orderedconfusion

blank...

2011-06-22T21:17:00.000+05:30

blink.. and still blank.
pace up and down the room
and still blank.
ate some home made prawn fried rice..
and still blank.
watched an episode of "Castle"..
wtf was i thinkin...?? im still blank..
went to the gym..burned a few calories..
worked up a sweat...and still blank...
pigged out on a couple of lovely pastries..
and still blank...
made myself a chocolate milkshake...
and still mo-fu blank!!!
end result: some bullshit on the blog...but I am now full of crap! washroom.. here i come.

routine.

2011-05-02T14:17:00.000+05:30

the alarm rings.. waking me at a time most others are enjoying their deepest sleep...

always the same 30 minutes, to shit, shower and shave...(necessarily in that order!)

the one hour ride to the airport, greedily consumed by some more sleep.

12 odd hours of duty, mind functioning more and more like an autopilot..

even adverse weather or poor flying skills fail to evoke a spark of interest.

the ride back home, another hour lost to sleep's cavernous appetite.

and again, its time to sleep, but sleep is now hard to find...

and just when the ticking of the clock lulls your senses...

your phone rings to inform you of the next day's routine...

midnight. perfect. a few hours more before the alarm rings again.

the "matured" copilot.

2011-02-07T09:52:00.002+05:30

50 miles to dabolim,goa... 3000ft above a 3degree glide path...

(a few minutes pass...)
20 miles to goa...still 3000ft above the planned descent profile..
copilot: (wtf? what is he planning to do???)
captain: ....

10 miles to go.. STILL 3000 ft above descent profile..
copilot: captain.. slow down.. configure aircraft.. set flaps...set gear down...condition lever 100% override...im deliberately giving u high rate of descent till 500AGL as its visual. pls jst follow FD bars...
captain:.....

2 miles to go....finally on glide path.. land safely into goa.

after getting back to blr..
captain: thanks rahul for the help.. u handled the situation very well.. in a very matured way.
copilot: .....

the day we went fishing...

2010-08-23T17:59:00.000+05:30

this story is based on true events.. and any similarity to anyone living or dead.. is purely INTENTIONAL.

this story involves the following plot points/charactors:

1. an igloo tent
2. chilled beers
3. no ice cubes
4. an idiot who snores (and then blames on other unsuspecting by-sleepers)
5. flying insects..the size of ashok's nuts..(in retrospect.. not very large)
6. bouncing balls (n NO.. im not referring to biji here)
7. death defying stunts..(the kind involving 3 grown up men... thick ropes...tall trees...full bladders and frequent attempts at alternatively abusing/praying)
8. river rafting through rapids flowing faster than ashok runs..(which roughly translates into 0.5 kph at best)
9. 3 people taking a shower (NOT together).. and only 2 of the 3 using a soap/shampoo.( really ashok.. u shud have just asked!)
10. 1 retard who packed everything for the trip, except clean undies.. and ended up wearing a bright pink/green one.. borrowed from a person with a very questionable reputation.

Feel free to mix and match the above to come up with a suitable story...(preferably free of adult content. the 3 of us are HIGHLY unconfortable being the subject of someone else' gay fantasy).

for photographic evidence of the trip..pls visit..
http://picasaweb.google.com/rahul69nair/Bheemeshwari#

my classroom, once every 6 months...

2010-05-18T20:36:00.000+05:30

notice the projection screens outside the "cockpit windows" which display the runway (or any visual scenario) as required.

the computer screens in the foreground is where the instructor can control any aspect of the simulated flight. From failures to emergencies to hijacks to any bloody situation that a pilot might face.

The IPL circus..

2010-04-19T14:05:00.000+05:30

in the midst of all the modi Vs tharoor brouhaha...i managed to get some time to go watch match no.43.. KKR against RCB.

was initially planning to watch it with pinto n frenz.. she had booked tickets worth 1100rs.

but since lakshmi was also comin along for the weekend.. tried my best to get 1 more ticket..but failed.

finally out of the blue.. ajay mama called rachu n offered 4 "whyte n mackay" corporate passes in the T stand at the stadium..(each pass is worth 28,000rs).

so there.. the 4 of us.. rachu,radha,me n lakshmi.. dressed in RCB gear.. watched the match.

(in brief: RCB beat KKR comprehensively tat nite!!)

this post is not abt the match, but abt the experience of watching the match from the corp. box..

1. the attached restaurant had unlimited free alcohol and food.

2. the seats had a very good view of the pitch and the whole stadium.. we sat just above the RCB dugout.

3. sponsors of the match kept giving out freebies like trumpets, hand held banners,inflatable zoozoos (vodafone) etc..

4. there were huge fans and a tv screen placed strategically within the box.. ensuring it wasnt too hot and we got a better view of "Action replays" during 3rd umpire decisions...

the life of the rich n famous, at times, can be very enviable..

the pre match warm up+pitch report

the attached restaurant

radha cheerin with a "zoozoo"

Heineken shades + kingfisher trumpet + "zoozoo the ghost" :))

the night i went to JAIL...

2010-04-16T14:39:00.001+05:30

i had recently gone home for a day to mumbai..
Since rachu n radha were there too.. i decided all of us cousins should head out for dinner..
so.. me,adin, priya,rahul saiyya,rachu n radha.. decided to go this new themed restaurant near Andheri RTO.

once there, we were genuinely impressed with the ambience and the theme.. and prayed that the food/drinks too would be upto the mark.

adin, had just recently cleared his recent semester exams with a great score and i encouraged him to join us in the drinking. And so it was that adin had his first alcoholic drink with me.

now my parents and priya's parents were in delhi for a tour, and as expected my mom messaged adin at around 10pm.." has that brother of yours come back home? call him and ask him not to stay out with his frenz all night".

adin, already high, passed his phone onto priya and rahul, who promptly replied back saying "rahul is in jail".

after about 20 mins, rahul saiyya gets a call from priya's dad " rahul, we just got this sms saying that rahul is in jail. whats going on? everyone is upset here"

to make a long story short: everyone had believed that I was in jail.. goes to show everyone thinks i am capable of ending up in a jail.

after a lot of apologising and explaining, we managed to calm our parents down.

the next day..my facebk status had "i went to jail n back"... and once again.. all my frenz blived a cock n bull story about me gettting drunk and abusing a plain clothed policeman while he was stopping me from urinating by the roadside....thus in their words " i had accomplished what nobody else in the gang had done".

oh, wait.. you guys are wondering where the "jail" part figures in the middle of all this.. right?

the themed restaurant we went to was called "JAIL".. complete with holding cells to eat in...waiters and servers dressed as cops/robbers/prisoners...props like an old police jeep/van...handcuffs...posters of famous/infamous bollywood villains...etc etc lying around...

random stuff...

2010-03-07T10:00:00.000+05:30

A conversation tat happened between me n Megan Fox:
MF: hi handsome, long time no see
me: huh? (look behind.. no1 else) u err.. talkin to me..?!!
MF: nobody else in this room.....yea u..u lean mean *** machine..
me: (once again.. surprised..pleasantly though).. im sorry do i kno u..?
MF: why dint u return my calls? been leavin msgs on ur machine for like EVER!
me: hehe.. ok lady.. i think u got the rong person.
MF: oh.. im yet to "get" you darling..neways.. shooting starts next week for our next movie together..
me: (completely baffled by now, but curious enuf to keep playin this game)..hmm.. ok..
MF: my PA has booked us our regular hotel suites, just as we always do.. at "the grand"..lookin fwd to it.
me: yea.. me too.
MF: have u decided on when i can move in with you? the last time i asked, u said u still had to clear things out to make room for me...
me: (lady.. for u.. im ready to throw everything out!!!!)
MF: whats with the "i dont know you" look??? honey, its me Megan! doesnt THIS ring a bell? (pointin to my name tatooed on her lower back)
me: speaking of bell.. i think i do hear one!!!

(damn i hate my newspaper boy!!!!)

help!

2010-03-02T00:43:00.001+05:30

i have long suspected im developing a growing intolerance for stupidity..
and if my current reactions to people of the "i -heart-ignoramus" club are considered..
i think im dangerously close to launching an ICBM, tipped with a nuke, at the next supremely inane question that comes my way.

a random google search on the dumbest questions threw some interesting results(added a few personal ones too):
1.(at the movies)
question:"hi!!! what are u doing here???"....
(lets see.. i was called to clean the floors between the shows???)

2. "free gift with purchases above rs.1000"
(isnt a gift free anyways..)

3. (at the restaurant)
question:"is the fish-a-la-provence any good?"...
(hmmm.. not really... the last 2 ppl who ordered it are still battling for their lives at the local hospital)

4.(a phone call at night)..
question:"sorry.. did i disturb you?"..
(NOOOOO... dint u kno.. i now live on the other side of the planet.. its a lovely morning out here!!!)

5.(on being told to meet for a date to watch the sunset)..
question:"ohh.. in the evening??"...
(really??? on my planet.. the sun usually sets at 6 in the morning... )

6.(after a long day at work)..
question:"ohh.. are you feeling tired baby?"
(ure shitting me??? im ready for a bloody trek to the himalayas.. LETS GO!!!)

7. (after reading ur status update on facebook abt ur opinion on a certain movie)
question:" so you went for a movie tday? which movie?"
(good lord..my facebook account has been hacked.. or mebbe im a schizo.. been watching movies WITHOUT me knowing it)

the list: endless...

the victim: hapless!

PLS NOTE: this "rant" is not personal.. its merely a generic observation.

im chasing pirates..

2010-03-01T11:32:00.000+05:30

step out, step away from the light.
we go shining our torches down a path..
chasing stars, chasing dreams..
the salt in the air beckons tonight

a talking parrot calls for the the captain
a black patch over the eye
never ending thirst for barrels of sweet ale
mutineers walk the plank or simply slain.

a canon shot to announce a raid
a lookout to shout "land ahoy"...
a black flag with them skull and bones
im ready!..im chasing pirates tonight.

zzz...

2010-02-24T22:16:00.001+05:30

life's been hectic the last couple of days. been constantly on the move.
so when i got back from my flight tday, at around 14:00..
it did not surprise me that after stripping myself down to my boxers..i just grabbed a bite, hit the bed.. and slept like a baby!
its now 20:00 and FINALLY i feel like my body has caught up with the present..

here are a couple of fun facts about sleep:

Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.

A new baby typically results in 400 to 750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year.

Foetus

Those who curl up in the foetus position are described as tough on the outside but sensitive at heart. They may be shy when they first meet somebody, but soon relax. This is the most common sleeping position, adopted by 41% of the 1,000 people who took part in the survey. More than twice as many women as men tend to adopt this position.

Log

Lying on your side with both arms down by your side. These sleepers are easy going, social people who like being part of the in-crowd, and who are trusting of strangers. However, they may be gullible.

Yearner

People who sleep on their side with both arms out in front are said to have an open nature, but can be suspicious, cynical. They are slow to make up their minds, but once they have taken a decision, they are unlikely ever to change it.

Soldier

Lying on your back with both arms pinned to your sides. People who sleep in this position are generally quiet and reserved. They don't like a fuss, but set themselves and others high standards.

Freefall

Lying on your front with your hands around the pillow, and your head turned to one side. Often gregarious and brash people, but can be nervy and thin-skinned underneath, and don't like criticism, or extreme situations.

Starfish

Lying on your back with both arms up around the pillow. These sleepers make good friends because they are always ready to listen to others, and offer help when needed. They generally don't like to be the centre of attention.

PS- im a "free-faller"..

1 of those days...

2010-02-17T23:04:00.000+05:30

cant help but hum the lines to "fix you" by coldpay...
just 1 of those days..

"when you try your best but you dont succeed
when you get what you want but not what you need
when you feel so tired but you cant sleep
stuck in reverse..
...
lights will guide you home..
and ignite your bones (???? always felt this line made no sense!!!)
and i will try to fix you".

the day biji met with an accident..

2010-02-14T23:58:00.000+05:30

it all started when biji's wedding was fixed on a very auspicious day..
the poor guy remembered to arrange for everything EXCEPT book the hall for the reception party.
(now thats perfectly understandable...)
as expected, by the time he remembered to book a hall.. he finds most venues already booked..
and after a lot of searching... from "gossip queen" in veera desai rd...
to "Raat rani" in juhu lane...
he finally settled for the grand and AWESOME "Sea princess" in juhu..

now the guy negotiates a killer deal...(After a lot haggling.. and a few hours spent in an undisclosed room in the hotel, with the owners)..
and he takes the booking amount of 50 thousand INR.. and turns up at the hotel to make the booking.

NOW...(begins the real story.. the proverbial twist in the tale.. the building of the climax!!!)...
the mgr on duty.. only accepts 25k..and refuses to take the full booking amount of 50k...(when asked why.. he had this smug look on his face.. looked far away into the distance.. and just gave a big sigh...and all this, while resting his hairy hand on biji's third nipple.)

(interestin sub plot here: suny and sunil were caught by paparazzi sneaking off into the honeymoon suite of "Sea princess" with a couple of drag queens..and as soon as this news is flashed across "aaj tak"...an eunuch in sion killed off what looked like a small kid wearin a turban and a saree and then proceeded to commit suicide..post this piece of breaking news.. suny was seen wailing outside arthur rd jail.. screaming "i miss u jaanu".. )

anyways, coming back to our story... biji is superthrilled abt getting such a bargain.. and refuses to divulge to the rest of us how he managed to do it.

(here the camera pans towards the mumbai skyline.. and "do mahine baad" is visible at the bottom of the screen"

biji gets a call from ajay srivastava, an employee of "Sea princess".
ajay: sir... im sorry.. but ur booking stands cancelled.
biji: WTF??? but.. i did everything gundecha asked me to..!!!
ajay:sorry sir.. i know you did.. but ur booking has been given to some1 else.
biji: WHY???
ajay: tat some1 else not only gave a cheque.. but he also did position no.473 from the "sea princess sex manual"...
biji: damn.. i got tired by the time gundecha reached position no.13!!!! how did tat guy reach 473????
ajay: sorry sir.. "Trade secret" hai.

biji immediately rushed off in his suped up santro...
(here we play a mind blowing ROCK soundtrack.. and show biji pressing this gold button on his dashboard that first deploys a "red bedsheet" at the rear of the car...a blue underwear logo on the bonnet...and finally deploying NOS to speed from 20kph.. to 22.5kph...)

and 10 seconds after this.. he meets with an accident.. in his words..
"engine godh (lap) mein aa gaya boss!!!"

the end.
(credits roll)

this has to be the best..

2010-02-13T21:13:00.003+05:30

this is 1 of the best blogs ive come across in recent times..
read n enjoy!
http://www.thevigilidiot.com/

ps-thnx upasna!!!

Life at 20 feet..

2010-02-09T14:00:00.000+05:30

nope, you read the altitude right.
this is something tat happened in the FFS in Madrid,Spain.
(FFS=Full Flight Simulator)

The guy who drives the cab from our hotel to the sim, expressed his desire to come inside the sim and witness what happens inside for himself.
So our instructor told him to come abt 5 mins before our session ended and join us inside the sim.
The guy came along..(he doesnt speak a word of english.. only spanish)
sat inside for 5 mins.. looked at everythin in awe.. finally after our exercises.. the instructor asked him if he wanted to fly..
the guy said "Si senor"..

this guy then proceeded to fly a complete visual pattern at 1000 feet, around palma de mallorca, take off.. fly around.. land.
offcourse a qualified pilot was with him to prompt his every action..
at the end, the guy had a silly grin..and kept saying "Gracias".. "very good"...

brings me to suspect once again... are we nothing but "glorified drivers"..??
:))
PS- i shall put up pics of the FFS later.. too lazy to dload them frm my canon right now.

a man wearin a silly red sheet..

2010-02-08T02:00:00.000+05:30

everyone keeps looking for heroes..
someone to take away your worries and pain..
life passes by, and we play bystander..
everywhere an enemy,when will he be slain?

maybe the world's full of kryptonite
or maybe only in our optimism does he exist
but we still believe in our superman
even if hes a man wearing a silly red sheet.

who does mumbai belong to?

