What to BLOG?? - Confessions of a naive Blogger

* but what to blog about!!!!???

I have a blog-page of my own, no doubt,
But I don’t know what to BLOG about??

This question has always come to my mind on and off from the day I posted my first blog and today I take it up only because I think I have an answer.

Atleast from the word BLOG.I can infer that it refers to a 'log'. A log which simply put means records of what you have done, what you wanted to do etc. etc. So basically a blog is your dairy on the net. But then why would you want to maintain a dairy (which seems to be always a personal dairy) on a very public domain like the internet. It was this thought which prevented me from posting my daily happenings on the blog. Another thing was that who will be interested in what I did daily. Would it not be a bit more than trivial and yes after a certain point of time all too monotonous? They say that change is constant but then they can never say when change will come ;)

But wait who says that the BLOG has only to be a record of what happened to you or what you want from life? It can also be a forum where you can showcase your literary zeal. You are a great poet, a budding author go ahead post your creations. You will be satisfied that atleast you got a chance to ‘publish’ something. This idea seemed plausible and I, a self proclaimed ‘decent poet and author’ in my initial posts (actually a lot many posts) posted only poems and stories.

The flip side of this was my posts began to be few and far between. I just waited for that spark of creativity before logging into my Blogger account. There was a time where I forgot my blogger password too (that was before you could log into your Blogger account with your Google (gmail) credentials.) This was shameful I know :)

There is another reason why people blog. To answer critics, voice opinions and yes with that create stirs. But these types of blogs are more suitable for celebrities. My blog-page url has the word ‘celebrity’ in it but I aint no ‘celebrity’ :) :)

Therefore I blog using the middle path, which for me stands for putting your creativity into your day to day things and by that weaving incidents which may not necessarily be very true but would be interesting nonetheless.

After reading this you might say that, “All this while, I was reading lies?” and then maybe decide that from now I aint gonna read this blog.

Don’t do this please. I beg of you ;)

13 Shades of 13

I got this compilation of 13 chosen shades of mine on my birthday (26th March) from Neha. She has taken quite an effort with this :)

Thank a ton for this!!!!

The Chinese Nook!!!

J L Nehru very famously said, “HINDI CHINI BHAI-BHAI” and what happened after that is as they say ‘History’.

But my connection with China is not intertwined with the relations between India and China. It is a bit more personal than that. My connection with China is via “The Chinese Nook!!!!”

The Chinese Nook has been there for many years. I have known it for the last 6 years and I am sure that it has been there a good four years before that. You would have guessed it right; The Chinese Nook is a Chinese fast food joint near my house in Nashik. The term “fast food joint” seems too sophisticated I know. Well to tell you the truth, it is simply called “Chinese cha GADA” in Marathi. GADA is masculine of a gaddi (vehicle in English)

*chef @ Chinese Nook!!!! (jus kidding) :) :)

There is one thing which you should know right away about the Chinese Nook. You never go to the Nook, you are always taken there. It is strictly a ‘by invitation’ place. In that sense I can proudly say that the Nook is in a way like GMAIL was in its earlier years, ‘strictly by invitation’.

What will happen if you go directly uninvited? Nothing much, you will be ignored until you stand up and shout. In short you will not be given the premium service. Does that not affect the customer relationship? No it does not. Already every evening the ‘by invitation’ crowd has to wait for there turn to get a table. Plus if you are a first timer, that too in the ‘not invited’ category and you get impatient then you don’t deserve to be in the Nook in the first place.

The more ‘by invitation’ crowd you bring in with every visit to the Nook, the more you will be respected. So when my friend took me to the Nook for the first time, he had already taken a few other friends before and by then had earned enough respect of Ramchandra. Ramchandra was the proprietor of the Nook. Don’t be surprised, he was a Nepali citizen serving Chinese food (authentic(?)) to Indians – globalization anybody????? Maybe but definitely not ‘outsourcing’. I am sure he was not employed by a Chinese firm and India was not his Onsite :)

