eh...

I am feeling better now... let me go grab something to eat for myself...

i wish the day started different...

You got no new messages...

There is no new email...

I wish these were not what I look at when I get up in the morning... it just takes me further away...

:(

I don't remember the last time I broke something... i usually am careful with things that are breakable... well.. not talking about hearts here :D

but i broke a beautiful lamp that Abhishek had in his room :( i hate the feeling...

one it was a beautiful lamp...
two it was a very pretty lamp...
three it was a gift to him..
four i was not careful, which i usually am...

I am sorry Abhishek... i am really sorry :(

Random first day in an unknown city...

First day at office has been pretty excitingly dull so far...
I was wondering about how I would I reach office and find the people etc... But this is how it went...

Walk out of the house...
Walk for about 2 minutes to the bus stand...
Take the # 100
Sit in it for about 15 minutes...
Get out of the bus... cross the road... and get into the office...

Total travel time approximately 20 minutes, including the wait...

BT office is a nice huge building next to the Gatwick Airport, in the Gatwick City Place... so far I have seen about 25 planes landing at various times... Easy Jet, Zoom, Flybe, XL, VA, ThomasCook.com etc have been the names I saw today... they are local airlines flying inside Europe and UK... and very nicely painted aircrafts…

I have a lot of documents to read in the first few days and then get down to making a lot of documents in the next 8 weeks of my stay…

Had a nice Indian meal in the office... Angoori Sabzi, Chana Dal, Rice, and Naan (yea... they called in a naan, but it actually was a pancake, not sweet though), some sweet chutney... interesting food... and very very filling... The last time I came to UK, I had loads and loads of juice, … almost a litre of it everyday... I am on my way to do a repeat of the same… At least a litre of juice a day…

Looking forward to the weekend, so that I can get back to a place, I used to call Home thanks to Abhishek... Sad he is going to India while I am here... that wastes my three weekends... but its ok...

More later...

I can anyway post it only when I get back home... I still don't have internet access in the office... it would take me a while to get a BT laptop... maybe a few weeks... who knows :P till then.. Offline scribbles and posting the evenings...

Took a different bus route back home… and got down at a place called Horley Town Center, about 10 minutes away from where I am putting up… what a lovely place it was… nice shops lined up, oh.. and two huge malls Waitrose, and one more… bought myself some more food, some fruits… my dinner salad… and walked back home…

One more door that brought smiles to my face were of a library called the Horley Library… it looked big and pretty inviting… I will have to figure out how to find it open as it closed before my work finishes for more of the days… lets see…

Calling it a day now… May God be with us…

Another Chapter in the book...

A few days ago, I was wondering that evening, how would it feel to be inside one of those cars...

the biiiiiiig, black beast... or should we say the beauty...

and i laughed the thought off saying that the police walas in the UK drive this.. cheap ones :D

Li'il did I know that God Uncle had planned a nice surprise for me... for when I got out of the airport today in London, my car was a BMW 550D

and all i could say was wow !!! loved that one hour drive in the baby...

for people who don't know the car...

This is the same car that is featured in the POWER ad for HP...

and a few pictures...

(Pictures courtesy : BMW UK Site)

I met Alan, the landlord, who seems to be a very warm and helpful guy... and then Hue who is a photography freak himself and shoots on transparencies and negatives...

Yet to meet the rest of the people in the house... living with all firangies should be a different experience... hindi mein baat karne ko koi nai hoga lekin :( lets see...


Also went out for a walk.. it was nice and chilly... i can see where this weather is going from here... i am sure i will love it...

I saw a movie called Evan Almighty today in the flight... remembered a few lines from it... would like to write them down so that i can come back to them...

When you ask God for courage, he does not give you courage but an opportunity to show courage...

When you ask God for love, he does not give you love, but an opportunity to be loved...

and so on...

God bless...

and thank you God for being so nice to me and giving me so many opportunities... and I love you...

jeans...

Variety is the spice of life they say... but when it comes to buying jeans... i cannot like anything other than the regular blues and the blacks...

and at the same time, i see people wearing all sorts of strange colors with graffity, paint work, and what not these days...