2010-02-04T20:16:00.000+05:30

mumbai.. everyone seems to be fighting for it..
but who does it belong to?

the koli(fishing tribe) community that used to inhabit the 7 islands* that formed mumbai?
(*Bombay Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island)

the various indigenous dynasties that occupied these islands..like the Satavahanas, Western Kshatrapas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas etc etc..?

the sultanate of gujarat/mughal empire during the 15/16th century??
(islamic rulers... hmmm..both "Senas" would conveniently ignore this period)

or subsequently the portuguese/english settlers??
(christian lords.. oh boy.. this gets better by the minute!!!)

facts remain:
1. maharasthrians remain a minority in mumbai (approx 30% of total population)
2. mumbai contributes approx 5% of India's GDP (indian GDP estimated at 1.22 trillion dollars).
in return, BMC mumbai has budget allocation of only 5000 crores for infrastructure.
(BMC traditionally being the stronghold of the "sena"...compared to delhi,infrastructure in mumbai is a JOKE.)
3. if mumbai is called the commercial capital of india, then the business community of mumbai, predominantly gujaratis/marwadis/sindhis/parsis/punjabis/biharis/south indians...are solely responsible for the accounting of over 70% of capital transactions in the indian economy.
4. As per the indian constitution, every indian has the right to reside in any part of the country, engage in any legal form of employment, and enjoy equal rights as a citizen of this country.

Now, to draw a comparison with a very popular hindu god, Krishna...who was more fond of his foster mother than his real mother...

if i were mumbai,

would i belong to the millions of people who made me who i am today?
or
would i belong to those who claim to own me by virtue of my being born in their territory?

i fail to understand why some political parties think the "marathi manoos" needs help to get a job or make a living in mumbai?
if i were a maharastrian, i would be insulted that these parties consider me to be incapable of making it on my own merit!

on the other side, considering the severe budget constraints, i understand that the huge influx of outsiders into mumbai is sending mumbai back to the dark ages.
there is a simple solution, like every other populated city in the world, charge a premium for everything!
residential property prices are already beyond the avg middle class budget..
transport/road tax/electricity/water should also be charged at a premium...
not only will it promote more efficient usage.. but also make living in the city unviable for people who just turn up with nothing to do.

radical solution, yes. but necessary for the survival of mumbai.

another goodbye...

2010-02-01T19:08:00.000+05:30

standing on platform no.5..
in the distance a whistle blows..
unfortunate ones break into a run..
worried parents with anxious faces..
happy husbands looking wistfully out..
friends shouting youthful goodbyes...
amidst all this i stand alone..
watching her climb into her coach..
i see her turn around, reach out to me..
our eyes meet, time stands still..
words unsaid, and yet volumes spoken..
yet another goodbye, only to meet again..
someday.. somewhere..soon.

gulzar+vishal+raahat= magic!

2010-01-28T20:09:00.000+05:30

Song Name: Dil To Bachcha Hai(Hindi)
Film/Album: Ishqiya
Singer(s): Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Music Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyricist: Gulzar
Music Label: T-Series

Aisi ulji nazar unse hatt ti nahi
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi
Umar kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Kaari badari jawani ki chatt ti nahi
Walla ye dhadkan bhadne lagi hai
Chehre ki rangat udne lagi hai
Darr lagta hai tanha sone mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji, Dil to bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji, Haan, dil to baccha hai ji
Aisi ulji nazar unse hatt ti nahi
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi
Umar kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Kaari badari jawani ki chatt ti nahi

Kisko pata tha pehlu mein rakha
Dil aisa baaji bhi hoga
Hum to hamesha samajhte the koi
Hum jaisa haaji hi hoga
Hai zor karein, kitna shor karein
Bewaja baatonn pe ainwe gaur karein
Dilsa koi kameena nahi
Koi to rokey, koi to tokey
Iss umar mein ab khaogey dhokhe
Darr lagta hai ishq karne mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji
Haan, dil to baccha hai ji

Aisi udhaasi baithi hai dil pe
Hassne se ghabra rahe hain
Saari jawani katra ke kaati
Piri mein takra gaye hain
Dil dhadakta hai to aise lagta hai woh
Aa raha hai yahin dekhta hi na woh
Prem ki maarein kataar re
Taubah ye lamhe katt te nahi kyun
Aankhonn se meri hatt te nahi kyun
Darr lagta hai mujhse kehne mein ji
Dil toh bachcha hai ji
Dil toh bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji
Haan dil toh baccha hai ji

Life at 20,000ft: part 4..

2010-01-25T20:03:00.000+05:30

After landing at Vishakhapatnam
me:
"good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is your first officer from the flight deck. we have landed at XYZ where the outside temp is X. On behalf of capt.ABC and our crew led by the beautiful ms.EFG, i hope you enjoyed this service to XYZ. We value your business and look fwd to seeing you onboard the good times again".

vizag tower:
"lovely speech captain, now pls repeat it for the benefit of your passengers too and get off the tower frequency pls!"

me:
( sheepish grin..look at captain.. curse myself for not switching over to PA mode before transmitting..)

road rage!!!

2010-01-23T10:39:00.002+05:30

WHY...
1. do heavy vehicles love driving on the fastest lane( the one on the extreme right in india)?(its not only prohibited in india, but cops dont bother punishing offenders either!)

2. do i still see ridiculous speed limits of 40kph within city limits? when most cars on the road today are designed to be driven at significantly higher speeds?

3. do motorists fail to check for oncoming traffic before joining any road from a feeder road?

4. does the govt still not take the effort to mark and label directions to important places at more frequent intervals? Travelling in india is still very much a "stop and ask" routine.

5. (n most imp of all).. do motorists love driving right in the middle of a 2 lane road?? its what i call the "pilot complex"... they love maintaining the centre line of the 'runway' at all times.

pics from my recent rides to Nandi Hills

2010-01-16T13:55:00.005+05:30

WHERE: Nandi hills
read more abt it here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandi_Hills,_India

WHAT: random rides, to clock up the miles on my bull.

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/rahul69nair/NandiHills#

finally done with almost 1000kms.. another 1000 to go..

my verdict on the bike after 1000kms:
1. The battery problem was solved. Im sure it was a wiring prob on the bike which was discharging it. Whatever it was, it was rectified.
2. The gears are still a problem (dont think enfield will ever get this right!). false neutrals, clunky gear shifts ,the works..
3. RE has eradicated its oil leak, carb and other assorted issues for good!
4. the bike feels solid at 100kph, and i cant wait to touch the 130 mark.
5. its already giving me 30kms to a litre, and the mechs claim this should remain constant from now on, thanks to the EFI.

say it right..

2010-01-14T20:07:00.002+05:30

Names as they are supposed to be pronounced..

SKODA:
shko-da

VOLKSWAGON:
forks-wagon or fox-wagon (both are the closest i can think of)

GALLARDO (from the famed stables of lamborghini)
guy-are-doh

HYUNDAI
he-oon-day

AUDI
ow-dee

PORSCHE
por-sha

its really appalling to hear educated indians say otherwise, especially since most of the above brands are a common sight on indian roads now.

n last but not the least..

NAIR
nire (as in wire)
im fed up of correcting foreigners who keep calling me
nare (as in hair).

my leap of faith..

2010-01-08T21:59:00.002+05:30

as i stand 6 feet from the edge
a few steps more is all i need
a foot forward, one at a time
million questions,huge doubt to feed.

jumping off into oblivion with arms wide open
to hurtle insanely fast to impending doom?
end up as another statistic at the coroner's
with a colorful wreath, flowers in full bloom?

flying into a cloud, what lies beyond?
stumble through today,free falling into tomorrow
i think i see the silver lining
love i think, with time will grow.

burrrrp..

2009-12-26T19:31:00.002+05:30

an inexplicable craving for pizzas.. led to ordering a cheese burst peperoni pizza for dinner..
yup.. finished off the whole pizza before a normal person can spell p-i-z-z-a..

a craving for tex-mex stuff...i join priya n rahul for lunch at chilli's...
ate chicken n shrimp fajitas.. with loaded mash potatoes..and chocolate chip cookie paradise pie..

and now, mom says shes making khichdi for dinner..
n i just realised.. i have a craving for tat too..!
hmmm...
i truly live to eat!

need to get back in shape.. but tats later! for now.. eat n be merry.. it is the festive season after all!

PS- sorry upasna,but i have to say this... i just crossed 500kms on the bike.. and its now due for its first service.. i feel like a proud father watching his child celebrate his 1st bday!

the bike chronicles..

2009-12-23T10:15:00.002+05:30

my classic 500 has finally started showing its quirky behaviour...
the electric start always did act funny, especially during cold starts..

and now.. since i was unwell for a week now..i havent been riding the bike at all.
last nite when i tried cranking the bike..
the battery seemed almost dead.. the engine diagnosis LED did not even turn on..
and no amount of kicking,cajoling,recycling electricals worked...
the bike just refused to start.

hmmm.. i suspect there's some prob with the wiring on the bike, which is causing the battery to discharge.

update as of 24/12/09:
called the mechanic over.. he said the battery had completely discharged due to the cold weather! i ask him how does a new battery discharge due to a week of no usage.. he says its an enfield.. get used to it.. ride atleast 10-15 mins every other day.
well.. im not complaining.. tday did another airport run with a new battery.. and the bike purred like a kitten every single time i used the electric start...
PS- the cramster enduro jacket and the touring gloves i picked up.. are fantastic for the bangalore winters..the midnight airport run was comfy thnx to my riding gear...
Leh? now thats another story..

neighbour's envy.. owner's pride...

2009-12-19T18:26:00.001+05:30

sigh....

hmmm....

2009-12-14T23:10:00.006+05:30

Royal Enfield Classic 500 EFI...

nadodikaate, pattana pravesham, akkere akkere akkere..(my fav mallu movie series)...

a personalised calendar with my fav snaps..

a canon EF-S 55-250mm IS lens..

korean food+wine...

choc cake...

a dozen red roses...

and a promise to spend the rest of my life with someone special..

if i were a cat.. i would purr with content...
:))

a yr older..

2009-12-13T20:29:00.002+05:30

tom.. i turn 27..

hairs almost gone.....(too much testosterone im told!! hehehe)..
of whats remaining.. a good percent is already turning white..
2 teeth already lost to root canal treatment.. (so well on my way to being toothless)..
rarely party.. and prefer spending time sleeping and generally doing my own thing..

sounds like someone whos closer to 50 than 27?

i look around me..and i notice more n more of us "baby boomers" are living a similar life..
the new mantra seems to be "life begins at 40"...
in a sense.. we're all "benjamin button"s!

i was flying with a nepali guy the other day.. and all he spoke in the cockpit was abt sex, sex n more sex.. with girls from various parts of india..
and i actually enjoyed the conversation.. simply becuz here was a guy who had something other than AVIATION to talk abt!

my target: ride to leh sometime next year..
cant wait to get better.. and get back to clocking the miles on my bike..!
also need to go get myself an armoured riding jacket and riding gloves..

till next time.. happy motoring!

motorcycle diaries..my take.

2009-12-09T21:23:00.003+05:30

dear "kitty"...
(wtf..!! anne frank might sue me for this!!!)..
as mentioned in the prev post.. the first 100km run was done in the night..
and bengaluru is getting quite cold nowadays.. with night time temperatures touching 14 degrees (by indian stds.. tats COLD!!!)
anyways.. the thin pullover was painfully ineffective in keeping the cold out..
evidence being my waking up with a sore throat and aching body the next day..

its been over 5 days now.. n ive still got a bad throat and cough..
but that did not stop me from another 100km run.. but this time in the morning.

woke up at 6:00.. was ready to move by 6:30..
roll the classic out of my gate..and switch the electric start on..
KEEKEEKEE...(kapuiiiiiii!!!!)...
(whoa!!! wat was tat???)
look at the eng diagnosis LED.. alls ok)..
press the e-start again.. no response..
(hmmmm.. now what?)
decide to recycle the electric controls.. and try again..
again no response.. decide to wait for a couple of mins.. and tried again.. still no luck..
finally aftr abt 10 mins of unsuccessful attempts.. decide to chuck the e-start.. and used the kick-start..
(hahahahha.. easier said than done!)
10 tries.. and finally.. i get the engine running..
phew.. the clock shows 7..i push off..
ride's smooth.. the usual fog at bangalore airport..
got back home by 10.. this was a nonstop ride..
the plan being to gradually increase by riding tolerance..
this time.. i had less probs with the gear change on the bike.. i suspect its becuz im getting the hang of changing gears on this particular "bull".

my moment of pride:
on the way back.. i was at the this signal near NGEF layout.. and this guy on an enfield thunderbird comes up behind me.. admires the bike.. and then blows his horn to grab my attn.. i look around.. and he salutes me!

the royal enfield classic 500 EFI.. a first hand review..

2009-12-05T01:37:00.002+05:30

First lets get done with the good things:
1. the bike only looks like a classic.. performs almost as well as most contemporary japanese/ american bikes.
2. the bike does make heads turn.. on my first 100km trip, quite a few people stopped to ask abt the bike.
3. The suspension on the bike, and the coil springs under the seat for the rider are perfect. Riding the bike over most bumps, speed breaks, ditches.. caused hardly any discomfort.
4. The thump, though a little muted, is still there.
5. The headlight on the bike is one of the most powerful ive seen on a motorcycle in india yet (as expected from the enfield stable)
6. the electric start works beautifully and literally purrs to life the 500cc monster of an engine.

and now.. for the bad..
1. maybe a personal thing, but i wasnt comfortable with the round rear view mirrors..the field of vision would have been much more functional/useful with a rectangular mirror..
2. The lack of a fuel gauge on the central instrument console, can leave u guessing as to how much more can u travel without having to fill the bike.
3. Im not sure if its only to do with my bike, but shifting gears can be quite tricky.. i often found myself having to use the clutch action twice to actually change the gear.

the unknown:
1 since the motorcycle is new, i need to maintain a max speed of 60kph until i run in the engine.. hence i have no idea how the bike performs at high speeds or what its max speed is.
Though, at 60kph..a slight touch of the accelerator was only required.. i suspect the machine is capable of easily touching the 130kph mark(as mentioned by manufacturer) without any problems..

overall, very impressed with the first "bull" in my life..
hope to clock up 500 in a weeks time, after which it will be due for its first service..
till then.. happy and safe motoring!

a rose by any other name...would still have its thorns..?

2009-11-27T22:24:00.002+05:30

my vampire name:
WILL GREEN...or alternatively DAMIEN AZARIEL
(hmm..i like the latter one..)

my rap star name:
B.DAWG
(i would have preferred to b.wolf.. or b.duck billed platypus.. but alas.. i get to b.dawg..)

my japanese name:
Saruwatari Akira
(translates into "monkey on a crossing bridge" and "bright"..so this one is self explanatory...)

my viking name:
Rauðúlfr Shieldcrusher
(as per the website.."You're a doughty, stalwart Viking. You have a thirst for battle, and tend to strike first and think later. As a Viking, you're one of the "berserkers", and rush into battle with no clothes on. If the sight of you naked isn't enough to disable the enemy, your sword certainly will be.")

my rockstar name:
AL COOK
(which self respecting rockstar would name himself "al cook" ?????)

my gangster name:
aniello "paulie" decicco
(is it just me.. or does it sound more like "anal-o polly dick-o"??? yea rite.. i think this particular website has 'gangster' mixed up with 'drag queen')

my nerd name:
Sven, the Manga Obsessive
(hmmmm... now.. wats tat again???)

my pirate name:
Mad Roger Bonney
(hahahaha.. this one has to be the best yet!!the most panzy pirate name ever!!!)

and finally.. my african name:
RopoHembeLembe NumbaRembe
(????)

(all the above is sourced from actual "name generator" websites that ask only for you actual name as input.. and in some cases.. ask a few personality based questions.)

the dentist episode...

2009-11-27T10:23:00.002+05:30

take 1:
protagonist lying sprawled like an eagle.. with hands and feet bound.. on a dentist's chair..a drop of sweat slowly making its way down his chiseled six pack abs...
blond, voluptuous dentist walks in..wearing tight spandex that barely leaves anything to my imagination..
swaying her hips to the cliched "porn" music being played in the background..
(upasna.. i hope ure taking notes here!!! this is after all, your fantasy version..)

take 2:
a dark dingy cell.. which hasnt seen daylight for the last 100 odd years..
a cold metallic chair..in the middle of the room.. with a harsh yellow light dangling from the ceiling right above it..
our protagonist has been stripped (of all dignity.. figuratively speaking)...and chained to the cold, unforgiving chair..
the silence in the room is deafening.. with small rats scurrying around.. waiting for morsels of human flesh to feast on..
in walks this horrendous monster..(straight from some movie based on the Auschwitz camp)..with a chain saw in her hand...
lets out an evil laugh..and then camera pans onto the ceiling... bright drops of blood erupt..painting a vivid design across the light and the ceiling...
(well.. that would be my fantasy version...)

take 3:
a grand opulent verandah.. with colorful drapes covering every wall and the ceiling..
a chair of gold placed right in the centre.. with a small fountain in the background.. complete with fancy lights and water jets..
to the right is a small stage.. with a folksy troupe belting out some rajasthani/gujurati folk tune...
to the left is a group of village belles.. twirling round and round in colorful ghagra-cholis..dancing in tune with the music being played..
the protagonist is gently carried on a "palki".. and gently placed on the golden chair..(camera no.2 zooms in on his face.. to show his content.. for the next 4-5 mins)..
next.. camera shifts to this huge, heavily decorated, wooden door.. that dramatically opens to reveal a beautiful lady dressed in bridal clothes.. and holding a tray of GOLD plated dental intsruments..
(cam2 osciallates between yearning look on protagonist's face.. and the dentist's smug look for the next 4-5 mins..)
with great fanfare.. the dentist is escorted by handsome, young males.. right upto the golden chair..
the protagonist opens his mouth to say something and the dentist covers his mouth with her hand..and smiles coyly..
accepting her destiny.. she lifts her first dental instrument...and..
(to be continued in the next exciting episode..!!!)
(star/colors/imagine.. pls contact me for creative inputs!!!)

a week well spent indeed!

