सोऽहम् - C'est Moi

Indrajimi Jambhrapar

2009-02-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

Indrajimi Jrambhapar is a wonderful song on Shivaji Maharaj.

Here is my poor attempt to put together the lyrics of the song. I am pretty sure I have messed it up a lot, please guide me to the correct lyrics if you have it.

Indrajimi Jambhrapar
Vadav Savambhpar
Ravan sambhpar
Pavanbhari bahpar
Sambhurati nahpar

Tyo Sahasr Vahpar
Ram DwijRaj hai

Dwavadrum Dandpar
Chita Mrug Zundpar
Bhushan Vitundpar
Jaise Mrugraaj hai

Tej Tam AnS par
Kaan Jibhi Kans par
Tyo Malyanth Bans par
Sher Shivraaj hai

Album : Shivakalyan Raja
Music Director: Pt. Hrudaynath Mageshkar
Vocals: Lata mageshkar
Lyrics: Kavi Bhushan

आधी बीज एकलें

2008-08-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

आधी बीज एकलें बीज अंकुरलें रोप वाढलें

एका बीजापोटीं, तरु कोटी कोटी
जन्म घेती, सुमनें फळें

व्यापुनि जगता तूंहि अनंता
बहुविध रूपें घेसी, घेसी
परि अंती, ब्रम्ह एकलें

Movie Name: संत तुकाराम (१९३६) (Sant Tukaram (1936))
Director: विष्णुपंत गोविन्द दामले आणि शेख फत्तेलाल
(Vishnupant Govind Damle and Sheikh Fattelal)
Music Director: केशवराव भोळे (Keshavrao Bhole)
Vocals: विष्णुपंत पागनीस (Vishnupant Pagnees)
Lyrics: शांताराम आठवले (Shantaram Athavale)

चांद मातला, मातला

2008-07-30T16:35:00.001-07:00

चांद मातला, मातला, त्याला कशी आवरू ?
अंगी वणवा चेतला, मला कशी सावरू ?

अशी पुनवेची निशा, चढे चांदण्याची नशा
गेल्या हरवून दिशा, झाले खुळे पाखरू

आला समुद्र ही रंगा, त्याचा धिटाईचा दंगा
वेड्या लहरींचा पिंगा, बाई झाला की सुरू

गोड गारव्याचा मारा, देह शिरशिरे सारा
लाख चुंबनांचा मारा, चांद लागला करू

याची प्रेमपिशी दिठी, लावी चंदनाची उटी
घाली अनावर मिठी, कुठे धीर मी धरू ?

चांद अंगणी गगनी, चांद नांदतो भुवनी
चांद अमृताचा मनी, बाई लागला झरू

Movie Name: उंबरठा (१९८१) Umbartha (1981)
Director: जब्बार पटेल (Jabbar Patel)
Vocals: लता मंगेशकर (Lata Mangeshkar)
Music Director: पं. हृदयनाथ मंगेशकर (Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar)
Lyrics: वसंत बापट (Vasant Bapat)

तू तेव्हा तशी

2007-11-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

Hooked on to this nice marathi song these days. Listen to it here.

तू तेव्हा तशी, तू तेव्हा अशी
तू बहराच्या, बाहूंची

तू ऐलराधा, तू पैल संध्या
चाफेकळी प्रेमाची

तू नवी जुनी, तू कधी कुणी
खारीच्या गं डोळयांची

तू हिरवी कच्ची, तू पोक्त सच्ची
तू खट्टी मिठ्ठी ओठांची

Movie Name: Nivdung
Director: Mahesh Satoskar
Music Director: Hridaynath Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Aarti Prabhu
Year: 1989

Need

2006-08-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

"Only when he has ceased to need things can a man truly be his own master and so really exist."

Anwar al- Sadat

Three stories

2006-03-30T17:20:00.000-08:00

Many of you might have already read this long back. I still find it inspiring.

This is the text of the Commencement address at Stanford by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the
finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college.
Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college
graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life.
That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then
stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really
quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed
college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption.
She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates,
so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer
and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last
minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a
waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have
an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My
biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated
from college and that my father had never graduated from high school.
She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few
months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to
college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college
that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class
parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six
months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to
do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it
out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved
their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would
all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it
was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I
could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and
begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the
floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits
to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every
Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I
loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity
and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one
example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy
instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every
label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I
had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided
to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about
serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space
between different letter combinations, about what makes great
typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in
a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life.
But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh
computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac.
It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never
dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never
had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since
Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer
would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never
dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not
have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was
impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college.
But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only
connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots
will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -
your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let
me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I
started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and
in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a
$2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our
finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just
turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company
you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was
very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so
things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge
and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of
Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out.
What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was
devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had
let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped
the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and
Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a
very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the
valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what
I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had
been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start
over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple
was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness
of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner
again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the
most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another
company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would
become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer
animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful
animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple
bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at
NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I
have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been
fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the
patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick.
Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going
was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And
that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is
going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly
satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to
do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet,
keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll
know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets
better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find
it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live
each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be
right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33
years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If
today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about
to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days
in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've
ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because
almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of
embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of
death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are
going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you
have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not
to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in
the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't
even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost
certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect
to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go
home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare
to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd
have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to
make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as
possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a
biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my
stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got
a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there,
told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors
started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of
pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and
I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the
closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can
now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a
useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want
to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No
one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is
very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change
agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the
new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually
become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is
quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other
people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out
your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow
your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly
want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole
Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was
created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo
Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the
late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it
was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was
sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came
along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great
notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth
Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final
issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of
their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road,
the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so
adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."
It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay
Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you
graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.

