Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi...

Salaam Bangalore

2010-05-17T12:13:00.001+05:30

Salaam Bangalore, originally uploaded by Manas Saran.

This one is from the street photography days. Shot near the Gavi Gangadhareshwar temple over two years back on a shoot with BWS (Bangalore Weekend Shoots).

Metal

2010-03-29T13:22:00.001+05:30

Metal, originally uploaded by Manas Saran.

A casual shoot with Mayank "Metal" Mittal, traveler, rock enthusiast and a very close friend of mine.

Strobist Info - One D-Lite 4 IT at power level 3 in a 66cm square softbox low camera right triggered wirelessly.

Lens - Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Million Dollar Smile

2010-03-08T15:53:00.001+05:30

Million Dollar Smile, originally uploaded by Manas Saran.

It's been a while since I posted anything in B&W. A very simple, window-lit portrait of my niece, Priyanshi.

Priyadarshini

2010-03-02T00:57:00.001+05:30

Priya - II, originally uploaded by Manas Saran.

Priyadarshini is a media person based in NCR. She's been involved with the production of many documentaries and has a keen interest in art and culture.

Strobist Info - One Canon Speedlite 430EX II at 1/4th power bounced into a medium reflector camera left and a Vivitar 285HV with a grid at 1/4th power camera right behind the subject.

Lens - Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM

My Photography Website - www.covershot.in

2010-01-18T00:07:00.003+05:30

My Website - www.covershot.in, originally uploaded by Manas Saran.

Finally my photography website is up and running. Please logon to http://www.covershot.in/ and let me know your feedback.
Developing this website was the first big task I assigned to myself in the new year and I'm happy about being able to complete this in time :)

Jigar Shah - Portfolio Shoot

2009-12-22T01:53:00.001+05:30

Jigar Shah - Portfolio Shoot, originally uploaded by Manas Saran.

One of the shots from Jigar Shah's photoshoot.
Did a professional portrait shoot for this upcoming model from Bangalore. He's a great model to work with and we all had a good time shooting this. Special thanks to Arpita who assisted me on this shoot.
It was a windy evening here in whitefield and she really had a tough time trying to prevent the lightstands from tipping over. Inspite of all her efforts one of the lightstands still managed to take a fall and I lost my white shoot-through umbrella :(
This was also the first shoot with my new Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. This lens is absolutely stunning. Sharpness is beyond my expectations and I actually had to soften this shot to make it look natural :D

Strobist Info: One Vivitar 285HV with 1/2 CTO Gel Camera right at 1/4th power in a white shoot-through umbrella and another Vivitar 285HV with 1/4 CTB Gel Camera left slightly behind the subject shot bare at 1/4th power.

Lens - Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Arpita

2009-03-30T12:34:00.001+05:30

Arpita, originally uploaded by LooseCanon.

Did a small photoshoot with Arpita, at home on a lazy weekend. She had just changed her hairstyle and gladly agreed for the shoot. Also used this shot to practice some portrait retouching in photoshop.

Strobist info: One Vivitar 285HV at 1/4th power in a shoot-through umbrella camera right triggerred by Phottix PT-04 remote triggers and a silver reflector on the other side for fill.

Lens - Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Music is my Soul - My first flashlit shot

2008-05-21T17:11:00.002+05:30

Music is my Soul, originally uploaded by LooseCanon.

Since the very day I started photography, i've absolutely hated flashes. Whenever I've used the flash on my camera, it has only spoiled the shot with flat looking subjects, screwed up colors and horrible shadows.
But then a read through this very famous website (http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/) changed things drastically. I finally collected enough money and mind to buy a Vivitar 285HV flash unit. It's a fairly dumb, fully manual flash... and I love such stuff because if offers complete control (yeah, i am a control freak).
Anyway, I bought the flash unit along with a 10m sync chord and hot-shoe adapter and now I was ready for off-camera lighting.
I requested my friend Arpita to pose for a test shoot. Considering the amount of text I had read about flashes and off camera lighting before buying the 285HV, it hardly took me any time to setup the light and start the shoot. As it was just an experiment, we decided to shoot on the terrace of my building. The trees and taller buildings all around practically killed all my creative space leaving me with the only option of shooting towards the sky... and that actually worked for the shot.
So, for this shot, I put the flash to the camera right about 60 degrees at 1/4th power. Then I asked Arpita to swing to the beats of a song and started clicking. I'm glad that by the end of the shoot, I had a good picture of her where I could portray her passion for music and also my notion that "flashes are bad" got shattered for good.
Now i'm collecting some more off-camera lighting setup and hope to do a better job in future.

Timeless Grace

2008-05-19T16:51:00.001+05:30

Timeless Grace, originally uploaded by LooseCanon.

Portrait of an old Shepherd Lady, shot on b&w film at a village near Hosur, TN. I was surprised at the grace she had on her face inspite of the wrinkles that tell the tale of a hard life.

This is one of the first portraits i shot with a b/w film. Later I used that roll of film to click more landscapes and also for wide angles at Lepakshi. Compared to color film, b&w film is a different ball-game altogether. Here are the learnings -
1. Almost all my frames are over-exposed. That too, when i know for sure that i metered them properly. The dynamic range of b&w films is much lower than that of color films. So the dark shades appear darker and bright shades appear brighter. So, need to deliberately underexpose every frame by at least 1 stop to achieve correct exposure.
2. The details are captured, but the contrast is usually quite high. Therefore, It's an excellent choice for portraits, historic monuments, textures and sculptures.
4. There is a LOT of grain in b&w film. But the kind of mood it creates is outstanding. Every frame, looks right out of history.
5. It's tough to get b&w film developed. If you find a good developer, let me know ASAP.
6. If you plan to get the film printed, always ask about the paper being used. B&W film printed on regular color paper looks awful. You get only brown/sepia tones and the feel totally goes for a toss.

Magnificent Lucknow - A photographer's dream come true!

2007-12-03T17:16:00.001+05:30

Lucknow Tour - Majestic gates, originally uploaded by LooseCanon.

Recently I was out on vacation for over 3 weeks. During this time, I was on a 3 day visit to Lucknow, UP. I was there to attend a marriage but quite unexpectedly, it became an absolute photo-tour. The realization is that Lucknow is a photographer's dream come true and a foodie's paradise. It's rich cultural heritage somehow remains unspoilt inspite of this place being the epicentre of political activity in UP.
The place where i thought, 3 days would be too much... they fell too short. I wish I had at least 2 more days to visit the Residency as well as La Martinere school building. Anyway, in the time that i had, i could make it to the Lucknow Zoo and the old town which includes Bara and Chhota Imambara and Chowk. The narrow gullys at the place were quite interesting. The old city is also heaven for people who enjoy food the way I do, especially non-veg food (which includes beef).
If you find time, check out the set for lucknow at http://www.flickr.com/photos/spaceandtime/sets/72157603319660285/

here's a teaser -

On the streets of Hyderabad...

2007-08-29T12:32:00.001+05:30

Style has nothing to do with money, originally uploaded by LooseCanon.

I was on a usual visit to Hyderabad from 25th to 27th August '07. Somu was planning to go by car, and Arpita and I joined in. So, the three of us reached Hyderabad on 25th afternoon. This time i golconda fort on my photography agenda and because Arpita was visiting Hyderabad for the first time, we were planning to roam around in the city as well.
Anyway, the same evening there were bomb blasts in Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat and all plans were cancelled. We didn't enter the city at all. Golconda remained the only option and even that plan was washed out by the rains. Finally we went to meet up with an old college friend OSK. Near his place i came across this group of street children who came up to me for "Ganesh kaa chandaa". So, i suddenly came up with this idea of clicking their pics. I gave them a little chandaa and after that starting clicking.
This was my first experience of any kind of street photography and i loved it. You get to connect with people who you'd never really meet and/or care about in your life. It opens your eyes and your mind.
Street photography rocks - period!!
More pics can be seen on my flickr page - http://www.flickr.com/photos/spaceandtime/

Downtown Pittsburgh

2007-07-26T22:54:00.001+05:30

Downtown Pittsburgh, originally uploaded by manas.saran.

Well... put straight, this is where I am for a couple of weeks. Check my flickr page and picasa album for detailed pics.
Came to pittsburgh few days back for technical discussions with the team out here. All i can say is that i've been having a great time here visiting new places, meeting new people and tasting a totally different cuisine. But i'm looking forward to go back home to India :)

Silver line in the black could

2007-06-25T15:40:00.001+05:30

Silver line, originally uploaded by manas.saran.

Every endless night, has a dawning day,
every darkest cloud, has a shining ray...

This pic is a reflection of our lives.... black clouds and shining rays!!

PS: Click on the image to visit my flickr photostream... photography has been the shining ray in my life off late :)

Life in blue - the next level

2007-06-11T13:01:00.001+05:30

Life in blue - the next level, originally uploaded by manas.saran.

This is taking "life in blue" (my older photo-post) to the next level. I got a new Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro lens. Now as it was already night by the time I got home, there was no opportunity to test the telephoto capabilities of the lens. So, i decided to be the god of small things and try the Macro mode. To my surprise, the macro mode is pretty good - sharp and crisp.
Now coming to the pic of the day. This is a macro shot of a water bubble in the bucket in my bathroom :). I adjusted the image for high contrast and enhanced the blue tone to get this effect that you see!

Mouthwatering

2007-06-08T18:25:00.001+05:30

Mouthwatering - II, originally uploaded by manas.saran.

