sab faaltu hai..

This post will be a scrap book kind of attempt. I will scribble all the little thoughts that are flooding my mind right now. All crap at one place.
No Gyan...

Rakhi Sawant rocks man... Big Boss is again interesting thanks to her (dumbass) beauty. She is a perfect entertainer. Initially I used to think that she sucks (but they never showed that). Now I am a fan of her persona.

Yesterday I got these really beautiful gifts - a budhist bell, a prayer flag and a pendant. really cool stuff from sikkim. Thanks Deeps for that. It really is so precious for me. If you want to see the pendant, its already in place. Rest will be in my cubicle once I am back from home.

will keep adding here as they come in my mind...

Bangla Bandh

Mamta Aunty is on a hunger strike. Please don’t disturb her, and let us see this time how long can she continue it. Then only she will realize the hunger that umpteen numbers of families suffer because of Bandh called by her.

Nandi Hills - clouds and beyond

Nandi Hills is not a hill station. In one sense it is no better than Chamundi Hills in Mysore - a temple on a small hillock surrounded by lush green jungles. You can trek up the Ghat to make it more interesting. Though I doubt anybody does that. Other option is to do a long walk in the jungle and surrounding garden here, once you are on top. Monkeys welcome you anywhere you go; they are not dangerous though.

Once you are here, its all up to your imagination and enthusiasm. You can spend time exploring the jungles here, or can just sit with your loved ones in some dark corner of the garden (you find so many of these kind here :) ). Families flock this place to worship in the temple. We had an altogether different mission. We were here just to chill out for some time.

So after a small snacks break (as usual, the shops sell food stuff and drinks at astronomically high prise), we headed straight to the cliff side. In the back of temple is the large rocky plane from where you can get a very good view in all directions. Sun was mostly playing hide n seek with clouds. We stretched our body and then adjusted ourselves in minimum energy state. Just a small nape, some fundes from RD, some gyan from C and then some more tp with camera.

RD had to reach home for lunch so we had to leave early. Return journey was not so dramatic. Only interesting thing we saw on the way back was one cyclist doing a trip up the hill. I am sure he was planning to reach the top on his cycle. From his attire he looked a professional. Hats off the enthu soul in him.

We reached home by 2, full tired of the journey. Hungry and thirsty. A good lunch followed by long sleep. Our Sunday was made.

Nandi Hills - the dio saga

Soon the bikes (yes, mine Honda Dio too!!) were roaring on desrted roads. These early hours only mad soules like us wander on the roads. We started from Jaynagar and we had to hit NH7 somewhere. V suggested one smooth and direct way, but we know it’s better to exhaust all the other options before following him. When it comes to directions, V and A are the last man standings. Then RD came up with his route. Knowing that he has roamed half of Bangalore all his life with so many of his girl-friends, we decided to follow him. He started his usual way and was soon out of sight. So A on poor Honda Dio and me & R on his bike were left wandering on roads of Bangalore. Few calls, some shouting and we all were back in sync.

Fuel tanks were replenished for the journey and all gears throttled for the race of the Day. A was tired and sleepy so I took over the control of Dio. So goes my ultimate tryst with my first long ride that too on a Honda Dio. This bike (yes it is a bike!!) is very good for city traffic but I had never tested it for long drives and today was the stress testing. 60km ride, on a chilly winter morning, tp add tp it a 7km Ghat section. I gave full thrust on the accelerator and the bike started roaring (sound and speed both roaring). It crossed 60 kmph, then 65 and finally 70 kmph mark. That’s it? I gave some more accelerator, that’s when I realized that I had reached the limit, Dio reached maximum of 80 kmph. Bloody why do they drive a speedometer with marking up to 110 when it cant even reach 85 kmph!!!

Anyways, so we were zooming on the road. NH7 is very well built and has really long crossing free stretches for a good riding experience. On the way, there is some construction work going on in patches so sometimes you need to slow down. Else its just one zooming experience. By this time RD had slowed down and now we were three bikes in last place. V with C on fazer had vanished somewhere.

We somehow missed the left turn for Nandi Hill and kept riding on NH7 only. Only when we reached next village that we realized about this mistake. Anyways, we entered the village, asked for the direction and were guided properly. So now we seeing Nandi Hill in our sight still we are going away from it. The view from the way was awesome. There were clouds covering the peaks and it looked like a umbrella covering. Greenery everywhere and this prompted me to switch back to pillion mode. Poor A was again on Dio, that too for the toughest stretch of the trip. I took my camera and started shooting continuously. And here V and C crossed us. Even they had missed the crossing and were lost for a while.