गझल

2006-03-24T09:35:00.000-08:00

इतना बोझ ना ढो पाऊंगा
हटा दो या रब, या तो मोहब्बत
या फिर मौत का साया -
जों मंडरा रहा हैं मेरे ईर्द गिर्द

-बाबा शिर्के.

Friends are forever

2006-03-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

U need them more when in pains rather than in joy... But what if u r the pain for your friend? What should u do for the friend then?

Satisfaction

2006-03-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Searched everywhere in the world,forgot to check into mirror before.
Kept milking life for pleasure, Satisfaction is no more...

Orkut

2006-03-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

Initially I thought of Orkut as just another service from Google, but now I know that its not just another website on which I am registered. Orkut opens up your own history (!?) for you. I have been able to get in touch with many friends from my Alma Mater through this network. Some of them I thought I lost forever. Heres the collection of poems from my favourite poet from COEP. I found him back through Orkut. So Thank you Orkut.

Finally I must say Google Grows onto you. Don't you agree?

Don't

2006-02-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Don’t get so close to someone
That you get used to the person
If it happens that your heart gets broken
And it burns in pain even more than an arson.

Don’t write him in your diary with so much gravity
That the pages can no longer bear the weight
And one day the name itself wants to get out
Wishes to get away and can not wait.

Don’t dream such a dream
That its there for you all the time, like a strong shoulder
If it happens that you wake out of the dream
And you are left bereft in a snowstorm and it only gets colder n colder

Don’t give someone so much of your time
That he owns your every moment and every stage
And one your own mirror
Wishes if it could find your own face, your true visage

Don’t make someone so much yours
That you tend to forget his self-existence
If it happens that he gets conscious
And gives you a blow to regain his countenance

But…but…
Don’t go so much away from someone
That you have only your shadow to count on
And one day you want to call on someone
And you are lost in your own screams and the echo.

(Inspired from the original in Marathi by Jitendra M.)

Tanhai

2006-01-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

Humne aansoonse kaha, tanhai me aaya karo.. yun bhari mahfil me aakar mera mazak na udaya karo.
ispar aansoo tadapkar bole, bhari mahfil me bhi tumhe tanha paate hai to chale aate hai...

(This is certainly not my creation, but certainly for me...)

असं एखादं पाखरू वेल्हाळ

2006-01-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hooked up to this one these days. Its more fun when you listen to it.

गोर्या देहावरती कांती
नागिनीची कातं
येडे झालो आम्ही ज्यावी
एका दिस रातं

तुझ्या रुपाच बाशिंग डोल्यात
तुझ्या वाचून सुन्नाट दिनरातं

असा बोल बोलती जसं पंखात देती
असा बोल बोलती जसं पंखात देती
असं एखादं पाखरू वेल्हाळ
ज्याच्या भांगात बिंदीचा गुल्हालं

काल्या एकल्या राती मनं मोडून जाती
हो असं एखादं पाखरू वेल्हाळ
ज्याला सामोर येतया आभालं

याला काय लेवू लेनं
मोती पवळ्याचं रानं
राती चांदण्या रानात शिन्गार
सारी दौलत जरीच्या पदरातं

Movie Name: Jait Re Jait
Director: Jabbar Patel
Music Director: Hridaynath Mangeshkar
Lyrics: N D Mahanor
Year: 1977

Mumbai ka Shangahi nahi Hum Mumbai ka Venice banayenge!!!

2005-12-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

This one I got in email... Just cant let it go without publishing here...

One should look for converting problems into solutions. There is a big
buzz going about Mumbai to be next Shanghai. But I think the most
feasible idea is to convert Mumbai into Venice, the beautiful city in
Italy with water streets.

The question is: How we can make this dream come true? Mumbai has all
the qualities to become Venice. The recent rain proved that we can
manage to clog huge amount of water in a city which can actually be
used to convert existing streets into flowing water canals. Also, we
have few gates which act as outlet for the drainage water to flow into
the Sea. Now we can control the amount of water in the City streets
(say Canals) by opening and closing the gates. This is the simplest way
to convert Amchi Mumbai into world's biggest city with water streets.