Okay... i decided it's time to spice up my blog. Hence the pic of the day :)
We went to this restaurant called "Balle Balle" on the Outer Ring Road, for a team lunch today. The cook was preparing mutton on the grill at the table. The pieces of mutton wrapped in red spices were too good to resist. The colors in this scene made me take out the camera and start clicking.
...apologies to vegetarians though :)
Yummy!!! :P

Life in blue

2007-06-06T13:13:00.001+05:30

Life in blue - II, originally uploaded by manas.saran.

Captured this shot of water flowing from the tap in my bathroom. White-balance adjustment gave it the blue tone.
High shutter speed shots simply rock :)

A painted stork in flight

2007-06-05T17:18:00.001+05:30

A painted stork in flight, originally uploaded by manas.saran.

Caught this painted stork in mid flight. Location of the picture is Ranganathittu bird sancutary.
This satuday, I took a Thunderbird on an experience ride to Mysore. Arpita was my pillion and we were accompanied by Shashi on his Machismo. It was an amazing experience riding the Thunderbird as we visited places like Ranganathittu Bird Sanctury, Mysore and Chanmundi Hills.
Total Distance Covered through the day was 400km
The complete album for the ride can be found here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/manas.saran/MysoreRideOnAThunderbird

A rainy night in Bangalore

2007-06-05T17:13:00.001+05:30

A rainy night in Bangalore - II, originally uploaded by manas.saran.

Took this pic on Sunday night. Shailesh and I were having dinner at Kanti Sweets on the outer ring road and by the time we finished, it's was pouring cats and dogs. We both knew we'll have to try to wait till the rain stops. Luckily i had my camera with me and I spent the next couple of hours clicking pics :)
Considering the fact that it was almost pitch dark, this was one of the better shots i got of the rain.

ab mujhe koi intezaar nahiin

2007-03-27T17:57:00.000+05:30

ab mujhe koi intezaar nahiin...

na phone kii ghantii bajegii,
na darvaaze pe dastak hogii,
na saanson mein ravaanii,
na dil mein dhadkan hogii,
na maut ka sannaataa,
na zindagii kaa shor hogaa,
na aankhon mein chamak,
na baazuon mein zor hogaa
aaj pehlii baar mujhko,
khud pe aitbaar nahiin...
aaj mujhe koi intezaar nahiin...

na sapnon mein bageeche,
na hawaaon mein mehel honge,
na khayalon kii jheelon mein
khilte kanval honge
na baadalon ke paar
pariyon kaa baseraa hogaa
na surmayii shaam,
na rangeen saveraa hogaa
in tamaam kisson se,
ab koi sarokaar nahiin...
aaj mujhe koi intezaar nahiin....

na pyaar kii amaanatein,
na muskuraate pal milein
na diary ke pannon mein,
likhii huii ghazal milein
na chaal mein unmaad, aur
na baat mein mithaas hogii
tham chukii is zindagii ko,
ab bhalaa kyaa aas hogii
sab waqt kaa hai khel,
mere pyaar kii yeh haar nahiin...
par ab mujhe koi intezaar nahiin...

ab mujhe koi intezaar nahiin...

-- Manas Saran (26th March, 2007)

yaadon ke paakhii

2006-12-08T15:49:00.000+05:30

kuchh yaadon ke swarnim paakhi, mann ke aangan mein udte hain.
aur ab mere saare sapney, tere sapnon se judte hain.
mein yahaan chalaa, tum wahaan chale, par aan padaa hai mod vohii,
jiske aage apne raste, ab ek dishaa mein mudte hain.

ek dishaahiin jeevan ko tab, jeevan kaa saar samajh aayaa,
jab dhruv taaraa bankar usko, phir maarg prem ne dikhlaayaa.
mann mein pooraa vishvaas liye, tann mein komal aabhaas liye,
jis oar prem kaa uday dikhe, hum usii oar chal padte hain
aur ab mere saare sapney, tere sapnon se judte hain.

woh saal, maheene, din, woh pal, jab jab hum donon door rahe,
ek ajab, sukhad aabhaas bane, tum aksar mujhko paas lage.
lekin ab koi khed nahiin, jeevan se bhii matbhed nahiin
patjhad mein hariyaale patte, bhii shaakh se apnii jhadte hain
par ab apne saare raste, bas ek dishaa mein mudte hain.

ab jeevan saath bitaanaa hai, sukh dukh mein saath nibhaanaa hai.
jo kuchh jeevan mein arjit ho, tumhein arpit karte jaanaa hai.
mein har kshan tumko yaad karoon aur har pal tum mujhko socho,
yuun jeevan maalaa mein, meethii yaadon ke motii jadte hain.
jin yaadon ke swarnim paakhii, mann ke aangan mein udte hain

- Manas Saran (7th Dec, 2006)

Heavenly Hampi (12th-14th August '06)

2006-08-16T02:16:00.000+05:30

The pics for the ride can be seen from my yahoo album here

Travel Log
The touring bug had bitten me even before I bought my bike ...and that's one of the reasons why i decided on Avenger. The tour to Bidar proved to be the catalyst. I had done 195kms when i did the ride to Bidar but it only left me asking for more.
15th August was a tuesday and immediately i spotted a golden opportunity for touring. 12th and 13th being saturday and sunday, I only had to take a leave for 14th. I had two trips in mind, one was Pune/Mahabaleshwar and the the other was Coastal Andhra. I posted about these on various forums and groups looking for some tourers from Hyderabad. Unfortunately the response was not too good but frankly, I wasn't looking at 10-15 bikers... I wanted just 2-3 good, serious and responsible riders to do the tour. Around the same time I had a crash on 23rd July ...didn't break any bones but got badly bruised. Still undeterred, i was hoping to recover by the time of the trip.Finally I found 3 guys, Sudhakar and Harsha from xBhp.com and Abhiraj from Hyderabad Avengers. We met up a couple of times and decided to do Coastal Andhra but just one week before the tour dates there were heavy rains and bad floods in that region and we had to drop that plan. The next best options on our minds were Bangalore and Hampi. Hampi was a unanimous decision because it looked like a brilliant combination of cultural heritage and natural beauty. It is an ancient city which has been excavated. It is said to be the kingdom of Kishkindha, mentioned in the Ramayana, which was ruled by Bali and it is now a world heritage site.
All of us are working with software companies and we don't get any time during the week. We could meet just once on Monday, 7th Aug where Ashish (of The Great Indian Roadtrip fame) also met us and shared his experience about touring. He proved to be a big boost to our enthusiam. After this meetup, all the coordination happened on phones. Anyway, that was how it all started... now coming to the real thing -

Day0 - Friday, 11th Aug 06
I left home at 9:30AM and went straight to Rahul Bajaj Showroom in Secundrabad. After getting my bike checked and basic things like clutch and brakes tightening and chain lubrication done I bought a spare clutch and throttle cable, just in case I break any of them on the way. After that I went to an optician to get my shades fixed as they had lost a screw. Then i attended office through the day and in the evening went around the city hunting for a pair of riding gloves. Ultimately I realized that i won't get proper riding gloves in Hyderabad... at least not at such a short notice. So, i bought a pair of leather gloves with some basic knuckle protection. With that, my shopping list was complete. Then at 10 in the night Abhiraj called up and told that he won't be able to make it for the trip. He had some personal reasons and frankly, I didn't want to force anyone. I was absolutely fine in a group of three. So, the final group was Sudhakar (on a beautiful black Karizma), Harsha (on the legendary Bullet, 1977 model) and myself (on my lady in red, Avenger). Harsha and Sudhakar had talked to me and it was decided that Sudhakar will come to my place at 5 in the morning and we'll meet up with Harsha at the turn for Bangalore Highway (NH7) from Mehdipatnam. Packed my bags and uploaded some music to my new phone (Nokia 6270, which was also the official camera for this trip) and slept at around 12 in the night.