Now we all were in sync and were gearing up for the Ghat Section. I had my doubts about Dio’s ability to take this challenge. Still we continued. The Ghat section is very beautiful. You actually start from a different hill and then cross the path and reach Nandi Hill. The clouds on the hill side result in sudden decrease in temperature and we all were shivering. Camera flash was continuously burning and that was a point of satisfaction for me.

Dio was crawling at all the turns. A said he was riding at slow speed coz he wanted to enjoy each and every turn. Our concern was to reach the top at the earliest before Dio breaks down.
But it didn’t break down. It covered all of 36 turns and reached the top easily. We parked the vehicles and stretched our body. For more than one and half hours we were riding.
Now we had reached the destination and only thing left was to explore it.

continued...

Photos have been uploaded at my flickr page. You can check them here.

Nandi Hills - first few minutes

Trinnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Trinnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Its 5:30 am… I must be crazy to put an alarm for this hour. Yes I am crazy only. We are all crazy. We plan to brave chilled winds in this hour of day (or actually night) in December. Bangalore is dead chilling these days.

Lets go back some hours back:

Time 11:30 pm, the previous night
P: Oye, to kal subah chal rahe hai naa [still skeptical if everyone is just pulling his leg]
C: [grrrrr..] tum saale pagal ho gaye ho, I am not coming anywhere. Mujhe sona hai aaram se.
V: Mein nahi aa raha hoon, I have got class in morning.
Eveyrone:[in chorus] Saala, hamesha yahi bahana !!! Tu chal raha hai.. kal koi class vlass nahi..
RD: [in his typical style] guys, lets leave early morning, I have to be back home in morning itself. Ek kaam karte hain, we leave in dark and try to see the sun rise from the cliff.
Everyone: [Not so surprised to heal him say this plan] Ok yea, it looks very good . Par itni jaldi, pagal ho gaya hai, it’s a Sunday. [this is the main point they all want to raise. they all know after being in IIMA for more than a year, RD has been used to insomnia]
P: [in low voice] Oye, to kal kitne baje nikal rahe hain [again skeptical if everyone is just pulling his leg]
cycle continues
Blah blah blah… its 1:30 am in morning and finally we all agreed to leave home at 6 am. Time for some sleep. V is not in mood to sleep though, C and P are already in their bed.

Coming back in time (5:30 am the present day):
I put the alarm to snooze and wake C, then RD and rest.

Everyone: yaar, I will just take five minuets to get ready, wake me up when everyone is ready.
P: [in his usual style] saalon mujhe paani ke use ke liye majboor mat karo…
RD: [with his eyes still closed] yaar I just have to brush, will take two minutes only.
A: [still in his bed] I am ready.
V: Five minutes more... [P pulls the blanket now] V is wide awake in seconds...

One by one everyone gets up, and gets ready.
Mr S also gets up and makes piping hot tea for a really good start of the day.
So everyone drinks the tea and hits the road.
V, R and RD with their bike, and P with his Honda automatic.

Its still very dark and chilly.
But we are on the road.

Continued…

Photos are uploaded on my flickr album. You can check them here.

802.1D joke

STP says "I don't give you a damn if you are not better than me. So just f$#@ the shut up and listen to what I say, when you think I am better."

"A hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong!" - Graffito

ego vs self-respect

What defines the boundary between ego and self-respect?
..............

Calvin says "I don't need to compromise my principles, because they don't have the slightest bearing on what happens to me anyway."

defaced idols and scarred inspirations

How does it feel when the person who inspires you the most, the person who is your idol, the person whom you look up to in every moment of need, fails you?

wrong number

Act 1:
Time: 11:00 pm, 9th Dec 2006
From: +9199001XXXXX
To: +9199860XXXXX
I love u 2 bache. miss you. sweet dreams. honey dream about us on a bed.

Time: 11:30 pm, 9th Dec 2006
From: +9199860XXXXX
To: +9199001XXXXX
who is this?

Time: 2:30 am, 10th Dec 2006
From: +9199001XXXXX
To: +9199860XXXXX
Hey Sorry, i mistakenly sent that message to you. I am really sorry for it.

Time: 6:00 am, 10th Dec 2006
From: +9199860XXXXX
To: +9199001XXXXX
No issues. it was a very sweet message, and i just wanted to inform you so that it reached the right person also. have a super cool time.


