2009 in Pictures - February

Its going to take quite a bit of effort to select the images, edit them for CKD and post them here, but I am willing to make that effort... I hope you are going to make an effort to browse those images as well...

If you missed it, photographs from January can be accessed by clicking here (Opens in a new window)

February was a month of a few firsts... and a few seconds and some thirds as well :)

After the freezing months of December and January, Feb brought a bit of sunshine and nice weather to Milwaukee... good enough to get out of the cosy comfort of your apartment and walk around... during one such walks, I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum too...

An artwork in the museum...

Warm morning sunlight....

The ice started melting as well because the temperature went above the freezing point after about 2 months... hence the beautiful reflections on the path above and the road below...

The building with the christmas cap is my office!

Puddles also were formed at places because of the snow melting, giving the kid in me an opportunity to play around the water...

The sun was really shining bright and gave me some interesting photographs to click...

I also went to Minneapolis on Valentine's day....

Took some interesting portraits of friends in MSP... this one is Lakhan.... the bored pilot :)

One of the most interesting and remarkable firsts in February was walking on a frozen lake, and driving on it... Scary and very exciting! This is Pritam's new SUV at Medicine Lake...

Another first.... a frozen Waterfall!

Miss Sapna... not too interested in the camera!

A valentine's day is not complete without a few roses! innit?

Now back to Milwaukee, and the frozen lake Michigan...

People enjoying ice fishing on Lake Michigan, and downtown Milwaukee in the background...

A closeup of how the frozen water looks like...

Deepali and Gaurav trying to walk on ice...

February turned out to a fun filled month... I started traveling out of Milwaukee, I also got myself a film camera... some results from that camera a little later....

See you with March Photographs!

2009 in Pictures - January

2009 started on a brilliant note for me... and its ending at a much brighter one!!!

Just one post is not going to do justice to what a wonderful year this has been... so I have decided to have 12 posts... mostly pictures to relive the time once again!!!

2009 started with a visit to Mecca of bikers, The Harley Davidson Museum!!! enjoy the photographs below...

Starting 2009 with going to see a bike which is 100 years old... pretty cool!

Pritam and gang's first of the many visits to Milwaukee... I am sure they enjoyed it... I loved it... it was having a family around me...

Time Travel

It’s really a matter of time...

Isn't it? or is it?

Imagine a situation where you can move 100 times as fast as anything imaginable... would you be able to walk right into future? theoretical, maybe! because you have moved ahead of everyone, everything... but it’s a li'il hard to imagine.. but imagine a time when what takes 24 hours for the rest of everything you know, can be done in, say, 10 hours by you...A controlled increase in speed should take you to a "relative" future state...

Also if you are able to slow down... like reeeeeeeeeally reeeeeeeeeeally slow down, would you not be able to move back into the past? because the rest of the world has moved ahead! and so has the trees, and the earth, and the snow and everything else too... going by the same example... 24 hours for the rest of the existence would mean, umm let's say, 36 for you...and a controlled reduction in speed should take you to a "relative" past.

if you can switch between the fast and slow at your own sweet will, you will be able to time travel!

This of-course depends heavily on what you consider a constant... because present, past and future are only relative terms... tomorrows' past is today, but today is also yesterday's future... so be a li'il careful with choosing your reference marks! also if the reference moves around then the entire calculation of the past, present and future can go for a toss, and you will land up in a totally parallel world! How about that!

I really wish I was able to pictorially or visually represent what I am writing right now! damn it!

anyway!

Happy Marriage Anniversary!

You two are the most important people in my life ma pa! I wish, you are my parents in every single life that I have!

Happy Marriage Anniversary! Love you!

Am I imagining? really?

I was watching A Beautiful Mind after a strong recommendation from a friend. The movie is about John Nash who is a brilliant economist and mathematician. Also suffers from an acute case of Schizophrenia. He imagines people around him, imagines assignments that he is given to complete, and imagines responsibilities outside the normal world. Needless to say they are as real to him as reality would need!!! And there is no reason why he would ever know that they are not real!

