The Golden Mean

Very interesting video!!!

Room gets a whiteboard!

Any idea what can I write on it? :)

Saturday has been both lazy and rewarding so far! Nice!

What is! what would be?

I remember listening to this song, and songs like these on the radio when I was a kid! Felt good about the simplicity of messages being given via these!!!

Cut to today, when what I see all around is a strong negative vibe about almost everything which happens in one's life! Jobs/ Family/ Infrastructure/ Government/ Policies/ Taxes/Curruption and what not!

These songs had extreme positivity and commitment in them! And I think what we are today is not because of what we do today, but what people and leaders about 30 years ago did! We are only seeing the fruits of whatever effort in whatever direction they put in! and if someone starts a change today, its going to be visible in only about a decade or maybe more!

I feel extremely sad at the kind of country that we are going to pass on to the new generation! Am I talking like a concerned father? :) I think marriage does that to people! I am thinking of what can I do to give my kids a better world to live in!!!

Oh, and if it interests you, you can see the kid Aruna Irani @ 1.57 minutes into the first song and again at 2:49

Movie Weekend!

You would know that you have just seen Golmal 3 if

1. You have experience an overdose of primary colors for about 140 minutes

2. You managed to keep your sanity through a similar duration of nonsensical slapstick (made to look like situational) comedy

3. You went inside the cinema hall expecting nothing but senseless comedy, but see a lot of senseless action and melodrama instead

4. You did not expect anything or get anything from the dialogues or the script anyway

5. You feel that Golmal 1 was a different league altogether

6. You feel that Tushar Kapoor spoke a little too much for being a dumb. (Can't forget how hilarious it was to see him do his act in Golmal 1, Rohit Shetty things that overdose of that would make for a funnier movie; He is just simple a simpleplain dumb or what???)

7. You have not managed to laugh for more than 30 minutes during the entire movie! Half of which could have been because you were laughing at yourself!

Anyway!!! I also managed to watch Twilight, sunday evening, and liked it! not amazing, but it got me thinking about how selfless people could get when it comes to love! or can they?

Grand Entry

Entry to the Basilica of Sr. Mary in Downtown Minneapolis.

Two steps

There are only two steps that are needed to reduce issues in one's life!

1. Find Problems

2. Resolve them

and when i say Find problems, I really do not mean that one needs to go around looking for one :) or to create one if they cannot easily find one!

There is a third step too, which can be mixed with the two above!

Have tea while you do the two above!

The Fall has gone...

But the feeling remains!

All in One Weekend

This weekend was such a tiring but satisfying weekend!

Went to

- Chandni Chawk in Old Delhi for lights, and wall-clocks

- Khari Baoli in Old Delhi for Candles and Dry-fruits

- Sadar Bazaar near Old Delhi for Crackers and Fireworks

- Cottage Emporium in Central Delhi for solid wood furniture

- Uttar Pradesh Shilpotsav in NOIDA for handicrafts and snacks

- Jwala Heri in West Delhi for random Diwali shopping

Every single time I visit the markets in Old Delhi, I love that place more than the last time!

Felt like a friday

Been a very strange week this one!

Since Monday, every day felt like Friday! not because it was festive, but something inside me really wished that the next day is a Saturday (read a holiday), and now that its Friday finally, it does not feel like one at all!

I, however, am still waiting for the saturday :)

I think I need to go dancing!!!

Champ of the month!

Getting an award when you cannot substantiate why you "should" get it is more of an embarrassment than a matter of pride!

Maybe I am being overcritical of myself, but I am not really sure why I should have been awarded at work as yet! Am far from what I need to achieve!

T-Time

There are certain times when resisting the need of having a hot cup of tea is almost impossible!!!

Some of them are

1. When it rains

2. When you have been driving for a while, and want to take a quick break

3. When you want to talk at length with a friend

4. When someone has a packet of Parle-G Glucose biscuits

5. When its really cold outside and you are sitting in a balcony enjoying the chill

6. When you just want to sit on the top of a hill watching the valley in front

7. When you don't want do much and relax in the morning

8. When you want to stop thinking for a while

9. When you want to think about something important

10. When there is a lot of work to do

11. When there is nothing to do

12. When you want to crib about things at work

13. When its a long weekend (thanks CP for the idea)

14.

15.

16....

am leaving some points for the readers to fill in! When do you like to have tea?

All photographs from a recent trip to the hills (Ranikhet, Dist. Almora, Uttarakhand)

Thanks to the visitors of CKD, here is another long list :)

* When I miss home a lot - V

* When you have a headache - Saguna

* When I enjoy looking at the hedges across the road, from my balcony - Mepretentious

* Anytime and everytime... its theraupatic... i can never say no to tea unless too sweet - Raina

* When you are writing a blog (post) - Raina

* Samose ke saath - Raina

* When you're sitting on a swing... the three-seater kind that is in the backyard or frontyard or indoors. :) - Kanan

* Chai anytime anywhere & everywhere!! - Purnima

* When you have to wake up.. - Komal-Niksha

* When you can't think or do anymore..a cup of chai almost always seems to re-enrgise you.. - Komal-Niksha

* When you want to pen some beautiful lines.. - Komal-Niksha

* When you want to go back in time.. - Komal-Niksha

Getting better!