2009-11-25T13:38:00.003+05:30

been home in mumbai for the last 5 days..

20th nite:
aatli baatli phootli... (tats a mumbaikar game..i dont have the patience to explain)
the neat little paaji VS nair fight that i had taken a few days to set up.. and that suny brought to a lovely climax by claiming that it started because i called him a "pussy-cat"...
came to an end.. over a few drinks at Alfredo's and OTR..
ashok as always tried his best to play mediator.. Biji (being the sadist he always is).. just enjoyed the sledge fest.
next its ullaas' turn.. we're all waiting to pounce on him.

21st nite:
Ashok & khushboo's wedding anniversary at Red Box.
Alcohol...music...shameless pelvic thrusts..and himessss...
not to mention the "nagin" dance.. the "billo rani" dance.. the "disco dancer" routine..
n to top it all.. a red "dil shaped balloon"...
ps- appy budday paaji AND uullaass...

22nd nite:
4 friends..some alcohol.. and LOTS of fond memories..
nope.. this is not abt me..
Vishwan, Sasi, Ravi and Paul... the original 4 friends from the '80s..
Gem made me realize.. time is short..make the most of now..
since dad was coming down for a week too.. i thought it would be a great idea if i could get all 4 families to meet up again..
a couple of phone calls later.. a dinner was fixed at Sasi uncle's place..
Seeing our families together after so long.. and picking up exactly where we left off the last time we were all together..
priceless!
Vipin,Vrinda,Rupesh,Surya,Me,Adin,Jewel...the 2nd gen..AND the torch bearers..
hope we continue to be in touch like our fathers/mothers all these years..

22-23rd:
Real estate scouting.. found quite a few interesting options.. hmmm...

24th:
the wedding i took a leave to attend..
AND MISSED!
adin has been asking me to get him a new bike..was in malad at the suzuki showroon.. when i realised that HDS had told me tat the wedding was on tuesday.. so called him asking him the time..
HDS:"shaadi abhi khatam hua.. hum log lunch kar rahe hai"..
me:@#$#@$@$!#$!@#$!$!!!!!
run over to meet roja..
ketan gifts me a personally autographed copy of Phoenix Philosophy's debut album..
(will hold onto it and auction it on ebay soon...)
roja cant blive i can be this absent minded..
i make up by being the 1st to turn up for the reception in the evening..(this time in clothes that were a tad better than a worn out tee and a torn pair of denims)
tiu unfortunately cannot be the butt of my "round" jokes anymore..(sigh)..

25th:
back to blr.. cut short my BOM trip.. as ive been survivin on combiflam the last few days.. the tootaches really bad now.. and the much dreaded visit to the dentist is due tday... (i hate dentists!!!)
in case i dont survive to tell this tale..i leave my all to the cute lady who lives across my building..
:))

Of rappelling, rock climbing and other mundane things...

2009-11-15T21:16:00.003+05:30

What n When:
Rock Climbing & Rappelling at Ramnagaram - [14th Nov 2009]
http://bmcindia.org/events/rockclimbing-at-ramnagaram.html

Get up at 5:30.. walk over to murugesh pallya.. wait for moorthy n chidu to turn up.. and then wait for the BMC truck to show up..
( for all you mumbaikars... nope.. im not referring to the bombay municipal corporation waste collection truck... this ones the bangalore mountaineering club's rickety ol'mini-bus )..

the ride to ramnagaram.. uneventful.. slept thru most of it.. except for our bfast pitstop at Annapoorna.. where we ate the world famous TATTE IDLY..
( i did see one foreigner.. and lots of people from all over india eating there..ohh wait.. they were all with our group.. so nope..not that famous i guess..)
we did see one very playful spaniel/setter/gascogne puppy....(im no dog specialist.. hence the confusion abt the breed)...the dog was just too cute.. some day i need to get my own dog..

once we reached ramnagaram.. the sight that greeted us was pretty awesome.. very sholay'esque.. (if this is ever accepted into the english dictionary.. i want the credit!).. lots of isolated "kopjes".. and breathtaking cliffs all around..
and with the recent rains... lots of green and little lakes/ponds all around..

onto task1: (or so i thought)
luckily for me.. i wasnt aware of the true nature of this task. we just kept following our guide up this long series of rocky steps up this mountain..after abt 15 mins of climbing up.. we stop at a point..and then its revealed that this was his idea of a warm up.. ( yea rite.. and i was pretty much done for the day!)
but the view from the top.. was worth the climb up i guess..)
anyways.. climbed back down.. n then moved onto the rapelling point..

the actual task 1: rappelling..
walked over to this smooth 80-100foot rock surface...where 2 parallel rappelling gear was already setup...into the harness and another short trek up the mountain.. and we were ready to transform into special ops commandos...

task 2: rock climbing
the website describes this activity as ideal for beginners and newbies.. yea right..
we trek over to this 20 odd feet rocky surface.. with a little crack running along the length from top to bottom..the first 12 odd feet.. had just a few hand grip holds to haul urself up...no amount of mission impossible background scores helped.. and finally after a lot of huffing and puffing.. and bruised egos and hands/knees.. scaled the damn rock..

task3: rock climbing 2 (chimney climb)
this one was interesting.. it involves climbing up between 2 vertical rocky surfaces that are close to each other.. leaving just enough gap in between to prop yourself with your back against one surface.. and your feet on the other..
this particular one was a 30 odd feet high climb.. relatively easy on the hands.. but took its toll on the feet of some...personally,I found this easier to do.. and had a blast..

photographs were taken.. and can be seen at this link..
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/rahul69nair/RappellingRockClimbingAtRamnagaram14Nov09#

im still waiting to collect snaps from other cameras in the group... the complete album shud be up in a weeks time..

Indian School Muscat 12A..(batch of 2000)

2009-11-11T17:45:00.004+05:30

no prizes for guessing where i am in the picture above...
miss those days...

sensational journalism...

2009-11-10T21:56:00.002+05:30

been watching the news since evening..
TIMES NOW has no credibility..

Facts as of now:
1. Runway length was shortened due to maintenance work on runway.
2. DGCA issued notice regarding operations, allowing only small aircraft to take-off or land between 12-6 pm.(providing visibility is 2800mts)
3. Heavy rains and poor visibility coupled with poor ATC decision and poor pilot decision blamed for everything.
4.all 42 souls on board aircraft are safe and sound.

points to ponder:
1. Operations were sanctioned by DGCA. If visibility reported by ATC was within operator minima, ATC and pilot in command were legally entitled to land on the runway.
(so theres no question of poor decision. if all legal parameters were met, as is normally the case)

2.TIMES NOW kept saying, pilot overshot "threshold by 50 mts", thus leading to overshooting the runway. Agreed, when "the shit hits the ceiling", even that 50mts can make a lot of difference. But keep in mind, 50mts is a little less than twice the length of the ATR 72-500(approx 27mts). for all practical purposes, its hardly anything. Most instrument landing systems are configured to make aircraft land at Touch down Zone, which itself is the first 3000ft of the runway..! in other words most aircraft usually touch the runway approx 1000ft off the threshold marking)

3.As per the landing charts issued by the mumbai airport, the landing distance available is 1703mts(during shortened runway ops). Now as per landing charts supplied by ATR, the maximum runway landing distance required for maximum weight and worst possible runway contamination(icing) is 1530mts. For water or slush on runway, it is 1000mts.
In other words, with 32 passengers, the wt of the aircraft was much lower than max, and even with heavy rains, the runway was not tat badly contaminated.HENCE, landing distance required would have been less than 1000mts.
(ALL THE ABOVE IS CALCULATED WITHOUT CONSIDERING REVERSE THRUST, which can effectively reduce landing distance by another 7%)

I fly the ATR for kingfisher, and i have been flying to smaller runways in equally wet conditions.

Journalism, should state facts and possible scenarios.
Not make poorly informed judgements based on rumours from "well informed sources".

life at 18,000ft ??? nope.. this ones at grnd level...

2009-11-02T23:23:00.003+05:30

bachelor of engineering (electronics)...
commercial pilot...with over 1000hrs of flying experience..

and what does my base mgr think im qualified to do?
man the reception desk at the KF ATR training centre in jakkur.

Ive suddenly lost whatever remaining respect i had for Kingfisher Airlines...

in any organization, emergencies do arise. in case of shortage of staff, suitable alternatives should be arranged...but ignoring the shortage because a stop-gap arrangement was made.. results in precisely this.
over qualified people are called in to become a "receptionist".

stay...

2009-10-20T10:55:00.002+05:30

as the sun travels across the sky..
a flower follows its blazing trail..
begging it with drooping petals..
stay a little longer,lest darkness prevail.

a lifetime spent, watching her little one grow
one fine day as he leaves to serve..
a tear in her eye and a prayer on her lips..
stay a little longer, a mother still hopes..

in the cell, a prisoner sits staring..
through iron bars, caged within...
a sparrow eating morsels from last nights dinner..
stay a little longer, life begs even after sin.

after a night of lying to close to her heart
as the sunlight steals in through the window
lighting up the face that infused life into her..
stay a little longer, its not yet time to go.

smart move!!

2009-10-09T21:05:00.002+05:30

how do you get a guy
1. who promises to scale down the nuclear stock pile of his country, along with the other biggest nuclear stockpile owner in the world..
2. who promises to peacefully resolve the palestine-israel conflict at the earliest..
3. who promises to generally resolve all international disputes whether US has a stake or interest in the issue or not..
4. minimize american military presence in Afghanistan and at the same time protect multi-billion dollar contracts awarded to various american companies to "redevelop" afghanistan??

to deliver on his promises???

give him a "NOBEL" peace prize.. and appeal to his conscience and thus play on what he thinks is now expected of him, by the rest of the world...

smart!

jessica jaymes...

2009-10-05T22:47:00.002+05:30

for the more seasoned men out there.. she needs no introduction..
for amateurs like myself.. shes a pornstar..

in the words of a hormonally challenged friend..
"shes so fcukin hot.. perfect tits.. perfect arse.. and a face so unlike a pornstar.. shes the first pornstar that i can maybe take home to meet my mom"

her website describes her as:
"Hustler honey of the year 2004, and FIRST ever Hustler contract girl,host of Playboy t.v's "Totally Busted",numerous appearances on Howard Stern and the tabloid super slut"

my reaction:
"....mebbe i can write a blog abt her???!!!"

moral of the story: somethings not right.. somewhere... hmmmm...

PS- pls dont bother leavin a comment for this post, if you found it offensive. It was never meant to be a "U/A" blog.

alone..

2009-10-02T01:26:00.002+05:30

came into this teeming world..
not with millions for company..

will leave it someday for the next..
not even love dare accompany me..

and yet this lifetime is seemingly spent
adding up friends, lovers and family...

who cares and more importantly who remembers?
Futile and yet a habit that never will leave

stoic are the select few, who tread above the rest
alone, yet enlightened, like them i strive to be.

spilt milk.. but whos crying???

2009-07-19T21:19:00.003+05:30

3 months..
of controlled diets..
no sweet..
no outside food..
no eating after 8pm..
30 mins on the treadmill daily..

result: loss of 8kgs.

2 weeks of gluttony...
loads of sweets..
and zero workout..

result:recovered 25% of what i lost..

wtf!!!!

life at FL200.. part III

2009-07-09T21:10:00.002+05:30

Was flying the super short sector to Mangalore and back tday..
monsoon maybe late.. but its here.. no doubt abt THAT.

predictably, we were flying in clouds throughout, and there were certain patches that were a little rough(ok, maybe the passengers will beg to differ..),
but at times, being on time, takes precedence over providing a super smooth flight.
So as long as its safe, at times, we do fly through moderate turbulence.

now the thing abt turbulence is, as long as you're seated, the effect on the human body, is far less, as compared to when you're trying to walk along the aisle.. balancing meals, tea, coffee and other assorted paraphernalia in your hand..

so after landing in mangalore, 1 of the crew girls walks in..
"captain, will it be turbulent on the way back too?"

me:"pretty much. should be the same as our ride to mangalore"
crew:"oh, it was too turbulent captain. i felt very sick and puked"
me:"really? im sorry to hear that. but expect it be the same on the way back too. so try and not walk around when it gets turbulent. we will try to avoid turbulence as much as possible"

the girl closes the cockpit door and walks out. all this while the captain was busy signing some papers. so he looks at me for an explanation.
me:"she felt sick becuz of the turbulence. seems she puked during our ride in"
captain:" turbulence? was it that bad? who knows, maybe she felt sick becuz shes pregnant or something!"

:))

humour in uniform... reader's digest... are you listening?

target audience...

2009-07-09T21:02:00.002+05:30

clustrmaps..
an interestin widget you can add to your website/blog..
read more about it at http://www.clustrmaps.com/

anyways, my reason for this post is:
been tracking the locations of people reading this blog.
expected hits from india(delhi,mumbai,bangalore,cochin) and california register prominently...

interestingly, its been showing regular visits from certain places i never even knew i had friends.
for example:
florida, U.S.A
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
eastern part of maharashta,India

This is just to thank you guys... whoever you are.

photographic evidence..

2009-07-09T08:41:00.004+05:30

im speechless.. truly!!!!

she smiled!!!

2009-07-05T15:17:00.002+05:30

its just the 10th day..
and tday anushka was much more active and responsive than ever before..
and more importantly.. she smiled!
Rahul managed to capture some brilliant shots of her smiling AND laughing..
hope Rahul mails it across soon.. so tat i can put it up here..

black AND white..

2009-06-30T19:23:00.002+05:30

Been a while since MJ sang "black or white"..
little did he know.. truth was closer to the title of my post..
theres no denyin he was a genius..and truly the king of pop all thru the 80s and early 90s..
watever he said n did in his personal life..
his death, almost 2 decades after his last big hit, was enough to cripple the internet for a few hrs..
and more importantly.. he was truly a global icon.. any part of the world..
you mention michael jackson.. very good chances of the person across showing some sign of comprehension..
even a roadside sweeper right here in india might..
his is not the fate shared by other icons who died in similar situations.. like kurt cobain.. or elvis... or bruce lee..they died and seemed to have remained in the minds of a select few...
MJ will remain for a long long time to come..
and i for one, wont be surprised if this legend goes on to ring the registers of the labels that own his music.. for years after hes turned into dust..

vive le roi.. the roi n'est pas mort, il est vivant!!!

the silver lining...

2009-06-27T23:35:00.002+05:30

the much awaited baby of the khandaan has finally arrived!
Priya gave birth to a lovely little baby last night at approx 11:15pm at Manipal Hospital.
In the morning i had called her, to ask her to come with me to see this flat at murugesh pallya tday morning..
she was all fine.. and she promised to come along..
i leave for my flight at 12:30pm.. get back home at 11:30 in the night..
and nandu mama calls.."congrats rahul"..
me: (wonderin to myself.. now wat did i do at this time of the night!!!)
nandu mama: abey dhakkan.. tu bhi mama ban gaya... priya just gave birth to a baby girl!
me: wtf??!!! how??? wat??? when??? where???

After getting the relevant updates, i run off to manipal..
and there i see the cutest little baby ive ever seen.. big eyes.. tongue perennially stickin in n out... and a very stylized elongated head..

rahul saiyya: hey rahul.. check this out..ive got myself an alien baby..!!!
me: way too cool man..
priya: its goin to shrink back to normal size in a few days.. its just cuz the baby's skull at the back is still not strong yet..

on the walk back home at 2 am.. i think to myself.. "alien" baby..maybe we shud call her "aaliyah"..(my version of a play on the word 'alien')

tday i tell uni uncle n rahul my suggestion..
uni uncle:"wat??? wats tat??? dont just invent gibberish names!!!"

hmmm.. well.. let me see rahul saiyya n priya come up with somethin better by 7th of nxt month.. 11th day naming ceremony of my little "aaliyah"..
:))

if only..

