There are ghosts. Everywhere. Your own personal ones. Ghosts of your actions. They will haunt you for the rest of your life-no matter how you change, for the better or for the worse. these ghosts are the albatrosses around your neck.
I am throwing it out in the open that I have not been the most sensible of persons. I have made mistakes and I have learnt to be better the hard way. I believe I am doing a good job. Please believe and do not ruin it.
Conversational Realities
The following is an exerpt from an actual conversation:
ABQL (American born quizzical lady): oh you are from India?
ABDD (American born Desi Doctor): No, my parents are. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
ABQl: I thought so. You do not seem to have an accent.
ABDD: No I do. Can't you make out the midwestern twang?
Yes. Exactly. I love them twangs and the fact that every Indian does need to have an accent to affirm their identity. Beware all of you who do not have an accent, make sure to acquire one before being subjected to such flashes of realization. I mean beg, borrow or steal if not fake it.
ABQL (American born quizzical lady): oh you are from India?
ABDD (American born Desi Doctor): No, my parents are. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
ABQl: I thought so. You do not seem to have an accent.
ABDD: No I do. Can't you make out the midwestern twang?
Yes. Exactly. I love them twangs and the fact that every Indian does need to have an accent to affirm their identity. Beware all of you who do not have an accent, make sure to acquire one before being subjected to such flashes of realization. I mean beg, borrow or steal if not fake it.
The Belgian Connection..
What connects this kid
to this guy 
this guy
and him 
Think a little young Belgian reporter and his faithful fox terrier whose exploits have taken him to wee little corners of the world. He's met Al Capone in Chicago, wrestled gorilla's off the coast of Scotland, gets acquainted with a perpetually inebriated Captain in the sands of the Sahara, encounters the Yeti while looking for lost friends in Tibet and even manage to land on the moon.
Thomas Sangster (that kid from Love Actually) plays Tintin in a forthcoming motion capture version of the Adventures of Tintin in a series of films to be directed by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. Spielberg directs the first, which is based on The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure, while Peter Jackson directs the second installment. It is speculated that the two will co-direct the third. In Spielberg's own words in favor of 3D motion capture,
"We want Tintin's adventures to have the reality of a live action film and yet Peter and I felt that shooting them in a traditional live action format would simply not honour the distinctive look of the characters and world that Hergé created.
"The idea is that the films will look neither like cartoons nor like computer-generated animation. We're making them look photo-realistic, the fibres of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people - but real Hergé people."
Andy Serkis would say Aye to that, for he is no stranger to that art of film making. His antics coupled with computer animation created one of the most memorable fiend of middle earth and celluloid history- a certain creature which went GOLLUM GOLLUM. He's plays Captain Haddock in the Tintin series.
Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles!!!!
Here's a little bit of Tintin trivia:
"The Castafiore Emerald" is the only book which contains a wee bit of profanity, wherein a character uses the word "DAMN"
In June 2006, Tintin became the first fictional character to be offered the Dalai Lama's "Truth of Light" award because " For many people around the world Tintin in Tibet was their first introduction to Tibet, the beauty of its landscape and its culture. And that is something that has passed down the generations".
Put your Hands Together..
Back in Manipal, while trying to salvage a degree, I happened to attend a lot of inter collegiate culturals. The participation was divided into two groups, one the geeky category which took part in the quizzes, pot pourri's, dumb charades and the like, while the alternate groups satisfied the senses by being part of the dance and the music performances. I am not divulging where I tread, but the highlight of these cultural fetes and a part I enjoyed the most were the rock shows/ battle of the bands as it was popularly known.
I am not a metalhead but I do believe I have a sound ear for music of different genres. A small bunch of us ( not many were fans and the rest had to get up for class the following day) made sure we stayed till the very end of these culturals when these rock shows were scheduled. Everything about the show amazed me, right from the sound checks to the final performances, taking it to a new level. Talent was in abundance and there were many a times when I have imagined myself on stage trying to be the next best thing in guitar history. Manipal had a number of bands who were exceptionally good and things kept getting better when bands from all over the state competed. As part of our own college culturals, we had Euphoria visit Manipal in 2002 and Shaan in 2003. I remember Euphoria's performance distinctly as they performed on my birthday. As part of the festivities early morning, my friends doused me with water and left me in my shorts and Tee's in a corner of the city, right when the band were performing their sound checks. Here I am, at 2 in the morning, wet and wasted, listening to Palash Sen and his guys perform their take on Collective Soul's Shine. I was never this charged for their concert that evening. Needless to say, Euphoria did not disappoint. Right from AR Rahman's vande mataram to Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water interspersed with their own hits, It was worth the 100 Rs paid for the tickets.