ACT 2:
Time: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 16:09:05 -0500
From: "FREE LOTTO PROMO"
To: the_xxxxxxx@yahoo.co.in
Subject: 414-3721060

"We are informing you of the result of the Lottery programs held
on the 14th of November 2006 as part of our promotional programmes for
the year 2006. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number
77007742781005-18721 with reference number 414-3721060 drew winning numbers
7-00-71-00-66-49 and credited to batch number 121cfc, which consequently won
in the 1st category via our electronic ticket as stated above.You have
therefore been approved for a pay out of 1,800,000.00. For more
details,contact our fiduciary agent:Name:Simon Lee
Email:agentleeofflpiinfo@yahoo.co.uk
Matilda Jones."

For you, a thousand time over...

I saw we had ended up on a ruttled road near Isteqlal Middle School. There was a field on one side where lettuce grew in the summer, and a row of sour cherry trees on the other. I found Hassan sitting cross-legged at the foot of one of the trees, eating from a fistful of dried mulberries.
"What are we doing here?" I panted, my stomach rolling with nausea.
He smiled. "Sit with me, Amir agha."
I dropped next to him, lay on a thin patch of snow, wheezing. "You're wasting your time. It was going the other way, didn't you see?"
Hassan popped a mulberry in his mouth. "It's coming," he said. I could hardly breathe and he didn't even sound tired.
"How do you know?" I said.
"I know."
"How can you know?"
He turned to me. A few sweat beads rolled from his bald scalp "Would I ever lie to you, Amir agha?"
Suddenly, I decided to toy with him a little. "I don't know. Would you?"
"I'd sooner eat dirt," he said with a look of indignation.
"Really? You'd do that?"
He threw me a puzzled look. "Do what?"
"Eat dirt if I told you to," I said. I knew I was being cruel, like when I'd taunt him if he didn't know some big word. But there was something fascinating - albeit in a sick way - about teasing Hassan. Kind of like when we used to play insect torture. Except now, he was the ant and I was holding the magnifying glass.
His eyes searched my face for a long time. We sat there, two boys under a sour cherry tree, suddenly looking, really looking, at each other. Ther's when it happened again: Hassan's face changed. Maybe not changed, not really, but suddenly I had a feeling I was looking at two faces, the one I knew, the one that was my first memory, and another, a second face, this one lurking just beneath the surface. I'd seen it happen before - it always shook me up a little. It just appeared, this other face, for a fraction of a moment, long enough to leave me with a unsettling feeling that maybe I'd seen it someplace before. Then Hassan blinked and it was just him again. Just Hassan.

-Excerpt from The Kite Runner.

the kite runner

I am reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini these days. Till now, it has been a very interesting reading. I surely recommande it. Specially if you are an avid reader who likes to read fiction with a historical or cultural background, you would surely cherish this work.

Another book I am looking forward to read is The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. This Man Booker winner for year 2006 has got some real rave reviews from critics around the world. Till now, my experience with Booker nominated authors and books has been very good, so I am very excited about it.

saturation point

I have been negatively charged for a long time. The glooming face of failures, which I have been trying to fight with, is smiling over me again and again. It has been trying to rent a room in my life for a long time. The warrior in me has been trying to hold my forte against all odds. But success is as elusive as mirage. Hallucinations and reality have become inseparable pals. Bravery and foolishness goes hand in hand many a times. And I have seen many of those moments off late.

My past is not leaving me; future does not seem welcoming either. Present is where I want to live. I desperately want a proton of success, a positive hope of change.

ps: Another attempt to write abstract.

D.C.T.P.

DCTP - an abbreviation for Digital Camera Time Pass. This term was coined in pre-final year of Engineering by our own Vishal Tripathi. It was the favorite pastime for all the vella soon-to-become-engineers in his circle.

And I could not escape from this addiction. So the day I bought my camera, latest Nikon Coolpix S4, I started on my journey of DCTP. Luckily I got a good break in terms of Sapta's company in nascent days of my photography. He showed me the enthusiasm required for photography. Mind you, he did it with his sheer passion, while for me it was just an extension of DCTP. The experience from my Gokarna Trip was soul enriching.

My trip back home followed it. I wanted to shoot Narmada for hours but to my luck it rained continuously and I did not get any time to shoot at Narmada Ghat. Still I clicked over 600 odd photos and collected an amazing collection. Some of them are ready for print and should be a good surprise for anyone to see.

Back from home, I got too absorbed in life. Life became standstill for sometime, while at others it was too fast for me to catch up with. Somehow my camera gave me company in many of those lonely moments. Now I was searching for much more than mere DCTP. I want to explore the world from behind the lens. Just be a silent spectator and view world through my camera.