Benefits of Converting Mumbai into Venice:

 Firstly, as government has done little till date to prepare the
city for next onslaught of monsoon, this initiative will help
Mumbaikars to enjoy the rain without fearing about anything.
 It will eliminate the traffic problem as well as reduce pollution
in the city as Mumbai will be having more of Boats and Tyres (for poor
people) instead of massive number of cars and two wheelers.
 Saving son infrastructure expenditure will be huge as we will not
require any concrete streets, flyovers, sea links, 4-laning of railway
track.

Future:

One may argue that flooded city will displace lakhs (may be crores) of
legal as well as illegal slums in our great city. To answer that I
think in this case also Spirit of Mumbaikars will prevail. I am sure
that the team of politicians, gangsters and land (ohh!! Water) mafias
will come up with innovative technology which will enable us to built
low cost FLOATING SLUMS. This can actually eliminate the problem of
housing and water at one go. Also, as slum can move from one place to
another, encroachment laws won't make any difference to these
dignified citizens.

Finally, after year or two Mumbaikar will certainly master the art (as
they did about hanging in train, traveling in jam packed buses and
driving their vehicles in chaotic traffic) of building floating houses
(or slums). Once it happens then……….then…… we can say "Sea
is the Limit".

We "Mumbaikars" can venture into Sea to expand the reach of Mumbai
and the day is not far when some of us will touch the actual Venice and
convert it into on tiny suburb of Mumbai.

So…..just close those drainage gates and enjoy the feeling of being
in Venice.

Thanksgiving.

2005-11-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

Today is the famous 'black friday'. The day of 'after thanksgiving sales'. This marks the begining of India-trip season here in US of A. Ppl will shop till their credit card gives up and they run outta deals (rebates) and pack buncha things for home. One obvious question then is, how much worth of Rs. can one take to India, without having to pay a dime (paisa, I shud say) in custom duty?

There is enuf information available on net, (not very easily availble though... it leaves me puzzled why the government of the country of 'brains' behind all the softwares does not have good websites for its offices? Hopefully, end of Lalu raaj will help things to improve, but I wont be surprized if they dont.)

So, the most common answer ppl come up with is, "have a $20 bill ready in ur pocket. Just show it to the person at customs check and you dont have to pay anything."
"Why should I bribe to get my stuff into my country?", some dare to ask.
"You can never get in without trouble if you dont do this. Its kinda their 'right'. You should not deprive them of their share. You are just saying 'thanks' to them." comes as an answer, fully soaked in the thanksgiving spirit.

I pity those who think this way. I would not mind parting away with $20 as much as I hate ppl who advise this. I mean, if you dont even think its unappropriate to do such thing, how can you even think of denying such demand? You have lost the battle long before it starts. A lost mind can never rebel against anything. Atleat try to put up some resistance... don't just give up even before the war has been declared.

Now, the customwala's are also very clever. They'll know how to get upper hand in such dealings. The person at the scanning area at customs will ask for your passport. He wont even turn a single page of the document, will just put it at a 'safe' place. And will say,"इतनी chocolates (or anything that his eyes catch on the x-ray machine) लायें हो. Allowed नही हैं. साऽब को बताना पडेगा". You will be like,"What?? for Chocolates?" "हां भई, तगडा duty पडेगा."
You are already eager to meet your loved ones, waiting in the reception area... after buying Rs. 50/- ticket for coming in to the 'sacred' barricades. And now your passport is at 'the safe' place.
These ppl know you would not like to get into more arguments. "चाहियें तो सस्तेमें हो जायेंगा आपका काम. बोलो कितना दोगें?"
This is the critical test of your attitude now. You say, "क्या साऽब, student लोग हैं हम..." and you loose the battle. The slightest sign of you showing any accomodation for this kind of behaviour will result in the $20 bill swapping its rightful place. And trust me, these ppl are mind-reader. Their skill at interpreting your body language will leave the HR team of any big recruting agency amazed. Now even though you never intended to bribe, you'll end up doing it.
But I'll always regret loosing this battle last season. And I promise my passport that I wont ever let it be at the 'safe' place again...

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

2005-10-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

-- Dylan Thomas

हम बेखुदीमें

2005-10-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

हम बेखुदीमें तुमको पुकारे चलें गयें
सागरमें जिन्दगीको उतारें चलें गयें
हम...

देंखा करें तुम्हें हम, बनकें दिवाना
देंखा करें तुम्हें हम, बनकें दिवाना
उतरा जो नशा तो, हमनें ये जाना
सारे वो जिन्दगीके सहारे चलें गयें
हम बेखुदीमें तुमको पुकारे चलें गयें
हम.....

तुमतो ना कहो हम, खुदही से खेलें
तुमतो ना कहो हम, खुदही से खेलें
डुबे नहीं हम यूं, नशें अकेलें
शिशेंमें आपको भी उतारें चलें गयें
हम बेखुदीमें तुमको पुकारे चलें गयें
हम.....

Movie Name: Kala Pani (1958)
Singer: Mohd Rafi
Music Director: Burman S D
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Year: 1958

म्हैस बाजारी आणि भट भटणीला मारी.