I used to like the amazing photograph, lovely pictures, what a shot sorts of comments on my flickr page a lot! And to be honest, I really like them today as well! But I struggle to improve in absense of the comments which tell me what can I do better!

There is a huge number of extremely talented photographers who showcase their work online on websites such a flickr, and a favorite, or a small comment from them does help continue with the effort!!!

And there are people who keep you going by coming back to you work, and encourage you! Its amazing how such people keep you going, if not help you improve!

However that is not enough all the time!

Here is what I did in the recent past to work on my photography...

1. Distinguish between what I am clicking just to document that "I was there", and the photographs which show a different side to the usual

2. Reduce the number of photographs that I click! Though this is in disagreement with a lot of experts, I feel that I want to see more than I click! hence a little more time spent behind the camera, or looking at pictures, or reading about them! and reduced time clicking! Not really sure if that has helped, as I am yet to reach a significant difference in my work

3. I follow the people who my contacts follow as their favorites! So let's say I really like how Tushar clicks, I would go to his favorites page, and see what does he follow! There are chances, that what he follows is a couple of steps ahead of him... and if I like his photography, the chances that I would like what he "really likes" a lot more! so I follow both! Over a period of time, I look at images that inspire me the most!

4. Stop following groups which are just a dumping ground for digital junk! I have spent a lot of time trying to find good pictures, from large groups! And did not end up learning! Instead I spent more time doing what I mentioned in step 3 and have gained a lot of "where could I get better" knowledge! How I get better is another chapter totally!

5. Stop getting emotional about my own work! Just because its me who has clicked a picture, does not mean its a nice picture! Reviewing every picture as an independent viewer has helped me break a lot of bonds with my images, and delete them from my collection (After a backup ofcourse; you never know when you need to go back to your originals)

And that's not it! I am nowhere close to what I can be!

But I am getting there!

T-tips from Chai ki Dukaan!

When you make tea, make sure that you are smiling!!!



It helps the TEA Taste Better!!!

Photograph from a T-Shop at Jageshwar(Distt. Almora), Uttarakhand, India!

...

Take two things away from Delhi Roads and this city would never be the same again!!!

The Horn!

and

The Horny!!

Pieces of Peace

You find your peace in pieces all over!!! Make sure to collect all of them!

Photograph from Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis Downtown, Minnesota!

Games people play!

CWG 2010 are about to come to an end, tomorrow being the last day! I have been looking forward and hoping that the games go well, and there are no major issues while the games are on in Delhi!

So far so Good!

The traffic has been alright! Infact, I have made it on time every single day I was travelling to work in the morning! Evenings have been a bit tight, however that is a usual scenario! An addition of about 20 minutes to a 150 minutes long drive does not really bother me anymore! Plus I am not driving myself, so that leaves some sanity intact by the time I reach home every evening, and I do not mind getting behind the wheels over weekends!

What I really like about games such as CWG and Olympics and other sports activities, is that they have a start date, and an end date! However there are games which just don't seem to end!

How I wish, from an endless list, the two below, have an end date

~ Political games at Office!

~ Office games in Politics!

I promise to participate in the closing ceremony!!!

Title courtesy : Games people play by Inner Circle

Lie to Me

"A real surprise lasts for less than a second. If they act surprised for more than a few seconds, they are faking it!"

Lie to Me (Season 1)

Started watching one of my favorite TV shows today!

...

Been a not so good week so far!!! muscle pulls, sprains, pain and just feeling dull!

commonwealth games के नारे!

कुछ चोर कुछ भिखारी

भ्रष्टाचार का नया नाम - सुरेश कलमाड़ी ||

Happy to see Indian team winning many Golds on day 2 of CWG2010 @ New Delhi! Keep an eye on the medals tally here.

कलमाड़ी की (कु)आरती

जय बाबा कलमाड़ी

बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी

अद्भुत अनोखे ढंग से

तुमने commonwealth की मारी ||

बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

सारे सम्बन्धी करोडपति

चाहे देश हो जाये भिखारी |

सबका ख्याल तुम्हे है

दोस्ती हो या रिश्तेदारी ||

बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

इतना पैसा खाया

और आधी भी डकार न मारी|

तुमको जेल में डाले

अब किसकी ये ज़िम्मेदारी?

बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

ऐसा हाल किया के

शर्म से डूब मरे नर नारी|

यमुना में भी बाड़ आ गई

धोने को तुम्हारी बीमारी|

बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

CWG तो होंगे

भारत की है तय्यारी|

तुम जाने कहाँ जाओगे

कहाँ डूबेगी नैय्या तुम्हारी?????

बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!