Talking about jeans.. is the jeans who hold girls better in them now? or do the girls these days actually are in such amazing shape which jeans accentuate? no idea... but something has happened for sure...

oh.. and i bought a pepe finally again... i remember my two favorite pairs were a levis 501 button fly and the pepe comfort fit... both of them retired after they literally gave up... but i loved them...

and i need to be back in shape too... the tummy is crying for help... and me for some motivation... huh... aise to nai chalega !!!

a friend, when not needed...

Please leave me alone, I want to be with myself...

But at least tell me what happened...

No, its nothing, but i need time for myself...

Ok, whatever !!!

and this is how a lot of our conversations end... But what we fail to realise that its time like these when our friends probably don't need a "ok whatever" but an assurance that you are around in case needed...

so next time you get into a situation like this.. all you need to do is tell your friend that you are around...

tring tring...

Busy day at office... no time to think about life outside... and a phone call breaks the silence...

on the other end is a voice that has sparks, that has smiles, that has happiness...

and it just managed to flow through !!!

still a busy day at office, no time to think about life outside... but this time.. a few smiles keep me company...

Optics come at a Cost...

Its been a while I have been thinking... and i guess i have finally decided that I want to spend about 1,50,000 INR for my camera equipment...

no I am not going to do that overnight or in the next 3 months or 6... i mean i don't really know... but i guess i know which direction to look in... i guess thats important for photography :P

have a look... i have been looking at these pictures for sometime now... and i wish i can have them sometime..

amen...

that pushes the bike down the list for sure... lens needs to come before the bullet... aargh... why don't i have enough money?

toosh says...

I don't understand over 80% (randomly generated numerator divided by a randomly generated denominator and multiplied by 100) of what Tushar writes on his blog...

he happens to be a great friend... probably because after all these years... he has always been around even thought we differ in our thoughts and way of life... yaari dosti taaza maaza...

yesterday he wrote something that i really wanted to be told... whatever triggered that post of his, is not important to me... but the fact is...

"there is a lot of difference in loving someone and asking someone to love you"

yea yea... i am writing about relationships and love and all that these days... i know... one of those months i guess when this thought is on the hot seat MTV style... i am going to back soon with the usual set of stuff around...

mast likha hai tushar...

oh and yes...

Lets not circumference our abilities :D or something like that ;)

i write it first i guess :D

चाय की दुकान का शटर

Welcome to the new look चाय की दुकान...

The shutter got a new paint work... and it i feel looks better now :)

Thanks Sharanya for the help yesterday... It would have been tougher without you :)

i think that i think i thought

One of my friends wrote a very interesting post sometime back about being alone... and loving it...

I guess I fall into that category of people who have been on their own without really needing anyone around, for a long time time now...

When mom talks about getting married, I ask her why should I get married? and she would tell me, that its good to have someone around you... to come back to.. and my answer, and trust me an honest one, for about 2 years now, was I don't need anyone to come back home to... I am happy this way... i don't have to answer any questions, I live my life one day at a time, with ofcourse some plans to buy the new camera lenses, or how would i manage to get the Pajero I have my eyes on for a very long time... but then this is where and how it has been... a few close friends have also questioned me about this so called full of myself, selfish and insensitive attitude... but then again... i said so what.. this is my life and I decide how i want to live it.. not anyone else...


oh.. and by the way I manage to fix the rear speakers in my car today... the rear speakers had some wires loose... and it took me about an hour to take everything out and then clean the wires up and put everything back in... i mean just the wires... but it is silk smooth again... and the bass tube is back in... i can now reopen the discotheque inside my car :D... oh.. and yes you are welcome for a drive around...

par no smoking and daru inside the car please... its a restricted zone...

ok.. back to what i was talking about... so my life has been revolving around a few things for a few years... work... photography, which i started taking seriously sometime back, my car and parents... thats it... a few friends have been around during all these times when i have not talked to them for weeks at length... or told them about what i have been thinking and whats happening at my side of the phone, or the screen or whatever...

and today i thought... what if i am thinking about only myself when i am needed? what if i don't even figure that out that i should have been around someone who was looking at me... not for anything else but for just being there... what if i loose someone because i needed time off from everything when they should have had my time? scary... not for the whole world, but when it comes to a few ppl i care for...

i guess i am on my way to do a balancing act... from one extreme towards a better ground... and reaching an equilibrium...

oh.. and thanks to the duck in the picture.. who gave me the idea :) she is a darling...