2005-10-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

I should b back home.. what am I doing here?

2005-09-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

Just received some cool snaps from my Jijajee... Makes me so nostalgic.

Birdie!

Laddu

Cute Doll

Mother India

Albert Pinto ko gussa kyon aata hai?

2005-09-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Seriously, why does Albert get angry? Is it because he committed a grave mistake of giving his cellphone number to his advisor? Or is it because when he reached home yesterday, there was no food since he forgot to do the groceries the day before? But for these things he has himself to blame, and the narcissist like Albert just can’t get angry with himself. So why is he angry?

Probably he is angry because President Bush did not handle the Katrina too well and people are saying that Mumbai floods were handled far well than Katrina. But as far as I know Albert, he knows that there’s no point in such petty comparison. Only fools and politicians can come up with such comparison to get some cheap publicity. Albert would rather try to improve the Emergency Management Agencies than indulging in such petty meaningless debates.

So is he angry because there’s a fatwa on what kinda dresses Sania Mirza should wear on tennis court? Or is it because Google’s Digital Library project is seeing some rough waters over the copyright laws? Yes he gets angry over these things, but he is assured that there are enough efforts being put in to tackle the things and no matter how much the hardliners try to thwart the progress, in today’s open world they will have to eat their own words sooner or later.

I know he is not angry because some debutant director in Bollywood recently copied a whole Hugh Grant movie and tried to sell it as an original idea. I know he is not angry over rain spoiling whatever small chance Australians had to save the Ashes. And he is definitely not suffering from any disorder that has abnormally increased the Cortisol Hormones in his blood. So why does he get angry?

Finally he told me today why he gets angry. He gets angry over the people who refuse the right of general public to breathe fresh air and mix a toxic smoke rich with nicotine in it. And irrespective of the number of lawsuits against tobacco companies and extensive awareness programs, he finds that many of the Doctors and Physians themselves smoke. He does not have any objection over people committing suicide themselves by breathing in the poison. But Albert gets very very angry when for no apparent reasons he has to succumb to the passive smoking.

And let me warn you all who are responsible for Albert’s gussa. Jab jab Albert ko gussa aata hai, tab tab Jupiter pe jwalamukhi fatata hai…

गणपती बाप्पा मोरया!

2005-09-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

दर वर्षी ज्याची आख्खा महाराष्ट्र वाट पहातो, त्या गणपती बाप्पाचे उंदिरमामावर बसून आगमन झालेय. आबालव्रुद्धांना विविध कारणांसाठी आवडणारा हा सण मला आवडतो तो मोदकांसाठी. मोदकांच्या नुसत्या आठवणीने माझ्या तोंडाला पाणी सुटलेय. काल रात्रीच मी मोदक बनवून ठेवलेत (देवा, गोड मानून खा रे बाबा... ;) ). आता कधी एकदा घरी जातोय आणि गणपती बाप्पाला प्रसाद अर्पण करून मोदकांवर ताव मारतोय असे झालेय मला. अमेरिकेत गणेश चतुर्थीची सुट्टी का नाही देत बरे? (अर्थात भारतीय सणांना सुट्टी मिळायला मी काही भारतात नाहीये म्हणा. पण दिलीच सुट्टी कोणी तर नको कोण म्हणणार?)

Ganpati at Apt #1410

व्येंकीशी काही दिवसांपुर्वीच ओळख झालीये. काय amazing cook आहे तो. क्रुष्णजन्माष्टमीला त्याने एकुण ११ पक्वान्ने बनवली होती आणि ती ही right from the scratch... I mean no packaged / instant things. आहाहा... गुलाबजाम, बालुशाही, म्हैसूरपाक, खिर (पायसम्)... अगदी त्रुप्त झालो मी त्या दिवशी. आज पुन्हा त्याच्याच घरी जेवण आहे संध्याकाळचे. Why do they have to keep classes in the evenings? Idiots...आणि मला वाटते जगातल्या सगळ्या घड्याळ्य़ांनी आज संप पुकारलाये. किती हळू हळू सरकताहेत काटे पहा... नेमक्या weekend ला ही मंडळी आता घाई करणार. Meeting आहे ना सोमवारी माझी prof बरोबर...

Messenger IDs

2005-09-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is a collection of some Messenger IDs. They are thoughtful and many of them are funny. I might add on to the list in future.

1. No one has gone blind by looking at the brighter side of things.
2. Stay Foolish. Stay Hungry.
3. They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever.
4. Result... Not Excuses.
5. Thank God I am not dating Katrina!
6. SwApNiL | LiNpAwS.
7. My biggest problem is that I believe almost everything I tell myself!
8. Houston, you have a problem...
9. ©
10. Its a beautiful life.
11. Do not go gentle into that good night.
12. The Victorian Vampire.
13. तराकु
14. Xler@work
15. The Urn has Turned.
16. Beauty fades...dumb is forever.
17. HW... Googling.
18. A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.
19. Equal Opportunity Annoyer.
20. "I have a need- Need to speed up"
21. gam zeh ya’avor.
22. Drive defensively. Buy a tank.
23. Theres a golden rule. One with the gold, rules.