Day1 - Saturday, 12th Aug 06 - TripMeter => 0Km
I got up at 4:30 in the morning with a little over 4 hours of sleep. Sudhakar came over to my place at around 5:30AM and after having a light breakfast we loaded the saddlebags (my new Cramster Colt bags) on to my bike. With mom's aashirvaad, we left home at 6:00 AM and reached Mehdipatnam at 6:15 AM. Harsha was also there in a few minutes. So, this was the beginning. In a little while we were on NH7. The initial streach was not very good and there was some traffic but once we crossed that area it was a comfortable 80+ kmph ride till Jadcherla from where we were to leave NH7. We reached Jadcherla at 8:30AM having done 88Km. We had some really sweet tea and pretty bad samosas here and then took a right turn for Mahbubnagar. The scenery suddenly started changing after Jadcherla... right from the moment we turned towards Mahbubnagar. The hilly terrain had started to appear and it was getting more and more beautiful. This road was okay with some patch work done here and there. Usual speeds on this road were around 60. We didn't stop at Mahbubnagar as it was just 10Km from Jadcherla. Instead we went all the way till Marikal reaching there at 10:15 AM (139Km done). We had breakfast at this place. Ate some dosas and idlys at one of the roadside thelas. From then on we were going at a good 80+kmph speed but with caution at the accident prone zones and near villages. The road is also not great. There are a few potholes here and there, especially on the sides of the road. We stopped for taking pics at a few places on the way and we were at the AP-Karnataka border at around 11:30AM. AP and Karnataka are separated by the Krishna river at this place and at the moment, this river is in a mighty form. The areas near the banks are flooded and the river currents are really strong. We took some pics at the bridge. We could also see the Raichur Thermal Power Plant from there. We entered Karnataka after crossing the bridge onto SH18. The road quality improved by a huge margine and we could speed up. After another 20Kms we were in Raichur where we stopped for tea. At this point we were half way (200Km). Then we took a righ on to SH20 and carried on for another 11Kms and then took a left on to SH23 which would take us to Sundnaur via Manavi. Karnataka roads were simply amazing. The only bad part about these roads are the speed breakers which are frequent and many in number. I would agree that these are required for safety near the roadside villages but the problem is that where there could have been just one bump, there is a rumble strip of 5 to 8 bumps... and that really shakes your bones. Anyway, the road is such where you can easily do 100 but with heavy crosswinds we could only cruise at 90. Few times Sudhakar and I crossed the 100 mark in a crouching position. This road is fairly beautiful because of the hills around. We reached Sindnaur at 3:00PM and 294Kms. We had lunch at a restaurant here. In fact, they served pretty good food. Then we went further on SH23 till Gangawati where we reached at 5:30 having done 340Kms. From here Hospet was around 40Km. We took the route mentioned in the map we were carrying. This one went through a village called Kampli and was a narrow road in a bad shape. So, we kept going slow and steady but now it had started getting dark and I was beginning to worry as we were on a bad and unpredictable road going through hilly terrain. I wanted to get to Hospet as soon as possible. We just stopped once for taking pics and from then on it was too dark to take any pics. So, we just kept going. We would also ask for directions from the locals. Though all the boards in the area were in Kannada, we knew we were close. Then one of the guys there made a "mamu" of us. Took a lift and took us 5Kms off track... that too when our butts had almost gone numb :D, Anyway, after the 10Km detour we reached Hospet at almost 8:00 PM. We found a lodge which would also give parking space for the bikes. The room rent was 300 bucks which was pretty reasonable for the room we got. At that moment we were too tired to do anything. We just had our dinner at a nearby place and went off to sleep. Though the road from Gangawati via Kampi was pretty bad, it had two distinct advantages. First, that streach was very beautiful and second, it went through Hampi to Hospet. So, we had already gotten a trailer of how big Hampi was what all could be the places of interest. Inspite of everything, it was a new personal record for all three of us... 400Km on a bike in a sigle day.

Day2 - Sunday, 13th Aug 06 - TripMeter => 400.2Km
The previous day had left us fairly tired. So, we took some rest, got up late and were good to go by 11AM. After breakfast at a South Indian cafe, we left for Hampi at 11:30AM. As we had seen the area the day before and we knew the road, we decided to do a rewind. We went back 25Kms on the same road and at a picturesque location we parked our bikes on the roadside and climbed up into the rocks. It was one hell of a view from there - the winding road, banana plantations all over, lush green fields, some ruins here and there, rocks, hills and the mighty Tungabhadra river and its channels. After spending some time there we headed towards Hampi and starded visiting the monuments one after the other as they came on our way. The first one was the Raghunath Temple - built on a hill this was a beautiful temple. We also witnessed a wedding ceremony going on there. Then the next halt was an unkempt Venkateshwara Temple. Then we went to the royal enclosures. There were many tourists including foriegners at this place. This was the place where the rulers used to live. They had a brilliant water system in place. The octagonal baths and moats could clearly be seen. The enclosure itself is in the form of a flat topped pyramid with buitiful carvings on it. From there we headed towards the Lotus Mahal and Elephant Enclosures. There was a minor entry fee of Rs.10 for these places. However, for non-indian nationals it was 5$ or Rs.250. We then went to the Ranga Temple, which is almost in tatters. Then we were back on the main road and next things on the agenda were the Laxmi Narasimha Statue and the Badavlinga Temple. The Laxmi Narasimha statue is a huge 6.7 mts high monolithic statue of Narasimha, Vishnu's avatar. This one's really grand. Along side this, is the monolithic Badavlinga, which is a massive Shiva Linga. With this, our Hampi Agenda was over. The next thing on our minds was the Tungabhadra Dam which is about 6Kms from Hospet. We decided to skip lunch and after reacing Hospet, which is some 10Km from Hampi, we headed straight to Tungabhadra Dam. Now, this place makes you feel so small and insignificant. The reservoir and filled to it's capacity and all the gates of the Tungabhadra dam were open. We could see massive amounts water gushing out with raw force. There was so much water in the huge reservoir that it almost looked like the sea. Due to the water being released from the dam, the Tungabhadra river was flooded and had a mighty currents. So, we didn't dare to go anywhere near the treacherous waters of the river and its channels. We took some pics of the dam from a distance, but with due respect to the security of our nation and the "photography strictly prohibbited" boards put up on the dam, we refrained from taking any pics of the reservoir. There were also some nice looking public gardens near the dam. We went to this place on a sunday, so it was awfully crowded. Added to it, we had walked so much through the day that we avoided going to the public gardens and came back to the lodge by about 6:00PM. We hadn't eaten anything significant after the breakfast. So, we had an early dinner and then spent the rest of the time on the terrace of the lodge enjoying the cool breeze and watching the town.

Day3 - Monday, 14th Aug 06 - TripMeter => 469.3Km
Once again we were up by 4:30AM and by the time we packed and got ready to leave it was 5:30AM. We checked out of the lodge and after strapping the saddlebags back on the bike, and a round of morning tea, we left for Gangawati at 6:30AM. This time we asked a few locals for the way and they recommended us to take the highway instead of the village roads through Kampli. So, we went some 25Kms on NH13 and then turned right onto some state highway to Gangawati. Now this road needs a special mention. We were 26Kms away from Gangawati and these proved to be the best 26Kms out of the 862.3Kms we did on the entire trip. This was a wide road between the hills. The bends weren't sharp and there were very few speedbreakers. This was an absolute ripfest - the clutches were given rest and throttles were maxed out. Sudhakar hit 131kmph on his Karizma, I did 115kmph on my Avenger and Harsha did 105 on his bull. We had all broken our personal speed records on this flawless road. If we had time, we would have loved to do this road back and forth again. It was also very beautiful... hills on both sides and sunflower fields. The early morning sunlight added that extra bit of glow to the entire scenery. We stopped at a couple of places to take pics too. We reached Gangawati at 7:30AM, in one hour as opposed to the two and a half hours it took while going. From then on, we were travelling the same roads but at a comparitively higher speed (85-95kmph) because there crosswinds were not there. We stopped for tea and biscuits at Pothnal (about 120Kms) and then at a roadside dhaba about 11kms from Raichur, for brunch. We had done about 190Kms by 11AM and were almost half way through. Immediately after crossing Raichur, we were faced with massive crosswinds. This was the area near the Krishna river. The winds were so strong that it was scary taking the bike above 70kmph. The winds coming from the left were pushing us toards the oncoming traffic on the right side. So, we were riding pretty slowly and carefully. While crossing the Krishna bridge, we noticed that the river's flow had increased over the past two days and it had engulfed more land than before. Anyway, we entered the AP state boundry and once again the roads weren't that great. The crosswinds had mellowed down. So, we were doing around 80kmph. But with the quality of roads in AP, it was a little scary going faster than that. The road was comparitively narrow, unmarked and had occasional potholes too. We didn't stop at any of the bigger towns. We just kept going, stopping for a while at small places for a tea. Around 4 we reached Jadcherla and took a left onto NH7, the Bangalore Highway. We were going at around 80+ speeds when we noticed a swarm of honey bees on the road. But it was too late to do anything about it. Wearing helmets with visors closed and gloves proved to be the saviours. They bees hit us like bullets but luckily none of us was stung. The next stop was Shadnagar, around 50Kms from Hyderabad. We stopped here to have dosas and badam Milk. This was around 5:00PM and we had started to get the feeling "Ab Hyderabad door nahiin". From Shadnagar, the streach on the Bangalore highway was really bad. Bad roads and lousy traffic - we battled both these demons for the next one hour and finally took to left to get off the highway and headed towards Mehdipatnam. At 6:20PM, We stopped at Mehdipatnam for a while to do all the hisaab kitaab and after congratulating each other on completing this tour safely and for the fun times we had together, we parted ways and headed towards our homes. I reached home at 7:00PM. No matter how awesome the tour was, it was good to be home. At the end of the tour the trip meter read 862.3Kms!!

This was my first "real" biking tour and I'm glad I lost my virginity to touring in such a beautiful manner. Few things I learnt the hard way about touring were - 1. Never wear jeans while touring. The stiches and the fabric literally bruises your butt over such a distance. 2. Always carry cash, especially for buying fuel. None of the petrol pumps on the highway accept cards. 3. Always wear a full sleeved shirt and apply sunscreen lotion lest you should end up having massive sunburns just like i did ;).
Overall, this tour was an amazing experience and has left me addicted to biking and asking for more. I did grab some 200+ shots in my phone, and did try write about what I saw on the way and at Hampi. But, I still think I've failed at both, for what I saw and felt can neither be captured on film nor can be put in words. It was an amazing sense of pride and achievement when people on the way gave "that" what-is-this-creature look. Actually we realized that this was happening for two reasons. Firsly, they weren't used to seeing Karizmas and Avengers. In fact, we did not see another Karizma or Avenger through the entire tour. Secondly, they weren't used to seeing riders wearing helmets and gloves. Everywhere we were met with amazement. Cruising on the highways was in itself a great experience. We would take turns to head or tail the group. This would keep us together and relaxed. The person heading the group had the responsibility of letting the others know of an oncoming speed breaker or pothole by raising his hand. The person in the middle would slow down or stop if the person tailing the group got left behind and the person tailing the group would do that for sometime and then speed up to take the lead making sure everyone is safe. It was the "one for all and all of one" kind of feel... we were like the three musketeers!!