Balancing Act..., originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

We all gotta balance.... some just find new ways of doing it....

I am happy... very...

God has always been kind to me... and whenever I have wanted something real bad I got it... I am not sure the wishes of people who care for me help, or my parents faith in my capabilities helped, or my efforts helped, or was it a mix of everything...

I wanted a camera real bad... Gaurav Srivastava at that time came back from Japan, we visited Chandni Chawk one day and got my first SLR, the Canon 3000v...

I started talking to Bindiya about how i want to be different and not click the usual buildings and flowers... and she said that I could participate in ASK's initiatives... but i said that I would do it when I would get my dSLR...

I was hoping to get a dSLR, and my slr conked of leaving me without a camera for about 3 months and then Gaurav Narang, another friend, got me my first dSLR, the Canon 400D from Hongkong...

Moradabad happened and went and clicked... and go appreciated for the work i did there... happiness :) unlimited...

and then Bindiya told me about the DGF Photocontest, and i forgot, and then she pestered me to submit my entry... I managed to do that on the last day of the competition hoping that i will get in the top ten...

I did manage it to the top ten and then win the competition too... A small but firm start for me... and a lot of happiness and satisfaction as well...

And today, an article, which is a result of my conversation with one of the ladies in DGF is up on their website... and I am feeling really good about it...

Should i say again.. God is kind to me... Whenever i need it... I get it.. whatever it might be...

Thank you God..
Thank you ma papa...
Thank you Bindiya...
Thank you everyone who voted, got me votes, or saw the poll...
and thank you everyone who cares...



You might want to read the article HERE..

OM again...

prashant, originally uploaded by gauravkun.

Picture clicked by Gaurav... my photography guru !!!

OM

OM, originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

This took me a while to make... but it was nice collecting the shells and then making my favorite symbol and my favorite sound in the universe...

For all these hours when i was making this, I did not think about anything else... strange how some things can bring you peace...

its funny...

I am not in the right frame of mind... i guess i have just lost it !!!

the last few days.. i have seen myself behaving irrationally, too emotionally, irratically, stupidly, and what the fkk not... where did the all so practical, with a head on his shoulders guy go?

its strange to be someone who i told a lot of people not to be !!!

Prashant beta kya kar rahe ho.. saara gyan baant diya khud ke kuch bhi nai rakha...

ab bhugto...

in case you read it and have an opinion... hold on to it for a while... or write to me personally... am deliberately disabling comments on this post...

white light...

The Glass Windows of my room rattling every few seconds...

i can see a lot of white light outside... coming on every few seconds...

and then i hear a loud... rather very very loud roar of the clouds...

and again the windows rattle...

scary...

Chai ki Dukaan....

Tea Time..., originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

I hope to collect these shots and keep them here... for my chai ki dukaan whenever it opens :)

...

Its a strange feeling to be very close to someone and be far away from her at the same time...

Prashant Bhardwaj of INDIA

I won my first Photo Competition !!!!


And I am delighted :) totally...

Thanks to everyone who voted for me and helped me get votes...

Click here to read more...

Many thanks to Bindiya, Aqeel, and ASK for the opportunity to click in Moradabad... If I had not clicked in the Sankalp Centres this picture would never have been there...

jlt...

Its a li'il discomforting when you know that there is a friend who is away from you and is bothered about something and you just cannot do anything about it...

this is when the technological marvels like Email, phones, text messages really don't make much of a difference... all you want to do is sit next to the person and just be there... irrespective of there being a conversation or not...

what adds to the lack of comfort is when your friend chooses to keep you away from the thoughts of the moment...

distance is such a pain at times...

So YOU are God? Eh !!!

So YOU are God? Eh !!!, originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

Do you ever challenge God?

do that... and then raise your own bar !!!

Letting it flow...

Tushar says Let it flow...

I think he is right...

i planned for something to happen in the next three weeks... its not happening now... it needs to be deferred...

i am letting it flow...

God uncle you reading this post, right? I am sure you know what you are doing... it better be for good !!!

Writing the Future

Sometime ago, I submitted three of my pictures for an online photo competition organised by Development Gateway Foundation depicting social economic development in developing countries....