Remember this?... (How can u forget???)

2005-08-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

Apart from the lovely TV Ad, this one stores some more memories from my COEP era...

Doodh doodh doodh doodh doodh hai wonderful
Pi sakte ho roz a glassful

Doodh doodh doodh doodh doodh, wonderful doodh,
Piyo glassful

Garmi me dalo doodh me ice
Doodh ban gaya very nice
Piyo daily once or twice
Mil jayega tasty surprise

Doodh doodh doodh doodh doodh, wonderful doodh,
Piyo glassful

Doodh hai must in every season
Piyo doodh for healthy reason
Rahoge phir fit and fine
Jiyoge past ninety-nine

Doodh doodh doodh doodh doodh, wonderful doodh,
Piyo glassful

Charon aur, mach gaya shor
Give me more, give me more!

Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme wonderful doodh
Piyo glassful doodh

Cited from Hinglish

Best thing ever happened to

2005-08-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

1. Cricket: Sachin Tendulkar.
2. Cell Phone: Nokia N90.
3. Internet: Google.
4. Science: Quantum Mechanics.
5. Animation Ad: EVIAN MINERAL WATER "WATERBOY".
6. Chicken: Butter chicken.
7. Forwarded emails: Soap Box.

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.
.

Losers of 2005

2005-08-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

This one is so true, tht I can not refrain myself from posting it here.

You know you're living in 2005 when:

1) You accidentally enter your password on a microwave.

2) You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3) The real reason for not staying in touch with friends is that they don't have a screen name.

4) You'd rather look all over the house for the remote instead of just pushing to button on the TV.

6) Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job.

7) You read this list and keep nodding and smiling.

8) As you read this list, you think about sending it to all your friends.

9) And.. you were to busy to notice number 5.

10) You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a number 5.

11) Now you're laughing at your stupidity.

Today

2005-08-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today's song : Habibi Habibi (Amr Diab)
Today's desire : Come out of 'this' completely (I don't know what & why 'this' is...)
Today's 'THE' task: Complete the code.
Today's food: Half Fry with 'Shengdaanyachi chutney'.
Today's craving: Methi chi bhaji.
Today's goal: 'No-Cellphone' day.
Today's read: Google news.
Today's hate : Skul. Dont feel like going to skul.
Today's love : India... its the Independence Day.

Addicted to driving

2005-08-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

I was travelling almost entire last week. The itinerary was all twisted and tangled. Houston - Dallas - Houston - College Station - Houston - College Station - Austin - College Station - Houston. Add to this 3 pickups / drop-offs to George Bush International Airport. This makes it over 1500 miles in 6 days (does not sound too much? Well... its not holiday season, is it?) It was mixture of pleasure and work (in that order). Was beihnd the controls for more than half of this journey. My first such long driving stint, and no doubt I liked it. Especially the WaveRunner ride.

Me on a WaveRunner. I wanna do it again.(Poor picture quality regretted)

Research

2005-08-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

These ideas struck me during a 'project review meeting' that I attended at TAMU, College Station today. (U can imagine how much I suffered today.)

Research # 1.

Research हमें किस मोडपे ले आया
के Result नही आए, Prof. बुलाये, अब क्या होगा?

Googling करो... Googling करो के Result नही आता हैं
Googling करनेंसेभी Result नही आएगा
Google पे Result जानें कब आयेगा...श् श् श् श्
Google पे मिल जाएगा तो तू Paper कैसें छापेगा???

Research # 2.

जख्में Research में खुशबु-ए-Efforts किसकी थी?
नाम Paper पें मेरा था Idea किसकी थी?

Publications से सही भर गया Resume` मेरा
Type तो मैंने किया था Calculations किसकी थी?

Wat say guys??

Blank

2005-07-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

जख्में तनहाईमें खुशबू-ए-हिना...

2005-07-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

आंसूओंसे ही सही भर गया दामन मेरा
हाथतो मैंने उठाएं थे दुआं किसकी थी?

The way Ghulam Ali has put this शेर is amazing. I just can't let it go without deliberating over it for a while each time.

मह्राठी असे आमुची मायबोली...

2005-07-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

हा माझा पहिला मराठी ब्लाग. मराठी लिहिण्याचा आनंद काही औरच, पण श्रमही खूप. मराठी कीबोर्डशी ओळख व्हायला थोडा अवधी तर लागणारच ना. परंतु प्रयत्ने वाळूचे कण रगडता तेलही गळे... नाही का?

AgriAliance

2005-07-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine has started a one stop service outlet for all kinds of agricultural services in India, an AgriAliance... aliance of all agricultural services. Its kinda 'elixir' for all needs and problems related to the field of agriculture (now, 'Agriculture' can not exist without a 'Field', can it?). I belive this is the way to the next green revolution in India... isn't it?

