A Prayer to God...... (U/A rated post)

The following picture is the photograph of one of those really unlucky and sorrowful kids on earth who probably doesn't even realise that from the moment he was born, his parents are counting his days for him.

I really feel that the vast efforts that their parents are putting in trying to save the kid is all going down the drain. I must really be thankful to God that I am healthy enough to be one of those who can help this boy's recovery.

Here's how to save the kid: The parents need money to get him operated. But they're apparently poor. So, they have approached AOL. AOL has a simple plan. They send out an e-mail to a few people. Each person recieving this mail and forwarding to three people further, would be donating a few cents through AOL.

Now here's the sorry state. Worldwide, there are a millions of users. Many are heartless, many timeless. But mostly, people won't prefer helping such mails which at times turn out to be hoaxes. But I guess that the following photograph will say what all this blog is about.

Try This Song: Zindagi Ka Safar (Kishore Kumar)

Readers' Digest Article....

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple... English muffins were not invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So, one moose, 2 meese? One index, two indices? Is cheese the plural of choose? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital? Ship by truck, and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?

When a house burns up, it burns down. You fill in a form by filling it out, and an alarm clock goes off by going on.When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it

But when I wind up this essay, I end it?

Try This Song: My Name is Anthony Gonzalves (Amar Akbar Anthony, Kishore Kumar)

Enjoy India... But Not Now!!!

India seems to be at its glorious best this time around. Especially the southern and south-western parts of our glamourous country seems to be adding more and more glamour by the day. Reason: It is rainy season at its fullest for the past week.

But one thing that has become very unfortunate is that the rains are reaching a state of "Ati Vrishti" as they call it. This means that there is no respite from rains continously for a long period of time. There was a time when people claimed that Bangalore is renowned to maintain its temparature at moderate. No extremes. Well This is gone. Bangalore is probable moving away from the equator!! Each day when it rains, the temperature drops further down. Last week, we had a few spells of shower which brought the temperature to as low as 25 Degrees C.

Today, when I had a meeting with my manager who currently is touring Folsom, US, he said that the nights there are scorching at 30 degrees C. I said, "well then come down to Bangalore. You will be greeted with Canadian weather! Heavily overcast, 15-18 degrees C and regular rains". He was shocked of what he heard.

Nowadays, Bangalore is nowhere in the news. Famine and drought affected areas like Gulbarga, Hubli-Dharwad etc. etc. are enjoying FLASH FLOODS. Now what can be said about the sudden change? The Krishna Raja Sagar dam or the famous KRS as it is known, rose by 6 ft. in a matter of 2 days! It stands now at 107 ft against 125 ft. Tunga and Bhadra rivers are flowing already at their maximum levels. These will overflow any time now.

Another such affected area. On our way to Kudremukh, the divine hill station, we start our uphill journey from a place called Kalasa. These days, Kalasa itself is isolated owing to floods which have left roads drowned and telephone and electricity disrupted. To add to woes, Hornadu is a place wholly situated on the other side of the river, which has to be crossed using 2 low-lying bridges. For sure these would already be hidden under-water.

Finally, Mumbai is experiencing unimaginable spate of rain and floods have brought normal life to a standstill. Intel (our office there) has announced emergency holidays and that employees need not come until further notice. Telephone services are disrupted. Adding woe to injury is that no cellular service is currently working there. Bangalore on the other hand has lot improved in such situations when compared to yester-years. No power failure, no drainage overflowing, no casualties, no disease outbreak, no loss of BSNL phones communication and no mobile service outage. Namma bengaluru is a city worth a visit now. British weather? or Canadian Weather? Visit Bangalore and decide for urself. For now, I'm going out to eat a benne Masala Dosa, and a cuppa Kaapi, followed by Mini Meals for the afternoon !!

Try This Song: Hegide Nam Desha (America America)

A team dinner....

For the first time in my life I just experienced what the IT boom is all about!! Just yesterday, I attended my first ever Team Dinner with our team here at Intel. The party itself being organised at a restaurant called Zero-G, it was a dinner with our senior manager.

There were a bunch of Americans who had flown in for some official purposes. Obviously, these guys were here just to have an overview of how we're doing in his absence! Well, there were many other obvious reasons for which they were here. Well, the experience that I managed to share with these kool people was something sort of memorable.

First off, the party was in no way a glum one where people come dressed in a royal suit and sit about with a glass of coke or whatever soft drink. There was Rum, Vodka, Beer etc. etc. for all those who aspired to drink that particular night. And many did!!

Next, the Americans were no guests to us. What I mean to convey in this context is that though I'm seeing them for the first time and some of them were visiting India for the first time, they were a game among all. They discussed about their locality and neighborhood. We discussed our counterparts.