I apprehensively sat in front of my ‘respected’ friend who with pride was looking around as if he owned the place. “Arre chotu, jara table saaf karna toh!!!” he ordered a kid who was cleaning tables and gathering empty dishes off another table. “Sir order?” enquired a waiter. “Order kya re, tu naya hai kya? Pata nahi tereko!!!” my friend gave me a wink in between. Bemused the waiter looked around towards Ramchandra. “Arre sahib woh naya hai, kal hi aaya gaon se. Usse nahi pata.” Ramchandra turned to the chef who was to his right and said , “One by two Chicken Manchaw soup aur uske baad one by two Chicken Triple rice” “Barabar na Chinmay seth?” Chinmay’s (my friend) chest was about to burst with pride. Ramchandra remembers my name. This was the final hint, Chinese Nook was his place now. He and his accompaniment will be treated royally each and every time they come. Only now he will have to tip chotu and yes during alternate visits strike up a conversation with Ramchandra. For that he was even thinking of buying the Nepali daily, “Nepal Samachar”. :) :) :)

We were treated royally not only that time but each time after that. Chinese Nook became a place where we used to throw birthday parties to our friends. It was economical and if the extra money which mom gave was saved then everybody was ready for a round of matka kulfi.

Chinese Nook was the place where we discussed our first love affairs. That was the place where we talked about cricket, national-local politics and yes that was the place where I also bumped into a guy who on hearing that I had flunked in Graphics came up to us and offered to change my marks. He gave me his number, all I had to do was to put the paper for re-evaluation and give him a call with my seat number. He said, “Abhi Nook main mila na tu isliye, nahi toh main aasani se padak main aata hi nahi!!!” I did put the paper for re-evaluation but never called him. He met me at the Nook sometime later and said , “Yaar re-evaluation ka samay toh ho gaya, tune phone nahi kiya yaar. Bass kya bharosa nahi kya tereko??”. To which I humbly replied, “Nahi re-evaluation main nahi daala. Agli baar padai karke nikal dunga”. “Kya yaar tu bhi??” he said and went back to his soup.

Chinese Nook still stands where it used too. It has weathered many a “no hawker” drives of the munipical corporation. Ramchandra’s brother Randhir took over a couple of years back. Before going Ramchandra introduced us (me and Chinmay) to Randhir or to it more correctly introduced Randhir to us. We knew the Nook more than him at that timeJ. The royal service still continues.

I never really relish the taste of Chinese anywhere else; I like the taste of the Nook. I like the people who serve me with innocence, who enquire about my well-being each time I go.

Even if I ever end up in China, the Chinese food at the Chinese Nook will always be AUTHENTIC.

VOTE or shut up!!!

This 23rd day of April 2009 will always be remembered. Today for the very first time I voted!!!

It was not much of a task. I stood in the queue for 5 minutes in which time I chatted with a couple of my friends who also were first timers and then after finding my name in the electoral rolls (which took half a minute) I proceeded towards the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine).

A push of the button and you are done. I don’t know why but as I pressed that button I did feel a tinge of pride in me, I did feel that yes with this trivial seeming gesture I was making a small difference.

Indian Politics has always intrigued me. I have never been a student of Politics but following a couple of general elections and a few state elections on News channels have really made me a political buff.

Indian Politics is one big drama, with many plots, sub plots and everything is on show when elections are announced. The Election Commission an independent body conducts the elections and let me tell you that is no mean feat.

My vote; more than a vote to this party or that party is a vote of appreciation to the Election Commission and to all the other agencies who have for years staged a free and fair election. I chatted with a policeman who was manning my booth and I got to know that just yesterday he has returned from election duty from Gadchiroli, was posted in Nashik today and will be moving to Mumbai tomorrow. Tough is the only word that comes to my mind.

My vote is a vote to the change which I have seen around me in the last 5-10 years which has instilled some hope in me that the leaders are not all that hopeless. If Lalu Prasad Yadav accused and convicted of corruption and scam can make a success story out of the Indian Railways then why should I not harbour hope?

The recently concluded CYG games changed the face of Pune, no doubt there would have been kickbacks taken and given but nonetheless work was done. It is this that again gives me hope.

The power of the Indian voter came to the fore beyond doubt when in the last general elections the NDA govt was overthrown. The voter asked serious questions of the NDA, the “India Shining” campaign did not blind the voter and this is what tells me that the voting is not a mere ritual.

There are cynics everywhere and there will be always. India can change only if the hopefuls outnumber them and VOTE!!!!