The pics for the ride can be seen from my yahoo album here

Biking to Bidar - Pics

2006-06-12T20:01:00.000+05:30

Biking to Bidar

2006-06-12T18:08:00.000+05:30

It finally happened... the much awaited first long drive for my Medusa (For those who don't know who Medusa is, it is the name of my red Avenger. As for the name, the origins are here).
Club Tarmac is a bikers group started by wipro employees. Fortunately I happened to know a couple of signicant people in that group and shared their enthusiasm on long distance riding. I had made a mention to Sharad that i was keen on being a part of their next ride. He told me a couple of weeks back that they were planning to do Bidar, Karnataka. Well, the place is about 136 Km from Hyderabad but the very fact that it was not in AP made it look quite a long distance :) Unsure of whether i would be able to ride that much, I asked KoPoS to join me in the adventure ...and he gladly volunteered his ass.
Now the plan was on... and there was no looking back. The D-Day was near - 10th June '06 and I found it hard to resist my excitement. On 9th i did all the basic checks - Engine Oil, Air pressure in tyres, tightening of all lose screws - and got the tank filled with "Speed" petrol (Yeah, my Medusa needs to be fed quality stuff... and damn the govt, Speed now costs 55 Rs/litre)
I could barely sleep through the night because of the excitement... it was almost as if i were to leave for my honeymoon. The clock struck 5 and I jumped out of bed... fully charged!! Mom, being the nicest mom of all, decided to cook "poori and aaloo kii sabzii" for the riders. By the time KoPoS came to my place, the "khaanaa" was ready and packed. We quickly put everything in one bag and at 6:30 AM set off for Wipro Campus, Madhapur, which was the starting point for the tour. When we reched there were only 2 bikes and 4 riders there, but as the "Hyderabad Standard Time" of 7:30 approached, the bikes and riders were pouring in. Finally the counts were something like - 1 car, 14 bikes, 27 bikers and 29 people in all mostly people from Wipro, others from different companies... 2 guys from ISB were also there.
Sharad and Vinay, the organizers gave a quick roundup of the basic rules (for our safety). We decided to take a longer route while going because the traffic was less. The route was -
Madhapur -> Mehdipatnam Food World -> Langar House -> Shankarpally -> Vikarabad Flyover -> Sadaseopet -> Zaheerabad -> Bidar - approximating 185Km.
While going I took the rider's seat and KoPoS was my poor pillion rider. We started off with ease syncing up every now and then, but once we hit the highway past langar house, all engines revved up!! The bikers split up into smaller groups with one group doing high speed cruising (80+ Kmph) and the other taking it easy. KoPoS & I, of course, were among the speedsters which also included Umesh & Vijay (on a Pulsar 150), Abhay & Neeraja (on a Pulsar 180) and Sharad & Ramapriya (on a TBird). We went consistently above 90 for a faily long time and Medusa performed much better than what i expected from her.
Suresh & Vipin were there on a new Apache (still on a temporary number, done 750Km) ...and they too did brave 80's :) I also took a small test ride of the Apache... and man, the bike rocks. Looks great and feels great.
We took reasonably long breaks at reasonable distances and the fun factor just kept on building. The only uncool thing that happened was an accident when a fellow biker's bike went off road and skidded causing some injuries to him as well as his pillion (I hope you guys are doing fine).... but it could have been much worse and these guys had a narrow escape. Thank devil, we had a car in the group ...and thank you guys for keeping the spirit up and inspite of being hurt, deciding to go on with the tour. We stopped at a dhaba where the "poori and aalu" mom had given, disappeared within minutes. Finally, after all the awesome episodes we reached the Bidar Fort at around 2 in the afternoon. Upon reaching there, we did the customary lineup of the vehicles and then some posing and modelling :) Locals there looked pretty amazed seeing us.
The good part about the fort is that you can take the bikes right in, as far as possible. The place is quite unkempt... but that too has a beauty of its own. Its a huge fort pretty similar in architecture to the legendary Golconda Fort. For a while put our bikes to rest and climbed into the ruins get a personal feel of the place ...and it was quite an experience as we wandered around discussing the "love life" of the kings who would have once lived there.
At 4 we decided to leave back for Hyderabad. For those who're thinking that we went riding for 200Km just to see some ruins for 2 hours, I have just one thing to say - for people like us, who believe in biking as their religion, the destination is just an excuse for the ride.
Because it was going to be dark soon, we decided to take the shortest route back which was -
Bidar -> Zaheerabad -> NH9 till BHEL, Lingampally and then disperse from there.
This time we had KoPoS riding my Medusa with me on the pillion seat ...and he roared her up to a 110!! We stopped at this punjaabi dhaba near Zaheerabad called "Raaz Punjabi Dhaba". I never used to believe that the movie "Raaz" had a cult following till i saw this dhaba... even the paan shop there was named "Raaz". Anyway, we started off with repeated rounds of tea, lassi and butter milk. Then came the pakoras which tested our limits for being able to tolerate spicy food. Finally after spending almost an hour and a half there, we left at about 6:30 PM. We hurried through this streach so that we could cover the maximum distance before it gets dark. This road had heavy traffic and we couldn't really speed up. However, KoPoS still managed to do 80. Then it was a continuous drive for about 60 Km till we were around 30 Km from BHEL where we stopped at an on-road mango shop. It suddenly started raining and we decided to stay there for a while... well, eating mangoes while it's raining is good fun! Once the rains went down to a minimum, we left from there on our way to BHEL. This was a fairly bad streach with a lot of heavy traffic and not-so-good roads. By about 9 we reached BHEL where we all posed for a final photograph and then left for our homes. KoPoS and I were home at about 9:20 PM. It was an amazing trip - 316.8 Km in all out of which i rode 197Km and I wish i could have done the rest too. I'm so addicted to biking now. The more I do it, the more I want to do it!Very rightly said - 4 wheels to move the body, 2 wheels to move the soul!!!

another post regarding this trip is here

Mein bhool jaoon

2006-03-10T13:27:00.000+05:30

This one's written by Javed Akhtar.... I call it his Taj-Mahal. He hasn't been able to beat this himself.

mein bhool jaoon tujhe, ab yahi munaasib hai...
magar bhulana bhi chaahoon to kaise bhooloon,
ki tum to phir bhi haqeeqat ho, koi khwaab nahiin
yahan to dil ka yeh aalam hai, kya kahoon...
kambakht!!
bhula saka na ye, woh silsila jo tha hi nahiin,
woh ek khayaal jo aawaaz tak gaya hi nahiin,
woh ek baat jo mein keh nahiin saka tumse,
woh ek lakht jo hum mein kabhi raha hi nahiin..
agar yeh haal hai dil ka to koi samjhaaye,
tujhe bhulana bhi chaahoon to kaise bhooloon,
ki tum to phir bhi haqeeqat ho, koi khwaab nahiin
ki tum to phir bhi haqeeqat ho, koi khwaab nahiin

I said it...

2006-02-10T17:20:00.000+05:30

The pessimist said that the beer-mug is half empty, the optimist said that it is half full.
I said nothing, just went ahead and drank the beer!!!

Apnaapan

2005-12-29T22:16:00.000+05:30

Aaj mere kisii apne ne,
koi apna khoya
Maine socha ki uska koi
bhalaa, mera kya lagaa?
...par jab usse milaa
to ek vichitr aabhaas hua
Mere liye to sab kuchh pehle sa tha
Phir bhi kuchh kho dene
ka sa ehsaas hua

Uski aankhon mein thodi namii thii
Aaj usko koi kamii thii
Mein do ghadi saath baitha,
thoda saath to nibhaayaa,
thoda sa dukh chakh liya
aur thoda saath baandh laaayaa

Jo nahiin raha, woh mera koi nahiin tha
Mein to usse mila bhi nahiin tha
Mujhe usse baandhne waali,
bas ek hi kachchi dor thii
...ki woh mere kisii apne ka apna koi tha

Kisii aur ki bhaavanaaon ke aaveg mein,
jab hum swayam hi behte hain
Uska dukh apna lagna,
ise apnaapan kehte hain

...lagta hai ki aaj maine koi apna khoya!

-- Manas Saran (29th Dec, 2005)

I said it...

2005-12-27T10:15:00.000+05:30

Life makes us learn so much! ...but for what???
Ultimately, we all die before applying even 10% of the knowledge!!!