And there was one really funny incident. Three of us (my local partner, an American {am} and me) were eating together at a table. As usual, it was a buffet. And the regular things flew by. "howz the weather there?"; "How d'ya like b'lore". The Am said that he was born & brought up in Los Angeles. He works now in Oregon. So, my team mate asked "are there kya-scene-o's there?". The Am said, what "Kya-scene-o's?". Then I had to intervene saying "My friend here meant to ask about a CASINO".

That was just one of the very light moments we had that evening. All in all, this is just the beginning of more such hilarious nights to come!!!

Try This Music: Mambo No. 5 (Lou Bega)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.......

The good old cowboy standout has occured again in the Formula 1 scene. Or Maybe even, it has not ended ever since the in-famous US -GP of 2005. Let us set out the scene:

The Good: The F1 Drivers who are struggling because of the fiasco that occured during the US GP. These guys are sandwitched many ways. The FIA, The Team management, The Tire Manufacturer and Their own sponsors.

The Bad: The FIA who denied any alterations, albeit temporary, to the existing Indianapolis race track. This forced the 7 teams using Michelin rubber to withdraw from the US GP.

The Ugly: The Michelin team who unfortunately got it all wrong for the first time this season (2005). This forced a 11th hour meeting b/w the teams, Michelin and the FIA for temporary chicanes or pit-lane running etc. to cut down the speed.

Now, FIA is sure to face a mammoth of a task. Michelin though, has already begun repaying the money to all the fans who were booing in the US GP after the farce...err... race began. Also, Michelin has promised 20,000 tickets of the US GP, 2006 if it is included in the 2006 calendar. Right, if Michelin is clearing of its "DEBTS", then what is FIA scared of? The teams?

Well, the teams have a legal binding with their tire supplier that they agree with the decision made by the tire supplier if they have to get the legal safety guarantee by the tire manufacturers. So, the teams were forced to withdraw and hence, the FIA has also cleared the Teams of any possible penalty.

Well, that leaves us with the drivers. So, the answer to FIA's worries is the word - 'Drivers'. The 20 super-license holders on the F1 grid have threatened that the second half of the 2005 season could turn out to be a nightmare worse than the farcial US GP. These drivers who are already concerned about their safety during the testing as the tires they use should last a whole race and tires are not to be changed during the race pit stops, are posing a threat to the organisers of the F1. Kimi nearly injured himself enduring the race win on badly flat-spotted tires in the European GP.

And worst of all, this threat is headed by none other than the great Michael Schumacher, 7 times world champion. FIA is really on their toes.

Try This Song: F1 2002, Schumacher

Die Another Day...

This is a phrase which certainly has a lot of meaning. If you are counting years left on the planet, think again. You may have to count all over again! Scientists claim to have discovered the gene responsible in the ageing process and also to have successfully reversed the process in fruit fly and mice! ‘Super’ fruit flies that have a doubled and healthy lifespan, mice that regenerate damaged parts of their bodies and maybe soon humans who may live forever...

Using what is called a synthetic catalytic scavenger which is an antioxidant that destroys free radicals that cause ageing, scientists could double the lifespan of nematodes and increase the lifespan of mice. The next step will be humans.The studies came about when they were looking into the causes of a rare condition in children who age unnaturally and die young.

Scientifically ageing happens when cells slow down the process of dividing till they die. A piece of DNA called a telemere when controlled called a halt to the division. The telomere keeps getting shorter after each cell division but also prevents the DNA from fraying each time. But eventually it is too short to help! And the cell dies.

Believe it or not, scientists claim to have reversed the process in the lab by genetically creating an enzyme which can rebuild telomeres. This enzyme is found only in sperm and egg cells. If this can be introduced into cells, it should mean a halt to cell death. The big question is how does one insert genes into a cell?

Time will tell.

Prefer Education, Not Punishment

I think this sentence is what is running in the minds of each person driving a vehicle on the Indian roads. This, I think, is the only way forward if we need good cultured and well mannered "Drivers" in Indian Roads

To support this statement, I guess I have sufficient proof in the means of the story I wish to explain here. One evening when I was returning from office, I happened to be running near the yellow line (in the middle of the road) and luckily, saw a cop from the newly introduced COBRA team. He stood there and hinted to me as if to say, you better not cross the yellow line and I promptly obeyed. Behind me, a Pulsar who was faster than me, crossed the line and somehow cuddled himself up in such a way that his tyres were both inside the yellow line.

Now, the real guts of Military people tried to make itself prominent. 2 Army men riding on a Honda Dio scooter invaded the lane of on-coming traffic. This COP intervened, stopped these Nincompoops and asked them to go back to the beginning of the yellow line and join the queue there. This man had nothing else to do but to join the queue at a place even far behind than he could've probably been.

Now, these men did heed to the words of the cop and also, there was no loss in terms of money as a fine / penalty. So I feel, that this mode of "EDUCATION" works far better than the "PENALTY" mode. And moreover, these COBRA cops (blue uniform) are not irritants as the other pot-bellies who are clad in white shirts and khakhi trousers. And these COBRAs are also mild mannered and soft spoken people who appear like Public Relation Officers.