This brings me to my thought here… are we all not suffering from Schizophrenia? At some level or the other! What is REAL? Other than the fruit juice brand, it is what we feel is REAL… and more often than not, fail to accept anything which is beyond our own definitions of reality and truth! Some people can call this gradual acceptance of reality beyond our own minds, growth, maturity or evolution (if you’d like to use it in a large picture)

Now I personally feel that it’s ok to have “my own” reality world around me. It is a true reflection of one’s inner self, his/her need/desires, ambitions, and wants… for someone outside this reality, this might be imagination, but for the person who is imagining, this is the truth!

It becomes a disease, or something that needs a cure, when and only when, the imaginator (that’s a nice term for someone who imagines, right?) disagrees to the fact that the world is more than just his her reality, and that the truth when his world integrates with the outside might not be necessarily how he/she imagined!

Heartbroken lovers who cannot give up on a failed relationship, Visionaries who dream of things and go get them, Obsessed people who just cannot accept that the other person is not responding with same feeling as theirs, the leaders who make people burn movie posters, attack out of their geographical state people and so on, these people who follow such leaders, the preachers and gurus who in disguise of showing path to truth only make disciples and followers, all such disciples and followers, women who feel they are looking gorgeous in a rather silly dress, people who day dream, people who night walk…

You!!

Me!!

Are all schizophrenics !!!

Ever wondered if one of the so called schizophrenics is actually looking at the truth, and we living in a reality which is totally imagined?

The possibilities are limitless!

Small Talk!

So! what's up?

Nothing?

YOU! nothing? impossible! Something?

Nothing!

Since when?

About an hour!

And before that?

Something!!

Ah! I see! I know! So what's up?

Nothing!

Oh common! your nothing always means something!

Right! Everything means something! nothing means something too!

Everything is something, and nothing is also something, which kind of means, everything is nothing, or nothing is everything!

Whoa! that is something!

Or may be nothing! or everything! who knows!

Someone!

I think everyone!

or maybe No one!

Everyone has to know something about someone!

Someone would know everything about no one!

But they would claim that they know everything about someone!

No one knows everything about someone!

Someone does not know everything about someone!

What do you know?

Everything!

Everything about something?

No! something about everything!

So! What's up?

Nothing!

Women of my dreams!

Cars for me are like women... and like most men, I have some women of my dreams!!!

I am simply glad that uncle God is letting me be with a few of these dreamgirls... I wished to be with them... I hoped to be with them... and uncle is making those dreams come true!!!

Every time I feel it cannot get any better, he makes me realize it can! Love you for this, uncle...

Jai Shambhu!

Meuzik

is the quickest and simplest way to have an out of body experience!!!!

and I am going for an out of city experience!

ta!

You wouldn't understand!

Pritam : I like it… it’s a nice car!

Prashant : Good! Bring it on… I have always dreamt of driving one! I am excited!!!


7 hours later!!!

Deepak : Saala, itni choti gaadi hai!!! 3 suitcase mein hi jagah khatam!

Prashant: Sach bol! Bilkil bhi space nahin hai?

Prakati : nahin! Baithoge to pata chalega!

Prashant : Achcha :/

Pritam : Bhai mereko kisi ne bola hi nahin… mereko ye achchi lagi mein le aaya!

Prashant : Laal rang ki hai na? mast hai!!!

Pritam : Haan!

Prashant : Aur Jeep hai aur Wrangler hai!!! Mast hai bhai, ekdum mast hai!!!

5 hours later

Prashant : Abe ye to sach mein bahut choti hai be!!! Itni choti jeep to kabhi nahin dekhi maine!

Deepak : Samaan to rakho phir dekho!

Prashant (in his mind) : Two door Soft Top Red Jeep Wrangler, 4 people, close to about 2000 miles to drive, short on space, big on feeling, well! We get some we lose some!!!