Means and extremes

2005-12-25T10:15:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I was listening to ghazals and other shayari by Mirza Ghalib and one particular line caught my attention... or I could say made my day (good poems can make my day). Anyway, he says "dard kaa had se guzarnaa hai dava ho jaanaa". I found it so contradictory, yet so true and then I was thinking about the extremes in life in general.
Living life at extremes is a wierd experience. You see things changing in an absolutely unpredictable way. I am someone who's always on the edge... experiencing the extremes of everything in life. My experiments with life, out of which most happen to be circumstantial and some intentional, have made me realize that life at extremes is so full of paradoxes. These are phenomena that most people with average lifestyles (or life at means) never experience. Whether these are good or bad is a matter or perception because it is one extreme case that turns coal into diamond and another that reduces a shining star to a black hole.
There have been times when I've shouted "woah... this is the rush I always wanted!!!" and times when I said "why can't my life be just normal!!??" and I've made both statements with equal emotional intensity. This is just the beginning and we can already see the paradoxes emerging.
Extremes of sensitivity actually makes you immune to emotional damage, thus rendering you insensitive. This isn't much different from the process of biological immunization against diseases. We are born with a wish to live... as life goes on and gets tougher, the wish to live becomes the will to survive. With our natural tendency to defend ourselves from any kind of damage be it physical or emotional, we do react subconciously.
Another major paradox is with anger and frustration. You get frustrated the first time, angry the next time... and if that situation keeps happening then in due course of time you first smile at it and then laugh it off saying something like "what!!! I actually got frustrated about this stupid issue!!!?? Oh cummon, how could I!!??". Extreme anger can actually make you laugh!!
Even the extremes of love lead to obsession, anger and hatred.
An unfulfilled deep desire left as it is ultimately fulfills itself... there's this line from a song - "itnaa tarse ki pyaas hii naa rahii"
This is the metamorphosis of the human mind or we could say a drastic reversal of the state of mind. On a more personal note, I find this pretty interesting. I have chosen a life full of extremes because I like a life where no rule applies, a life where no law holds good ...where you can never predict what the outcome of a particular situation would be.

I said it...

2005-12-23T16:11:00.000+05:30

The destiny of my words is to be lost in space and time.
I know they won't come back to me.
...but I'm still counting on a phenomenon called "echo"!!!

I got my first real six-string

2005-12-16T18:31:00.000+05:30

...Finally!!! Mom's gift for my 24th birthday and there could have been nothing better. I got a guitar - GB&A, deep blue color and I love it!!! This thing simply rocks... and in due course of time, it will make me rock!!
All my dearest posessions have names and I've named it "Hammer". To begin with, I bought a book along with it. I am currenly practicing the lessons from the book but will very soon join regular classes.
Past few days have been awfully busy... I've been wanting to make this post since last saturday but work and other things have kept me so occupied that I haven't been able to steal even a few minutes for this post. Actually, even if I get a few minutes free at home, I spend them with "Hammer" >:D. That's why I'm making this post from office.

It's that day, again!

2005-12-05T09:12:00.000+05:30

5th December, today... it's that day again, the black day!!. The day that takes me 8 years back in time. I'm usually so busy with life that those memories don't come to me but on this day, it's like a someone just turned on a movie reel. I can see and feel every single moment of what happened on that day and the days that followed right to this day. It's like a flash... rewind and fast-forward.
It was this day that made me what I am. The day when I figured out that death was more real than life itself and conquered all my fears, the day when "we, the family" lost someone so dear to us that we feel incomplete till now, the day when "I, the school going boy" suddenly found out that life is not about fooling around with friends.... the day I grew up many years in the blink of an eye. It is this day that I summonned all my inner strength and not a single drop of tear rolled down my cheek. People who claim to know me talk about my focus, determination, passion and agression ....this day is most certainly the source of them all.
Anyway, this day will come and go as it has been till now. I never ask the question "why me??" and I've also stricken off the word "Consolation", from my dictionary and for the same reason I've disabled comments on this post. I accept things the way they are, however bad they may be, and believe in taking the bull by its horns. This day just reminds me of the fact that a single moment is enough for someone to become someone else.
He still lives in me through the things I learnt from him. I inherit my strongest virtues from him. Also his songs are with me always and whenever i'm singing one of those, I can feel his presence... I sing them with pride and someday I will pass them on to someone else.
Inspite of everything said and done, I miss you dad!!

A word with god

2005-11-22T09:35:00.000+05:30

I closed my eyes and the past 8 years just flashed in front of me. I guess, he never thought i would be silent for so long. To be honest, he did make an attempt to get us back on talking terms ...but then, as always, it was he who screwed up and angered me more. Anyway, he's trying it again... another one of his cheap tricks. So, finally i decided to break my silence and talk.
"What the hell do you think you're doing??", I asked out loud.
"Well, I'm just trying to make things better for you", came the reply.
"Better... yeah why not!! you always made things better!! you're just so good at doing that. Perhaps our definitions of the word 'better' differ in totality. The last time you made things better for me, I ended up with a heart so broken that it hurts till date ...and the time before that ...I think it's 'better' if i don't mention it." I was waiting to hear some kind of justification.
"Don't you find yourself a better man today?? Don't you feel that you've earned the position where you are?", he started.

"...and would i have been worse had everything been normal and fine", I cut him off

"I dunno but what could have given you the drive to achieve whatever you achieved", he tried to justify.

"Wow... that's great!!. You screw up someone's life under the cover of giving him the drive to acheive ...and then you have the heart to justify your cruel actions in this manner", I stood amazed. How could someone defend himself like that!??

"Fine, I agree i did bad things to you. But isn't it unfair on your part to not look at the good things. Afterall, you are the one who always talks about the 'law of averages'. Take your time and you'll see that your share of good and bad things will balance itself out", he spoke after a moment of absolute silence.

"Even if I forgive you for the times long lost, I can never forgive you for her. Why the hell did you do that to me? At a time when i had lost myself, she brought me back to life... and then when I was truly and deeply in love with her, you changed everything. Why did you show me the dream that was not meant to be. You have no idea how much that hurt", I said suppressing the anguish.

"Well, let's say you saw the wrong dream. She was there because you were losing focus. Her purpose was to bring you on the right track and she accomplished her mission. You were not supposed to be with her. However, I like it that you loved her inspite of the way she went out of your life", he anwered calmly, with a smile on his face.

Though I didn't want to accept it, I did get his point. Such a smart-ass... the best negotiator of all times. "Alright, I choose to move ahead. You know it well that i don't dig the dead. So, it's over and it's okay now. But i'm seriously worried about this new prank you're playing on me"

"It's not a prank for 'my' sake!!! She's very real and you know that", he replied.

"Yeah i know how real things are in my life. I've gotten used to your sense of realism. But I have to admit that i'm doing the same thing again. I am falling for her... rather, I have fallen for her. I hate to say this but please!! promise me you won't screw this up", I said this with a little element of expectation. I had't expected anything from him since 8 years. So, this was an uncomfortable feeling.

"You know I don't make promises. I never commit to anything", came the rather spontaneous reply.

"Yeah, I've heard that before", is all I could say.

"But then you have to have faith ...", he started.

I immediately cut him off on this one, "Don't you give me any bullshit on faith!!!"

"... alright, not in me but at least in yourself. You know it well that it is your faith in yourself and your determination that has helped you achieve whatever you have", he defended himself.

"umm, that could be said. I really feel like telling you what i've learnt. It's not about you, and it's not about the devil either. It's just me... yeah, only me. Be it your grace or the devil's force, it's me who does everything. You guys just set the stage ...I guess i've learnt to live with that fact now", I was beginning to calm down.

"You seem to have stolen our trade secret!!", he laughed.

"Hehe, it's okay... don't worry! I won't try to be god, nor the devil. But on a more serious note, I know what i'm gonna do. I will walk the path I want to. I take responsibility of my own destiny. I know I love her and I will do everything it takes to reach the heights where we could rise above everything else and be together. Now it doesn't matter even if you screw this up, again", I was composed and was talking to him like a friend.

"Hmm, I like that attitude of yours. Anyway, I have to go now... need to attend to my business", he started to walk away. "Perhaps, we should be talking more ...and more often", he said while waving me goodbye.

"Well, that depends on your conduct this time", I smiled and winked.

I opened my eyes and had a strange feeling. The kind of feeling you get on talking to someone you've known for so long but haven't spoken to since ages.

Hellraiser raises hell!

2005-11-16T17:17:00.000+05:30

"Hellraiser", yeah ...that's the name I've given to my precious home theatre. Everyday in the morning, I play music on it for about an hour ...that is, while I get ready for office. Today I was playing songs at the "usual" volume when the neighbours sent their servant to ask me to lower the volume... and as soon as i came out of the house, there's this aunty - "can you 'please' play songs at a lower volume. We are getting disturbed". With a smile on my face I said, "Alright ma'am, I'll lower the volume right away". Finally, my "Hellraiser" lived up to its expectations. Now don't mistake me for a sadist. It was just once that i wanted to do this and also it was only the "usual" volume, as mentioned above.

Of sins, I speak

2005-11-11T11:40:00.000+05:30

"The 7 deadly sins, each with its distinct characteristics but all leading to the fall of man, sending him straight to hell!!!"

I started my research on the sins, since the day i was told they were evil and should be kept in check. As a matter of habbit, I wanted reasons. Why are the sins evil and deadly??
is it because they send you to hell???
well, if that is the case, I don't give a damn to what happens to me after i'm dead.
is it because they lead to a fall???
umm, i think sometimes a fall is worth the pleaures that precede it.

What makes us human is our intelligence and instincts - the two things which other animals lack. So, If we lose them, we're no better than a pet dog. But the very concept of sins falls in the path of satisfying our instincs and I have always found this contradiction very annoying.
"look, but don't touch. touch, but don't taste. taste, but don't swallow" [Devil's Advocate] - aren't the rules in opposition to our instincts!!??