2009-06-26T01:31:00.004+05:30

if only we knew when death comes calling..
if only we knew how much time we had left..
if only we knew what it means to loose someone..
if only we knew how to show we care..
if only we had some more time together..
if only our childhood lasted forever..

if only I knew ... his time had come..

if only he knew... he will be missed..

why??

2009-06-20T23:20:00.004+05:30

if there is a god..
prove it now... find him.. deliver him back to his family.

the aviation-sine wave effect..

2009-06-16T21:20:00.002+05:30

there are days.. when pretty much everything goes wrong.. beginning with delayed pickup cabs.. to grumpy commander.. to turbulent weather.. and finally..the most dreaded.. hard or as most pilots prefer calling it.. a "positive" landing..
(pls note: by hard i do not imply unsafe in any way! its still very much within the aircraft's structural and safety limits)

and then there are those days.. when everything goes perfectly well..on time performance.. smooth flights..and to top it off.. "makkhan" landings..

tday falls into the latter category...
"captain, we didnt even feel the aircraft touch down. fantastic landing!"
words, that simply put... make my day!

sigh.. if only every day was like this..

the "house" effect..

2009-06-15T19:43:00.002+05:30

no..this is not abt my liking the series by the same name on AXN...(offcourse its fantastic.. and 1 of the best medical series ive ever seen..apart from scrubs :))

but this is in reference to my hunt, of late, to find a suitable investment in bangalore's real estate..

first up, there are a multitude of choices, unlike mumbai. Here a budget of 50L does give you a lot of options.
(In mumbai, its either dahisar or beyond.. or a shack in dharavi with this budget. And offcourse thats AFTER the agent/builder laughs uncontrollably for an hr after you tell him this is your budget.)

1st option: Buy something for my personal use. a decent 2 BHK in a decent locality. pros:the rent i save will go towards paying off part of the EMI AND at the end of 15 odd yrs.. i will be the proud owner of an apartment in bangalore.ALso the interest i pay on account of the home loan will save some of the hefty tax i pay annually.
cons: personal use involves further expenditure to make the place my home.. and in the event of my shifting base to another city in future, will have been a waste of whatever i spend on the flat.

2nd option: buy something i can lease out.
pros: since its not for personal use, the possible locations for such an investment increase substantially..thus offering a much wider range of options. also the rent i earn off the apartment, will go towards paying off part of the EMI and my own rent.
cons: in case i do decide to settle in bangalore, i might have to again hunt for a better apartment IN the area i would like to live in.

3rd option: invest in land on the outskirts of bangalore. the area around the new airport is still quite cheap and affordable.
pros: in a best case scenario, buying an acre of land at under 150rs/sq.ft...and hold onto the land for 5-10 yrs. and later (looking at statistics for the region) sell it off for atleast 500% profits...
cons:investing in land is always a risk. if the region misses out on the bus to development, and somehow ends up being overlooked in a possible real estate boom in future.. the value of the land will remain locked forever. Also, considering this being my first investment, its inherently too risky to park all "eggs in 1 basket".
:))

4th option: tie up with friends/relatives and invest in commercial property. and then lease it out.
pros: joint investment:shared risks.handsome returns.
cons: joint investment:shared profits. unwise choice for a first investment. atleast for a newbie like me.

at the end of the day, my "suitable indian groom" instincts tell me.. a house is a priority.. get myself an apartment.
and so for now, the search continues..
:((

turn the page...

2009-06-12T09:52:00.001+05:30

yesterday,i felt lost.. i was not sure.
yesterday,the days passed by.. i played the perfect spectator.
yesterday,my dreams remained just that.. dreams.
yesterday,i knew i had the potential..that's all.

today.. my existence has a purpose..i owe it you
today.. im racing against time..i think im winning
today.. my dreams feel real..finally within my grasp.
today.. i believe in me.. you showed me how to.

the first chapter ends, turn the page..
know not what tomorrow will bring...
know this for sure, my book is penned for you.

yeh maara chakka!!!!

2009-06-03T20:18:00.002+05:30

Rikki was at the crease, our last good batsman. we still have 150 runs to make, otherwise this game haar jayenge.
we didnt expect the other team to have such good bowlers. Raju, Iqbal,Jonny and Satish... all.. out for scores less than 10!!!!
Anwar came in for the next delivery.. and oh fish!!! Rikki's also gone.. clean bowled!

im next... but what can i do? everybody knows im the 'kaccha limbu' of batting...no chance that i will be able to score enough runs to help our team win.
maybe.. just maybe.. the new bat papa bought me yesterday.. which i dutifully kept in the puja room all of last night.. so tat god will bless it.. and give me some super powers to hit a four or a six tday...
i can see Raj and Mani from the other team smiling at seeing me walk out to bat..bloody dogs...tday i will show them!!

Anwar came in.. in his usual fast balling style.. and i closed my eyes and just swung my bat..."phataaaak"....
"bhaag rahul... bhaag... run nikaaal!"...
i opened my eyes.. unblivable..! the ball was actually high up in the air... heading for the boundary...i forgot i was supposed to run.. i just kept standing.. starin at the ball..six!!!!!

And with that began what was to become one of the most memorable innings of my life.
Unbelievable.. yet true.. the bat in my hand seemed to have a mind of its own...
square drives.. flicks..lofty swings..straight..cover..it was a textbook demonstration of how to demolish the bowling attack!

but bad luck to dekho..! just as i cruised into my 90's.. it started to get dark.. and the umpire Gullu called the end of today's play...( Gullu...tereko baadmein dekh lunga!!!).. for now.. i was just too excited and very very happy..i had to rush home n tell every1 abt this..

Papa had just come back from work, and i immediately launched into my second recital of that day.. of how Rahul had scored a flawless 93 runs.. and was well on his way to not only helping his team win tom's match.. but also set a new record for fastest 100!!!!
Ma had listened to it all earlier today, and had only nodded her head.
After dinner Ma reminded me to finish off homework for tday so that i would be able to go off to play tomorow too..

but all nite..all i cud think of was tom's game.. how i would finish it in style.. with a six.. straight over the bowler's head...and then enjoy the defeated look on raj n mani's and everybody's faces from the other team...tom would be the day the whole colony would talk of their new hero... me.. Rahul!

i woke up early next day.. and cleaned my bat,gloves and pad... and was waiting for it to be 9 o'clock..
at 8:45.. i ran out of bedroom and was about to open the door.. when Ma pulled me back and asked me abt my homework..
i explained how i was unable to do it because i was not able to concentrate only.. i had to finish my game.. i had to win!!!
Ma just looked in her strict style..and with a finger pointed towards my room.
"finish your homework first.. and then your game"..
i felt like taking my bat and hittin Ma with it.. why cant she understand? i had to go.. i had to!!!
i went back to my room.. angry... very very angry!!!
i sat with my book open in front of me.. but i could not even read anything.. i was only thinking of the match!
If Papa would have been there.. he would have let me go.. but this Ma.. she doesnt understand how important this match is...why is she always so strict and stupid?

i went to the window and looked out at the field outside.. most of my friends had already come..they must be wondering why i havent come..my best friend Rikki was walkin towards my building.."Rahul..oye..come fast.. match is going to start..!"
i ran back into the kitchen.. "Ma, pls.. i promise to do my hw after i come back.. i have to go.. pls!"..
Ma once again just said one thing.." finish your hw.. and then you can go to play!"..
why was Ma behaving like this.. what did i do for her to behave so strict with me..?

Luckily for me, just then it started to rain and the game was postponed for the evening..
i ran back into my room with every intention of finishing my HW.. honest to god!! But, what to do!?? i couldnt help thinking of the game.. and how much it meant to me.Why couldnt ma understand that??!! It was the biggest game of my life.. i was playing like sachin tendulkar!!! i was already being looked upon as the new cricket hero of Victorian haven co-op housing society!!!and this Ma just keeps me locked at home doing my HW!!!

and thats when a brilliant plan came into my head!!! i knew Ma goes to sleep every afternoon after lunch. I decided to put some sleeping tablets into her glass of favorite orange juice and give her after lunch to make sure she sleeps. And then i will be free!!!
Lunch time was very very tense for me. i was feeling so scared that i couldnt even eat properly.
after lunch i tiptoed into her bedroom and quietly took her bottle of sleeping tablets. and went into the kitchen to get her orange juice.i carefully crushed 2 tablets and put it into the juice..

soon it was 4pm...and I heard Rikki calling out again. i slowly walked into mom's room to check. SHE WAS FAST ASLEEP!!
i ran out as fast as i could with THE bat. i raced to the ground and was so happy to be out there in the middle of the pitch again.
Mani was to bowl the next over. We needed 23 runs to win, off 2 overs.
with me on strike, all eyes were on me. Mani came into bowl, and once again the bat moved like it was possessed. a beautiful cover drive, speeding like a bullet, all the way to the boundary!!!

and before i knew it, the next 5 balls were the end of the match! With me getting my century in style and my team winning!!!! with 1 whole over to spare!
Rikki and all my team came running upto me and picked me up and shouted cries of vistory...

after the match, while we were having the celebration ka ice-lolly at manu uncle's shop,rikki says" rahul saale, you were damn lucky tday haan...thank god it rained in the morning.otherwise we would have lost the match. why dint you come in the morning yaar??"
i told him abt my HW and my stupid Ma, and how i gave her some sleeping tablets. I was a little scared now of going back home, im guessin Ma must have woken up by now and will royally thrash me for disobeying her.
rikki said" yaar, tere mein solid guts hai.. all the best boss!! aaj ekdum jhakaas batting kiya!! lekin ek baat bata, how did you know which was the sleeping pill?? you dont even know to read english properly yet!"

i told him" simple yaar. Ma keeps her sleeping pill ka box hidden in her cabinet. when i opened it, there was only 1 box inside. with one scary looking skull and some bones on it. samajhne ki baat hai nah.. wohi hoga sleeping pills!!!"

note: the above is completely fictitious and all credits for this story belong to me.

Car Jacking 101...

2009-05-31T11:28:00.002+05:30

'Me' and 'careless' are synonyms..
that much is evident.
but taking it to new heights .. is a personal goal i set myself.. every single day!!!

2 days back, after another futile house hunting trip, getting back home, i find myself locked out of my car, with the keys lying happily inside.

The fact that ive never seen a set of spare keys for my car and that I never bothered making a spare set, only made things worse.

Anyways, jo hua.. so hua.
Called up the Mitsubishi service centre and explained my predicament.

Techie:"Sir, i can send my techie over. He will try short circuiting the central locking system. And then we can maybe try and open the doors"
me:"good news. the car's central locking system itself is spoiled and ive been meaning to get it to the centre for a service for quite sometime"
techie: ( after 10 mins of discussing with someone else) "no problem sir, we will break open the rear quarter glass and open the door. my inventory guy just confirmed we have spares available to replace it"
me:"dont you think thats pretty dramatic? i mean, breaking open the glass etc etc"
techie:"all in a day's work. shall i schedule an appointment for monday?"
me:"ok"

Today morning, (since i had officially reported sick), decided to try and follow Rahul's advice and get some local mechanic to try and open the car.

The guy comes along with just a plastic scale.
Attempt 1:
Slides the scale in between the glass and door, through the rubber lining..right where the lock is supposed to be.gives me a sheepish grin and says most cars can be opened like that.But obviously Mitsubishi doesnt endorse this particular design.
(conversely, since he works in a TATA garage, i assume TATA cars can be opened like that!!!)

Attempt 2: He tries sliding a small coat hanger type of wire through the window's upper rubber lining. But that too fails as the gap is too narrow and non linear to pass the wire through.

Final attmept:
Asks me for a screwdriver. Calmly removes the rubber lining surrounding the quarter glass.removes the quarter glass and opens the door.
(offcourse, to put it back in involved opening the whole door chassis and re-alligning the main window partition.but no breaking and no tampering!)

bottomline: in under 30 mins i was sitting with the keys in my hand. And considerably wiser with regards to how to get into a car without a key and without breaking the glass!

:))

Destiny...?

2009-05-22T00:25:00.002+05:30

Upasna asked me yesterday, if i believed in star signs.
Seems most of her closest friends are from the star signs that Saggis are supposed to be most compatible with.

I, having lots of time on my hands, decided to check this little theory out.
Made a list of all my close friends. and noted their star signs..
(its not easy.. took me almost 20 mins!!!)
the result of the above experiment:
no visible pattern. its pretty much scattered all over the celestial sky!!!

score:
zodiac sign:0 me:1

but!!! i did notice one thing. all my past relationships have been mostly with women from the "compatible" group. and NONE worked.
and im currently involved with a capri(menon), who supposedly is LEAST compatible with a saggi(tats me!).

score:
zodiac signs: 0 me:2

and finally, i decided to read my fortune for tday:
"22 May, 2009
You can build up new contacts beyond the national boundaries, says Ganesha. Long distance travel can give you much-needed relaxation. A religious function may soothe your senses. However, at the end of the day, you may be dissatisfied. "

arbit..and totally generic.with some "can" and "may" thrown in...

final score:
zodiac sign: 0 me:3

For those who seek hope in "inanimate" stars that some ppl ages ago thought resembled various animals...pls turn to the horoscope section in your respective newspapers....
the rest.. can read the cartoon section..
(i personally loved the ponnappa yesterday.. it had a tiger and it mentioned bill waterson!)

i confess .. im GAY!!!!

2009-05-20T20:19:00.002+05:30

dont get me wrong ppl.. im still very much "straight"...and still very much swing only the way im supposed to be swinging...(shaggadelic.. yeaaaah baaaby!!!feel the mojo!!! and all that "austin powers" jazz)

but if i hear 1 more uncle/aunt ask me.."so, when are you plannin to marry??"
im afraid.. i will use the "im gay" card..

or maybe, at the next funeral in the family.. i should walk upto them and say.."you're next!!"

but sometimes, the conversation does turn interesting..
anna mami once asked me if im interested in this divorcee with no kids, but younger than me.
i told her:" sure.. why not.. i can benefit from the experience!"

2009, has been a year of extreme peer pressure. with truckloads of my friends getting hitched..(its almost like they were standing like inanimate bowling pins.. and someone got a STRIKE all the way).
and some have even gone ahead and had kids... with 1 particular idiot expecting his second child!!!(thnx jameel!!!)

so till i think im ready.. im gay!!!

10 and still counting..

2009-05-19T17:51:00.002+05:30

bangalore..the 3rd largest city in India..
ive been home all day.. on account of my wonderful health..

n just a few mins back.. i experienced the 10th loss of electricity in 1 day..

back home in mumbai.. this whole concept of loss of electricity..is somehow too alien..
and here.. its like a way of life..

is it just me.. or is mumbai the only true "city" in India..??
others dont even measure up..
1. 24X7 electric supply
2. fantastic and honest public transport system.(BEST+auto+taxis)
3. life actually begins after 9pm
4. a lady can still think of coming home on her own after 9pm.

someday i hope the other "cities" also become...cities.

India's first confirmed H1N1 case..

2009-05-18T09:42:00.002+05:30

Was at the Novotel,Hyd yesterday.. and readin the papers..
amidst all the election "post-mortem" reports..
there was this small headline..
"1st indian confirmed case of H1n1 virus"
some techie guy from hyd.. returning from the US of A..
all passengers on his flight were being traced and asked to avoid social gatherings and report in case of any flu symptons..
tday's papers report the techie guy is doin well.. and tamiflu is doing its job on the poor guy.

meanwhile.. i fly into blr last nite.. feeling feverish.. having severe body ache.. and the proverbial flu like symptoms...
am sittin at home, having hot chicken soup, while i write this.. still feeling sick...
h1n1 maybe..??
:))

PS- on a completely unrelated note.. im happy with the elections..i did expect NDA to fail miserably.. but UPA to shine? nice!!!

the "kumblangya" effect..