Day after day I would look forward for time and places where I can use my camera. Pune trip, then 'historic' morning walk in Lalbag, Parasailing - some of the best moments I captured with my camera. The silence of nature teaches me more than anything else. Life is entrapped in each and every pixel and I want to capture them all.

I am looking for many more such small trips in and around Bangalore for using my camera. Anyone interested can contact me at the_pritesh@yahoo.co.in or leave a comment here.

120 seconds at 250*sin 60˚ - ∞ fun

Title shows one line which can describe the first parasailing experience of my life. A lot of speculations, wavering minds and ever-changing plans finally did end up in us seeing the world from 200 odd feet in air.

The story dates back to Sunday 26th November when I saw an entry on Anurag Jain’s blog about a parasailing event around Bangalore. Immediately I made up my mind that I was going for it. I floated the idea in my office and friends circle, but somehow no concrete plans could be made till Saturday. Saturday evening, after lots of maskafying, Ravi relented and agreed to go for it this Sunday. It looked very late to plan as we were supposed to inform the organizers and then go. So with lots of hopes (or actually none of it) I mailed to the organizers Care India on Saturday night 8pm or so. And I forgot about it.

Next morning I and Joyesh were on the historic walk in Lalbag (historic coz it was the first time I went for a walk there, though I have been living close to Lalbag for more than a year now). And I got a call. It was from Care India. They said I could come there on Sunday and it was possible for us to parasail that day. I got so excited, I called Ravi (actually woke him from his sleep) and told him to get ready. We completed our walk and then rushed back to home. As soon as I reached home, I woke up Arpit and Chandu also. And they both agreed to join us for the trip. Soon we had one more person in our gang, Saurabh (arre I meant Modh, our long int). So it was five of us ready to try our luck. I called the organizer and fixed up the plan. We left from home around 11 am and then rode through the busiest of Bangalore roads.

With some difficulties, we finally reached the parasailing ground. It’s a barren land, close to Hoskote village. The excitement of parasailing made us sail through Bangalore traffic without any pain.
As expected there were lots of people there trying their hand on parasailing. We had to wait for more than 1 hour for our turn. Luckily the sun was not angry with us and thus we survived in the open field. The place is a barren land with nothing around it in any known direction. No food, no drink, luckily cell phone does work here. Else you would feel as if you were in some pre-historian place.

Your turn comes, you fill some undertaking later and then you are all set for preparation.
The safety arrangements are done properly. They check all the hooks before the flight and then only give a go ahead. I didn’t see any first aid kit though. So after all the security check, you get ready for the take off. The parachute is tied to your belt, and then it is opened. With the speedy wind flowing through the field, you start feeling the pressure. The vehicle is not yet started. Very soon, you are all ready for the launch. The vehicle starts and you are instantly in air. Within few seconds you are at the height of 200 odd feet. From there the view is superb. You are so securely tied to the parachute that you can free your hands without any fear. Enjoy there for some moments and then its time to come back to earth. The span of flight is too short and should be more. But the organizers say that with the fast wind conditions it’s not safe. How does it actually affect, I could not understand.

So within a minute you are on your landing journey. Landing can be bit painful. If you are not careful, your leg might get a jerk. Though, it does not hurt. I fell down actually after the landing. The guys there supported me to get up and then untied the parachute. Then I boarded the gypsy and started on the victory march. My two minutes of excitement were coming to an end. I was back to normal human being. My wings were dismantled.
We paid the organizer and thanked him for the wonderful experience.
And then we headed back to home sweet home.
With lots of memories in our heart and in our cameras.

The group is organizing one more round of parasailing on next weekend. If you are interested you can contact them through their website http://www.careindia.in/

More photos from the trip shared at:

• http://prits-eyes.blogspot.com/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/38765580@N00/

it smelled like the first date...

I always doubted my ability to remember certain things. Two of them I can surely discuss here:

1. What dress someone wore on a particular day? I certainly can not remember what someone wore on any day. I don’t even remember what I wore two days back. Only after smelling a shirt can I confirm if it was used recently or not.
2. What was special about some day? Be it a meeting or a date. I somehow can not remember anything. I just live that day and then kind of forget most of it. Too bad for me.
   

But yesterday I realized that it is not totally truth. I do have certain memory cells working on this aspect of past.

Yesterday I identified a smell, a fragrance. I recalled it from my memories. It dated back to almost a year back. It was the smell which I cherished on my first date. I certainly remember it. I lived with it yesterday. I slept with it last night. I know I loved this smell, and the person who wore it. I did love it.
I am happy about myself today.

NO TITLE

I have got the honor to work for three companies in a short span of 16 months.
Interestingly all three had very creative logos.
So sharing them here.