One of these pictures made to the final ten of the competition and now its upto the number of votes which decides the winner...

so go check this link out...

http://www.dgfoundation.org/news-events/photo-contest/vote.html


Visit the page... have a look at the pictures and vote for my picture :)

My picture is titled "Writing the Future"

million thanks to Bindiya for telling me about this competition and pestering me to submit the pictures.... thanks darling...

Report Card...

Every man or woman has a history...

there is some chemistry

which leads to some physics on the geography

saving themself from some biology to avoid a lot of mathematics later :D

so much for how education helps :P

Who were they playing for?

I am not sure how many of you heard and noticed what the Pakistan Captain Shoaib Malik said at the presentation ceremony...

He apologised to all the Muslims of the world for loosing that final !!!

Strange... was that team playing for muslims of the world or what? so now the non-muslims have won?

what surprises me more is that I did not see anything about this comment anywhere in the news...

anyway... I know for sure there were more muslims celebrating India's victory than the number of muslims in that country... I am very happy that Pakistan lost if this is why they were playing the game...

are there lines dividing us?

When I was in Bangalore this time.. i got into a few discussions about south vs. north...

what ppl in the north think about the ones in south and what do southies think about the northies..

I wanted to write a detailed post about those discussions... and probably offend a few ppl in the process too...

But INDIA won the 20-20 world cup.. and we were celebrating the same way.. the smiles were same... the cheers as loud...

no point drawing a south north line anymore...

let it be one country...

Customers and Service...

And we say that FIAT has a bad after sales service and blah and blah and blah...

Bull Shit..

I bought my car about 3 years ago.. and have been getting it serviced at Dynamic Automobiles noida... i have seen the workshop during its good and bad times...but not once I had an issue with the people there, or the service they were offering...

they changed locations and have moved to a good 15 minutes drive away from home now... and today when i went there to get the car serviced, i was kinda surprised to see the place done up with flowers and all with TATA service boards all around... well that meant that they were going to service tata too.. which is fine.. because TATA and FIAT jointly handle the customers now... anyway.. so i am asked to park my car outside, which kinda meant there were less chances of the service being done because of the opening of the service station and all...

i just walked inside, and was greeted with a number of familiar smiles and concern of what was i doing there... when I told them that i was there for a regular service... they informed me that they were not taking any cars for service today and i might have to come back on wedneday for the service...

But before i moved out... i was stopped and someone went and checked if the car could be serviced... and good news... they would service my car... so as an exception, my car was taken care of just right... and as promptly as it could have been done...

And a couple of managers there also kept a tab on the work being done on the car...

One exceptional example of customer service... from FIAT or lets say its dealers... but I am happy yet again...

back to her...

the same touch...

the same romantic sound...

the same comfort in her company...

no words spoken... non heard either... we knew we were together again...

for once the distance did not make a difference... not talking for so long did not make a difference... while i was away she knew i think about her.. and i am sure she missed me too...

I love her...

and I am sure... Radha would be happy to read this too, only if she could...

:)

Options...

Options..., originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

Life will always give me many options..

A choice of words when i want to talk or write...

a choice of expressions when I want to communicate...

a choice of friends when i want to laugh or cry or just be...

a choice of places when i want to get away...

Its me who needs to really take a call as to what I want...

hoping that a wrong choice does not screw up things too much !!!! Amen...

Another Just Like Thats...

One day can have so much !!!

Wish I could sometime count and keep the of thoughts, the expressions, the feelings that i go through in one day !!!

there is so much that at times I want to hold on to... with just two hands !!!

OM

OM in color, originally uploaded by Yoii.

Thank you Yoii.. aka Ankit भोपाली Singh for a nice picture of mine... :)

Banglore Bhasad !!!

National Highway 7...

The road from Silk board to Electronic City....
I am in an Infy bus, the engine of which has been idle for about 15 minutes now... and the bus has not moved an inch in those 15 minutes...

And on my left is a sign that says...

Drive SLOW...

What the fuck... I could have shoved that sign-board up the ass of the person who put it there!!!

I wonder what happens to people who need medical attention here!!! I am not sure if the ambulances can reach where they should... and if they do... I am not sure if people can be taken to the hospitals!!!

And there are riots if a film star dies!!!

I love the weather here... and there are enough arrangements made to ensure that it’s the weather that I can enjoy on the roads for most of my day...