2009-05-14T21:18:00.002+05:30

for the non-mallus.. "kumblangya" is mallu speak for bottle gourd.. or doodhi as most indians would call it.

started off with Ashok mama claiming to have lost "tonnes" of wt.. just by drinking glasses of the "k" juice..(just HOW does a 70kg man loose "tonnes" of wt is beyond my comprehension...)

mom comes in from mumbai this afternoon.. looking slim..
me: "what do you want for lunch/dinner.. theres nothing at home.. will either have to ask the maid to cook something.. or buy/order something to eat"
mom:"i dont care abt anything else.. but you MUST buy kumblangya for me!!!! im telling you.. it really works.. i lost 6 kgs..even ashok,usha,manoj..(and a long list of other nair khaandanis!!!)also lost "tonnes" of wt... you also drink with me"
me:"mom.. you like it.. you have it...me? leave me to my naan+butter chickens.."

anyways.. just got back armed with a bag full of "kumblangya"s...and mom has that smug look on the face .. that i usually get when i buy myself a big bar of Lindt...

statutory warning: neither me nor my mom claim that consuming the "K" juice will lead to YOU losing "tonnes" of wt.. try at your own risk.

WTF???

2009-05-11T15:19:00.003+05:30

Clubbing crew pickup is KF's way of saving "CRORES" of money and thus bailing the Co. out of the current financial mess its in.
(wow...whats next? stop providing toilet paper onboard and save MILLIONS!!!)

anyways, be that as it may be, my crib is about having to share a cab with someone at 4 in the morning.. who wants to listen to COUNTRY MUSIC on his "chindi" little mobile phone!!!and that too on its tinny+squeaky little loud speaker!!!

I mean WTF??!!!

life @ 18000 feet: part deux.

2009-05-10T00:50:00.005+05:30

was flying the shuttle sectors between blore and chennai tday..
and the weather around bangalore was quite bad with thunderstorms, rain and CB clouds all along the route.
and as expected, all 4 sectors were spent playing peek-a-boo with the clouds.. with 1 finger on the heading knob and the other playing with the weather radar to try and pick spots of least turbulent activity.

during the last sector(21:00 hrs), while flying from chennai to blore.. i noticed that the radome(nose) of the aircraft was emitting really cool static discharges into the atmosphere.( we were flying through clouds at all times, hence the rapid build up of static charge).
It was almost like a plasma ball.(i need to get myself one of these!!!!)

and as if that wasnt cool enough..the next thing i know, theres this bright flash right in front of the aircraft, coupled with a crackling sound and a sharp smell in the cockpit.
(later on landing, even the cabin crew mentioned the bright flash that travelled through the length of the cabin).
offcourse, its perfectly safe to be hit by lightning as the aircraft is made of aluminium, hence the lightning just passes through the aircraft outer skin and into the surrounding atmosphere without harming anyone/anything inside the aircraft.Also all electronic+fuel systems onboard are protected against such a scenario.
in fact the only real danger from being hit by lightning is the momentary flash of light that might temporarily blind us pilots.
But in my case, no such effect. What it did, was leave me feeling a little exhilarated for no apparent reason..
:))

after all,how many can claim to have been hit by lightning and enjoyed the experience too??!!

the "real" india..

2009-05-07T23:00:00.002+05:30

1. river rafting in India??? xtreme sports!!! wooohoooo!!!
yea sure.. every monsoons when the mithi river in mumbai floods.. certain entrepreneurs came up with this novel idea of commercially exploiting this situation and provide premium river rafting services with various rapids filled with dangerous obstacles like stranded BEST buses and trucks...not to mention the submerged cars and 2 wheelers flowing with the current.

2. child marriage!!!! yipppeeeeee!!!!
the girl child is obvio still considered a curse. so the moment one is born, the parents start hunting for a suitable groom. and most of the old, geriatric landlords (or zamindaars as we still call them) nobly step up to the occasion, and take upon themselves the burden of marrying these useless women. But god help those parents who cant get rid of their girl child before she turns five years old!!!! such women will remain unmarried for the rest of their lives. Last year Mumbai itself won the coveted best city award for least number of unmarried girl children above 5 yrs old.

3.the land of snake charmers!!!! (main tera dushman.. dushman tu mera.. main nagin tu sapera!!!!!!)
well.. every indian family must send their eldest born male child to the prestigious govt sponsored SNAKE CHARMING FOR DUMMIES 101 program.
its a rigorous course, usually takes between 4-8 yrs with over 10lakh applicants from all over india. but very few actually make it to the pantheons of snake charming gods.

4.poor infrasturcture....?? we're poor anyways!!!!
forget railway stations, even our international airports are crowded with every possible animal found in the indian sub continent. i find myself jostling for space sometimes with our holy mother..the cow.. or sometimes with our holy saviour.. the monkey...many are the times the flight to san francisco was delayed.. beacause the runway was closed as a cow was giving birth to a "bachda" right in the middle of the runway.

5.digital tv??? whats that???
american idol..?? i didnt know americans were also influenced by our religion and had started worshipping idols/gods.. i must remember to send my cousin in the US a moorthi of shankar bhagwan.. hes my favorite god.hes all powerful!!!
jai ho!!!!

i can go on n on.. but my sense of humour is already drier than the deserts of the kalahari..
i hope the above solves any doubt most NRI indians have.. about the current state of india..after all they still love to blive we're somewhere in the 1700s.

of tutti-fruity and pork-ribs...

2009-05-05T07:51:00.002+05:30

the what: sam's wedding.
the who: ashok,biji and me.
the crisis:what do we gift her.

ashok as always, just says" you guys come up with something. i will pay my share"
biji:"lets give her some shopping vouchers"
me:"wtf.. its her wedding..lets just give her 6 months supply of contraceptives"

the next thing we know, we're at AMAR medical centre at 12 am..(i landed in mumbai the prev nite at 11pm n sam's wedding was the nxt day at 8am)..
( its a funny coincidence how everytime we've done somethin naughty AMAR medical centre always features somewhere in the story)..
anyways.. me and ashok r in the car.. biji is at the chemist..and the followin conversation takes place:
me+A:"abey jaldi kar"
biji:(very bashfully)...uncle MALA-D hai?"
chemist:"kitna chahiye?"
biji:"poora box"
chemist:???????? )anyways keeps a big box on the counter.
biji:"ab condoms hai?"
me+A: (evil laugh)
biji:"uncle sab type ka condom dikhana.. "
chemist: (wtf!!!!???) keeps a box of multi-flavored durex.. and box of ribbed kamasutras and some other brand ive never heard.
biji:"rahul.. kaunsa leneka??"
me:"abey saare lele...sam can have the choice of either tutti-fruity or pork-ribs!!"
biji:"uncle saare dedo"
chemist:???????

anyways.. the nxt morn we packed it all in a cheap looking "mithai" box...and landed up at sam's wedding..

this was 2 weeks ago. yesterday i got an sms frm sam.
"hey guys thanks for your gift. we loved everything in the sweet box :) and aim at using everything given".

PS- we did also gift her vouchers, which were hidden under a false bottom in the sweet box. but im sure she wasnt referring to that in her sms.

the "dog in the manger" effect..

2009-05-03T15:42:00.002+05:30

There once was a master carpenter, who had just recently become the president of the local guild of craftsmen.
He was generally disliked by most townspeople, but in deference to his newly acquired position, people would generally smile and greet him in a nice fashion.

This particular town had a long standing tradition of every master taking on an apprentice every five years, to ensure skills and trade secrets were always passed on generation to generation.

Now when the time came for this particular master craftsman to take one, he initially refused to.
but bowing to peer pressure, he finally took on an apprentice.

BUT, the master craftsman refused to let the young man try anything with his own hands. He insisted on doing everything himself, while the young man just looked on.
Word of this soon got around, and the master craftsman soon became the talk of the town. People sneered at him and made fun of him behind his back.

Sensing the growing ridicule, the master craftsman finally came up with a diabolical plan.He still had no intention of letting his apprentice help in his work, but at the same time he couldn't afford to remain the butt of all jokes in his town. He declared that from now on, all master craftsman will refrain from allowing their apprentices to do anything during their apprenticeship.Citing various reasons like upkeep of the quality of the work and inherent risk in allowing an apprentice in undertaking any major work.

Time passed and five years went by. The town witnessed a whole new batch of apprentices graduating into fine young craftsmen themselves.
albeit, not one had any prior experience of handling any tool in person, but had years of experience, of watching someone else do it.

Moral of the story:Sometimes,one man's lack of confidence can lead to a town's lack of confidence.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This story ends here. But another story of an airline is still being written. Where that one will end remains to be seen...

another one bites the dust....

2009-04-21T19:49:00.001+05:30

23rd..all the best sam!
be nice to this one ok..
:))

from what im currently reading...

2009-03-22T20:11:00.002+05:30

"Under the palm of one hand the child became aware of the scab of an old cut on his kneecap. He bent forward to examine it closely. A scab was always a fascinating thing; it presented a special challenge he was never able to resist.
Yes, he thought, I will pick it off, even if it isnt ready, even if the middle of it sticks, even if it hurts like anything.
With a fingernail he began to explore cautiously around the edges of the scab. He got a nail underneath it, and when he raised it, but ever so slightly, it suddenly came off, the whole hard brown scab came off beautifully, leaving an interesting little circle of smooth red skin."

the above is an excerpt from "The Wish" by Roald Dahl ("Someone like you").

i strongly recommend his collected short stories..brilliant stuff in there!!!

swades..

2009-03-21T18:41:00.002+05:30

call me what you want.. but today i saw Swades on a local TV channel. (lost count of the number of times i've seen it)..
I dont know what it is about this movie.. but every time i see it...
the feeling is indescribable.
the beautiful locales.. the fantastic music..brilliant performances.. and most importantly a very well handled and presented script and idea..
(not the part about building the local dam offcourse.. but the basic idea behind it)..
i admit.. im a sucker for good movies..
and this movie is what i call a genuinely good movie..
someday.. i too hope to be able to "build a dam" for my country...

lets play fetch...

2009-03-21T18:06:00.002+05:30

last weekend..decided to finally get my bike up and in running condition..adin's been asking for a bike to ride for quite some time.
After spending 11 odd thousand on it.. finally managed to get the bike back to its old glory...(well close atleast).
and after a job well done.. its always time to celebrate.
venue: none other than our old fav.. toto's..
wow!!! thnx to the smoking ban.. the place is abs like the best place to rewind and chill after a tiring day.. all our fav music.. fav drink..and reasonably decent food.

its true..a good environment is conducive towards the birth of creative and original ideas..
Rajesh out of the blue comes up with the answer to the millions of young keralites all over the world.. some who have no time to get married due to the hard work they do.. some who are toiling in various parts of the world.. away from their families.. and some.. who are just plain desperate!
www.desimalabari.com
yes yes.. not exactly original.. but then.. it WILL work..
complete.. with vids of erotic mallu stories.. vids...pics...the works!!!
all with a mallu twist..and a touch of coconut and spices!
(statutory warning: all actors featured in the website will apply pure coconut oil ONLY.. and as such bear no resemblance to anyone living or dead)

sachin too has agreed to sell his first home made porn vid exclusively to our website only...(not like millions have queued up outside his house for first dips but then.. we ARE desperate!)

brain storming to further this particular business idea...time passed.. and soon it was 2am..after 5 shots of tequila..the original golden boys.. pammi,biji,ashok n me..decided to pay our building on carter rd a visit.

imagine carter rd at 2:30 in the morning...4 drunk idiots..and a small dog.
biji's shoe is the 1st to come off.. and surprisingly.. the dog was so freakin smart.. it immediately understood wat it was supposed to do..
after our 1st successful "fetch"...
it was time to test the dog further..
ashok generously contributed both his shoes..( who am i kidding..!!?? we forcibly removed it.)
with each shoe thrown in opposite directions...all of us sat.. watchin the dog.. wat would it do..??? what is goin on in tat little head of yours my little friend??!!!
a matter which demands great analytical and decision making skills.. its all about prioritizing..right??
(the suspense is killin me!!! go on..!!!)
well.. the dog just sat there.. trying to make up its mind.. and then ran off in 1 direction to get the left shoe.. while ashok ran in the other to get his right shoe..
(didnt i tell you?? the dog was brilliant.. it KNEW it could rely on ashok to get the other...BRILLIANT!!)

anyways.. by then the dog had realized that we were just a couple of drunk fools..and it smartly decided not to regale us with its higher IQ anymore..
and thus.. ended another eventful night..

sunday..picnic!

2009-01-11T23:16:00.004+05:30

Yesterday i was at Priya's place..and SUDDENLY..(hehe..sorry neelu!)..Rahul says we need to check out places around bangalore too..
and thats when we decided to check out Banerghatta Biological Park..
So tday morning.. armed with an assortment of sandwiches made by Priya and Rachu..
we (Rahul,Priya,Rachu,Radha and me)..set off at around 9am.. and reached the park by 10:15..
The park established in 1971 is approx 104 sq.kms..
Pros:
1. Short drive from the city..really no reason for any1 in the city to NOT have visited this place atleast once in his/her life..
2. Very reasonably priced tickets...with decent discounts for students and senior citizens..
3. a wide variety of animals/birds.. much more than i have seen in most other parks/zoos in India.
4. the enclosures in the zoo for most animals were very neatly kept..and i was impressed with the general level of neatness.
5. very rare chance to see lions and tigers really close..at 1 point i could just put my hand out of the window and "pet" the lion/tiger.
6.Very proactive about non usage of plastics within the zoo and also provision of paper bags to carry food items into the zoo.(for eg, they were providing paper bags to take chips inside while discarding plastic bags that the visitors were carrying in)

Cons:
1. The vehicle used for the actual safari is a pretty run down and shabbily maintained mini bus.. im sure the govt can invest in a better mode of transport. At least upgrade the seats in the minibus to well cushioned ones.
2.Though proactive about non usage of plastic, the food outlets within the zoo still sell items in plastic.Which sort of beats the whole exercise!
3.The enclosure for the lion/tiger safari seemed really small (understandably to ensure that patrons can easily spot the animal during the safari).Im sure a larger enclosure can be worked out considering the burgeoning population of these wonderful cats.
4.The govt. seems to have missed out on a wonderful opportunity to earn some more money, through active marketing, sale of zoo/safari themed pictures/postcards, books, photo sessions..or even in case of some animals.. a chance to meet/touch the animals..( on the lines of the singapore zoo)..
5. The actual safari can become more interactive and informative if the govt can hire professional guides to supervise each trip. As opposed to the current arrangement of a small boy who pretty much just mumbles whatever he picked up on the job.
all in all a must visit for everyone in bangalore!

four friends..a car..and a cd of "mamu tension nahi lene ka"...