To all the cynics out there I just have one line of advice, “VOTE or shut up!!!”

The ICE BREAKER- TM project 1

The journey of a Toastmaster begins with Project 1 where he is to deliver his first speech in front of his fellow toastmasters. Below is my speech. I drafted it today and would present it mostly by the end of April. The allotted time for the speech is 4-6 minutes:

Standing at Pune station waiting for my local just a few days back my eyes rested on a weighing machine. I am not a health freak (well you can make that out looking at me I think) but then once in a while curiosity about my well being gets the better of me and so I decide to get my weight checked. The thing about these weighing machines which amazes me is that on the card that comes out there is your fortune written on the reverse. So you look at your weight start worrying and then you turn the card and there it is printed, “Today a beautiful girl will ask you for a lift”. And you start looking out for that elusive beautiful girl. So hoping for the best, I push the rupee coin in the machine and out comes the card. I am not going tell you how much I weighed but this is what was written on the back of the card. “Get ready, very soon you will need to introduce yourself”.

And today that prediction has come true. Good evening fellow toastmasters and guests I am Toastmaster Advait standing in front of you to talk about myself.

A farmer’s son set out from his home because he wanted to study further. He made the cut for the Indian Navy only to be rejected at the last hurdle because his eye sight was not up to the mark. He had watched a partial solar eclipse using a tainted glass during his childhood, unaware that this mistake would cost him his carrier. He finally retired last year as the Head of the English Dept of the most reputed college in Nashik. That is my father.

She deftly managed her kids and work and presently serves as the Head Mistress of a Govt aided school in Nashik and it is a pleasant coincidence that even she teaches English. She smiles knowingly when somebody comes to her and complains about work-life balance. That is my mother.

Both my parents teach English and this fact has been a source of many funny moments in my life. My friends and people around me have always felt that I have a command over the language; reason being both my parents teach English. To tell you frankly I am no Shakespeare nor am I Churchill, in fact I don’t remember my parents breaking their heads over my English studies. And somebody please tell my friends that knowledge is not transferred genetically :). Then there was this person who once approached me and asked, “Are you Professor Borate’s son?” I said “Yes”. He very innocently enquired, “Don’t get me wrong son, but tell me do everybody in your house talk in English?” I couldn't control my laughter.

Parents who are teachers are a bit tough to handle especially for an adolescent and more so for a teenager. Teachers are known to everybody in a radius of 25 kms from their residence and more often than not their workplaces also fall within that limit. Teachers make it a point to admit their kids in the same institutions in which they are teaching. Though my school, St Xavier’s High School was not were my mother taught but then a few of my teachers in school had been my father’s students. Everybody knew me and if they did not then hearing my last name they always wanted to know me. Imagine this, you bunk a lecture in college and instead of the lecturer asking you, your father would ask you the reason for the same. A tight situation you would say.

Then there was an identity crisis. They did not know me or did not want to know me as Advait, they wanted to know me as Prof Borate’s son or Madam Borate’s son. All this seems funny now but I remember I used to storm in the house and narrate this to my parents.

After my 12th I got admitted to the Govt College of Engg Pune. New city meant nobody knew me and nobody wanted to know me. I was eager to explore my new found freedom and the 4 years in college I enjoyed like anything. I studied whatever was required to take me through the exams comfortably. That was where I learnt the significance of effort saving.

From my first salary I bought myself a black 2GB Ipod Nano. Thanks to the Nano I can indulge in my hobby of listening to music. My job gave me the courage to fulfill two more of my wishes. I got an eye brow pierced and a permanent tattoo on my right forearm. I couldn't get this done during my engg. Imagine the impression you would make in front of an external examiner during your orals with this stuff. I love reading and bored of American paperbacks am recently exploring the works of Indian authors.

Together with my Ipod there is one more thing which is precious to me and that is my Bullet. I am a rider at heart always looking for anything that would make me hop on my Bull. I have roamed quite a few places around Pune, and Hyderabad. Its amazing when you just leave everything and go out riding in the horizon with no worries on your mind. It’s my dream to someday ride upto Leh-Ladakh.

I am a person who is more into the present than the future or the past. I worry of what is happening right now than what will happen next because it is our present that shapes our future.