0930 hours and there is a "NHAI" project for a elevated highway going on, on the hosur road... and for some reason... even after I tried hard.. I did not see more than 20 people working there... strange feeling it was... there is such a chaos on the road... and still work is being done at its natural pace... I have seen how flyovers have been built in Delhi... and I am so bloody happy that there work happens much faster... however bad or screwed up the city may be!!!

Oh... and for the record... it took me about 2.5 hours today to reach Electronic city from Jayanagar... this is my personal worst in terms of speed... i am not sure how can one spend so many hours on the road just trying to reach office and then back home... when this time could have been used to do something much much better...

God Bless Bangalore!!! And with something more than the excellent weather!!!

News Reader...

News Reader..., originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

News is business now.. and not only news...

Adds taste to the morning cup of teas...

and gives gossip content for the evening cups...

Sting Operations, people run over by buses and cars, murders... its only the names and places that keep changing... the content can remain the same...

interesting it is !!!!

I wish for a time when news also focuses on The good dedicatedly... The media also highlights The good that people are doing in every single edition॥ The local heroes, The doers, The actual leaders... hoping...

Also, how about a sting operation in the open on a traffic signal sometime? stop everyone who crosses the red light and ask them why they do this? or may be one day spend in the autos, asking every auto guy why he cannot be honest... or maybe ask the uncle peeing on the road, why is it that he could not wait till he reached his home?

My world... my thoughts...

My world... my thoughts..., originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

There is a lot that keeps building up in the minds... its like a bucket of thoughts that fills up every moment...

and times like these are important...because they let you think about what you want to... what is really worth spending time on.. what is it that you can let go...

I wonder if that is what this kid was doing...

I do that all the time... when i am in My World My Thoughts...

आग

Ok… I have seen BOOM…. And I thought the director/producer was under a heavy influence of drugs right from the moment he thought about making the picture to releasing it…

And not too long ago, I tested my patience with HR’s आप का सुरूर … and I somehow managed to survive the movie till the very end…

But there is something that happened that suddenly made me feel that both the movies mentioned above we nice movies… and no points for guessing that I am talking about Ram Gopal Varma’s आग … no fun in going into the details of the movie, but there are a few bullet items that I would still like to mention…

1. Nisha Kothari, does not look good even with half her clothes off her body. Ok she is a woman, and she got a decent figure... but see her act in this movie and there is li’il about her that is going to be attractive anymore…
2. Urmila Matondkar definitely got a boob job done… there was no other reason why there was song sequence featuring her and Abhishek Bachchan…
3. Ram Gopal Varma, and everyone else who was associated with the direction, production, acting, post processing etc etc tried a li’il too hard to make it different than the Sholey and yet not loose a similarity touch… and they miserably failed… the failure was worse than the Indian Cricket team getting all out on 50 runs… who ironically managed a great win over England in yesterday’s match… super exciting cricket after a very very long time… I miss Saurav Ganguly as the captain of the team for some reason…
4. मौसी was now गंगू Mummy… yes… exactly… “Gangu Mummy” what the fuck … who thought of that title?
5. Ajay Devgan acted pathetically in the movie… he was tried to be funny, and all I could see was a repeat of the hairstyle and the dialogue delivery from the “Phool Aur Kante” days…
6. Zero Chemistry between the friends…
7. Useless dialogues… including the one where गब्बर ... oops... बब्बन , this time, says “कब है दीवाली ”…
8. What was Amitabh Bachchan trying to do? Please someone help me get an answer to that question…
9. साम्भा is थाम्बे … and he was also cleaning the gun when the almost physically challenged बब्बन makes an entry…
10. It took me a while to figure out if बब्बन was coughing or laughing… then I realized that he was laughing…
11. The scene when वीरू threatens to commit suicide because Basanti’s मौसी is not agreeing to the marriage has been repeated as if some third standard kids thought of doing the same scene again with वीरू enacted by हीरो , बसंती enacted by घुंघरू , Mausiji enacted by some “Gangu Mummy”
12. The blind चाचा of the “इतना सन्नाटा क्यों है भाई ” fame is also there... only this time he is pretty aggressive and an angry old man…
13. Rajpal Yadav tries to make up for सूरमा Jagdeep भोपाली in a seemingly funny but very irritating accent…
14. The movie’s plot is based out of a place called Kaliganj in Mumbai… and there are gun fires, huge bomb explosions, AK 47 wars, and not a single Mumbai Policeman around…
15. And have I already talked about the songs? I do not remember even one of them as of now… all I can remember is that all of them came when they were not needed… and useless music!!!
16. There is Mohanlal the southie superstar as well… the poor guy, I do not think, knows that damage he has done to himself by acting in this movie... he has been decent at a few places for sure… but like ठाकुर even he did not have the limbs… they were cut off by babban because the inspector had used the hands to kill his brother…