Tears

2005-07-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

Tears, whether of sorrow or joy, tend to blur the path ahead...

(cited from Ajit.)

Blow three whistles...

2005-07-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

This is a real life incidence in my school here. One of my friend, a great cook of indian curries, packs is tiffin-box to school everyday. He shares the lunch time with his colleagues regularly and they all love the curries his prepares. One of his colleagues, an American, told him one day that she absolutely loves the 'chhole' he makes and would like to try the recipe herself if he could reveal the 'secret'. My friend, not able to communicate all the ingredients correctly in English, told her that he will email the recipe with most equivalent English condiment names. So he googled for enough time and prepared a long detailed recipe after a lot of pains:

"Get two tins of chick peas from grocery store. Empty them in a cooker and put water such that the water level is two digits of index fingure above the chick peas. Blow three whistles and let the chick peas cool down. Put some oil in a separate pot and deep-fry finely chopped onions and ......."

I am abstaining from putting the whole recipe here because I am lazy enough to type the whole thing but believe me, the document was in fact a very good beginners' guide to indian cuisines.

The lady read through the recipe, got all the condiments and ingredients from grocery store and started her experiment with the 'chhole'. In fact she was very satisfied with the results. Next day she told my friend about her adventure and the ultimate joy of success. She said, "The recipe was very detailed one and I hardly had any trouble following the things. But I don't understand one thing... Why do you have to blow three whistles?"

My friend tried to explain her that its a standard 'thumb rule' in India that by the time you blow three whistle the food in cooker should be cooked well, but the lady could not see any logic behind three whistles and well cooked food. She said, "Whats my blowing three whistles has to do with cooking of food in cooker? How is that food in cooker will be well cooked just by my blowing three whistles?"
.
.
.
'Cooker' for the lady was 'electric rice cooker'. She never imagined 'pressure cooker' which is the most important part of an Indian kitchen.

Mirza Ghalib

2005-06-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ghalib padh kar hum kabhi daad nahi dete, bezuban jo ho jate hain.
Magar itna zarur kahenge, "aaj phir unka paigaam aaya hai, aaj phir
mahfil bhari bhari si hai"

Ghalibsaab ki ek ghazal aaj pesh-e-khidmat hai aap sab ke liye :

Daayam pada hua tere dar pe nahiN hooN maiN
Khaq aisi zindagi pe ki paththar nahiN hooN maiN

Permanently fallen on your door step I am not
Be perished such life, a slab of stone I am not

KyuN gardish-e-mudaam seE ghabra na jaaye dil
Insaan hooN pyaala-o-sagar nahiN hoon maiN,

Why from eternal worries terrorized be the heart
I am a human being, a cup or goblet I am not

Yaa rab zamaana mujhko mittata hai kis liye
Lauhe-jahaan pe harfey-mukarrar nahiN hoon maiN

Oh God this age is destroying me for what reason
In this iron world inscribed words I am not

Had chaahiye saza mae akhoobat ke waaste
Aakhir gunahgaar hoon kaafir nahiN hoon maiN

There should be a limit to punishment for the sake of torture
After all I am only a sinner, a heretic (kafir) I am not

Kis waaste azeez nahiN jaante mujhe
Lalo - zumroo - doe - zaro - gaohar nahiN hoon maiN

What is the reason the noble do not recognise me
Ruby, Emerald, gold or pearl I am not

Rakhte hoe thum khadam meri aankhon se kyun daroagh
Ruthbae mae maehro - maah se kamtar nahiN hoon maiN

Keeping you are your feet from my eye distanced
In status from sun and moon, lesser, I am not

Karte hoe mujh ko manaaye-khadam-boas kis liye
Kya aasmaan ke bhee baraabar nahiN hoon maiN

Why are you restraining me from kissing your feet
What even to the sky equal I am not

'Ghalib' wazeefa-khwar ho do shah ko dua
Voh din gaye keh kahate the naukar nahiN hoon maiN

'Ghalib' you are a petitioner, do praise the sovereign
those days are gone when you boasted, servant I am not

[ Daayam pada hua tere . . . . by Ghalib ]
Translation from Urdu : AAKUDROLLI

Visit Mirza Ghalib for more ghazals by the Great Poet.

My toplist

2005-06-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been tagged by 'milesnsmiles' to comeup with my toplist of H/Bollywood movies. So here it is.....

The last movie I borrowed:
Pather Panchali: The first of the 'Apu Trilogy'. Now I have watched all the three parts of the trilogy.. though in reverse order. I liked the 'real cinema' and am amazed by the director's attention to details. A must for those who like 'non-masala' movies.

The last film I watched in Theater :
Hollywood: Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Total disappointment on all the fronts.
Bollywood: Paheli: I am glad for the simple story and so real indian ethnic show. I think its not a gr8 movie by any means, but I am happy to have watched this one.