Watching ROCK ON this weekend took me on this trip down memory lane. The movie itself is a fine watch and has much more to say than just about a band's rise, fall and resurrection, and I would love to talk about it soon. This little trip that I ventured into had a lot of my college buddies, trying to squeeze through every possible gap while inching towards the podium, moving to the riffs and the drum beats and showing off our half baked knowledge of music. In short, we were having the time of our lives..even though it might have lasted a little over 15 minutes and three songs.
On a different note, I have missed doing a lot of things that I love and I will be making up for most of them soon. I just got started.
I am not a metalhead but I do believe I have a sound ear for music of different genres. A small bunch of us ( not many were fans and the rest had to get up for class the following day) made sure we stayed till the very end of these culturals when these rock shows were scheduled. Everything about the show amazed me, right from the sound checks to the final performances, taking it to a new level. Talent was in abundance and there were many a times when I have imagined myself on stage trying to be the next best thing in guitar history. Manipal had a number of bands who were exceptionally good and things kept getting better when bands from all over the state competed. As part of our own college culturals, we had Euphoria visit Manipal in 2002 and Shaan in 2003. I remember Euphoria's performance distinctly as they performed on my birthday. As part of the festivities early morning, my friends doused me with water and left me in my shorts and Tee's in a corner of the city, right when the band were performing their sound checks. Here I am, at 2 in the morning, wet and wasted, listening to Palash Sen and his guys perform their take on Collective Soul's Shine. I was never this charged for their concert that evening. Needless to say, Euphoria did not disappoint. Right from AR Rahman's vande mataram to Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water interspersed with their own hits, It was worth the 100 Rs paid for the tickets.
Watching ROCK ON this weekend took me on this trip down memory lane. The movie itself is a fine watch and has much more to say than just about a band's rise, fall and resurrection, and I would love to talk about it soon. This little trip that I ventured into had a lot of my college buddies, trying to squeeze through every possible gap while inching towards the podium, moving to the riffs and the drum beats and showing off our half baked knowledge of music. In short, we were having the time of our lives..even though it might have lasted a little over 15 minutes and three songs.
On a different note, I have missed doing a lot of things that I love and I will be making up for most of them soon. I just got started.
Driven!!
What drives you?
I have woken up a lot of mornings with this persistence in my head,spent hours trying to find the easy way out, but of no avail. For a period of time, there were only questions, no answers. When I get up tomorrow, the familiar feeling will be back, but I hope to salvage some pride.
The ball is in your court. Tell me what drives you.
I have woken up a lot of mornings with this persistence in my head,spent hours trying to find the easy way out, but of no avail. For a period of time, there were only questions, no answers. When I get up tomorrow, the familiar feeling will be back, but I hope to salvage some pride.
The ball is in your court. Tell me what drives you.
It happened one morning
The morning bus ride was a drag courtesy gloomy weather, incessant stops and the plethora of people. Within a moment all of that changed when a young woman wheeled her baby into the bus. Everyone craned their necks to have a glimpse of the little girl and let go of the thought excesses and mundane routines for a wee bit. The fact that there are certain things in this world which make people think alike brings in a little cheer in this otherwise dreary morning.
Drop on the floor and gimme 20
A recent New York Times post describes the push up as a single indicator of muscle strength and fitness, stemming from the reason that while performing push-ups, one uses their own body weight as resistance. The push up works a large set of muscle groups in the entire body and an ability to do them with increased vigor and repetitions is an indicator that the body can withstand the intensity of aging.
So what are you waiting for?
So what are you waiting for?
Man in the Mirror
A whole year and a rollercoaster ride later, What does the man in the mirror have to say?
He
believes in reduced procrastination.
realised that theres no shortcuts to or compromises for good health-both the physical and mental kind.
says that your actions overshadow your words and identify you, and has been working hard to live upto it.
keeps looking out for the good stuff-theres a whole world out there.
and
needs to think before acting, reacting or talking.
has to work hard towards making and maintaining relations.
Make up for the headaches, irritation and hurt he's responsible for.
Strike a more definitive balance between priorities, more priorites and all the other nonsense.
He smiles. Its doable I suppose. He smiles again. A little bit of work.