2008-11-25T21:02:00.002+05:30

For those who missed out on our trip to the famous Ranthambore National Park...with the ferocious "tigers calling"...
WE DIDNT GO...
For those who dont care what we ended up doing...read on!
ashok,biji, and me...and a Go flight from bom-del...if any1 sittin around us on that flight is reading this...hey! if u wanted to sleep... you would have travelled first class with a recliner seat..not a bloody ST bus of the sky..so hell no.. we are not apologetic about the noise we created onboard.. also not sorry for unleashing my man-boobs on the unsuspecting public (courtesy ashok's penchant for unbuttoning my shirt)...

next we fast forward to the filmy emotional scene of the 3 of us running in slow motion to ullaas.. waiting for us with arms wide open....(and offcourse some1 in the background playing the background score from SAGAR..lalala lala..)..

the night was spent scratchin our balls and trying to decide what to do next.. (scratchin the balls dint really help.. except maybe remind us of our sardar friend who wasnt there)
anyways, rishikesh it was.. the next morning the 4 of us..with our overnighters..and my trusted towel..(what??read the guide to the galaxy!!!) set off in an innova with KD at the wheels..

n tats when the 2nd most important decision of the trip was taken.. we needed to buy vcds to keep ourselves occupied in the car..
and tats how we ended up with "mamu tension nahi leneka"...
theres only 1 word to sum up the movie...
"what in the name of all tats fcuking holy and sane were the retarded turds who made this movie thinking of accomplishing when they made this sorry ass of an excuse for a movie???!!!!"
there.. i said it.. and almost in ONE word.

anyways to our rescue, as always, came the elixir of gods...with us taking on the might of the internationally famous beer brewed right here in the backyard of the Kularia breweries in Nokha,rajasthan....and sold ONLY in certain shady highway joints.. under the name of "GODFATHER-STRONG "...it was actually quite smoother than most beers ive had in recent times!!!(and yes ppl..this WAS the best decision!)
and yes.. some1 also went crazy abt an imported vodka named "magic moments"...i hope he had enough of "those" moments...

we passed the holy city of haridwar... heavily "influenced"...
:)) hehehe...

after reaching rishikesh, we immediately changed into our "rafting" costume..in front of a very beautiful and scantily clad woman who had eyes ONLY for ullaas..(ahem..ullaas..sorry.. i had to put this here!!!)..
the ride from the base camp to the rafting point was very memorable.. with the famous "kumar sanu" cover band from mumbai..comprising of me,biji, ashok n ullaas...treating every1 around to a wonderful selection of his best songs..
im sure i saw atleast one person on the road shouting out praises (isnt tat what a middle finger means???) for our impromptu performance..."sarkailo khatiya jhada lage" bein the clear favorite.. with repeat performances being demanded by the flat footed duck billed platypusses in the audience...

well.. river rafting...body surfing...cliff jumping...and after a series of really fancy sounding rapids...(where ashok and biji's butts were whacked mercilessly with the paddles every time they displayed their fcukin ugly butt cracks!!!)..
we camped the night on the banks of the holy ganges..imagine 15 tents.. and only the 4 of us in the area.. with alcohol..food..music and a "bonfire"..
oui...tres romantique!!! ma cherie...c'est la vie!!!!

the next day we did the ultimate adventure activity ever!!! bungee jumping!!!!!!
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwsuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmm no????
hell no we didnt do it!!!.. we saw the place where it was being done and returned without even bothering to try it.

anyways, off to mussorie...and boy o boy.. what a lovely place.. the 4 of us checked into a lovely little family room...what a perfect couple we made...with ashok n biji sharing the master bedroom and the bed in it...(yea i kno.. wats new!!!) and me n ullaas sharing the spare bed outside..(ullaas...ure too bloody skinny compared to biji yaar.. i really dint enjoy it!).

we checked out gun hill...a dangerous looking cable car took us allllllll the way up to the top...took us a loooooooooooong time to get to the top.. almost 30 secs..
and at the top... w-o-w.. wat a view...
idhar dekho....to woh dikhega... udhar dekho.. to yeh dikhega...
lekin dikha kuch nahi. too foggy/hazy...
most interestingly...fancydress shops at the top.. which leased out RIDICULOUS costumes to ppl to pose in and take snaps...
the "maharaja" costume is a must try for any1 who plans to visit...PLS DO TRY IT!!!
as for us.. we took a "rock on" snap.. of the 4 of us caught in the middle of a jump.. mid-air...
(i still need to make copies of tat snap and send it out to every1...apologize for the delay...)

finally we sat in the evening and embarked on our most ambitous and creative project yet...(its classified at this stage.. hence stay tuned for updates on this)

the next morning we went hunting for the "gora saheb jo kitaaben likhte hai"...and after an hr of driving in circles reached mr'ruskin bond's residence.. he wasnt home.too bad he dint have the honour of meeting us.

after that we went for paragliding. (w-o-w!!! u cant be serious...!!!)..
well no.. i was joking.. we just did BASE JUMPING...(it was advertised at paragliding.. but it was actually base jumping)..
jumped off a cliff with a parachute.. offcourse it was a tandem event..
and we all had a blast..
especially the trek back up to the top of the cliff..where every twist and turn of the goat path up the hill was full of .. well...goats.. and spots where we raped biji.

finally.. we came back to delhi...and watched woodstock villa enroute...
why?? i guess we felt the need to do atleast 1 fcukall thing in this trip...
:))

hmmm...jokes apart.. this trip proved 1 thing.. somethings change.. some ppl change..
the 4 of us.. havent.
thanks!

22nd sept...

2008-09-24T16:34:00.002+05:30

a memorable day...
for good or bad..
legally bound..
disclose i cant.

An ode to IT2433...

bombay to bangalore..

2008-09-11T12:36:00.005+05:30

been wanting to get my car from mumbai to bangalore for a long time.. finally managed to.
left mumbai at 5am in the morning.. got hold of ashok's driver for company.
1000 odd kms..and a tank full of fuel..and my laptop+pendrive filled with my fav music..
yep.. i thought i was prepared.

:))

reached lonavala at 6:30 am..stopped for fuel+bfast.

by 10 am was a few kms short of Peth Naka on NH4 when we heard a weird sound from the rear right tyre. stopped to investigate. discovered all that 160kph driving had taken its toll on the tyre. the tread had cracked and the tube was barely being held in place by the tyre tread.
big deal!! we shall use the spare one...(or so we thought)...
surprise!!! my service guy hadnt checked my spare, and it had a lovely little puncture and was completely deflated.
so we stuck to the "terribly pregnant" looking rear tyre and drove slowly to the nearest puncture repair joint.

its true.. we mallus are indeed everywhere.. the shop turned out to be run by 2 young chaps from kannur/kottayam respectively. Sunil ran the tyre joint, while suresh ran the small resto next to it.both were very happy to meet and talk with some1 from back home..(hehehe.. yea..its funny...me parading around as a malayalee..i finally did confess that i was a mumbai product..)
the 2 boys were so glad to meet and talk to me, the puncture repair and 2 cups of fantastic 'naadan chai' was on the house!!

the next bit was uneventful till we passed Nipani..i remembered it being shruti's hometown.. tried smsing her to confirm the same..but no luck.

the roads were abs brilliant with the driver belting the lancer at speeds of 160kph constantly.. and me shitting bricks becuz i really didnt seem to share his confidence in my car.

by 2 pm we had covered 700 odd kms and decided to stop for lunch. found a nice little "kamat's" resto ( of the vithal kamat chain)..

the only irritant so far being the toll booth every 60 odd kms...i seriously felt NHAI should instead just come up with a single pass for the whole stretch.. but i guess its not exactly feasible as certain parts were being managed by state govts and certain parts were even managed by pvt cos!
(note that i am not cribbing abt paying the toll.. the roads were abs brilliant!!! and deserved every rupee i paid!)

a case of 'speakin too soon'.. with 300 kms to go.. the quality of the road took a drastic "u-turn" for the worst...
and we barely managed to even touch 50kph..3pm to 7pm was the time it took us to negotiate the last 300 kms till the city limits...

and once again, my trusted "steed" gave up on me.. and this time the headlights konked off.. my driver was visibly afraid of being pulled up by cops for driving with no lights.. but then again.. i was too tired and impatient to stop and search for a mechanic.. so i decided to push on..

from 7pm to 9:30 pm.. a distance of 20odd kms.. from the yashwantpur to indira nagar..(yes.. im still a newbie in blore.. and have no sense yet of the general road directions)..
finally after wat seemed like going around in circles and stopping at the same red lights every 30 mins..i reached home.

due credit to my "trusted steed" for never stopping or failing to deliver on performance.. minor glitches were all it threw at me.
(8yrs and neglect havent yet taken its toll)

tday morning decided to return the favour by giving it a personal wash...
and as i write this, i look out my balcony and find it sitting all neat and clean waiting for the nxt ride..
:))

PS- took a few snaps on my pathetic phone during the trip..faithfully reproduced below.

Nair Khandaan Kudambayogam 2008

2008-08-21T16:13:00.014+05:30

these pictures will say more than i ever can..

the resort..

the pool...

chairman/president(of K'08!!)..

the train ride..

the liftman..

2008-08-05T18:50:00.002+05:30

I was in Chennai for almost 3 weeks.. doing my LOFT flying in June.
Everytime I got into the lift to go to the Dispatch before and after a flight..
I coulnt help but notice this old guy who used to always stand at attention inside the lift.His job?"lift operator" as boldly printed across his airport pass.
in other words, just to press the button marked "2" and the button marked "G" as the situation demanded.For most of the people who used that lift, he was just someone who was doing his job. the end.
Somehow, I got into the habit (not on purpose,offcourse!!!) of wishing him and thanking him everytime i used the lift.

after a couple of days, i noticed the man was visibly very pleasant and smiled everytime i thanked him.And when i say this, im not talking abt the fake "yea, sod off, u overpaid jackass" smile...
no.. this was different, it was genuine....warm...and the pleasantness was almost contagious..

Now when i think about it, if such a small gesture made him feel appreciated and helped make his drab day a tad better...
i am indeed bound to try and be a bit nicer to ppl around me, whose services i tend to take for granted.

thanks to that liftman!

another one bites the dust...

2008-07-28T00:21:00.002+05:30

im so happy tday..
2 of my closest frenz finally did it..
will be weird referrin to her as mrs.barave..
but wat the heck.. she will remain our adorable "bacha"..
barave..saale..the 2 of u better come down to india asap!!!
we must celeb!!!

PHA-SHUN TV Presents...

2008-07-24T20:55:00.007+05:30

The 'Fall-before-winter-and land up in hospital' collection..

The "im so sick...but i can still earn a respectable 50rs" look..

The "Im working on my 8 pack with some help" look...

The "im in demand...take a number n await ur turn please" look..

The "aise toh naah dekho.. ki humko nasha ho jaye" look..

The "tum ne naak mein dum kar rakha hai" look...

Note:interested buyers pls get in touch with the sole agent of the designer at 09819195281.

get well soon pyaare!

2008-07-09T09:34:00.002+05:30

too much work and partying.. may kill others..
but in ashok's case.. just severe exhaustion and high body temperatures...( ending up with a guest appearance in a hospital)

jald thik ho jaa pyaare..im expecting to get tat leave in a couple of days!
:))

The end of the beginning

2008-07-03T12:44:00.003+05:30

14 Feb,2006: a journey began. not so much out of choice, but more of necessity.

2 July,2008: 1st major milestone accomplished. feels great. and more importantly do not regret making this choice anymore.

(sorry for the cryptic nature of this post. its more to serve as a "note to self" thingie, hence its presence here.)

Ek Nipple ki Maut.

2008-07-03T12:25:00.002+05:30

( pardon the crude language..but its essential to this post)

With deep sorrow we wish to inform you
of the sad demise of biji's beloved 3rd nipple..
many were the "fond" times spent with it,
and many are the mammaries*% cherished by both me and ashok.
* (not to be confused for a word otherwise often normally used in such a phrase)
% (the plural form of the word is only used for dramatic effect, and in no way reflects the intentions or desires of the people involved)
not a moment passes without me and ashok reminiscing about you..( sigh.... )
we are unsure whether the "void" left in your place will ever be able to substitute for you.. but we shall TRY.

- fondly remembered by ONLY ashok and rahul.

NOTE:
1. no. Biji neither has nor ever had a 3rd nipple.
2. yes. he did have a wierd lump (cyst) on his back, which was fondly called his 3rd nipple.
3.yes. he did have "it" surgically removed a couple of days back.
4. yes. he does now have a small void/hole in its place.
:))

Life @ 20,000 feet.

2008-06-14T18:40:00.002+05:30

returning from a flight to trivandrum..sitting in the crew coach..
cabin crew sitting in front arguing.
1 turns around and asks..
"captain, there are some aircraft with a 3rd engine in the tail nah?"
me: yes.
she:"why does fire come out of it? does it make the aircraft go faster?"
me < speechless at first..then >: that my dear is wats called an afterburner..n tats used only in fighter jets.NOT in commercial aircraft.

during a flight to chennai..when i get into the aircraft..
a cabin attendant comes up..
she:captain, what can i get u once we take off?
me:nothing. just the regular bottle of water will be fine.
she:yes captain, i know why.you want to lose wt right? the best way to do tat is do exercise like this..
< after which she proceeded to bend over n touch her toes >
me:< speechless again.. > pls m'am..we can discuss this sometime later..right now i have work in the cockpit.
later during transit at chennai..she walks in..
she:captain..can i tell u a PJ?
me:pls do..
she:3 sardars..1 says"i fell down frm a building when i was small"...2nd asks"aila..did u survive or die frm tat fall???".. 3rd replies.."how silly!!! how will he rem now.. he was small then nah!"
me: < speechless yet again..yes...im a slow learner!!> thanks..now how abt tat sandwich i wanted??

after 4 sectors to mangalore and chennai..
i come out of the cockpit to find my flight bag missing from the overhead cabin.
i ask the ground staff abt it. they say the cabin crew keeps track of tat.
i ask the attendant abt it.
she:captain..mebbe the staff at chennai took it. thinkin it belongs to no1. or mayb a passenger took it.
me: < not this time!!!!> really? well then.. i guess i must lodge a written complaint against u gals for not making sure it remained where i last left it.
she: captain pls!!! dont be angry.. it was just a joke.. its under the seats in row3.

to sum up..yes.. the "flying models" as mallya likes to call them.. do provide a welcome respite from the daily sodomy im subjected to in the cockpit by the commanders.
:))

happy bday Jeetu!

2008-05-08T09:48:00.003+05:30

8:30pm- ashok calls."brother, we need to get certain things for jeetu's bday.. "
9:00pm- after multiple embarrassing attempts i manage to get my hands on some very interesting articles.
11:00pm- me n rashpal manage to gift wrap most of the articles in a moving car, on the way to red box.
12:00am- we reach red box. jeetu has left.the gang is already in "high spirits". some more interesting gifts are wrapped, courtesy rajesh.

12:35am- < ting tong at flat 13> "Jeetu saab hai?"

the rest.. has been captured on video!!
:))
the highlights: a thong(with a little feathery tuft in the front..how cute!!!), hair removal cream and razor, a psychedelic "69" undie, true-blue local "santra" and last but not the least a unique "mobile phone" accessory!!!

ps-in case im not seen in public after this saturday, any1 reading this pls report a 'missing person' case at the nearest police station, with Jeetu as the suspect!

a kuttikattu wedding indeed!

2008-04-29T11:07:00.001+05:30

6 siblings, their families and extended families.
1 wedding.
2 receptions.
1 new relationship forged.
2 nights of torture for the newly weds.(sorry for the alarms)
1 inheritance registered.(finally!)
6 bottles of beer and 3 cousins.(im not counting the whiskey!)
2 nights of singing and merry making.
1 movie that was not so bad.
1 that shud never have reached a movie theatre!
3 ammais who got themselves a "necklace" deal.
and MOST IMPORTANTLY.. rediscovered a family i always had, but had momentarily forgotten.

stop and stare

2008-04-29T10:49:00.000+05:30

Standing by the window, looking at the rains
the thunder as always making its presence felt
i strain to catch that elusive smell of the parched earth
thirstily lapping up every last drop of precious water

all that green, symbolic of eternity and vitality
the graceful dance of a vain peacock
myriad sounds of splashing and gurgling
a sereneness that stifles boundless energy

the sunlight streaming through forbidden gaps in the clouds
playing with the rain, a palette of lovely colors
a drenched bird, solitary, nestled amidst those branches
ruffling its feathers, swaying to dodge the drops falling on its head.

i remain seated, motionless at my window
vibrant life painted against a backdrop of complete silence
devoid of any confusion, hurt or suffering
now i know why i stopped, even if just, to stare.

Priceless!!!

2008-04-05T11:00:00.000+05:30

I recently got my hands on the first ever draft of the "CRITICZ CHRONICLES"!!!!!
a copy of which i have faithfully put up here.
for the ignorant ones out there, this was the single most important and powerful piece of literature to be churned out of the hallowed drawing halls of Sardar Patel College of Engineering.

May the creators of this series remain forever, felicitated and revered!

logical conclusion...

2008-03-15T11:34:00.001+05:30

(sorry in advance. this post will not make any sense to most.)

after threatening to defile biji's face with various foul matter, if he didnt drive properly..

ashok: left ki right??
me: u can control that too???!!!! wow...all those yrs of "practice" has finally paid off!!! ab samja..

:))
sorry ashok...hehe. this HAD to be put down somewhere!!!!

(the below was added a day later.. thnx to biji for reminding me to add it!)
me,biji,ashok.. at alfredos...indulging in our regular tp...
suddenly ashok looks at his fone.. n smiles...
ashok:paaji ka msg aya...dekh..
we look at his fone.."luv u"
NO.. none of us were puzzled .. nor were we surprised.. the only doubt in our mind was..
'was he in a dance bar.. or some local tharra joint???'

ps- biji too got tat msg after 2 mins.. im still waiting for my copy... im guessing paaji passed out before reaching "r" on his contact list..
:))

MTV rulez!!

2008-02-16T22:45:00.000+05:30

weeks of being subjected to MTV.DE(thats deutschland=germany for the ignoramus out there..)
and i have finally figured out why MTV is so popular in the US..
IT HAS TO BE THE CHARACTORS IN THEIR VARIOUS SHOWS!!!!

1. FLAV
a thin wierd looking kallu... who fuckin wears a WALL CLOCK around his neck!!! yea sure..now tats different.. and sure to get some female attn...
the icing on the cake.. the dude has to flip the clock over onto his back everytime he kisses 1 of the buxom babes on his show..hehehehehe..

2. Miss New York
does that gal/man/it have anything original i.e god given left on her body??? hair extensions...breast implants...false eyelashes...god knos wat else!!!
oh yes.. shes a motor mouth and makes for some interesting prime time bakwaas..complete with random ass/breast flashing...and dick size callouts on every contestant in her show..