Which five fictional characters in Hollywood have you had a crush on?
Female:
1. Rose Dewitt Bukater - Kate Winslate in 'Titanic'.
2. Margaret "Maggie" Pollitt - Elizabeth Taylor in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (1958).
3. Isabella Oliveira - Penélope Cruz in Woman on Top.
4. Roxie Hart - Renée Zellweger in 'Chicago'.
5. Satine - Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!

Male:
1. Neo - Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix'.
2. Raymond Babbitt - Dustin Hoffman in 'Rain Man'.
3. Lt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell - Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun'.
4. The Terminator - Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'.
5. Jack Sparrow - Johnny Depp in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'.

Which five fictional characters in Bollywood have you had a crush on?
Female:
1. Lolita - Vidya Balan in 'Parineeta': Yet to watch the movie, but I am already hypnotized.
2. Shalini - Preity Zinta in 'DCH'... She is so natural in the role. esp. 'Jaane kyon log pyar karte hai' song.
3. Annie - Manisha Koirala in 'Khamoshi: The Musical': She is so cute and fresh there. I wonder where she lost that innocence nowadays.
4. Aana - Suchitra Krishnamoorthi in 'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na' (1994): Cute and Perfect for the character.
5. Renu - Madhubala in 'Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958)': I need not remind you 'Ek Ladki Bholi Bhalisi...'

Male:
1. Vijay Dinanath Chavan - Amitabh Bachchan in 'Agneepath (1990)'.
2. Ram Prasad Dasharath Prasad Sharma - Amol Palekar in 'Gol Maal (1979)'.
3. Pyare Mohan Illahabadi - Dharmendra in 'Chupke Chupke (1975)'.
4. Gabbar Singh - Amjad Khan in 'Sholay (1975)'.
5. Ajay Singh Rathod - Amir Khan in 'Sarfarosh (1990)'.

Five Hollywood films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:
1. Matrix I : Brilliant idea, brilliant presentation.
2. Young Frankenstein (1974): The scariest comedy of all time!
3. City Lights (1931): Masterpiece by Charlie Chaplin.
4. Pulp Fiction (1994): Quentin Tarantino is the great.
5. The Lion King (1994): Life's greatest adventure is finding your place in the Circle of Life.

Five Bollywood films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:
1. Dil Chahta Hai (2001): Never seen a Bollywood film? then DCH is the best place to start.
2. Chupke Chupke (1974): Amithabh, Dharmendra and Om Prakash cook a delicious comedy... remember the analogy between TO, DO and GO?
3. Sarfarosh (1999): A reason to live
4. Maine Pyar Kiya (1989): Classic film and unforgotable songs...Thing to remember - Friendship me no 'Thank you' no 'Sorry'!
5. Teesri Kasam (1966): Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rahman at their best.

Five Hollywood/Bollywood types that I can't stop slurping over:
1. Preity Zinta
2. Kate Winslate
3. Aishwarya Rai
4. Vidya Balan
5. Nicole Kidman

Dudes I think have no right to be this cool / hunky:
1. Russell Crowe
2. Amir khan
3. Amitabh Bachchan
4. John Travolta
5. Hrithik Roshan

H/Bollywood people I'm supposed to be impressed by, but am not:
1. SRK
2. Sanjubaba
3. Tom Cruise
4. Angelina Jolie
5. Madhuri

Sudoku - Now I am addicted

2005-06-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sudoku has started to take control of me. I was introduced to it just a few days back, but I find myself engulfed trying to solve the puzzle whenever I get a chance. They say, "The fact that Sudoku requires far lower literacy levels than crosswords makes it accessible to a far wider audience and it already has a readymade market of millions of devoted puzzle fans around the world who are welcoming it as the new big thing."

It has already been crowned as the world's fastest growing puzzle.

I crown it to be my favourite puzzle.

How was Engineer born?

2005-06-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

They say it all began with the discovery of wheel. Discovery of wheel was the first enginnering feet performed by human ever.

No doubt discovery of wheel was a very important milestone in the field of development of human race. But I believe an engineer was born much before the discovery of wheel. Let me explain why...

They say need is the mother of all inventions. I totally agree with the saying. Now human needed to run fast / carry heavy loads which lead to the discovery of wheel. May be it was a serendipity, but yes, it was a very important discovery.

But I believe man faced more urgent need of something else much before the need of wheel. It was the need of 'food'. Indeed man can not do much if he's not full. So lemme tell a story how an engineer was born as a result of this need. This is a story of that era when they used to run after deer, hair , chicken and similar creatures and kill them with bare hands those days. Long long before the discovery of wheel... So one day a poor soul wandering in search of a pray to quench his hunger stumbled over something and hit the ground. There lied a tiny sharp edged stone which hurt our hero badly. Obviously our hero was not very happy over this and in frustration he swirled the thing which caused distress to him with all the force he could gather despite his weakness. Now a pray found inadvertantly itself in the trajectory of the tiny little sharp edged projectile moving with gread momentum and got killed becouse of the gread injury caused it. Our hero saw this pray waiting to be picked up and savoured it thanking the God Almighty.