I smile.
He
believes in reduced procrastination.
realised that theres no shortcuts to or compromises for good health-both the physical and mental kind.
says that your actions overshadow your words and identify you, and has been working hard to live upto it.
keeps looking out for the good stuff-theres a whole world out there.
and
needs to think before acting, reacting or talking.
has to work hard towards making and maintaining relations.
Make up for the headaches, irritation and hurt he's responsible for.
Strike a more definitive balance between priorities, more priorites and all the other nonsense.
He smiles. Its doable I suppose. He smiles again. A little bit of work.
I smile.
10
This is all over the internet. If any one is capable of something like this..Its only him.
The much awaited trailer of KamalHaasan's Dasavatharam. I couldnt resist putting this one up. Its only increasing my expectations a gazillion times.
The much awaited trailer of KamalHaasan's Dasavatharam. I couldnt resist putting this one up. Its only increasing my expectations a gazillion times.
We Dont Choose Ideas, Ideas Choose Us...
"We can’t grab a thought. A thought grabs us. You have to be receptive, ready to receive thoughts. What is a state of readiness? For me, I think it’s being immersed in a film. When I’m actually writing, it comes very quickly. Before that, it’s a terrible process. For example, there are two kinds of mangoes. The kind you pluck and then you wait till it ripens. And the kind that is ripe and falls on you — a tapke (just landed). They are the sweetest kind because nature is ready to offer it to you, while the others are premature. Songs are like that. Some just fall out of your imagination"
Prasoon Joshi is one of the best lyricists we have now. A management graduate, his stints at Oglivy-Mathers and then Mckann-Ericcson, where he is currently Executive Chairman produced some of the most memorable campaigns in ad history including the Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola with Aamir Khan, Pulse Polio, HIV awareness, Female infanticide and Child abuse and in the recent past for the United Nations. His foray into lyric writing has given us memorable works in Rang De Basanti and more recently Taare Zameen Par.
Exerpts from an interview with Tehelka.com here
Exerpts from an interview with Tehelka.com here
Lukka Chuppi
Another gem of a song from AR Rahman, composed for Rang De Basanti and sung by Lata Mangeshkar and himself, sharing the microphone for the first time.
As Rakeysh Mehra puts it, the album must be listened to instead of experiencing it on the screen as each song has a story to tell, a moment that each one of us can relate to.
A Week In Oblivion
Brookhaven is the place in the middle of nowhere, nestled somewhere in the middle of Long Island, in between extensive interstates connecting the entire stretch of this eastern part of the United States with New York City and New Jersey. Queens and Brooklyn form part of Long Island which extends about 190 miles and true to its name, is much longer than its wider. This place is extemely popular for its vineyards, beaches and of course the Hamptons.
Getting to Long Island from Boston is dicey as driving would mean getting to New York and then entering Long Island, which is like a detour through hell to a lot of people. The alternate route we employ is to use the Cross So
und Ferry which connects New London, Connecticut to Orient Point, NY which is the furthermost on the northeast tip of Long Island. That little waterbody between these two ports is the Long Island Sound. The ride's an hour and a half long, and on a nice warm and sunny day, being on the ship's deck gives you extended views of the big colonial houses that the Hamptons are famous for.
Brookhaven National Labs. This is where a bunch of us drive down from the urban locales of Boston to the extended greenlands of Upton, NY. BNL as it is known, is part of the US department of Energy and predominantly works in the areas of nuclear physics. Its home to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), employed by scientists to study the origin of matter and the structure of protons. NASA has its own labs at the BNL facilities called the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) and thats where we do most of our work. This lab simulates conditions in outer space where astronauts are exposed to ionizing radiation. Radiation in general consists of particles like Alpha, Beta along with heavy ions such as Fe, C etc. Any radiation, which penetrates body tissue causing loss or gain of electrons is called ionizing radiation. People on the earth are protected from such radiation, thanks to our environment and the magnetic fields. DNA damage by these radiations lead to mutations manifesting themselves in the form of various genetic defects. Beams of heavy ions are obtained from a booster reactor at the desired energy levels and dosages. Biological specimans like animal models, cells and DNA are irradiated with these particles and their effects analyzed.