Don’t let that make you think that I don’t believe in fortune cards especially the one which come out of weighing machines.

I am still looking for that elusive beautiful girl who is going to ask me for a lift!!!

Back to you Mr. Toastmaster

I joined Toastmasters!!!!

On 9th April I joined Toastmasters International. It is involved in public speaking and nurturing leadership skills through a worlwide network of meeting locations. Infosys Pune boasts of a very active Toastmasters club. They meet twice evey month. There is a framework (10 projects) laid down tracing which you achieve certifications like CC (Competent Communicator), CL (Competent Leader), DTM etc. All these certifications are recognised at the corporate level. Each project mentioned above teaches specific traits in public speaking.

Infosys Pune toastmasters also anchor the various functions which happen at the Pune DC. Be it presenting or any activity which involves any form of public speaking.

I will be speaking publicly again after a gap of 4 years. I last stood on stage at MIT where I returned with the 3rdprize :) :)

Hoping that the experience will be rewarding. By the way I am going to post my speeches here :) One more reason for me to increase my blogs :) :)

Here is the dope on ToastMasters:

http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/MembersFunctionalCategories/AboutTI.aspx

The Great Purge

They said we have never done it before and will never even consider it in the future.

They said we have seen such situations before and come out of it unscathed and undoubtedly stronger.

They said even if we do not get any new business for a year we have reserves enough to pay all our employees salary for a year.

They said and I believed, I never asked for any written proof. I thought values were to be upheld and not be put down only on paper.

Extra-ordinary situations require extra-ordinary measures and so finally at the Great Indian Software Firm the Great Purge begins.


Let this be my shortest post ever. Aren’t the market pundits telling us to save.

Let me save my words for times merrier. :( :( :(

The Household Lizard- Much Ado About Nothing

George Orwell in this famous novel “Animal Farm” writes “Four legs good, two legs bad!!” I don’t agree (well I know this is being taken a bit of context). Out of the four legged creatures roaming on the planet the species which I despise the most is the cockroach and the species which I fear the most is the Household Lizard. This does not mean I am not scared of the great hunters like the tiger, lion cheetah etc. but the thing is that I have never encountered them outside a zoo and therefore I am not really in a position to comment.

Day before yesterday around 5:45AM when I was sleeping a bit too soundly in my bed (bed meaning only the mattress, I don’t own a bed and so sleep on the mattress spread on the floor) I got a tingly feeling near my right ear. After a few moments I jerked my head to get rid of the nuisance and behold!! Right next to my head and near my iPod laid a small household lizard. I am sure it was a lizard and nothing else as in the early morning light I could make out the shape of the vermin :(

I woke up with a start and immediately switched on the lights of the room, but predictably the lizard was nowhere to be seen. It had concealed itself under the loads of “pasara” (marathi word meaning “a mess”) I had so effortlessly assembled around my bed :) . I went to bed after half an hour thinking if the lizard is intelligent enough to trace the same path again and again. I knew that at least elephants have a sharp memory to remember the path they took earlier and also to avoid a particular path incase of any dangers they had sensed there earlier.

I think the lizard is not intelligent enough, as yesterday night I never got a tingly feeling or maybe it is even more intelligent, it is playing the waiting wanting me to believe that it will never and then it will make a comeback and maybe bite off my ear or something.

Bite off my ear!!!! Are household lizards harmful or do they believe in peaceful co-existence with human feeding on flies, and other small insects? I don’t know but then to tell you the truth I never thought of it. Maybe the adjective ‘household’ is meant to convey something. But then I cannot be sure until I get some dope on this. I goggled and this is what I got:

Household lizards are not at all dangerous on the other hand they are pretty useful in controlling the spread of small insects like flies and cockroaches. Now my flat has cockroaches, this might be a good sign :) :) :). Nonetheless below are the techniques to get rid of lizards!!!!