3.mr.pickup artist
wudnt the name suggest some hot, smooth talking dude as the host???
WRONG...some wierd ass cowboy dude who looks like a cross between an extra from a clint eastwood movie.. and a deadbody from some zombie movie..as for his pickup tips/talents..some1 better call him back to planet earth....credit women with more intelligence pls!
interestingly.. an indian dude on the show has been doing pretty well for himself...wtf...we're getting good at "picking up" dates too??? w-o-w!!!!

4. dudesons
europe's answer to the american jackass...
im forced to assume the show must have really hardworking scouts to get hold of not 1..but a whole family of dorks.. (4 guys)..who can subject themselves to insane amounts of embarressment..pain...and pointlessness...
ive seen a couple of episodes.. give me american jackass anyday...atleast knoxville LOOKS funny.. even if his antics have long ceased to be.

5. the zen meister!!!
Now THIS is a kickass show.. wish the MTV guys at india make an indian version of this show..
very simple format.. group of friends.. subjected to various dares...goal: keep silence no matter what.
for every dare completed: reward of a 100 pounds.
so whats cool abt this show? the dares obvio!!! and also the kinky japanese host....some really cool...and funny stuff...esp the last mandatory dare...the serpent dance or something...(involves the zen master yanking strings tied to the contestant's winkies..while they are playing some game)..see it to blive it.

6.the "next" participants
the same dialogues.. the same shit...just diff faces..diff boob sizes..diff biceps/chest measurements..
for american audiences to keep watching episode after episode of this..
its like watching "love story" again n again.. hoping tat some day.. the girl will actually be cured and not die in the end.

7.Xzibit
or watever hes called..."pimp my ride" is the show.. hmm.. mixed reviews for this one.. the folks in this show r almost always "rehearsed" and "prepped up"...is it even real???
but yes.. the cars and the associated mods...redeem the show..
hey ..pimp my mitsubishi anytime man!!!

many more things i can write abt.. but tv beckons..time for some more 'mindless entertainment'..!!!

a frozen second

2008-02-06T03:05:00.001+05:30

i stand and watch time pass me by
i stand and watch the world say goodbye
people walk in that door, look my way
they dont see me, i remain invisible

what if time were to stop ticking
what if everyone else were to remain standing
while i drove off into the sunset
just that one second stretched into an eternity.

the indian spare!!!!

2008-01-23T03:28:00.000+05:30

the great indian rope trick... sure.. every1s heard of that!!!!
but the great indian spare..????
(well not tat great actually.. but what the heck.. i invented it..so it MUST be great!)

last friday.. 3 of us from KF...and 5 of the french EPL students from SEFA,St.Yan..decided to go to a sports bar with a bowling alley..
my reason to go: was celebrating the successful completion of my basic+IR stage check course at SEFA.. with a proud AVERAGE stamped across my file..yippeeee!!!!

reached the bar.. and it was a nice little place.. with some decent crowd already inside...surprisingly every1 was busy with the pool table and some game on the tv...the bowling section was deserted.. in fact.. if i rem right.. the lights on tat side were switched off!

anyways.. the 9 of us walked in.. and started the game...
after the 1st round of attempts..( during which urs truly scored a strike.. with a garishly PINK bowling ball.. yes...pink!!!)..
we noticed tat the bartender wasnt keeping an eye on us.. and hence Sebastian comes up with the brilliant idea of the 1st attempt being normal.. and the 2nd being graded only for style..

there were all kinds of things attmpted..a superman throw...a ballet throw...a blind throw..a futbol spotkick...a cross lane throw(tat was me!!!)...and finally... the indian spare!!!

wat is the indian spare???
the person whose turn it is.. holds a ball.. and 3 indians take 1 ball each.. and stand behind the player..and one by one...all 4 people roll the bowling ball...thus ensuring a spare atleast!!!!
(if any1 tells u tat there were many times when even after 4 balls.. we missed all 10 bowling pins...they ARE telling u the truth!)

anyways.. the game was totally paisa wasool...n urs truly ended up having a lot of local beer in a strange long test-tube kind of dispenser...

st.yan wasnt tat boring after all!!!!

Nostalgia: P.C.Thomas....

2007-12-03T17:37:00.000+05:30

(the following events happened during the summer breaks in 1999 and 2000. a group of us from ISM at P.C.Thomas' entrance coaching classes..)

Bhujack is born!
5 of us...from ISM..stuck at P.C's...only way of keeping in touch with our folks back home..create our respective email ids...after a 5 min brainstorming session..unanimously select "bhujack" as the common postfix...reason:cant disclose!

The night of the dead.
abt 4-5 of us.. sleeping in a huge hall...raining cats n dogs outside...windows swaying in the wind.. lightening flashing like the paparrazi at OSO's premiere.. perfect scenario for us to get together n talk abt everything bizzare and dead...was fun freakin every1 out with cooked up stories!! i rem binin's stroy abt an aunt who saw a ghost n lost her bearings ever since..

The Filmy connection.
a bakery situated a few mins from P.C's...the cashier bore a striking resemblance to the beautiful malayalam actress Samyukta Verma. I had another of my adolescent crushes...many were the evenings+mornings+afternoons spent... going there to eat something..anything.. just for tat 1 glimpse..jobi..not to be outdone...tore off a poster of Jyotika's latest release..brought it home...and slept every nite holding it next to him.. even forced the rest of us to go watch that movie.. during which he threatned to remove his shirt during the movie..( im not sure.. but i think he DID remove his shirt!!)both summers were spent with each teasin the other abt this and other stupid crushes..

Thrissur Express:
the 1st time we were there..i think we saw abt 11 movies in 30 days...the next time we were there.. we saw 15 movies in 20 days... yes..we were sent there to study. but are we to blame if there are more than 6 theatres around the temple circle.. and a few more within 5-10 kms of the temple circle???the memorable ones: "life is beautiful", "John Carpenter's Vampires", "priyam"AND how can i forget.."SWEDISH GIRLS".. my first "matinee" experience...i think the theatre's name was ganga...we guys landed up all excited and wary abt the seats we were allotted.(any wet/slimy/dirty spots were treated with max suspicion!!!)

My uncle's treasure!
some statements made by george:
" my folks own the biggest milk dairy in kerala. in fact we supply milk to the govt dairy scheme"
"my granpa is so rich, hes got acres n acres of land...multiple tennis courts.. lifesize chess board with pieces made of ivory/sandalwood " (im not sure which!!)
n last but not the least...
"there's this series of tile that was made by a very famous artist long ago.. tday only THREE samples exist.. one in a british museum.. one in the queen's royal palace.. and the third.. in my uncle's toilet".

The clairvoyant.
Sinjo, our resident clairvoyant. Any question regarding anything, pose it to him and leave him alone in a room.. he does his meditation thingie.. and gives us his answer...unfortunately, his track record was 50% right, at best, but still...the optimists tat we were.. he was treated like god..:))

Cricket as it was meant to be!
imagine rains.. fields drowned in muddy water.. peaceful bovines..grazing around you and doing their bit towards fertilizing the ground...and a bat, a ball and a rag-tag team of cricket enthusiasts!the best cricket ive ever played in my life...also the day when dilip proved he is dumb beyond belief! a small but deep canal ran behind the field. as expected, the ball fell in.. only binin knew how to swim well.. he jumped in.. got the ball.. but current was too strong for him.. started drowning.. jobi who knew a bit.. jumped in to save him..but wasnt able to get him to the bank.. n the next thing we see is a heroic but DAFT dilip jumping in to save them both.. needless to say.. our horror turned in hours of laughter after all 3 were rescued...PS- in case the folks whose windows we broke a couple of times during our games, are readin this.. pls do get in touch with me.. will make ammends.

The last meal.
our last few days in thrissur, and we were fed up of the insipid food we were given in our hostel. we decided to ask the neighbours who did outdoor catering to cook a chicken curry for us.(offcourse we paid them for it)..at dinner time, we were all verrrry hungry.. and the saliva was flowing like a river swollen after fresh rains...the curry came in.. n i think it was dileep who took a huge dollop of the curry and stuffed it in his mouth..the next moment he spat it out n was screamin like some1 had cut his tongue off...turns out, the lady while cooking had added mirchi once.. and while she wasnt looking.. her daughter who, thinkin her mom had not yet added mirchi, put in more.end result: a fiery hot chicken curry that wud have burned the skin off the mouth of even the most hardened spice eater!

C grade comfort.
power cuts during the hot sultry summers were frequent.. one night.. after a particularly hot dinner.. our level of discomfort was worsened by a power cut at 9:30pm...some1 suggested going n watchin a movie.. n relaxing in the comfort of an airconditioned theatre. every1, including our warden agreed. all the boys from the hostel immediately set off, and to our dismay found every theatre to be houseful. Only 1 seedy little place was available, with a c grade movie to show.. left with no option.. we bought tiks.. and walked in.. all that running around had left most of us tired and within minutes i found myself sleeping..dont know when, but after a while something disturbed me.. and i woke up to find all of us sleeping peacefully.. with only our warden keenly following the sexcapades of the lead pair onscreen..wat was happenin on screen really wasnt tat interesting!! proof: i went back to sleep..

Parting gift.
The day before we were all to leave the hostel, we found that they were going to tear down the old dilapidated building. with nothing to loose, we decided to exercise our creativity...i drew my preferred sign..."the finger" all over the hostel.. on almost every wall...with anything i could get my hands on..ashish/sinjo/dilip n others wrote all kinds of nonsense...and jobi..(this is priceless!!).. writes the lyrics of 'desert rose" on his bedroom wall with toothpaste!!!

PS- this is just a few of the unforgettable stuff we did...i expect more contributions from the others who were present then...

Mission Siddhi!!!

2007-11-18T15:37:00.000+05:30

Nov 18.
5:15am: my alarm rings.. i put it on snooze n go back to sleep..
5:20am..rings again.. i put it on snooze n go back to sleep..
5:25am..rings again.. i switch it off n go back to sleep..
5:50am..ashok calls..to supposedly wake me up.. n says meet up in 10 mins.
6:05am..i see ashok n khusboo walking.. "wheres Biji??".."Biji!! chu@#$@%#@$^%#@^...!!!!"
i call Biji. No response.I call his residence, n find hes already left.i ride along n find him walking alone, looking lost. we rode back n caught up with ashok n khusboo..n started our walk.
6:45am...loads of bakwaas n nonsense ke baad...we're still at andheri stn.ashok:"lets pick up speed"..me:"but for that some1 must 1st place a copy of the movie on the road nah"

7:45am... the elusive hotel rajasthan in khar...which as per ashok was always after the "next signal"..is visible.. our pre-decided halt for refreshments.(had 1 of the best bun maska in recent times!!!)
8:30am...joined by jeetu a.k.a machine gun bawa..at bandra lake...i gave biji the benefit of walkin on higher ground.. atleast once chote shud have the pleasure of lookin down on me nah!
9:00am..a strange rotund man passes us in a maruti swift.. n yells "yennada rascal.. minnnd ittt!!!"..i suspect Biji had somethin to do with it.. i saw Swift guy looking rather lecherously at our item.
9:15am...ganesh darshan ho gaya!

of kakdis, mathiras n bajra ke rotis..

2007-11-15T17:16:00.000+05:30

25th Oct: Ashok,khusboo, biji and urs truly..flagged off their journey ( my first ever to rajasthan!)..
we landed at the airport.. n tats where i noticed the huge sword packed along with our luggage..ashok's idea of a gift for his uncle.nice... this trip was already promising to be interesting!
after convincing the Jet ground staff that it was a blunt one and purely for ornamental purpose, we moved onto the next important thing to take care of, shades for ashok n biji. after abt 20 mins of trying every pair on display, 2 were selected.(thank god!!!)
the flight was uneventful... except for the guy sitting next to me insisting that i had to shift a row behind so that his 40 yr old friend who was travelling a couple of rows behind, could sit with him. reason: the guy sitting behind was from muscat, n was travelling after a long time to rajasthan!
(w-o-w!! unassailable reason!!!!)...offcourse i obliged.
Also the cabin crew member who was in charge of my section, failed to give me a toy airplane, which is meant for minors onboard. Ashok did try to get it for me by calling for her again n again.. but i suspect his reason for doing the same was totally different :))
Landed at Jodhpur, n reached Khusboo's place for a cracking lunch...laced with mouthfuls of sweets hand fed by her mama n cuz.
in a short while, we left for Jaisalmer and reached the city by 7:30pm.. and immed pushed off for a night desert safari camp near a place called " Sum Sand Dunes" or something like tat.
we arrived bang in the middle of a cultural gathering organised for the benefit of tourists like us, with a small troupe of singers n dancers entertaining the lot with authentic rajasthani fare.
at this point, i will only mention that biji's heart was stolen by a particularly talented lady who, it seemed. was dancing only for biji!
ashok, not one to be left behind, was also involved in a romance of sorts with one of the male singers.. who for no obvious reason kept dedicating song after song to " kaale shirt pehne wale babuji"..
it was decided that the night would be spent in the tents provided instead of the hotel back in jaisalmer. But we soon realised that it was too stuffy and quiet inside the tent for us city slickers!
and just when biji and i had just fallen off to sleep..( yes, me n biji were in 1 tent!!!! but there too ashok kept his driver to keep an eye on us!!!).. the chu* walked in and woke us up.. asking us to sleep outside the tent as it was too hot inside..
ultimately, the 5 of us ended up sleepin outside.. under the star lit sky...with a full moon for company.. and absolute pin drop silence...

26th: priorities were shoved up biji's arse, with every1 going camel riding on the sand dunes instead of answering nature's call n other morning activities...but it was not all bad.. as i ended up putting a handful of sand into biji's undies and biji trying to rape ashok's driver..( shekhar's torn shirt n the claw marks on his shoulder r proof!!!)
after that, we washed, changed and set off for the border.. Biji had one big wish, to walk upto the indo-pak border n fart into their faces! ( i suggested carrying along a big signboard stating his innocent intention, else risk getting his arse bazooka'd by our friendly neighbours)..upon reaching the last civilian village of Tannot, we realised we coudnt go any further without official permission. Unfortunately, it was too late to arrange for that, hence we had to return without seeing the border. Im sure Biji must have taken advantage of the strong easterly wind and fulfilled his wish anyways!
after tannot, we left for Nokha ( which is close to bikaner)...upon reaching ashok's place.. we finally got a nice place to rest, and also further exploit our new liking for sleeping out in the open, under the clear sky with only the stars for company.

27th:bikaner fort during the day... met ashok's cuz, who imparted the essential skill of breaking and eating a watermelon(mathira) with ur bare hands to biji n me...fixed up a date with his cuz, to spend a nite in his fields. that nite, i must have cursed ashok's next 7 generations.. for making us walk thru a 'kaanta' infested field with our pathetic bathroom slippers! but all was forgiven for the awwwwwssssuuuummmmm foood we had that night.. the best ive eaten in a long time! cant describe it.. must be eaten to be believed!

28th: met with all of ashok's relatives and his ancestral house...parted with the "sword"...and cricket and swimming pool time...bad news:pool was deeper than 6ft n i cant swim.. good news:we managed to get 2 tire tubes to be used as floats.. good news:lot of people joined in and we had a blast.. bad news:ashok's driver almost sodomized me to avenge his own attempted rape by biji...good news:ashok had bought along a change of clothes, n we hadnt. so to even things, me n biji hung his jockies on a tree near the gate to his farm...bad news: ashok doesnt mind walkin around without them anyways!(ok.. tats scary!!!)

29th:finally time to bid adieu. rode back to jodhpur, visited mehrangarh fort..ate another whopping lunch.. and cuaght a train back to mumbai... train ride was filled with our version of every song we cud think off.. which finally ended with the TC asking us to stop at 11:30pm...

i have, for obvious reasons, not mentioned many activities also indulged in during this trip. reason: censored due to rising popularity of this blog..( really??!! who am i kidding!!!)
hehehe.. was a good trip..the highlight was easily the great food i had everywhere...now hope to return the favour by organising a trip to kerela some time in the near future!

days revisited...

2007-10-18T10:42:00.000+05:30

statutory warning: mushy post ahead.. read at ur own risk!

post long overdue...apologies!