Taking into account the high health risk involved in working with radiation of this magnitude, the security levels undertaken are of the intense order. Sample this, the beam is located atleast 200 feet from the lab premises. In order to get to the location of the beam, one must be identified by an iris scanner and then be cleared for entry by visual confirmation from a team of engineers sitting half way around the campus. That is Step 1. Step 2 involves taking a key from the switch board, once when the signs light up indicating that the beam area is secure and safe for human invasion. Once you enter the beam area, the area is shielded by a lead labyrinth, to prevent the linear progression of leakage in case if something happens. Once the samples are housed, you need to make your way out, repeat your iris scan and return the key to the EXACT SAME location for the doors to close. If this isnt done in the sequential order, the beam will not be delivered. Once the coast is cleared, the signal is given for the beam to build up and then the appropriate dosage is delivered to the samples.
Its been a nice long week doing stuff like these in Brookhaven and we get back to Boston tomorrow. I come back again in April, June and July for 10 days each to continue our work. However monotonous, laborious and tedious the entire process is, its an opportunity that not all get to be a part of-A bright speck on my professional curve.
Hooray for Oblivion!!
P.S: Long Island is extremely famous for family owned business especially breakfast houses and cake shops. I am really looking forward to visiting the East end Breakfast house tomorrow morning on our way back. They make the best egg sandwiches in this part of the world.
Getting to Long Island from Boston is dicey as driving would mean getting to New York and then entering Long Island, which is like a detour through hell to a lot of people. The alternate route we employ is to use the Cross So
und Ferry which connects New London, Connecticut to Orient Point, NY which is the furthermost on the northeast tip of Long Island. That little waterbody between these two ports is the Long Island Sound. The ride's an hour and a half long, and on a nice warm and sunny day, being on the ship's deck gives you extended views of the big colonial houses that the Hamptons are famous for.Brookhaven National Labs. This is where a bunch of us drive down from the urban locales of Boston to the extended greenlands of Upton, NY. BNL as it is known, is part of the US department of Energy and predominantly works in the areas of nuclear physics. Its home to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), employed by scientists to study the origin of matter and the structure of protons. NASA has its own labs at the BNL facilities called the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) and thats where we do most of our work. This lab simulates conditions in outer space where astronauts are exposed to ionizing radiation. Radiation in general consists of particles like Alpha, Beta along with heavy ions such as Fe, C etc. Any radiation, which penetrates body tissue causing loss or gain of electrons is called ionizing radiation. People on the earth are protected from such radiation, thanks to our environment and the magnetic fields. DNA damage by these radiations lead to mutations manifesting themselves in the form of various genetic defects. Beams of heavy ions are obtained from a booster reactor at the desired energy levels and dosages. Biological specimans like animal models, cells and DNA are irradiated with these particles and their effects analyzed.
Taking into account the high health risk involved in working with radiation of this magnitude, the security levels undertaken are of the intense order. Sample this, the beam is located atleast 200 feet from the lab premises. In order to get to the location of the beam, one must be identified by an iris scanner and then be cleared for entry by visual confirmation from a team of engineers sitting half way around the campus. That is Step 1. Step 2 involves taking a key from the switch board, once when the signs light up indicating that the beam area is secure and safe for human invasion. Once you enter the beam area, the area is shielded by a lead labyrinth, to prevent the linear progression of leakage in case if something happens. Once the samples are housed, you need to make your way out, repeat your iris scan and return the key to the EXACT SAME location for the doors to close. If this isnt done in the sequential order, the beam will not be delivered. Once the coast is cleared, the signal is given for the beam to build up and then the appropriate dosage is delivered to the samples.
Its been a nice long week doing stuff like these in Brookhaven and we get back to Boston tomorrow. I come back again in April, June and July for 10 days each to continue our work. However monotonous, laborious and tedious the entire process is, its an opportunity that not all get to be a part of-A bright speck on my professional curve.
Hooray for Oblivion!!
P.S: Long Island is extremely famous for family owned business especially breakfast houses and cake shops. I am really looking forward to visiting the East end Breakfast house tomorrow morning on our way back. They make the best egg sandwiches in this part of the world.
Warmsies..
Its getting warmer when..
When people start buying icecream instead of coffee in the evenings
The long coats give way to trendy pullovers.
Theres a lot of feet treading the streets.
Welcome back Springtime. Long time no see.
When people start buying icecream instead of coffee in the evenings
The long coats give way to trendy pullovers.
Theres a lot of feet treading the streets.
Welcome back Springtime. Long time no see.