Using Peacock Feathers: (By far the most imaginative technique I have come across ) The funda is peacocks feed on lizards and also it is not feasible to have a peacock as your pet so use peacock feathers. The lizards will be scared. So stick peacock feathers on the ceiling and on the walls or places where lizards frequent in your house and wait did I mention that peacock feathers being colorful will add an aura to your place :)

Scaring Pests with Pets : (I don’t have Pets .No elaboration here)

Lizards follow Lights: (And I thought Lizards were nocturnal :) :) ) Lizards are usually seen in well-lit places. Turn off the lights in your room when you’re not around so they won’t hang out in there. Turn off the lights when you go to bed. This way, you do not just save power; you also give the lizards a curfew. Always keep places dark where you usually see them, as often as you can. Lizards often run away to escape. To find them, turn off the lights inside the room, get a flashlight and light up a corner of the room. You can easily find them because their big eyes reflect the light, twinkling like stars. If they do not make a move when you direct a light on them, then that is the best time to terminate them.

Keeping your place clean: (Hell, I ain’t ever gonna do that. No elaboration here)

Use of Pesticides: (NO..I am a nature guy ..psst..I don’t take ayurvedic medicines though once in a while I use MEDIMIX :) :))

5 ways to get rid of lizards!!! Can you believe it…
As Shakespeare rightly said “Much Ado About Nothing!!!!”

The Modern Nomad!!!

A youth of about 21 years lands in the city with his luggage not knowing what lies ahead of him. The rickshaw-wallahs crowd around him screaming to take him places in the city. One intelligent rickshaw driver knows where this confused youth dressed in casual clothes belongs and shouts out the name of a respectable IT firm in the city. The youth laps it up and loads himself along with his baggage into that rickshaw. Throughout the ride he is peering out trying to take in as much of the scene as possible. The rickshaw finally halts and he gets down. He has never being to this place before. However the name of the locality matches the address he has printed on a sheet of paper in his jeans pocket. His father’s acquaintance who he has never met before opens the door of the flat and asks him to be comfortable.

A week from that day; the youth takes leave of the acquaintance and loads another rickshaw to take him to another locality. He does not seem jittery now. A week in the city has helped his confidence however he still has to work on learning the local tongue. He pays the rickshaw driver the amount which the acquaintance had agreed upon before with the driver. A thought that maybe the previous rickshaw driver duped him earlier crosses his mind for a moment. He smiles (out of helplessness) and moves on. A few hours later he is done arranging his wares in his new flat. “My place”, he says to himself. Only to realize few moments later that he is a tenant on lease.

He is happy to know that a swimming pool and a gym have been opened in his building. The next day he makes his way to the building gym only to return dejected when the security at the entrance informs him that these amenities were only for flat owners and not for the tenants. He does not understand the logic but feels too awkward to raise his voice. “Why was the security guy talking to me with disdain?” he thinks. He again smiles (out of helplessness) and moves on.

Six months pass by. He is not sure if the other beings in his building are aware of his existence or not. Being a tenant he is extra careful not to create a nuisance for anybody, more so the security. He drinks no doubt but only at his friend’s flat (who owns the flat) returning the next morning worried what impression would it create on the others (owners) had he returned home feeling high. A month later he wakes up to find a society notice pushed under his flat door which says that he is to vacate his flat in a month’s time. There was no word from the owner of the flat about this. The notice says “In the Annual General Body Meeting convened on 4th April 2009, it was decided that the society will no longer allow the flat owners to rent out their flats to bachelors. Only families will be allowed.” "What Annual General Body Meeting?" he thinks to himself. He remembers reading a notice about the time and venue of the meeting but then tenants were not allowed there too. Were the victims not even allowed to present their case? He calls up the owner who is equally surprised. His owner lives in a different city and he too has no idea. The owner confirms the news and glumly asks him to vacate the flat in a month’s time. He tries to smile but in vain!!!

A few weeks later the youth again loads himself along with his belongings in a rickshaw which takes him to another address. He is not sure how long he will be able to call that address his own. “I am more of a Modern Nomad than a software professional” he thinks to himself feeling proud about the originality of the thought.

Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy

* (click on the movie poster to see the Teaser!!!)

Bapu did it in Munnabhai-II and now Shivaji Raje will do it exclusively for the Marathi Manoos :) Dinkar Maruti Bhosale (played by Sachin Khedkar) is your typical Marathi manoos (typical meaning as a marathi manoos is always potrayed by the media or the others around him) who is used, abused and more used, more abused..even more used, even more abused.....

This is how the Marathi Manoos is introduced in the flick (I gathered this from the promo):

Eke kali dinosaur sarkha disnara..pan aata chilta evdha zhalela..

hach toh Marathi Manoos

Dinkar Maruti Bhosale!!!!

