Addition to the menu...

Its no big deal...

all it takes is some

~Fresh grounded black Pepper
~Salt
~Butter like spread
~Chilly flakes
~ Basil and oragano
~ Chilly tomato sauce
~ sandwich pickle with veggie peices in it..
~ tomatoes
~ bell peppers ( I like yellow and red ones) and finally
~ bread( preferably the brown bread, but for this week, white one will do)

and you got a not too bad lunch pack with two different types of sandwiches ready...

And it tasted pretty neat too, because of the fact that I made it or I made it for the first time or whatever... it was nice :)

this means, The चाय की दुकान would now, also be able to serve freshly prepared sandwiches while you are sipping your favorite cup of tea...

Enjoy :)

Review : Shopping Cart Software by Ashop Commerce

With the Internet becoming more popular as the shopping destination for a lot of us out there, it becomes imperative for the sellers to be able to give us the best and the most secure way of doing transactions online...

This is where the ecommerce software and online shopping carts play a very important role. A website that is selling something very interesting but is not able to give its customer the confidence of shopping online with it would not be able to do as good as a website where the customers feel confidant and comfortable paying money.

So if you are someone who is selling or is thinking of selling things online, the next few lines are going to be important for you.

Ashop commerce is a website that offers customisable ecommerce software at competitive prices. The secure shopping cart software is integrated with major bank, gateways and third party processors including paypal.

You have the option of trying the shopping cart software for free for 10 and also avail the free store design offer to give your audience a good to look at interface and make them feel about your online store.

The set up of this ecommerce software is easy and does not require any plug-ins or programming. It offers a web-based store administration and free technical support through phone, email or chat and to top it all, you don't need to be an techie to use this software.

With loads of features relate to inventory, layout and design, payment options, shipping, web optimisation, sales analysis, support, and repeat customer accommodation, built in and the flexibility to use what you want to in the way you want to, this ecommerce software might just be the key to your online store.

Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world ~T'ien Yiheng

Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world ~T'ien Yiheng, originally uploaded by ~Panache.

Sharanya uploaded this picture on her flickr page today... Thanks Sharanya for reminding me of one of my favorite drinks ever !!!

Tea... my best companian on all the trips I've had so far !!! and looks like its not changing... except when I am travelling in the UK... its coffee in those paper/plastic mugs with covers on the top... no steam nothing...

Jhini re Jhini re Jhini..

If I had to think about one album that I could listen to over and over again, without thinking of forwarding the songs that has to be KANDISA, by Indian Ocean...

Needless to mention, I am in love with the way the music and the lyrics flow in every single song... and the vocals are fantastic... Another song that I love to love is the title song from the album Jhini... love the folk touch with the guitar and the percussion... for me music does not get better than this...

Nothing in my list of albums that I want to hear a million times beats Kandisa.

And I noticed something today... you can go to the official website of the band and download the MP3s from there itself...

कुछ ऐसा करने का dil करे

dil का अरमान के खुली हवा हो ...

और उसे सांस मे भर लेने का dil करे

आखों के आगे न ज़मीन हो न आस्मान ...

और चलते चले जाने का dil करे

ऊपर देखूं तो कुछ तारे मुझसे बात करने के लिए नीचे हो जाएँ ...

और मेरा sirf उनको niharne का dil करे ...

कहीं दूर पहाड़ के पीछे से बांसुरी की आवाज़ आये ...

और मेरा भी कुछ गाने गुनगुनाने का dil करे ...

कहीं दूर एक झरने से पानी के गिरने की आवाज़ आ रही हो ...

और उस आवाज़ मे खो जाने का dil करे ...

एक् रेलगाडी की सीटी सन्नाटे को चीरते हुए मेरे कानो तक पहुंचे ...

और फिर वापस घर जाने के dil करे ...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dil ka armaan ke khuli hawa ko...

aur Saans lene ka dil kare

aakhon ke aage na zameen ho na aasman...

aur chalte chale jaane ka dil kare

upar dekhoon to kuch taare mujhse baat karne ke liye neeche ho jayen...

aur mera sirf unko niharne ka dil kare...

Kahin door pahad ke peeche se baansuri ki aawaz aaye...

aur mera bhi kuch gaane gungunane ka dil kare...

kaheen door jharne se paani ke girne ki aawaz aa rahi ho...

aur us aawaz mein kho jaane ka dil kare...

ek railgaadi ki seeti sannate ko cheerte hue mere kaano tak pahunche...

aur phir wapas ghar jaane ke dil kare...

Parental Guidance Advised 'even' for Adults

I reached home pretty late last night almost around midnight...

It was a li'il strange sitting in the train coach all alone... no one in the entire coach that I was sitting in... but was kinda happy to see a lot of people get down at Horley, the town where I am staying these days...

A good 10 minute walk under the stars to home, and a warm room... nice...

Switched on the television, got the juice from the fridge.. and saw something on TV that almost shocked me...

A Girl's guide to 21st Century Sex..

Yes that was the name of the program on Channel 4, one of the 4 channels that i get on the TV in my room... and this program was about the to dos and the don'ts... i guess i joined the program in the last 20 minutes of the last episode of the season 1... hence a quick recap of what was there in the entire series was being shown, which included

~Discusions with sex experts about how to get the most out of your encounters
~People having sex on camera, with cameras stuck all over their bodies... and inside too ( if you know what I mean), so basically leaving nothing to imagination...
~Alternative Sex.. Gays, Lesbians, Groupies, Tantric Sex and all that...and
~Some utterly grose Surgeries...

And nothing about this program was even remotely erotic... While I had to appreciate the intention behind it, I still found myself asking if TV shows need to be this explicit about SEX... I am not sure...

and why is this program titled a Girl's Guide to...