Prashant : Itni buri bhi nahin hai bhai! Chalo baitho!!! Thoda bags idhar udhar karo, space banao, gaane lagao, shor machao…

Sometime later

Prashant : Hai to choti, par thoda sa seats adjust karke shayad back seat aur comfortable ho jaye!!!

Some more time later

Prakati : It’s not for a long drive.. it’s good for a day long picnic or something

Prashant : I agree… even the car has not been designed for long drives… the steering is designed to have an excellent grip while turning, and not for holding on to for long hours, there is no foot rest for the left foot, there is no cruise control and so on and so forth! But you see, it’s a dream being fulfilled for Pritam and me!

3 days 20 hours and about 1600 miles later!

I had driven this two door rockstar for about 1300 miles including a 12 hour drive on Sunday, driven in rain, driven in sun, driven in snow, on the plains, and on the hills, driven in the morning, afternoon, evening, night, and midnight, driven in 7 states, and in two time zones…

And like I read on another jeep…

“You wouldn’t understand, It’s a Jeep thing!”

गाने की क्लास - अन्ताक्षरी (Antakshri)

ॐ सर आज छुट्टी पर हैं इसलिए आज चाय कीदूकान पर होने वाली maths ya angrezii की क्लास भी नही होगी लेकिन जैसा स्कूल में होता है - शिक्षक के ना आने पर कोई substitute teacher या फिर क्लास के किसी student को ही क्लास का टाइम पूरा करना होता है सो हम वही करने जा रहे हैं !!! (वैसे भी ॐ सर बोल के गए हैं की किसी भी हालत में क्लास चलनी चाहिए !!! )

लेकिन एक समस्या है - हम तो पक्के back-bencher हैं , ना maths का जीरो पता है और ना अंग्रेज़ी का A- सो क्या क्लास लेंगे !!

इसलिए आप लोग के पास दो options यानी विकल्प हैं - या तो maths book की page 50 से 85 तक के सारे sums लगाओ या बैठ के अन्ताक्षरी खेलो ... जो लोग अन्ताक्षरी खेलने वाले हैं , उनके लिए बस तीन rules हैं-
1. आपको पिछले गाने के आखरी शब्द से अपना गाना शुरू करना है
2. हिन्दी फ़िल्म के गाने बताने हैं
3. कोशिस करिए की हैप्पी हैप्पी गाने गायें :-)

चलिए शुरू करते हैं "म " से -

" मेरे भोले balam मेरे प्यारे balam
मेरा जीवन तेरे बिना है वो दिया की जिसमे तेल ना हो , की जिसमे तेल ना हो
मेरा जीवन तेरे बिना वो इक बाग़ है बहार जिससे हटकर गुज़रे , दूर दूर से गुज़रे
मुझे अपना बना ले , ओ भोले अपना बना ले, हाय रे भोले अपना बना ले ...
तेरे क़दमों में मेरा प्यार मेरा संसार , मेरी किस्मत की मुझे अपना बना ले .... "
(मेरी प्यारी बिन्दु - फ़िल्म पड़ोसन )

अगला गाना " ले " से शुरू करना है ...
और हाँ, यहाँ कोई टीम या मुकाबला नही हो रहा है ,
बस गानों की chain बढ़ाते रहिये , मुस्कुराते रहिये !!!

और सब लोग सुनो - कृपा करके अपनी अपनी attendance भी लगा जाना, records के वास्ते !! जय राम जी की !!! कल फिर मुलाकात होगी !!!