Overall… a pathetic experience… worse than what it sounds like from the post above…

The only good thing that I personally liked was the lovely use of lights and some intelligent camera angles at times… Photography benchmarks… good ones…

I think Ram Gopal Varma should give a public apology for making this movie... the tremendous caliber that I think he has was WASTED in this his आग … not sure it caused some heat on the boxoffice…but it sure did leave a burning sensation somewhere inside me… Acidity maybe!!!

Decided....

I have to buy a Royal Enfield... the sooner the better !!!!

Media Centre - Infosys Banglore

Media Centre - Infosys Banglore, originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

I am travelling to banglore for two weeks starting this monday to 23rd...

And I have the weekend of 15th to do my September Trip... suggestions please...

Choice of Expression....

Two friends...

One Angry...

One far Away...

The angry one can either take it all out on the one who is far away because of something he said or probably did not...

Or

The angry one can tell the one far away what really happened and resolve the matter...

Chai Ki Dukaan...

Chai Ki Dukaan..., originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

Something that i have always loved... every place I go in India... i find one of these... muah to INDIA...

Language is like SEX...

Greenwich... or gren-ich....

This discussion still has been going on... Arobindo wants to sue his school because he was never told that its Gren-ich.... and because of the fact that he would have to face issues when he travels the UK....

I think language is like SEX... people speak/do it the way they like it...

There are no set rules... there are some basic guidelines, called grammar, etc etc are there... but as an individual you decide what you like the best...

so enjoy ... the language too :)

cheers...

World समोसा (Samosa) Day !!!

:Time for a day !!!

And let me introduce you to "the World समोसा Day..."

Why only samosas... because this is one snack that I missed the most in London... and also saw how ridiculously dissimilar the samosas in England were to what we get in Delhi... the amazing shape of the samosa is reduced to just a wrap called samosa... and sold for about a pound everywhere...

This post and this day henceforth, I would, dedicate to Samosas, The best tea-time snack I know of :) !!!

May we all get good samosas always... with the best of tea ( @ the चाय की दुकान )

Amen !!!

Oh... and today also happens to ne India's National Flag Day... read more about it here...

The Past in Present...

Not too far away in time I was a small kid… and with not many friends… used to be a good student and with a few friends… people my life circled around… and one such friend used to stay not long away from my house…

I remember my first cycle trip to his place… and how I got lost while coming back....i remember how I could still manage to reach home finding my way out with the high telephone tower helping me out…

I also remember a day, when three of us small kids were cycling around in noida and one of us met with an accident… he happens to be the father of a sweet girl today…
The third one happened to be one of my closest friends of those times… good company he was…I was always scared of his dad because he was a Police Officer, and his mom was one of the sweetest moms I knew… she is such a lovely lady… and the Mickey and Mona, his brother and sister… were two sweet darlings we used to be with…

Time passed… and I moved out of the school… to find a dream and a career for myself, and during all this while we did not talk… we moved apart when no one had heard of something called an email and we used to keep our fixed line numbers in phone books… so loosing that phone book meant that you loose touch… and if someone changes his residence or the number changes.. Then also you would not be able to track them down...

I lost one of my phone books... and I lost a few of my friends I had practically spent the nicest days of my life with… did not make any long lasting friends in the new school or college except while doing my masters… infact the people that I call friends are very very few today…

When I was going to London last month, I talked to one such friend… and he happened to the same guy who I used to treat as my best friend back in दाव school… Abhishek Dixit...


the same guy who used to roam around with me on cycles… the same guy I remember as a die hard fan of Amitabh Bachchan… The guy from Banda, UP, the same guy who used to sit with me on the last bench in school, the same guy who fell with me while we were trying a few summersaults on our last bench in school॥ The same guy I lost touch with for about 11 years…

And I was there with him, in a different country, in a different continent, about 6700 kms away from home… living some of the best moments of life again… the same comfort level॥ The same care... the same conversations, with some refinement though… things did not change much did they?