The Itch to Drive...

18060007, originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

A = Accelerator
B= Break
C = Clutch
D = Drive
E = Exciting
F = Fkking Exciting
G = God, when do I drive again?
H = Hoping to Drive soon
I = I want to drive
J : Jab I drive, tab I have fun
K : Kabhi na kabhi, I will drive from JK to Kanya Kumari
L : Long Drive
M : Mornings are the best time to drive
N : Nothing else but Palio
O : Ooops, i forgot one CD.. damn..
P : Phull Time Masti
Q : Questions on the rules here...
R : Raring to Go
S : Speed thrills, but kills...
T : total funn...
U : U turns to boring places not allowed
V : Very nice thoughts
W : Whole of India..
X : Xciting
Y: Y wait...
Z : ZZZZ never while driving.. but i like if the rest of the gang is sleeping and i am driving :)

and one song that I have to have to listen to when I am out on a drive is All Star by Smashmouth... check out the lyrics below... its been my favorite for ages now...

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed
She was looking kinda dumb with her fingers and her
Thumb
And the shape of an "L" on her forehead

Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Back to the rules and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go
You'll never shine if you don't glow

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

It's a cool place and they say it gets colder
You're bundled up now but wait 'til you get older
But the media men beg to differ
Judging by the hole in the satellite picture

The ice we skate is getting pretty thin
The waters getting warm so you might as well swim
My world's on fire how about yours
That's the way I like it and I never get bored

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars...

Somebody once asked, "could you spare some change for gas
I need to get myself away from this place"
I said yep what a concept
I could use a little fuel myself
And we could all use a little change.

Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Back to the rules and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go
You'll never shine if you don't glow

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

Sympathy for me...

How does it feel to open the shower one chilly winter morning, hoping that you will have some warm, if not hot water... and what pours on you is the cold water...

sounds like a funny situation !!! When that happens to me, which it does at times... i usually scream out loud!!! :D

what happens when something of this sort happens to emotions...

Something similar happened to me sometime back... Its not been a very interesting trip this time in UK... work pressure, being alone, not speaking a single word for the entire day, etc etc keeps me busy...

and to add to it one of my monday mornings, not today, started with bad rains and winds... and while I was trying to handle the umbrella and myself, there were cars on the road, which shamelessly kept splashing water on me everytime they passed by... for someone looking at me, that would have been a funny situation.. but there was li'il that I could do... if i stand under the only two shades around, the cars would ensure i was wet... and otherwise, the rains and the winds would... pretty neat consipiracy that was :D

last week... I was told that when I told about this incident to a friend, I was looking for sympathy for my condition in UK...

and I was stunned... why would a friend ask for Sympathies?
... friends don't need sympathies !!! do they?
was I looking for sympathy? NO...

strange...

That incident made me think about a few other people would have reacted to this situation of mine

Aro: He would have laughed his ass off.... and he will when i tell him this...
Deepu : Would give a quick practical advice on how i can manage the next time this happens...
Subbu : Would listen and not really react to it...
Bindiya: would just laugh and tell me that I am responsible and that I am an idiot to get out in the rain... to end it would ask if I managed a cup of tea or not when i reached office...
Tushar : Would have said," Chal koi na... wapas aaja chai piyenge".
Mom : Would have called, emailed to ensure that i was keeping myself warm and packed for atleast 5 days after that day... she did... though she does not know that I was running fever the entire week...

While I now smile thinking about how some people, I know, would extend their sympathies to this cry baby; I remind myself of being careful of how people look at you... its not a very good feeling when you are looked down upon and made to realise that you are not worth it... and I am going to not like it for a very long time....

Oh on a footnote, I am thinking of doing a roadtrip between London to Brussels via Paris sometime soon... any ideas or thoughts?

Review : Save Buckets dot com

Online shopping has come a long way from where it started some years back, and today with more and more people coming online instead of walking to the stores, there is an essential need of the prices on the internet being competitive and deals luring...

With this comes another challenge, how to get the best online price. With so many shopping sites offering everything from a nail to a car, I would want to get the best price from the internet too... What comes to my rescue is sites like save buckets... Offering the best prices on almost everything ranging from the MP3 Player you wanted to gift this Christmas, to various Consumer Electricals, Electronic Games, Computer Hardware, to Home and Gardening tools, savebucket is where you have a very high probability of finding the lowest price.

And in case you still don't find the price low enough, all you need to do is let Savebuckets know the item and the price you are looking for, and you would be emailed the details when the item you requested for is available at the price you were looking for...

One another thing that I found very very handy was the Buying Guides for a lot of products...

Looks like with SaveBuckets you not only will save some money, but will also get the right products all the time.

Marriage there... Party here...

Gaurav Narang is getting married tomorrow... one of my dearest friends...

His marriage is one occasion that I really really wanted to be a part of.. its like my own brother getting married..

and I would be here in the UK missing out on one of the most important functions of my life...

Aseem is also getting married tomorrow... Another gem that I know... missing his great day too...

I think I should figure out a way to celebrate the weddings.... hmm.. lets see...

God bless them!!!

Outside myself...

I am here because someone has decided that i should be here, and I am...

Why am I crying, as one of my friends always says, or feeling bad about things and people who are not around me?

Instead why am I not loving and living what I should ?

There is more to life than I can see, there is something else which I don't realise, there is something that I am a part of but its a part of me too...

Too many thoughts flying around in random motion inside my head, but when I move out of my own body and see them from outside, they look in perfect symmetry...

Reminds me of the times, when as a kid, I used to think what if I have to travel to the end of the space... would i really find it?
Peace

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...