Try This: Dhoom Machaale (Dhoom, Tata Young)

Akshay's Musik Tag

My Gurus of Muzik are:

Kishore Da (Inevitable Winner)
Yesudas
Guru Kiran
SPB (But Of Course)
A R Rehman
Balamurali Krishna
U. Srinivas (Mandolin Pundit)

Last Album I Bought:

Metallica (Symphony & Metallica, 2 CD Collection)

Next Album(s) I want to buy:

Some Soothing Jazz
Kishore Da's "Naughty" Songs

Last Song I Downloaded:

Metallica - No Leaf Clover

Last Song I Heard Before This Post:

Judas Priest (Metal Works) - Breaking the Law

All Time Favorite Bands:

Metallica
Linkin Park
Scorpions
Euphoria

All Time Fav. Songs (No Order):

Jeevan Se Bhari, Manzilein Apni Jagah, Jahan Teri Yeh etc..... Kishore Da
Kahi Door Jab Din Dhal, Kabhie Kabhie, Kahi Karti Hogi etc......Mukhesh
Nothing Else Matters, Sad But True, One etc.......................Metallica.
Mujhe Tumse (With Shaan), Aao Naa, Jaadu Hai Nashaa etc...Saadhna Sargam/Shreya Ghoshal
Bhool Ja, Tanha Dil, Mujhe Tumse, Socha Nahi Tha, Subah Ho Gayi, etc.. Shaan
All Songs from ApthaMitra, Jogi, PremaLoka, Excuse Me, Dil Chahta Hai & most of Sunidhi Chauhan's songs. Phew!! This is really a test...

All Time favorite (lead) singers:

Male:

Kishore Da
Hari Haran
Shankar Mahadevan
Sonu Nigam
Udit Narayan
Kumar Sanu
Shaan

Female:

Sunidhi Chauhan
Alka Yagnik
Shreya Ghoshal
Kavita Krishnamurty
Asha Bhosle

Total songs I have in my HDD (Comp):

One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty (1250) :( The rest of my huge collection, I lost when I migrated to my new 80 GB HDD.

Total Music CDs I've Burnt:

Approximately around thirty five.

I pass this on to: Vasu, Kishore & Retesh

The Day's Song: I'm Blue (Eiffel 65)

The best ever ad....

Today I happened to watch a simple yet really heart-touching advertisement after a long time in Indian television history. This just projects the mother-offspring relationship in a really sentimental manner.

Now, the ad is Brooke Bond Red-Label Tea. First I thought it is yet another of those late night studies projected and this is some sort of humor projected. Now, after I saw the whole ad, I realised that it is so much filled with emotions.

A girl is studying late in the night and the lady of the house sees this and prepares tea for the girl. When she gives the cup of tea, the girl is shocked and says: "Memsaab, aap??". Here I thought that the girl is playing with her mom. Then, I realised that the girl is supposed to be the lady's maid. Then she is lost in memories of her mother. The lady says, even I'm like your mother. The script maybe a lot like just a swan-song. But the director has the credit for the best ad movie.

Try This Song: Heluvanu Oravan (Jogi)

To Sir - With Love...

It has been hanging around in my mind for the past 3 years but now I am really experiencing it. No pleez.. We don't like missing those days with our beloved Professor, OUR HOD.

He's been the God-father of the Heaven of our College called as the Department of CS/IS. He was solely responsible in the mega results spree in our college. The best department under him has been ours and the best batch under him will only be ours. How am I so confident about my words? He is now taking leave of us, flying off to the US. The reason I would not like to publicize. But, he remains one of the few people in my books who will get all my support/gratitude until my memory remains. He has won many a hearts with his greatest skill, LEADERSHIP.

He has always supported us like a big brother should, talked to us like a close friend should and even punished us like our parents do. For our gang of 5-6 boys, this is the experience we never like to feel. It has always been that in my life, the one thing that remains dear to me for quite some time vanishes all of a sudden. Maybe I can consider that as my mis-fortune, but have to live with it. That is the bitter fact. To support it, I have never got a chance to go back and physically thank my teachers who have helped shape my career, because they move away so far that I cant even reach for them. And to affirm it, our HOD now is bidding us all a sentimental good-bye. I can't bear to think that he gets added to that list. Because at this juncture in our life, he gets the HIGHEST respect in our life and I will still wait for showing him my Gratitude.

We only managed to gift him a meagre watch for the near perfect man. That is the snap put up above. That was done in an emotional send off party to the final year students by the college management at the Le Meridian. His presence is so felt that even our secretary steps back to make an opportunity for him to be with us. The only thing that remains now is the final dinner- party we have decided to give him this friday.
We Love you Sir... We won't, can't, shan't forget you!!
Try This Song - Zindagi Ke Safar (Aap Ki Kasam, Kishore Kumar)