The story does not end here. Our hero, now a glutton, went on to brag before his wife and kids how he killed a pray lying down on ground. And then he thought, okie, if I could do that inadvertantly lying on ground hurt, I could do that intentionally to grab a bigger and more delicious pray. He ran back to the tiny little sharp edged stone and showed his fellow men how to used it for kill. Thereafter all the ppl used shartp edged tools for hunting and no one was hungry then after.

Now do you see the birth of an Engineer there. Our hero observed some physical phenomena and recreaced it for the benefit of human kind. I believe that was when an Engineer was born.

Further down the line, our 'engineer' hero used his sharp adged tools, the original engineering invention, to carve wheel out of a big tree trunk and set pace for human development... didn't he?

(This idea struck me during a class debate long back. I also used it for our college magazine editorial then.)

Surprizingly, thesedays I find myself waiting for Hindi movies...

2005-06-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Till recently, I used to despise Hindi movies... be it a big banner SRK movie or the showman Subhash Ghai flik or Karan Johar production.. I made sure wont waste my time watching a new Hindi movie, I would rather do my research, you know...Just kidding ;). Boy, I watched a buncha Non-Hindi movies recently, thanx to Block Buster free trials and Dr. (my next door buddy).. I'm ready to publish my own 'Top 100 movies in the world' soon. Watch out for it...

But, God knows y, these days I find myself waiting for a few Hindi movies.. Parineeta, Salaam Namaste, Paheli (this is not for SRK or Rani) and ofcourse The Rising...

I hope my wait is worth it, 'cos I'm already a little disappointed with the editor of Bunty n Bubly... I would have chopped off a few scenes easily... but I liked the dance numbers in the flik... 'Kajarare Kajarare' and 'QQ Quureshi'

I never verified this...

2005-05-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Only the fool would take trouble to verify that this sentence was composed of ten a's, three b's, four c's, four d's, forty-six e's, sixteen f's, four g's, thirteen h's, fifteen i's, two k's, nine l's, four m's, twenty five n's, twenty four o's, five p's,sixteen r's, forty-one s's, thirty seven t's, ten u's, eight v's, eight w's, four x's, eleven y's, twenty seven commas, twenty three apostrophes, seven hyphens, and, last but not least, a single !

- Douglas R Hofstadter

Murphy's laws

2005-03-15T14:19:00.000-08:00

Heres a collection of some universal laws. There are more at Murphy's Laws.

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.

Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.

Rule of Accuracy: When working toward the solution of a problem, it always helps if you know the answer.
Corollary: Provided, of course, that you know there is a problem.

Nothing is as easy as it looks.

Everything takes longer than you think.

Everything takes longer than it takes.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.

Every solution breeds new problems.

The legibility of a copy is inversely proportional to its importance.

You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter.

The chance of the buttered side of the bread falling face down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

No matter how perfect things are made to appear, Murphy's law will take effect and screw it up.

Mayonnaise Jar and the Coffee

2005-03-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

This is a story that all of us have learned in our grade 4 science class. Although an old one, it potrays a new lesson which we could not have learned at that age.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. "The golf balls are the important things-your spirituality, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. "The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. "The sand is everything else-the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued,"there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled."I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Networking aka Sifarish

2005-02-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

I am here in the land of opportunities since Aug 03. Well... opportunities are plenty out here, but one needs to know where the opportunity is. One must approch right person at right time (with or without right things under the belt). So everyone here is constantly looking for the right connection (read 'person') which will let them trap this right moment. In the Land of Opportunities, they call this as 'Networking'... but I prefer the desi equivalent of it... 'Sifarish'...'cos if this is not sifarish, then what is it?

I love Robert and Kramer

2005-02-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

These days I'm following closely the (repeat) telecast of 'Eveybody Loves Raymond' and 'Seinfeld'. Hats of to Robert Barone and Cosmo Kramer.

Nicknames

2005-01-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

Most guys who know me, know me as 'ND'. If I call them up and say "Hey, this is Nikhil Sharma", half of them will just hang up thinking its a wrong number. Even parents of someof my good friends also know me as ND. Well, if Matc calls my place and introduces himself as 'Abhijit' then even I have to think for a while to make sure which 'Abhijit' I am talking to...whether its 'Abhijit the Pandya', 'Abhijit the Gokhs' or 'Abhijit the Matc' or someone else. So you see now why nicknames are so important and why you should always introduce yourselves by your nickname.

Now, nicknames are not always very convinient. Many of my pals actually believe that my nickname is 'Andy'. The fact that pronounciation of 'ND' is somuch similar to 'Andy', is enough to ignore the 'two-alphabetic' option.

One day I called 'Purya' and asked whether he was home or otherwise. Someone answered, "This is 'Purya'. But which purya do you want to talk to... 'Purya the Senior' or 'Purya the Junior' ?"... I was talking to my pal's uncle then.

First Blog

2004-11-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog. Just a trial to check how it works.