Pride is said to be the strongest and deadlist sin. But ain't it pride that gives you confidence to face the world? You know why pride is deadliest? It is simply because it is in direct opposition to the supremacy of god. This is what one of the sites has to say about pride - "Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity"
What is wrong if someone believes in his/her abilities? I would never undermine the strength of human caliber and the power of the human mind. I think people should be proud of who they are. Pride, definitely, is my strongest sin ...and i'm proud of it.
For those proud people, who care about what happens to them after they die, here is what happens.
Reward in hell - You'll be broken on the wheel. (Whatever that means >:-])

Envy is the second sin on the list. It is defined as "desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation". Well, this is the sin, least known to me. I have practically no element of envy in me so, never bothered to really understand it. But one thing i realised is that the cure for envy is pride. It's strange that the two deadliest sins are in direct opposition. I don't envy anyone because i'm so proud of myself that i never have to envy what others have. But then, a little envy is also required. It helps you set short term goals. What's wrong if you desire to be smart or handsome or rich like someone else? It should, in fact, give you a reason to work hard and give your best to achieve what you aim for.
Reward you get in hell - "You'll be put in freezing water" (Hypothermia won't kill you as you're already dead)

Anger/Wrath comes next in the list and here's what is said about it "Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury". This is one interesting sin because it could destroy you but if given a direction, could rocket you right to the top. It is, perhaps, the one sin that needs serious and concious control. I know this because after pride, this would be my next strong sin. Wrath is like a fire that burns inside you. Used with care, it can fuel your engines and allowed to grow, it can burn you out. You should play with fire only if you have the confidence that you can control it. The best part about wrath is that it can give you the focus and super-human strength to achieve your goals. It is an inseparable component of passion.
Reward in hell - "You'll be dismembered alive" (Victory matters, not the pieces of my body)

Sloth is kinda self-explanatory. Anyway the definition goes like this - "Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work". Spiritual work, well don't know and don't care but as far as physical work is concerned, I find this more of a health related issue, rather than a deadly sin that sends you to hell. It's your body and you have the right to do with it, whatever you want. Anyway, the heavens differ and "care" about you. So, people! stay fit, else you have a reward waiting for you in hell.
Reward in hell - "You'll be thrown into snake pits" (I'd love to be with snakes)

Greed is the next big sin. "Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual". Fact is that greed and envy, are perhaps, the only sins i hate because they have no sense of honour. Material wealth and gains are required to enjoy this short life. Hence, desire is something very natural and is fine till there is care and concern for others. The moment you lose that concern, it becomes greed. For me, greed is the biggest sin because it does no good to you at all while it destroys you and your reputation. If someone disagrees, i'd love to hear the good side of it... this side i might have missed.
Reward in hell - "You'll be boiled alive in oil" (Can you smell what Satan's cookin')

Gluttony or "an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires" is termed as the next sin. But I find this pretty controvertial. How would you define the boundry of "what a person requires". Frankly, what beyond air, water, food and shelter??? if that's the case, we are all sinners for the technological progress we made. As per the definition, the stone age seems to be the only place where we were consuming only what we required. We live in a social system and there can be no finite boundry to one's requirements. Now, there is practically no gap between necessities and luxuries. I would simply strike this off the list but hell is ready to welcome us all.
Reward in hell - "you'll be force-fed rats, toads, and snakes" (vegetarians?? ...and btw, what sin did the rats, toads and snakes commit???)

Lust - the forbidden fruit ...the taboo!!! Here is the definition "Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body". I see absolutely nothing wrong with lust. I have already talked about it in a couple of older posts. Lust is the desire to satisfy one's senses and denying your insticts is denying the very thing that makes you human [The Matix]. Lust would definitely be my next strongest sin after wrath. Lust and wrath together make passion, one of the strongest feelings known to man ...the fuel to some of our greatest successes.
Reward in hell - "You'll be smothered in fire and brimstone" (passion burns hotter than that, so it's okay)

...well, that's my take on the 7 "deadly" sins. At the end of it I feel I am a proud, angry, lusty, glutton and sloth sinner. What turns my sins into my strengths are the virtues of honour, honesty, love, strength and courage. While i have a strong element of pride, the element of honour in me is equally high and that makes pride harmless, yet effective. With my anger and lust, i have love and honesty which makes me walk the right path, with my passions still being my guiding force. Finally, if all shall fail and i shall fall, I have the strength and the courage to get up and walk my path ...again.
I live with my sins and love them for they are an integral part of my identity.

references from http://deadlysins.com/

Bible of the Devil

2005-11-03T17:16:00.000+05:30

Few would have thought what is the "bible of the devil". Well, lemme tell you that i now have a copy of this book of temptations. The other day i was at the Sony showroom and brought the sony product catalogue. It is the book of ultimate temptations. You could just go on looking at the cool stuff in there and keep imagining yourself with all of it. It was like i want this, I definitely want this and i just can't live without this. It is the ultimate book of ultimate temptaions. Indeed, the bible of the devil... and i posess a copy!!! >:)

My Preciousssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-11-03T16:30:00.000+05:30

Diwali time, yet again. Nothing special for me as such. I'm not too fond of diwali as such. I'm not at all into any kind of worship and not into fireworks either. So, it's typically just another day, the good part being the shopping and the good food.
Couple of days before Diwali, is the festival of Dhan-Teras. As per tradition we buy silver on this day. Now people typically buy ornaments or utensils of silver, but me being me, decided to do something different. So, what did i do??... well i bought silver too. But in the form of fine lining and wiring. What good is that.... umm, lemme elaborate.
I bought silver lining and wiring which is fixed on a circuit-board. This circuit board is mounted in a metallic frame with other circuitary, and some motors and optical instruments. All of this is inside a silver colored cabinet which is connected to 4 speakers (2 front + 2 surround 120 w RMS x 4), a centre speaker (another 120 w RMS power) and a sub-woofer (rocking 200 w RMS) ....and that totals to 800 watts of unaltered, pure digital sound. All of it put together, I bought a SONY DVD Home Theatre System .... yessssss, yesssssssssss, yesssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!! my precioussssss! my precioussssssssssss!!
woah ....finally!!!, I had been dreaming about this day since times i can't remember. Now i own .....in fact, posess a wega theatre that includes a 29" Sony Wega and a Sony DVD Home Theatre System. This beast plays everything from Audio CD to DVD, mp3 to jpeg to DivX. That means, my collection of DivX movies can now be watched with full effects. As expected, I spent the entire diwali weekend watching movies.
Looking at it from another viewpoint, i see 30K going down the drain for something that's more of a luxury while there would be other things on higher priority. But then, i didn't buy a luxury, I bought my passion...I hunted down a big dream. Compared to my satisfaction, the money i spent was peanuts. I have paid through the nose for this thing, but my policy stands intact - "no risk, no gain... and no pain, no gain".
Crazy, is what they call me because while they wait, trapped in the present, hoping that the future will turn their dreams into reality, I shoot and hunt down my dreams right away!!!

Remix!!

2005-10-28T17:55:00.000+05:30

These days I'm high on this new remix number "Dafli waale, dafli baja". One of the very famous oldies from one of those Rishi Kapoor movies. Sometimes I really find it difficult to respond to the remix culture. Almost everyone I meet has found the entire remix business an evil empire. The general opinion remains that they have no originality and are literally screwing up some of the best stuff Indian Music Industry ever churned out. Well, my opinion kinda differs. I am totally with the remix revolution and I think the question of originality should not even be asked when the album has "REMIX" written on it in caps and bolds. Coming to the "screwing up" part of it, I think some of the remixes we've had in recent times have been simply amazing. You won't ever realize that if you listen to them on the TV for the obvious reason that the videos are so umm, distracting (took a while to find the correct adjective) that you don't concentrate on the audio of it. The real creativity out there in not in making few scantily clad women dance. It is in fact in the audio part of it. You have to admit that people like DJ Aqeel, Suketu and Harry haven't become celebs just like that. All these people did was to play some songs at most ordinary places in Mumbai and today they attract crowds and play at some of the finest and most elite places in India. Their story is not very different from that of say, Abhijit Sawant who, from a most ordinary boy, became a youth icon. They have worked hard for the success that they enjoy today. So, if they adhere to the copyrights act, noone has any right whatsoever to point fingers at them. And just like movies and songs, some remixes are good, some are not so good and some are pathetic too. If we give that freedom (to be bad) to movies and songs, remixes deserve it too.
Anyway, for those who are actually wondering which songs made me write this post, check out the following. There are some songs here, that I might have never even heard, forget liking them-
1. Roop Tera Mastana - Style Bhai (I guess this is where it all started)
2. Chandni Raatein - Bally Sagoo
3. Tere Bin Nahin Lagda - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan/Partners In Rhyme
4. Intezaar - Anamika
5. Kaliyon Ka Chaman
6. Dil Kya Kare/Julie - Instant Karma
7. Tu, Tu hai Wahi
8. Chadti Jawaani
9. Pardesiya
10. Badan Pe Sitaare
11. Ja Re Ja
12. Dafli Waale

I'm sure i have missed out many of them, but at least these are the ones that immediately came to mind. I haven't mentioned the remixed version of songs in the movies today and that's gonna be a big list of really nice songs.
Well then, if you don't have the talent to do it, then be professional and don't degrade someone else's hardwork.