ज़िन्दगी तेरे नाम

और एक दिन
और एक शाम
तेरे नाम

ज़िन्दगी

तू न होती तो कुछ भी न होता
ना हंसी ना ख़ुशी और ना सदमा होता
बस वक़्त होता
गुज़रा हुआ
और गुज़रने वाला

तू न होती तो कुछ भी न होता
ना किसी चीज़ की ख्वाहिश
ना दिल में कोई अरमां
बस अँधेरा
गहरा
काला

पर तू है
मेरी है
मेरे वजूद की वजह
मेरी हंसी
मेरी ख़ुशी
मेरा ग़म
मेरी आवाज़
मेरी ख़ामोशी

एक और दिन
एक और शाम

ज़िन्दगी

तेरे नाम

जनाब शायर प्रशांत भारद्वाज बुलंदशहर वाले आप लोगों से कुछ दिन के लिए इजाज़त लेते हैं...
फिर मिलेंगे

हम लोग!

सुश्री मयूरी चतुर्वेदी से प्रार्थना है के कृपया चाय की दुकान के आगंतुकों के लिए एक नूतन वेबदैनिकी चिटठा लिखें!

घोड़ा था घमंडी पहुंचा सब्ज़ी मंडी

Urmila Matondkar and Jugal Hansraj were child artists in this 1983 movie Masoom. The movie was Shekhar Kapoor's directorial debut (I might be wrong though), and written by Gulzar Sahib. Music for Masoom was written by RD Burman!

लकड़ी की काठी काठी पे घोड़ा
घोड़े की दुम पै जो मारा हथोड़ा
दौड़ा दौड़ा दौड़ा घोड़ा दुम उठा के दौड़ा

घोड़ा पहुंचा चौक में
चौक में था नाई
घोड़े जी की नाई ने हजामत जो बनाई
दौड़ा दौड़ा दौड़ा घोड़ा दुम उठा के दौड़ा

घोड़ा था घमंडी
पहुंचा सब्ज़ी मंडी
सब्ज़ी मंडी बरफ पड़ी थी
बरफ में लग गई ठंडी
तक बक तक बक
दौड़ा दौड़ा दौड़ा घोड़ा दुम उठा के दौड़ा

घोड़ा अपना तगड़ा है
देखो कितनी चर्बी है
चलता है महरौली में पर
घोड़ा अपना अरबी है
बांह छुड़ा के दौड़ा घोड़ा दुम उठा के दौड़ा

लकड़ी की काठी काठी पे घोड़ा
घोड़े की दुम पै जो मारा हथोड़ा
दौड़ा दौड़ा दौड़ा घोड़ा दुम उठा के दौड़ा




This song can make me cry! I don't really know why!

QA

Is the question an answer to the question if the answer was the question?

And the photo... just something that is an important part of my life! and my answer to a lot of things!

Tennu Brahma Vishnu Ganesh Kahoon? Mahadev kahoon Bhagwaan Kahoon?

I feel angry, and I feel frustrated, and I feel restless and ...

then I hear something that makes me forget everything!!!!

Irrespective of how much hatred I have about Pakistan and what it does, I cannot stop admiring some people that I know from there, and the music that originates from it! Also I just cannot stop thinking that in the past, it has been a part of India only and the two countries share so much of history. No I am not a advocate of peace, and I firmly believe that if someone slaps you in the face, you should take his hand off, and while I cannot stop myself from getting frustrated about everything, there is little I can do to change the situation.

At times like this, I usually find something that balances my anger with admiration and respect. Arieb Azhar is a Pakistani Artist, who has rendered this Kafi written by Khwaja Ghulam Farid in a way that it can reach your heart if you open up to it. A Kafi is a form of Sufi classical poetry, and needless to say, has the amazing element of romance which I do not find anywhere else!!! Sufi poets have always treated God as someone they are in love with, and have wondered about the beauty of God through the soul touching words they left behind!

Enough of text now! enjoy Husn e Haqiqi !!!