Shivaji raje Bhonsale comes to the rescue of this Marathi Manoos and what follows is well to be seen.

I will be watching the flick tonite and it promises to be entertaining. This is the first Marathi movie after Dombivali Fast and Saat chya aat Gharat which has grabbed my attention. Also it looks like a big budget film from the sets and also the publicity it has generated.

With the elections round the corner this movie is sure to have some political overtures what with the MNS chief being the self-assumed messiah of the Marathi Manoos. I was not at all surprised when I got to know that the MNS chief was present at the premiere of the film in Mumbai...

...thoughts after the movie:


Upside:

A powerhouse performance by Sachin Khedkar. Now I am feeling so sorry that I missed his Jabbar Patel directed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose :(

The monologue where Sachin Khedkar loses his cool and finally screams "Laaj vatte mala mee Marathi aslyachi!!!!" is awesome. Hats off to him. In the monologue he is surrounded by the busts of greats (hailing from Maharashtra) like Savarkar, B R Ambedkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sant Dyneshwar, Jyotiba Phule and each time he delivers a dailogue the busts move as if shaken by his admission. Here is the still from the scene:

Mahesh Manjrekar as RAJE aagdhi SHOBHUN distat. Makarand Anaspure as Raiba (his trusted aide) is witty with his one liners and delivers a punch.
The sequence which showcases how Shivaji killed Afzal Khan has been very beautifully done. I heard that 1 crore has been spent only on that.
No where the movie seems to be baised against the so called outsiders. Marathi pana nahi Maharashtriyata neat sambhali ahe.

Downside:

In the bid of not being baised, the movie seems lengthy. Dose jara jast hota ase vatte at the end. They could have easliy done away with the last scene which tries to educate the masses to vote and that too vote contructively. But apart from that there does not seem to be any downside to the movie. And after 2.5 hrs another 25 minutes should not be that big a concern.



Surely worth a dekho........btw just one more point...apart from the background score of the movie (which is good no doubt, especially jeva RAJE screen var yeta) JAI SHIVAJI JAI BHAVANI chya garjannani cinema hall (multiplex suddha :) :)) aagdhi dhum-dhumte!!!

Addu Booker Prize 2008

Arvind Adiga created history by winning the Man Booker this year (2008), but I feel critics got to the prize before Arvind Adiga :) There were critics who said that the Man Booker book this time around is way below par the previous winners and maybe the short-listed books itself were not all that great. And then there were some saying that it was a Western Conspiracy of sorts to give the award to an Indian, don’t forget that after this the Oscars went to "Slumdog Millionaire" (nothing to take away from A.R. Rehman and Rosul, they deserved there individual awards) which to me seemed to be a Slumdog in front of the other competitors. But I would not comment on the Oscars as I have not seen the other nominated films.

But considering the Man Booker, this is what I am going to do. I have instituted an Addu Booker prize. I am going to read each of the short listed books and after I am done reading I am going to give away the Addu Booker award. The only thing which I am going to use from the Man Booker committee is the final shortlist :)

Here is the shortlist for 2008 Addu Booker Award:

My take:

1) White Tiger (Arvind Adiga):
Synopsis:
Born in a village in heartland India, the son of a rickshaw puller, Balram is taken out of school by his family and put to work in a teashop. As he crushes coals and wipes tables, he nurses a dream of escape - of breaking away from the banks of Mother Ganga, into whose depths have seeped the remains of a hundred generations.
The White Tiger is a tale of two Indias. Balram’s journey from darkness of village life to the light of entrepreneurial success is utterly amoral, brilliantly irreverent, deeply endearing and altogether unforgettable.

What I felt:

I don’t know how this one made it to the Shortlist. One thing is sure White Tiger would not win the Addu Booker Prize 2008 (this is before I read the other books). Too simple a subject, written in very simple language. Too simple for the Addu Booker award L The feel I got after I finished the book was one of boredom. The journey of Balram from Dark India to the India of Light is not riveting. The twists were expected and so were the turns. Like Slumdog it talks about the dark underbelly of India. It is not what India is presently..

…Next I will be taking up Sea of Poppies (Amitav Ghosh)