As I See
As I scroll down the last umpteen scribes, I sadly feel that there isn't one thats a Pat-on-the-back Worthy to me. A long time ago, I started putting finger to keyboard to create this blogosphere with a certain inclination in mind, and of late I have been feeling that I may have strayed away. I do not know whether this is contributive to my lack of motivation, imagination and effort. I do not even know whether if its a lame excuse that I have come up with, to be lazy, the sheer paucity of good prose being indicative.
Unfortunately, I love this space and a little pang of self-doubt wouldn't halter our combined growth. I am going to get a bit of fumigation done and weed out some avoidable publications and place them in lesser frequented haunts. I hope this would motivate me to write further and enjoy doing it. I am sure it will be a lot of fun on either side of the script. The end is nowhere in sight.
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Khwaja Mere Khwaja
Says AR Rahman in a recent interview with rediff.com that this number, incidentally one of the most haunting numbers that he's composed in a while was not intended to be used in Jodhaa Akbar.
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/15sd1.htm
Touching base with the soundtrack, once again classic Rehman. After a lackluster Mangal Pandey, he bounces back to reiterate his mastery in the period movie genre.
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/15sd1.htm
Touching base with the soundtrack, once again classic Rehman. After a lackluster Mangal Pandey, he bounces back to reiterate his mastery in the period movie genre.
Autorickshaw Confessions
Autos are indispensible to the denizens of Chennai. Inspite of the million insults, complaints and rants against these three wheel contraptions, we cannot do without them. I harbor no qualms in admitting that I am a big fan of the autorickshaw and that they are the real kings of Chennai.
Two sundays back, I chose to ride the autorickshaw home from the airport. I had just returned from Delhi and was not in the best of spirits or shape thanks to a horrible flight. All that I wanted was to head home and wallow in a cold shower. I got negotiating fares with an autorickshaw driver, unnaturally persistent who told me he was charging less because I looked like a student. Deciding to ride with him and expecting interesting perspectives, I engaged him in casual conversation. He was from Dindivanam, a small village about 100 kms from Chennai. He studied upto the 12th, spending most of his time playing cricket with his friends, until he realized that they are people looking upto him for support in all form. He got in touch with an uncle in Chennai and,landed here 6 months back and absolutely loves what he does. The police in Chennai were a hassle initially, stopping him at every nook and corner but now he's a master of their game now. The stand concept he says, is paramount importance. If you are part of a specific autostand, you've got to be loyal to that place.
Two sundays back, I chose to ride the autorickshaw home from the airport. I had just returned from Delhi and was not in the best of spirits or shape thanks to a horrible flight. All that I wanted was to head home and wallow in a cold shower. I got negotiating fares with an autorickshaw driver, unnaturally persistent who told me he was charging less because I looked like a student. Deciding to ride with him and expecting interesting perspectives, I engaged him in casual conversation. He was from Dindivanam, a small village about 100 kms from Chennai. He studied upto the 12th, spending most of his time playing cricket with his friends, until he realized that they are people looking upto him for support in all form. He got in touch with an uncle in Chennai and,landed here 6 months back and absolutely loves what he does. The police in Chennai were a hassle initially, stopping him at every nook and corner but now he's a master of their game now. The stand concept he says, is paramount importance. If you are part of a specific autostand, you've got to be loyal to that place.
He misses his town and his friends. He misses playing cricket at home, though hes had a chance to play a couple of times here. He's a fan of Ilaya Thalapathi Vijay and has bunked school to watch his movies. But sadly, he hasn't seen a movie in last one year. He tells me that the worst is to have to put up with people who have no clue how difficult it is to make a living in an alien place. The people who keep telling his parents that his son is in the city so he wouldnt have any problems as he is making a lot of money there. As he dropped me off, I paid him more than what I bargained for. He thanked me before I could and told me that its not often that he talked so much.
hmmm...
2000-eight
Can't believe a month's passed through 2008. I am at home for the moment, and enjoying every moment of it. There's quite a bunch of stories, travels, fleeting encounters, weddings and festivities thats been happening over the last week, which incidentally seems like an entire month. Since I am growing older and have pretty much nothing to do for now, these are fresh in my mind. As part of my revival, I plan to reiterate most of them here.
The following week's exciting as well. There's a trip to Srirangam and Tanjore on the cards that I am looking forward to.
oh and Happy 2008!!! Looking forward this year also...:)
The following week's exciting as well. There's a trip to Srirangam and Tanjore on the cards that I am looking forward to.
oh and Happy 2008!!! Looking forward this year also...:)
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