If you'd like the mp3 of this video, write to me with your email address and I shall send it to you. I am reachable @ prashanbhardwaj [at] gmail


Husn e Haqiqi :

Aye husn haqiqi noor-e-azal
tanuu wajib tay imkan kahoon

tanuu khaliq zaat qadeem kahoon
tanuu hadis khalq jahan kahoon
tanu mutlaq mahaz wajood kahoon
tanuu almiaa ayaan kahoon

tanuu aien haqeeqat maheeat
tanuu arrz sifat tay shaan kahoon
anwa kahoon ozhaf kahoon
atwar kahoon, ozaan kahoon

tanuu arsh kahoon, ablag kahoon
tanuu naaz naeem janaan kahoon
tanuu takhat jamat na baad kahon
haywaan kahoon, insan kahoon

tanuu masjid mandar dayer kahoon
tanuu kothi tay koran kahoon
tanuu masjid mandar dayer kahoon
tanuu kothi tay koran kahoon
tasbeeh kahoon, zunda kahoon
Tanuu kufar kahoon emaan khaoo

tanuu badal barkha dajj kahoon
tanuu bijli ta baran kahoon
tanuu aab kahoon
tanuu khak kahoon
tanuu baad kahoon weeran kahoon

tanuu dsurat lejman ram kahoon
tanuu seeta ji janan kahoon
baldev ja souta nand kahoon
tanuu kishn kahenaya kan kahoon

tanuu bhrama vishn ghanish kahoon
mahadev kahoon, bahgwan kahoon
tanuu geet granth te ved kahoon
tanuu gyann kahoon agyan kahoon

tanuu ibrahim hawahishees kahoon
tanuu nooh kahoon toofan kahoon
tanuu ibrahim khalil kahoon
tanuu moosa bin imran kahoon
tanuu har dil da dildar kahoon
tanuu ahmad aali shaan kahoon

tanuu shahid malk hijaz kahoon
tanuu baies kaun makaan kahoon
tanuu nazz kahoon andaaz kahoon
tanuu hoor pari walmaan kahoon

tanuu nauog kahoon
tanuu toug kahoon
tanuu surkhee bedaaa paan kahoon
tanuu tabla tay tamboor kahoon
tanuu dholak sur tay tan kahoon

tanuu husn-te har singhar kahoon
tanuu ashawa ghamza aan kahoon
tanuu ishq kahoon
tanuu illam kahoon
tanuu waham yakin gumaan kahoon

tanuu husane da ve idrrak kahoon
tanuu zouk kahoon wajhdan kahoon
tanuu sadar kahoon, sadraan kahoon
tanuu hairat tay hairaan kahoon

tasleem kahoon, talveen kahoon
tmkeen kahoon, irfan kahoon
tanuu sumbal soo sand sard kahoon
tanuu nargis nafarman kahoon

tanuu lale adaagh ta bagh kahoon
gulzar kahoon, bustaan kahoon
tanuu lale adaagh ta bagh kahoon
gulzar kahoon, ustaan kahoon
tanuu khanjar teer toofang kahoon
tanuu barcha baang sanaan kahoon
tanuu teer fairang kaamaan kahoon
soofar kahoon, beekan kahoon

berang kahoon, bemisal kahoon
besurroot har har aan kahoon
sukdoor kahoon, qudooos kahoon
rehman kahoon, subhan kahoon

Aray tobaa dard Farid sadaaa…
Har shea nu par Nuksaan kahoon

tanuu bohut alag be aib kahoon
tanuu haq be naam nishaan kahoon
tanuu bohut alag be aib kahoon
tanuu haq be naam nishaan kahoon …

Waiting for God to do something!

My heart was bleeding while I was watching this!!! and at the same time, I am feeling like an idiot being from a country where leaders are completely incapable of anything!!!! I am feel so disturbed, that I do not know what to write!!!

Can't even thank Geet for sending this link to me!!!

Does it fkking matter if the attack was on Mumbai or Bombay? on a Maharashtrian or a Bengali or a Bihari? It does not, but no... our politicians have much better things to do than putting their foot down against terrorism!!!

Make their sculptures
Win elections with the tax payers money
Throw anyone who is not a Marathi Manus out of the state
Burn trains and buses
Point fingers at fellow politicians
Object to twitter and business class travel
and what not!!!!

Is keeping the country and people, who vote for such bastards, safe a part of anyone's agenda? I guess not!