We walked the streets of London, we went to Scotland, we talked, ate, and ooooogled at girls together… life made simpler... the simple joys of life come to me in form of Abhishek… who also doubled up as the guide in a firangi country in the not so good of situations and the better ones too…

London would have been a mess, if he was not there… thanks Bro for being around... then and now!!! You are a blessing!!!


शुक्रीया दोस्त...

मेरी चाय की दुकान

I have been thinking about it for a while now… and I think I need another title for my blog… "Life As a (w)Hole" has been there for sometime now, infact a lot of time now… while I still am fine with looking at these words, I do not remember the last time I read the title of my blog…

So I think, its time for a change… did not really think about many titles… thankfully the one that came to my mind first is the one that I want to be with…

And

Life As A (w)hole… would now be called…

Chai ki Dukaan !!!

Blame it on the London weather or the rains that was all that I saw in the last 10 days of my stay there… because a Chai ki Dukaan was something that I was really missing there in the firangland…

However, the afterthoughts also helped me stick to the thought… because I have always like the roadside tea-stalls… they have been the most adorable, and faithful partners in all my trips in all the years that I have been traveling… go anywhere in India, and you will always be welcome in a tea-stall with a nice boiled tea and a few biscuits… a feeling that no other country in the WORLD can provide you with…

And I think that these tea stalls are where the real conversations take place… the words between the sips of boiling tea, and the sips between the conversations… I love them all…

So the ladies and the gentlemans… please welcomes the

Chai ki Dukaan… this is where my conversations with the world happen !!!

And this post would be incomplete if I do not mention Bindiya, who was very prompt in agreeing to the thought of changing the blog title, when I mentioned that to her!!! Thanks darling!!! It helped…

Might work on the template as well soon... ideas welcome !!!

Who Should I be scared of?

I believe that one single incident cannot really be good enough for anyone to pass a judgment about the entire country or a state for that matter, however with incidents like what happened in Gurgaon in the Honda Factory where hundreds of people were mercilessly beaten up by the policemen, the time when couple in Meerut were beaten by the policemen and policewomen for being together in a park... and now the dragging of a pickpocket in Bihar...

While I am sure that there is some action/ punishment required to straighten things up and the not so legal acts... but is this the right way? Are they trying to be heroes or something?

I would not be lying if I say that I am more scared by the police around me as compared to the criminals... At least the criminals keep into hiding, but the police can roam around freely doing what they want and the way they want...

And to add to an icing on the cake, there would usually be a few ppl suspended for beating the shit out of common people, and there would be a few people suspended (for shaking hands with Sanjay Dutt, when he is released on bail), there would be a group of people to enquire about the whole incident, and the opposition would ask the Chief Minister to resign and the incident would go on a completely different tangent...

Shameful and painful...

Lost...

I was trying to look up the internet for a definitive meaning of the words " youth icon". Did not really manage to find something...

So either I completely misunderstand the term Youth Icon or there is some big confusion...

Orkut?
Abhishek Bachchan?
Shahrukh Khan?

Don't we know of people who are young and make a difference in the lives of people in the country? Are there non left?

And the winner is Orkut?

Am i missing something?

The Common Link...

Scene 1 : One of the finest Indian restaurants in London, Mela, Shaftbury's Avenue.... amazing food and mango lassi...

Scene 2: The Jubilee Line Tube and the person, a firangi, next to me sitting listening to some music...

If were wondering why the above two are mentioned together is because there was something common in the two scenes..

No points for guessing, if you are a close friend of mine, that it was my "favorite" Himesh Reshamiya... with aapka suroor in scene one and jhalak dikhlaja in scene 2...

This guy would not leave me like this... aargh !!!

Correct English...

Its strange how people have speak about the correct way of speaking english...

I do not agree to a way of pronounciation being correct or incorrect, just because the people in a country speak it in a specific way...

I might have to adapt because the people here do not understand it, but to label a certain way of talking as incorrect is bullshit...

Atleast I do not know of anyone in India telling someone what is correct english and what is wrong...

I almost got into an argument with a friend, who insisted on using the words right english and wrong english... but stopped myself because she seemed to be completely convinced that the way people in London speak is the right english...

Anyway... let the computerrrrss be computerrrrrs....