I'm moving...

I've decided to move to a new address. A little bug in my head is largely responsible for this change. I would be quite grateful if you updated your side-bars, feed readers, etc. In case you are among those who regularly come here seeking Mahima choudhary's cleavage or Katrina Kaif's bust size ( as my statcounter tells me), then you can go to hell. Thank you. All in all, I'm hoping that the new blog will be a much more productive experience for me though chances are that it wont.

When did you last climb up a mango tree??

I climbed up one this afternoon after a period of maybe almost ten to twelve years and it brought back a flood of childhood memories, mainly centering around summer vacations and mango trees. So, as is my wont, instead of studying for the impending exams that hang over my head like the proverbial sword of Damocles, I spent the remaining bit of the afternoon reminiscing those leisurely summer afternoons many eons ago, that I spent perched atop the mango tree in my garden with my friends , relishing kairies and the like, with the only worry being my mother coming out of the house to spoil my little party. All that reminiscing surely brought a rather wide smile on my face, as I felt both amazed and amused. Amazed by the fact that those memories were so vivid and amused I was by the innocent mischief and foolishness of my childhood. ( Kindly do not comment on the foolishness of my teenage.) Of the numerous incidents and anecdotes that came to my mind, one stands out in particular, and that, I’ll share with you here. Exactly when, I remember not, but we seemed to have, as part of our curriculum, the stories of Shivaji Maharaj and his mavalas or Maharana Pratap and his brave men. So one sultry summer afternoon a few of us decided to engage in a little role-playing game ( as kids are prone to do) and we imagined ourselves to be the young and fierce soldiers of Shivaji, obsessed with the idea of Swaraj. The mango tree in my yard served as our hideout and we spent many hours conspiring against the rule of the Adilshah. So engrossed were we, that the sun set and went to sleep but our little game continued. Continued, till I , clung onto a branch that wasn’t really there and had a rather (un)pleasant fall. My haap-pant apparently got entangled with a little stump protruding from the trunk, the result of a branch having been recently axed out. Intelligent reader, I think you can now guess what happened thereafter. The velocity of my fall was tremendous and my haap-pant had become more like a haap-skirt, and there were a few bruises on my leg, besides of course a sprained ankle and some sore joints etc. But I, dear reader, was a brave soldier of the Maratha kingdom that day. I didn’t shed a tear. Heck, I didn’t so much as let a sigh. I wanted to prove to my friends that I was the strongest of the lot. I just looked up to the heavens and smiled. I had just escaped losing my manhood ( which I was just beginning to discover) by a cat’s whisker. THAT evening, the realization hit me. There IS a GOD. And he loves me. That alas, was also my last arboreal adventure. Mango-eating has been a much more civilized affair ever since. The tree soon succumbed to whatever it is that trees succumb to. But a new tree has now grown in its place and plucking the first fruit off it turned out to be a fun affair. So much for the little pleasures of bachpan. Like the oldies love to say, Those were the days... (The above incident(of reminiscing, not crashing) actually occurred a couple of weeks back, before my exams. But since my made-in-1986 brain has a very modest 16 MB of RAM, there’s only so much cerebration that it can handle without crashing. So I chose to deal with Mr. Damocles first and am writing this post now, when the seas are calmer and the demands on the RAM are rather few.) What, you've never climbed up a tree? Too bad...

The Pune Times turns 9 today and its time for a celebration. No, celebrations because my exams too got over today. I really really wanted to write them a birthday tribute, since I've been hooked onto the paper ever since I did the hosh sambhaalna. But then, as you might guess, I'm in no frame of mind to write anything that will do justice to that great fountain of wisdom. But it also turns out that Ramanand has returned to blogging and also written this little "tribute" to the Pune Times. Of course, it's in bad taste and he fails to appreciate the value of the tabloid...oops...great fountain of wisdom. But I promise you , dear reader, that very soon I'll come up with my own tribute to the Pune Times. Belated, no doubt, but certainly more fitting. Also a belated take on all things that exams had put on the backburner for a while. So watch this space...

Who says orkut is crap??