And why just Indian Leadership, even the US continues to pump billions of dollars in the name of development, into countries where the only development is probably developing terror!!!

Damn it!!!!

The Rule of Thirds

There are three kinds of conversations that a man can live with all his life

1. A completely non-sensical braindump of bullcrap with no boundries on groseness or irrelevance of two consecutive words or sentences

2. A intellectually stimulating discussion which focuses on problem solving, development and/or sustainability, short or long term

3. A light hearted conversation and argument to know and tell about how much he is loved, wanted and cared for

Continuing with my mathematics (which ended up in my leg being pulled all the way from Dhaka, which I loved by the way!), let’s do some additions… tell me

1+2+3 = ?
1+2 = ?
1+3 = ?
2+3 = ?
1 = ?
2 =?
3= ?


Essentially I am asking; what if a man is getting one or two or all three of these, what does it make him?

Mathematics for Dummies!

We did some multiplication in the last post, and it got me thinking about how I used to do my Maths orally when I was a kid… they say all Maths is based on one simple principle! The principle of “Addition”… all other calculations, BODMAS (Bracket, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction), and so on and so forth is a function of how you apply addition to it… So much so, that if you want to subtract something, you apply addition of negatives to the original and VOILA you have a smaller value!!! To demonstrate my point for the uninitiated, here is how it works

What is 2X2? 4! Right? How do you reach that number, by adding 2 twice! So 2+2 = 4 and 2X2 = 4. Let’s talk more what is 13X4? (no calculators please)! It is 13 added 4 times, or to make it simpler its (10+3)X4 = 10X4 +3X4 = 40+12 = 52! Easy peezie Jappaneezee!

I remember doing all my mathematics this way!!! And that is why I could never remember the tables after 12… for some reason, I took a while adding 13 more than 5 times! Damn it!

The mantra is : Break it down into smaller blocks, and simplify to an extent that it seems to be the easiest problem ever!

This makes so much sense in the real world too… outside mathematics I meant!

Professionally, we apply the same fundamentals to do project planning, resourcing, effort management, strategy alignment and so on and so forth!

Personally!

We add (how much good we felt in the first meeting) to (how much we feel like meeting again) and reach (finding a way to meet the person again)

We multiply our (pleasure in meeting someone) to (number of times we met) and reach (liking)

We multiple our (liking) to (number of Goosebumps) and (percentage of increase in heart rate) to reach (excitement)

We know our parents love us because we add (ability to accept us like we grow up) to (selflessness of being a parent)

We add (how much we loved the person) to (how much negative love we got or how much attention/reciprocation we get) to reach (how much does it matter now) {{Of course you can be weak at mathematics and continue loving the person irrespective of the negatives that you get, screw your equations and get into a negative state of mind, where you cannot feel positive! Not even about being yourself and blame yourself for everything}}

And so on and so forth!!!



So like I said! It’s all mathematics! If you did you sums right when you were in kindergarten and ate your green leafy veggies, you might be able to handle life better! If not, too bad! Go teach a kid how to do his sums and learn something about Maths!

Life is better that way!

Do ke Pahaade

2 ones are 2
2 twos are 4
naah...



2 oneza too
2 toozaa foor
2 threezaa siiix
2 forza eeeeight
2 fiveza teeen
2 sixza twwwwelve
2 sevenza foorteeen
2 ate-za sixteeeen
2 nine-za eighteeeen
2 tenza twenty



ikk duni do
do duni chaar
tinn duni che
chaar duni aath
punj duni dus
che duni baraanh
sat duni chaudanh
aath duni solanh
nau duni athaaranh
dus duni veeh!


2 ekum do
2 dooni chaar
2 tiya che
2 chawke aath
2 panje dus
2 chikke baraa
2 satte chaudhah
2 atthe solah
2 nimme at-tharah
2 dhain bees

and while we are at it... why don't we sing along with my favorite Shammi Kapoor!!!