Sept 9... memorable date..yes.. it was biji's bday...
but.. tat wasnt reason enough...

the usual cuplrits...ashok,abijith,sunny and me...with dipti and khushboo for company...celebrated biji's bday in lonavala...stayed over for the nite.. rented a bungalow..
note: sam was invited...gave an incredibly dumb excuse n backed out at the last minute. shruti had gone underground..no1 knew where she was.
:))

of late.. the feeling of having finally grown up...and being forced to become an adult..had begun to sink in..
every time the gang met up.. all we had to talk abt.. was abt all the "kaands" done during our college days...every single moment together was spent gettin drunk n nostalgic abt the "wonder yrs"... felt like being stuck in a rut...a broken old record player.. playing the same song again n again...reminded me of those cliched movie charactors.. the war veterans...sitting alone.. n waxing eloquent abt "those were the days...etc etc"...

but all that was to change at lonavala...we still had it in us...proved it beyond doubt... more to ourselves.. than to anybody else...
we were still certifiably crazy...and still capable of indulgin in mostly harmless.. but nevertheless nonsensical activities...and still terribly fond of each other... n im not restricting this to the 4 present tat nite...the 9 of us from college..ashok,biji,suny,ullaas,shruti,sam,lekha,jwala,dipti n me...
the proverbial 'golden gang'....we were special...we were gr8 together!

more than anything.. its given us something NEW to talk abt.. for the next couple of months atleast...

the post is abt to end.. n yet..im sure it has not escaped unnoticed that no details of WHAT exactly happened has been revealed....
it shud suffice at this point to say that.. it involved 4 guys...lots of booze...a couple of cheap female lingerie (tat didnt fit properly)...a brand new car...some condoms...and a lapdance by the most eligible bachelor in our group!

Rn.

Delhi Diaries V

2007-06-01T10:28:00.000+05:30

Yes, back to my version of the 'lonely planet' series... where i cover my trips to places in and around delhi.
Last sunday, got the chance of a lifetime to tag along with my cuz to agra.

1. The Taj Mahal still is beautiful. More needs to be done to take care of it and preserve it for future generations.

2. The awe and wonder of looking at that structure, remains as long as as you view it from a distance. The minute you step onto its stone platform foundations... you need to remove your footwear.. and roast the soles of your feet on the HOT stone. The unruly and indisciplined crowds that throng to see the world greatest ode to love, take away from the pleasure of walkin in and around the main structure. Not to mention the claustrophobic inner sanctum where supposedly the coffin is placed. But then again.. its a glorifed mortuary... wat did i expect??!

3. Some1 must collect the vast multidudes of photgraphers that plague the place and give them a course on "creative photography"... they all seem to suffer from wat i call..."hold-taj-tip-nosis"..an example of which i have faithfully reproduced below..
(source:google)

4. The red fort (agra)...( i never knew 1 existed!!!)... is another interestin piece of architecture!
its supposed to be a fusion of different generations of the moghul dynasty... and also where shah jehan was imprisoned for 8 yrs... with a wonderful view of the Taj across the yamuna.
do look up the "chain of justice"...."the shahi bath-tub"... etc etc.

5. Most ppl miss out the next one... but i must admit.. it was the highlight of the whole trip!
Fatehpur Sikhri... now thats what i call breathtaking. beautifully planned... well maintained...( probably becuz it was a ghost town for a long time!)..
legend has it that Salim ( or jehangir as he was later christened after claimin the throne) was concieved and born here to Jodha bai.. the 3rd of Akbar's wives...( did u kno tat he had 3..? a portuguese christian and a turkish muslim in addition to jodha bai).

All in all a very nice trip...(thnx to anand jeej for sponsoring the whole thing! )...

my history is very poor.. and most of the above is sourced from the half baked crap that the self appointed guides at each place served me... so i apologise for inaccurate info..
but nevertheless, such trips always leave me feeling nostalgic.. and wishing i cud somehow travel back in time.. and witness these events and sites.. at the peak of their glory.. as they were designed and concieved to be.

The Lost Child*

2007-05-25T18:36:00.000+05:30

The first day of spring, festivities and fairs
the whole village was decked in bright hues of yellow
inspired by the yellow fields basking in the yellow sun
a visit to the fair promised to easger little ones.

one such little bundle of energy stood wide eyed
tempted to run through the fields chasing dragon flies
tempted to throw stones into the canal;watch ripples disturb the calm
his heart bursting with joy; Baba was taking him to the fair.

Balloons; a delightful splash of colors on each
swaying in the breeze; each craving freedom from its restraining twine
"Baba, i want that red balloon"
Refused; too old to be still playing with a balloon.

the sweet smeel of delicious mithai wafted across
tempted by the mouthwatering gulab jamuns, jalebis and barfis
"Baba, i want a jalebi".
Refused again; dejected; asked to behave.

The playful hypnotic sounds of the snake charmer's flute
the little one mesmerised; entranced by the mysterious,
"Baba, i want to see a snake show".
Refused yet again; an evil influence this lot.

The shriek of happy children riding a merry go round,
"Baba, i want a ride on that".
Silence; "Baba,...." ; Silence again.
Alarmed eyes; frantically searched all around for his Baba.

Those big beautiful eyes, now flooded with tears,
first a stiffled sob; now a full throated bawl,
scared, the boy ran as fast as his little feet could.
Fighting the despair and terror slowly taking over.

Tears streaked down the dusty face, voice hoarse with despair,
the dejected child sat down; eyes closed ; resigned to his fate.
a kindred soul passing by took pity; picked up the boy,
between stiffled sobs, the boy managed " I want my Baba!".

Perplexed the man continued, "Little one, would you like a ride on that merry go round?"
Indignant, the child screamed " I want my Baba!".
Concerned, the man said " Look! would you like to see that snake show?"
Adamant, the child still screamed" I want my Baba! ".

Patient, the man pressed on "Surely you wont say no to a nice, juicy jalebi, would you?"
The child shook his head, screamed "I want my Baba!".
Finally, " Hush little one, would you like a colorful balloon?"
The child sniffed; after a while said softly " I only want my Baba....".

*- Inspired by a short story of the same title by M.R.Anand.

300:are u ready for glory?

2007-03-30T11:38:00.000+05:30

The movie... yes.. brilliantly stylish.. and eye catching blockbuster fare...
the movie made me sit down n read more abt it.. the facts.. and a lot of it made for an interesting read!

Some of the intersting tidbits are reproduced here...
It was customary in Sparta that before the males would go off to war, their wives or another female of some significance would present them with their shield and say: "he tan, he epi tas" (Ή τάν ή Επί τᾶς), which translates to "With this, or upon this."

If male babies born in Sparta were too small, weak or sick (all of which were believed as early signs that they would not be suitable for military life), they were abandoned on the slopes of Mt. Taygetos to die.

The legend of Thermopylae as told by Herodotus has it that Sparta consulted the Oracle at Delphi before setting out to meet the Persian army. The Oracle is said to have made the following prophecy in hexameter verse:[17]
O ye men who dwell in the streets of broad Lacedaemon!Either your glorious town shall be sacked by the children of Perseus,Or, in exchange, must all through the whole Laconian countryMourn for the loss of a king, descendant of great Heracles.He cannot be withstood by the courage of bulls nor of lions,Strive as they may; he is mighty as Jove; there is naught that shall stay him,Till he have got for his prey your king, or your glorious city.
On the first day of the siege Xerxes demanded the Greeks surrender their arms. Leonidas replied Μολών Λαβέ ("Come and get them"). This phrase has been re-used by generals and politicians throughout history and often repeated in popular culture. Today it is the emblem of the Greek 1st Army Corps.

Leonidas took charge of his personal fighting unit, the 300 Spartans, and headed to Thermopylae.[18] Herodotus writes that Leonidas was idolized by his men. He was convinced that he was going to certain death and his forces were not adequate for a victory, and so selected only men who had fathered sons who were old enough to take over the family responsibilities. Plutarch mentions in his Sayings of Spartan Women that, after encouraging him, Leonidas' wife Gorgo asked what she should do on his departure. He replied, "Marry a good man, and have good children."[

Herodotus writes that when Dienekes, a Spartan soldier, was informed that Persian arrows would be so numerous as "to blot out the sun", he remarked with characteristically laconic prose, "So much the better, we shall fight in the shade." (Taken by the Greek 20th Armored Division as their motto

The term Immortals comes from Herodotus who called them either Ten Thousand or Athanatoi (lit. immortals). Persians themselves probably did not use the term. And contrary to as depicted in the movie, they were not ninja styled warriors with deformed faces, but rather royal bodyguards of the king.

"Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie." — (Greek: Ώ ξειν', ἀγγέλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ότι τήδε κείμεθα, τοις κοίνων ρήμασι πειθόμενοι) epitaph at Thermopylae (Simonides's epigram)

As opposed to what was depicted in the movie..the initial army assembled at the battle of Thermopyle consisted of over 6000 Greeks..
of which all but 1100 were sent back on the third day..
300 spartans.. and 700 thespians...
Offcourse.. the figures are not accurate.. but nevertheless.. it was one of the most glorified "last stands" the world had ever seen...
and though it horribly changed the queen and the persians to better suit the taste of the movie audience...
it did Leonidas.. and his 300 soldiers...justice.

holiday!!!

2007-02-21T06:37:00.000+05:30

The last of the days im spendin in california...with my sis..
been takin a lot of rest.. eatin a lot of good food..( no reason for me to think otherwise.. n yet.. was surprised tat priya cooks quite well!)..did a lot of fun stuff...
welcome break from the routine flying.right from my flight tiks.. to every meal i had in cali....all thanks to sis and jeej for silently footing all my expenses for everything!

flew in last wednesday..

thursday: went to san francisco..golden gate bridge..worlds crookedest street...alcatraz...the lion-ebrities at pier 39...china town...( bought myself a very intersting chinese shirt..hehe).. and also was introduced to the french 'crepes'...

friday: caught up on indiana jones.. watched all 3 movies back to back!

saturday: skiing at bear valley...n needless to say..after 4 hrs of 'trying' to ski.. ( im losing track of the no of times i ended up on the snow with legs twisted and skis up in the air..sorry folks.. no photgraphic evidence of the same!) . poor priya cudnt join us as shes preparing for a marathon.. so she dint want to risk hurting herself.. while jeej was in full form... managed to even breeze thru a few advanced ski trails!
he managed to convince me to try 1 of them..Priya somehow dint seem too surprised to see me come walkin down the trail.. with the skis in my hand..

sunday was damage control time.. with both ski champs getting a reality check on how being in shape is a must for indulging in outdoor activities...jeej seemed to be doin far better.. urs truly was complaining of aching shoulders/back/arms...( funny.. isnt skiing done on legs.. i guess i used the afore mentioned parts more.. thanks to carryin the skis on my shoulder most of the time!)
sunday was also bollywood time.. caught the evenin show.."Eklavya"...like priya says.. AB is the only superstar in india.. who still gets movies written just FOR him.
ohh.. n the movie was good too..go watch it!!!

monday: 17 mile drive...a very scenic 17 mile drive along the coast of california...beau locales...national parks..super rich mansions...tres chic golf courses...all part of the drive...
the best part of the drive was the last bit.. ending in a quaint little town called carmel.. very touristy.. but lovely little town.. had a nice lunch..and then got back to civilization..visited Google's famed HQ... was a bit dissappointed....the 'awe n wonder' expected ..( for reasons still unknown to me).. failed to materialize...hehe.. wat did i expect neways??!! after all i just drove past the numerous buildings tat bore the familiar multicolored logo at 7:30 pm in the nite!!

tuesday: once again.. catch up day.. just lounged about.. went for a walk..watched a lot of tv.. and now.. writing this post..dinner later tnite with archana n sreeram.

tom: back to my world.. of cessna's and piper's... hate to admit it.. but miss flying!!!!

2006's last...n 2007's first...

2007-01-16T09:01:00.000+05:30

over a month since i last posted.. due apologies! < wonder who i am apologisin to.. no1 really reads this neways!!)..hehehe..

lets c..lots been happenin since i soloed..
have started my cross countries..and finished all the requirements for the PPL..
night flying was fun..
the first cross country was to okeechobee..with Evie..was a quick one..
after tat.. as luck wud have it.. she too left me stranded.. n left for a vacation.. n i had to get back with Pete.. did a sortie with him to Lakeland..Now tat was an interestin trip..
when we had finished our lunch at the airport resto.. n were doin the pre flight for our aircraft.. this big piper comanche parked behind us on the ramp.. starts its props.. and jumps towards our aircraft.. n then the pilot of the piper realised he was in shit.. so instead of pullin the throttle out.. he slams the right brake and pulls off a tight and dangerous turn to his right..his left wing narrowly missin my aircraft's tail by abt a feet..i was near the nose section.. so relatively safe..Pete was next to the tail.. n he almost jumped 3 ft back to avoid the wing!
the SOB in the piper dint even stop to apologise.. just taxied off.. n flew away .. guess he knew he wud have a handful if he wud have stuck around..!

After tat trip.. pete signed me off on solo cross countries.. decided to take the notorious 771WA to okeechobee... n as expected.. 10 mins into my flight.. i have a trans failure on my hands.. since i was not goin to bust any airspace enroute.. i said to myself.."yaa khudaa..maa ch**aa".. n proceeded..
once i got to okeechobee.. i was in trouble.. cuz i cudnt announce my position.. and cudnt enter the traffic pattern at the airport.. to enter and put my aircraft on ground.. so i just circled the airport at 2000ft.. waitin for the right chance.. after a while heard ekam makin a left downwind entry.. n decided to follow in behind her.. did a touch n go.. n hauled my ass back to merritt island..

after tat...decided to do a more daring one.. and did 2 longish cross countries to lakeland-pahokee and back.. and gainesville-palatka n back..
both were uneventful..
a week back did the longest one yet.. to Venice n back..abt 5.7 hrs flying time.. n this time.. boy.. the flight time took its toll.. dozed off quite a few times at the yoke.. n when the aircraft used to roll to one side.. wake up n curse myself [:)]
finally figured out a solution.. kept my feet on the seat.. and placed the yoke in between my knees.. tat ensured i was atleast flying straight n level at all times!

in the midst of all tat.. been doin a lot of other stuff too..
witnessed the space shuttle launch on dec 12th..thanx to Dawn Elliot.. (she works with Nasa)..
she managed to get all of us inside the complex.. and we got to c the launch from right next to the vehicle assembly building.. and abt 3 miles from the launch pad.. he closest any human cud watch it from!!!
was an awsumm experience!!!
after tat.. we were invited to Dawn Elliot's wedding too.. at the Sheraton in Orlando.. never been to an american black wedding.. so tat was fun.. Akshay spent 350 bucks in buying proper attire.. but was mighty cross the next day when he discoverd tat apni Dawn n Faye were the only white women at the wedding!!!
for new yrs..we were invited over to apni Dawn's place for dinner.. n tat was fun.. atleast better than sittin at home n doin nuthin!!
watched the ball drop on tv.. n then were out burning some fire works of our own..

n now.. awaiting my PPL checkride.. which shud be on 24th.. have started my instrument training too meanwhile.. hopefully i shud be able to finish off my instrument rating too b4 i leave for cali on feb 14th..

phew.. tat brings this blog upto date!!
au revoir!

solo!

2006-12-07T06:43:00.000+05:30

hey folks.. i finally soloed!!!!
actually been confident of goin solo for the last week or so..
but the weathers not been too kind.. and under existing weather conditions.. both my instructor n i was hesitant to let the solo happen..
but tday...( its a sunday tday.. n its 6:25pm in the evenin right now)..
i came at 3 pm to the school and found our chief flight instructor Scott and decided to fly with him.. as luck wud have it.. the winds were finally favorable tday..
so i requested him to fly with me.. n if i did ok.. then to sign me off on a solo!!!
we did abt 3 touch n gos together.. n he said.. lets just stop for a while.. the skies are gettin too crowded.. too many ppl in the pattern..
i slowed down.. taxied off the runway.. and was waiting for a gap to open up in the traffic pattern to take off.. when suddenly he says.. 'when u take off alone..be careful to use less throttle while climbing as the aircraft will be a whole lot lighter without me!'.. n with tat he just jumped off the aircraft and said best of luck!!!
hehe.. i did feel a bit nervous.. but since ive been preparing for this for quite a loooooong time now.. the whole proces of flying a pattern had become a mechanical process for me.. and the rest as they say.."is history"..
:))
did 3 touch n go's... and one final full stop landing..
to cut a long story short.. i finally soloed!
and now.. the pace of my flight training will hopefully pick up...will keep u all posted on how it goes!!!

PS- there is a ceremonial t-shirt cutting tat happens after every student solos.. n my t shirt cutting yet to happen.. once tat happens.. i will post snaps of both my solo n the t-shirt tail!