The one thing i can't do

2005-09-29T12:40:00.000+05:30

All these days, I've seen us together,
...and here we are, closer than ever
You gave me back, my poem ...my words,
that i had lost, in a life among nerds
Now, here I am, in love with you,
with the core of my heart, shining anew
I'd die for you , I'd live for you,
and all I have, I'd give for you
But,
with everything, I'd do for you,
there is one thing, I can not do
...and that one thing, I leave to thee,
for I just can not, make you love me

-- Manas Saran (29th Sept, 2005)

I said it...

2005-09-28T18:06:00.000+05:30

There is nothing more exciting than doing the dont's!!

Bavra mann

2005-09-26T14:48:00.000+05:30

I always felt like posting the lyrics of this song and always forgot to do so.
But today I just couldn't forget doing this -

Bavra mann dekhne chala ek sapna...

streets we have never walked on,
windows we have never opened,
hands we have never held,
dreams we shall never, never see again.

Bavra mann dekhne chala ek sapna,
bavre se mann ki dekho, bavri hain baatein
bavri si dhadkanein hain, bavri hain saansein

lives we have never lived,
hopes we never realized,
fires we have never lit,
laughs we shall never, never make again

Bavra mann dekhne chala ek sapna...

I hear those strange whispers again.

--
EclipsE

Hazaaron khwahishein aisi...

2005-09-23T20:24:00.000+05:30

Today, is a day full of mixed emotions... I'm angry and I'm frustrated ...and I'm smiling, and I'm in deep thought. This is one of those days when I'm back to the basics ...what is it that I want? ...the question that haunts me much less than other "normal" human beings, is popping in my head. The events of the day aren't completely responsible for this... i guess they were just the trigger to an old build-up.
I have ghazals playing in the background and somehow, they are all making a lot of sense...

Hazaaron khwahishein aisi, ki har khwahish pe dum nikale
bahut nikale mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikale!!
-- Ghalib's masterpiece in Jagjit Singh's golden voice

All I want is everything (that's what i've been telling myself), or perhaps not. Today, I'm confused. Anyway, I've given up that thought for the moment. This is one of those rare days when I find myself standing at crossroads trying to figure out which way to go. I know, this is not my style and it is pretty unlike me, but i do have the right to be human at times. So, this is me, thinking about my life, about the things I want and things I want to happen to me or to my friends. I take a walk through the deepest and darkest corners of my mind.
I have taken a break from the fast life today, to mourn.... mourn all the losses I've ever suffered in my life - people I lost and the feelings that I lost.

Dekha to mera saayaa bhi, mujhse juda mila,
socha to har kisi se, mera silsila mila
sheher-e-wafa mein ab kise ehel-e-wafa kahein,
humse gale mila, to wohi bewafa mila
-- Jagjit Singh makes me think once more

One moment I feel detached from everyone and everything, as if nothing matters at all ...and then the very next moment, many people who weren't that important till yesterday, feel so close!!
Optipism is on a low today and yes, I'm feeling a little depressed too. I have my own reasons ...and there's no one reason for it all. Perhaps this would be the most outrageous reason of all - why can't the world around me, be the way i want it to be!!???
Interestingly, it is this reason that is making me smile today. I actually find it comical for a person as practical as me to feel this way.
Well, this is a time when I've put aside all my practicality and I've actually chosen to feel this way. Hence, I am so full of contradictions right now.
In the meanwhile, a change of song causes a change in the line of thought....

zindagi mein to sabhi pyar kiya karte hain,
mein to mar kar bhi, meri jaan, tujhe chaahoonga

apne jazbaat mein, naghmaat (songs) rachaane ke liye,
maine dhadkan ki tarah dil mein basaya hai tujhe
mein tassavvur bhi judai ka bhalaa kaise karoon,
maine kismat ki lakeeron se churaya hai tujhe
pyar ka banke nigehbaan, tujhe chaahoonga
mein to mar kar bhi, meri jaan, tujhe chaahoonga.
zindagi mein to sabhi pyar kiya karte hain
-- Mehdi Hassan melts the hardened heart!!!

"To love or not to love??" has become another significant question, and i'm stuck in between. In my life full of absolutes, this is the most ironic situation. I know I'm on the verge of falling and this time I really can't make the call. The basic reason perhaps is that I find it against my self-respect to make the absolute fall before an indication from the other end and i'm also reminded of the old hurt. I know that I am responsible for my own destiny and if I do anything stupid, there noone else to blame for the consequences but myself. It's a wierd situation but just like everything else, today I'm letting myself loose on this one too... let me fall.
A couple of days back, I fell on the stairs ...and then got up confidently. I felt as if something was being told to me - It is okay to fall. Maybe i'll hit the ground but then i can get up, confidently once more. Afterall, aadmi gir kar hi seekhta hai

Well, the song changes and I realise what's missing

Koi dost hai, na raqeeb hai,
tera sheher kitna ajeeb hai
yahaan kiska chehra padha karoon,
yahaan kaun itna kareeb hai

and then...

Humsafar hota koi to, baant lete dooriyan,
raah chalte log, kya samjhein meri majbooriyan

-- Jagjit Singh hits where it hurts the most

5 years in this city and noone to call mine... that's where it hurts!!! though, I stand tall and unaffected. Perhaps I expect too much ...but do I??? Is truth and trust too much to ask for???
I have always been experiencing the side-effects of being a "bindaas guy". Noone takes you seriously. Even your utmost sincerity is mistaken for another one of those stupid jokes.
Anyway, i think i'll stop writing here... and though as a writer, I always close my writings with an optimistic thought, i won't be doing it this time for in these matters, there's little room for any kind of optimism. Let's accept things the way they are.

Mohabbat mein nahiin hai farq, jeene aur marne ka,
usi ko dekh kar jeete hain, jis kaafir pe dum nikale

--
EclipsE

I said it...

2005-09-20T15:13:00.000+05:30

Here are a chosen few of my lines that just came up during various conversations -
1. I don't play by the rules, I play "with" the rules
2. Your company does you no favour. So, it is unprofessional to be grateful to your company.
3. These days, ethics are in fashion
4. Stop comparing Windows and Linux. You can't compare a work of art with a work of science.
5. Mirrors made me believe that insanity could be personified
6. If worship god, so that good things happen, why not worship the devil so that bad things don't happen?
7. Do something ...or destroy something!!!

--
EclipsE

aaaaah

2005-09-19T12:47:00.000+05:30

I declare today's weather, the most romantic in this entire season!!!
....and that's pretty much it. Unfortunately I have nothing more to say or do about it.

--
EclipsE

Tagged!!!

2005-09-14T15:52:00.000+05:30

Tagged by Sabita:

Three names I go by:
1) Manas
2) Saran
3) Goju!!!

Three Screen Names:
1) EclipsE
2) DevilHimself
3) The PieceMaker (when i used to play Quake-3)

Three things I like about myself:
1) The clarity of my mind - what i want and when and how i want it
2) My belief in my actions
3) My intensity, passion and focus in doing whatever i choose to do

Three things I don't like about myself:
1) My anger (rare, but pretty bad)
2) My insensitivity
3) My inability to do more than one thing at one time (can't even handle two chat windows at the same time)

Three things that scare me:
1) My anger and nothing else
2)
3)

Three essentials:
1) Interesting people around
2) Good food, music and clothes (bole to, good lifestyle)
3) Speed (in everything perhaps)

Three things I like in the opposite sex:
1) Smartness
2) Agressiveness
3) Love for vampires ;)

Three things that I want to do badly now:
1) bungy jumping
2) sky diving
3) *evil grin*

Three careers I am considering right now:
1) Actor (Theatre)
2) Game Programmer
3) Wildlife photographer

Three places I'd love to go on vacation:
1) Grand Canyon
2) Niagra Falls
3) Outer Space

Three kids' names I like:
1) Kittu
2) Nannu
3) Aryan

Three things to do before dying:
1) Do something significant for the Department of Defence
2) Write the game of the year
3) Conquer the world

Three people who get to take this wonderful quiz:
1) ONE THING TO RULE THEM ALL
2) Three Drinks Ahead
3)

--
EclipsE

Love and Lust

2005-09-13T00:08:00.000+05:30

For once, this is not something that i have written. I got this as an email forward... in fact, many people in IIIT got this. It is written in the form of a conversation between a guy and a girl and it actually sparked off a debate in the hostel with some people supporting the guy's point of view and some, the girl's.
Overall, I found this one really interesting and intriguing. Here it goes -