OK...so I always thought orkut was a stupid service. Utterly useless. But today I came across the following discussion on a community that has changed my opinion forever. Just the kind of stuff that can brighten up your evening when you've been sulking after a particularly bad paper. I reproduce here, the highlights of the discussion, without permission, of course. All typos are maintained. Topic: Jal vs Indian Ocean A-People its hurts when i see a band like JAL takes all the credits.... This time they were in our college and beleive me they were the most cheap grade musicians i ve ever seen in my life.... can u beleive they even dont know how to plug in the in stage amplifiers.... shame on them!!!! These people dont know what is called the cymbals.... And the fusion legends INDIAN OCEAN?? Hardly anybody know them.... This bollywood is hypnotizing the foolish audience.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- i dont think u r quiet so right,INDIAN OCEAN ROCKS,their music is un parallel,but u cant compare jal's music and INDIAN OCEAN.jal have mastered a different kind of music,and finally i think thing that music that appeals to the common mass is also good music too. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- jal is for common audience...who dun kno wht actually music is...and jus listen to it at fests to swing and enjoy....if someone really appreciates music....the abvious choice is IO...nw coz JAl has its own liking among ppl...jus cant be ridiculed.....its david dhawan vs. sanjay leela bhansali...in indian movie scenario --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yeah im getting both of you.... Its cool that JAL is getting popularity.... But my question is-would JAL ve got that much popularity without bollywood....i mean only with there pvt album releases....I suppose no!!!! coz there numbers ve got no capacity. I find no sense in there music, i mean a nonsense one....They pick any Chord progression, put some trash lyrics with a nonsense tune and finally ends up with some classical RAGA.... Believe this is what they repeat in all there songs.... I guess they take only a couple of minutes to release an Album.... Now ALok believe me they dont master any thing.... they are FAKE.... I guess u heard 'Video Kills the Radio star' by Queens.... Yes thats true people first see music then listens to it....not the vice-versa.... I wish a day will come when people will not visualise Music but will listen to it.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ma'm lol.... Bollywood is hypnotising fools.... ok i explain.... See JAL got a break in a couple of Hit movies n this is how people started iterating the songs of JAL.... otherwise JAL wouldnot ve got that much poularity.... I guess now u got it.... Ma'm The US band Queen in early 70s sang a song called 'Video kills the Radio Star' n see this is coming true.... If there would ve been only Radio I guess Indian ocean would ve got much popularity.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAL or INDIAN OCEAN ??? certainly theres no point that indian ocean is way ahead of JAL .. Look at the originality of there msuic . they hav got somthing unique in all of there compositions ! look at there live shows ..its awesome .. evry show is different from the other one .. moreover JAL they have popped up from no where .. i guess the good time is on right now .. but then its not long lasting .. it wont last ! i can bet on it . INDIAN OCEAN IS CERATAINLY THE BEST !! NO DOBUTS ABT THAT ! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jal has got no genre.... They even dont know to which genre they belong.... It can be seen from all there songs.... No common line up in each of songs.... And beleive me they are awesomely bad band Ive ever caught live....Even kids are more aware of live concerts.... God knows why people listen to them.... I still coudnt find what the people r liking in them.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Again lot of questions in my mind after reading your note.... Ok let me put one by one.... 1. Honestly , would u ve liked JAl if their songs wouldnot ve got break in Hindi movies.... I mean .... If i would ve said u,"Ma'm their is a band called JAL bla bla.... and they ve released a demo versions of their songs plz listen to it.... that time would u ve iterated the songs in the same manner as now...." 2. Are they really fusing Sufi and rock.... I actually was taking that they are fusing VEDIC music and rock.... See all there songs of kandinsa album are ancient Indian music except kandinsa (which was a Jews prayer i Guess).... Well Im not sure please put me light on that.... I guess the only band which made fusion of sufi and rock is another great band JUNOON.... 3.What is popular music in INDIA? What does Indian Ocean lack? Now see talking about language barrier Kandinsa is the most popular music of Indian Ocean.... which is in Aramic.... 4. My most important question is If u like Jal then what is the thing that you are liking in them? Please answer this one by one....Atleast the 4th one.... No this are really Important for me....Im telling to every body out there.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hhhhmmmm....!!!! So you seem to be a music literate.... Great....HHmm .... Yeah i dont know why people dont like experimental things.... They ve so melody so touching flavour.... Actually this what im trying understand here.... trying to read peoples mind who know little about music but like pure music and not the glamour part of it.... what r there tastes.... What do they try to find in music.... BLA BLA .... Thanks to Manasi and others for being with me since a long time.... And JAL ???? The funny bassist with a six string bass dont know how to adjust the 12 band on-stage graphic equalizer.... the way he was handling seemed like he had never seen this in his life before.... no this is nothing .... the sound engineer dont know what is a CYMBAL.... the overall sound output was DULL.... Many more things .... I dont know who r promoting them.... they must be guinius .... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- So much fun...reminds me of some of my profs in college. Of course, I'm an Indian Ocean fan. Jal may be good, but they're nowhere close. No?

More on Mahajan

(my apologies for making this blog sound like a BJP mouthpiece, but this is one observation I simply couldn't help making.)

As it turns out, Pramod Mahajan shares his death anniversary with M S Oberoi founder of the Oberoi group of hotels. I recently finished reading his biography and it made a decent read in spite of its author, Bachi Karkaria, of whom, needless to say, I am no big fan.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I see more than a few similarities in the two (great?) personas. They were both born and brought up in nondescript little villages and the early deaths of their fathers played a big role in shaping their destinies. Both men were self-made, starting with nothing and through sheer hard work, self-confidence, amazing managerial skill, smart leveraging of contacts and shrewd opportunism they made it big. While Mahajan was done in by his own brother, Oberoi too, suffered some of his biggest setbacks at the hands of a relation ( cousin or brother-in-law, I forget).

Questions have been raised occasionally about their dealings and the integrity of both has been challenged a few times. But then politics and hoteliering are perhaps the two occupations with maximum potential for shady business. Lastly, both are remembered for tireless enthusiasm, phenomenal memories and an eye for detail.

Oberoi, though, lived a hundred and three years, going through three centuries in the process and his stack of trophies certainly stands much higher. Mahajan, on the other hand died with so much more still in him.

So what? You ask...Well nothing really....just a little observation i wanted to make.

R.I.P. Pramod Mahajan

Rajdeep Sardesai on Pramod Mahajan. Read it here. Excellent stuff. Makes me wish him a long life. (also the 100th post on this blog.) Update:-Pramod Mahajan finally loses the battle for his life.. I can't help feeling a little saddened. Though I haven't really been an admirer of Mahajan, all the eulogies in mainstream media have suddenly made me an admirer and I'd surely been hoping he'd recover. What was really sad( for want of a better word) though is the way he met his end, at the hands of a jealous incompetent sibling. Reminds me of one of my favourite movies.

Sub-mission

There's a story in the Mahabharata. well, there are a lot of stories in the Mahabharata but a not so particularly popular one interests me here. The exact details, I remember not but during the period of exile of the Pandavas, there lived a pretty nasty rakshas in a village where the "Trilogy in 5 parts" (bad joke,I  know) had camped for a while. Bakasura I think his name was.But what's in a name? "That which we know by a Bakasura, by any other name would be just as smelly", as Shakespeare had rightly noted a long time ago undoubtedly after downing a few beers with the ved vyas.

Now, this Bakasura fellow was, what may be called, a pain in the ass. As you might already be aware, meals, for him were a rather elaborate afair, and generally comprised, apart from a lot of mouth-watering, artery-clogging delights, a human a day; pounds of flesh and litres of blood all included.( now, isn't this Shakespeare dude coming across as a major plagiarist.) Quite ferocious, this human-eater was and needless to say the villagers generally shit themselves crazy upon even the mention of his name. One by one, following a policy of rotation not very different from what the BCCI uses in the handling of most of its affairs, these potty villagers resigned themselves to their fate, bid adieu to near and dear ones and ventured forth into the valley of smelly death. Nobody ever laughed in that village.

What happens next in the Mahabharata is of little interest to us here. But imagine a Bakasura ( Baka-suar?) thats gone hungry for almost 6 months. Yep, no human blood for almost 6 months. Imagine five of them....yes, Five such haven't-tasted-human-blood-in-6-months monsters assembled in a single valley, mouths watering and hands smacking at the prospects of a grand festival of gluttony.

 Imagine your's  being the blood the Bakasuras are thirsting for. Imagine having resigned to your faith. Imagine saying goodbye to all your loved ones. Imagine saying your final prayers and hoping for heaven in the afterlife, better luck in the next life and a much hotter woman for a wife.

Imagine going through all that hell. Imagine setting out on your life's final journey into the valley of death. Imagine reaching the valley and staring at the death standing before you. Imagine picturising  hungry monsters tearing you apart.

Then imagine death walking right up to you and saying-

"Oh Dude, it was bloody hot so we just decided to have some lemonade. Not in the mood for your blood now. Go screw around for six more months. C Ya later."

Such relief.

(P.S.- I can see atleast 3 puns in that dreaded word, including a really nasty one ;-)...can you point them out. If you're from COEP, you  stand a better crack at the nasty one.)

OH-MA-GAWD!!

You shouldn't be kapeeshing too often. Its bad for you. Kapeesh? What language these kids are using!! Bloody dogs...

News and views from tinseltown

Some news reports recently seen in the Pune Times- "Salman Khan to fund construction of new toilets in jails." Not surprising, given that he expects to visit every once in a while at least. " I don't think mindless skin-show is necessary at all for success" - Minisha Lamba, fledgling starlet (cute eye-candy). I totally agree. Skin show only need be clothes-less. Mindlessness is a given in Bollywood anyways. And the headline that just made my day... "Ash is not plastic: Divya" Duh. We also went to school.

Teenage, existentialism, profound thoughts and some innocent questions... Abhishek provides the answers. Great stuff, methinks.