**********************************************************************************

"You know what all this is, don't you?" he asked me, all too seriously one day.
"What?" The words everlasting love, soul mates and unending romance popped into my mind.
"All this is maya.lust," he stated candidly.
"Is it a bad thing that I lust for you?" I asked, my fingers crossed.
"Lust for anyone is bad," he proclaimed.
Lust (noun): An intense or unrestrained sexual craving.
I would have thought he would be flattered, but no such luck. Whatever society can't understand, control or appreciate, is deemed bad, taboo, wrong, to be stopped and kept in check, and this idea is engraved all too deeply in many an Indian mind.
"Put all your morality aside for a second," I told him earnestly. "Then would you sleep with me?"
"I'll be honest. It is a tempting thought, but no."
"Why?" I wouldn't let him off so easily.
"The consequences wouldn't be worth it. I just couldn't do that to Mike."
Mike (my ex-boyfriend): A very nice, friendly, good human being. Unfortunately, we had no chemistry. Mike's best friend and I on the other hand shared a bit too much chemistry and to add to the complexity of the situation, Mike still harbored feelings for me.
"You know what people do to each other?" he continued.
"What?" I listened attentively.
"They use each other to satisfy their senses. But one must control one's senses."
"Why should you control it? Don't you love me?" I asked, looking for my silver lining.
"I do not love you," he replied without hesitation.
"Then what was it you felt for me that night?" I had tears now in my eyes.
That night (mutually understood code word): It stood for the one night of intimacy that did not finally (for better or worse is debatable) end in sex.
References to that incident were made by both of us all too frequently as we grappled to come to terms with what it truly meant to us as individuals and what we meant also to each other.
"It was a mistake. My body just took over my mind." He was at least clear where he stood in this entire mess.
"How can you say that? Do you regret it?" I was grasping, now.
"Sometimes I do."
"But it was so amazing!" I exclaimed, still unbelieving.
"Good for you," he shrugged.
Good for you (phrase): Used frequently by him to undermine any enjoyment that he may have had in our relationship and to highlight his indifference to any suggestion that what we had may be even remotely special.
"So, what am I to you?" I asked him, hoping to hear anything other than the word 'friend'.
"A friend," he replied. He never gave 'right' answers.
"And you want us to just put all that we felt behind us?"
"It is better that way. We can be friends if we don't have this stuff between us."
"But you mean the world to me."
"I don't mean anything. I'm nobody. All this is just an illusion," he said, exasperated. Sometimes I wondered if he thought that I was on the rebound and didn't appreciate the idea.
Rebound (verb): To recover as from depression or disappointment. Just getting out of one relationship and into another often undermines the depth of the new relationship lest it have occurred only because the person was let down by the first one.
"Too bad you feel that way," I said trying to make light of a somewhat heavy situation. "I think you and I would've been great together."
"Don't tell me you still want to. What was it that I did to you anyway?"he seemed pleasantly surprised.
"Ah, the heart wants what it wants.there's no explaining these things.who was it who said that? Woody Allen, I think." I tried to sound cheerful now.
"Take some time...figure out what you want," he said gently.
"I know what I want," I replied, very sure of myself.
"What?" he queried, as if he didn't know.
"I want to have a relationship with you."
"What kind of relationship?" he asked, curious. "Sexual?"
"We can start with that," I said, winking.
"I just don't understand you," he said, waving the suggestion away.
"Do you think people fall in love first then have sex or have sex first and then fall in love?"
"I wish I knew." He was smiling now.
Love (noun - in this context): A feeling of intense desire or attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.
We were stuck now in a deadlock, with me being completely sure that I was head over heels in love with him and he being equally sure that, though he felt something, it certainly wasn't love. Unfortunately, neither is there a clear definition, nor consistent symptoms and, hence, no conclusions either.
"Anyway," he said, continuing. "You lost your chance."
"I know. You sure opportunity isn't going to knock twice?"
"What would you do if it did?" he asked, a naughty smile emerging on his face.
"Keep a condom handy."
"What?" he asked, scandalized.
"That is all we need right? Just you, me and a condom." I was enjoying, myself now.
"You're crazy"
"So I've been told."
Crazy (adjective - informally in this context): Immoderately fond; infatuated. Intensely involved or preoccupied. Foolish or impractical.
He was right. At that moment, I was all of these and more.
"I've never met anyone like you," he shook his head in disbelief.
"Careful, you're on the verge of being nice to me," I teased him.
"You're messing with my mind."
"Nah. Just want you to give it a chance"
"It all just happened too fast." He was speaking softly now.
"Is there ever a perfect time?"
"I'm not ready. I can't say yes."
"As long as you don't say no."
"All this--"
"Maya?" I cut him off.
"Darn it, yes."
Maya (noun - Hinduism): The power of a god or demon to transform a concept into an element of the sensible world.
I don't know if I'm the God or the Demon in this context. I only know that he, me and a condom.it just sounds perfectly sensible to me.

************************************************************************************

Well, i don't know what your reaction to this was but I think the girl actually convinced me.

--
EclipsE >:-]

Of love, I speak

2005-09-12T02:36:00.000+05:30

Love ....well, I won't even know where to begin from. Anyway, let's make an attampt at least. This one turned out to be a little long though.
I've always found love something really fascinating and interesting. As a matter of habbit I always try to analyze anything, everything, anyone and everone :) that interests me. My inputs in this regard, have particularly been the incidents and the phenomena (seems like the right word) that I have seen and also my personal experiences. Right from school, somehow my perception of love and relationships has always been very different from that of the people around me. Now, I don't know who was right and who was wrong but I've had my own beliefs, just like everyone else. In school, when people used to talk about being "senti" for a particular girl or guy, I found it hard to believe how someone could really think of things like that. I mean, we were just kids, we didn't have a direction, we didn't know where life would take us. Love just didn't seem right at that point of time. I knew some people who were supposedly "going around" (dunno where that term came from). I would look at them and feel that this isn't love. It is just an attraction... perhaps a part of growing up. This doesn't mean that I was never in the company of girls. In fact, I had many girl - friends (intentional -) in school. But I never felt that I could go ahead with someone for my entire life... I always thought that it was too quick to make a call like that. Overall by the end of school, my concept of love, still pretty different from the general public, was that of a platonic relationship. For me, friendship and love meant no difference. I thought I had the perfect explanation for the phenomena called love - Love is mutated form of friendship, where the feeling of togtherness is so strong that you could do anything for that friend of yours. Now with this idea, there was no difference between the two sexes. I could potentially love a guy as much as I would love a girl. I felt happy and satisfied having found the answer to the question which, even most adults fail to answer.
But there was a major flaw. Something I realised once i was in college. I had ignored the basic fact that girls and boys are not the same. You cannot "be" the same with boys and girls. Starting from the differences that nature has created, there are different behavioral patterns and perceptions, and of course, one cannot rule out the social factors. Overall, the "code of conduct" has to differ when you are with a boy or a girl. So, once again, I was dragged back to the same question - are love and friendship essentially the same thing??? I have always been a person with an open mind full of rebel ideas. Should I accept defeat at understanding love, or open my mind to things which the society wouldn't approve of. Anyway, I decided to win and so, came the policy of no discrimination. But what about the physical aspect of relationships??? Something that I had been totally ignoring in the name of platonic relationships. I had always drawn a line but with age, this line seemed to be getting thinner and thinner and I began to realize that there's nothing called platonic when it's between me and a girl. I had to make space for sexual behaviors too. I broadly classified people in two categories - Ones for whom love and sex and closely related and others, for whom love and sex and two different things, with me belonging to the second category. I put sex a level below food, water and air. You need it like everyone else does. So, why create so much fuss about it??? I had to be right, for I had the logic and the reasoning in my favour.
But then what about marriage??? As per what I believed, marriages made no sense at all. They looked like a simple social drama and infidelity seemed so correct and obvious. Once again I had to do some more thinking. Mom was really helpful with this one and in one of my debates with her, came the point of a sane social order. To preserve the social order, you need to have rules, rather laws. I accepted that. I think she's right. The social order should be preserved else we would be reduced to animals. I haven't been very appreciative of the society as such... for a man who believes in absolute freedom, in a world without rules, it is a little difficult to honour the social code. Well, with time I learned the need for the society and I'm fine with it now. But the basic question still remains - what is this love thing all about?
Then came a personal experience of having been involved in serious commitment once. When i was "in love", I was the strongest man on earth. I was invincible. I had the might to move the world the way i wanted. Had a simple mutation in a friendship with a girl given all that might to me??? I don't think so... I believe that, that power was always there in my mind. Love harnessed it just like we now harness the, once hidden, power of the atom. I know now, that it is a state of mind. Basically, the funda is straight... guys and girls generally love eachother and fitting in the social order, we do have to settle down with "the one" ...and well, if you have to get only one of the cookies, why not shoot for the one best suited for you. So, ultimately it is the satisfaction of choosing your own cookie. Everyone wants to be strong and the best way is to harness the power of the mind using love as the reactor. So, put is simple words, people fall in love because they want to. I can't help it, but whenever I meet a girl, my first thought is that is this my cookie :D. You can choose your feelings and decide when to take the leap of your life. I still go by my first thought that love is a mutated form of friendship where you are emotionally so close to the other person that your mind unleashes its ultimate power. Physical closeness might be a consequence but should not be mitaken for the cause. ...and talking about rules, well, there are no rules if there is no commitment and if there is a commitment, a man of honour would have respect for it. Marriage is an important social institution and it should not lose its sanctity. Just that people need to open up a little and accept and respect the pre-marital personal life of their partner for they've had their own.
There would be people who won't appreciate this attempt of mine because they want to believe in the supremacy of love. For them, trying to explore love in this manner is like challenging their religious faith. Well, ignorance is bliss. Love doesn't lack logic, it's we who want a way to rise above all reason and practicality. It's the deepest desire to do something big.
Talking personally, I don't think love is blind and i don't think there's anything like falling in love, though being in love feels like as if you've been knocked off the edge of high cliff. When it comes to deciding a yes or no for a girl, my eyes are not closed and I am absolutely concious. In fact, most of us are... though we might not like to believe it because we want to preserve love as something tender and soft. We want to believe that love has no practicality attached and is purely from the heart ...and of course, we want to enjoy that drop off the cliff with eyes closed but then the depth also matters. Sometimes, you'll fall through your life and sometimes might hit the ground much quicker and end up hurt and broken ...anyway, everyone falls the first time ;). So, look before you leap!!!

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EclipsE

Game Over

2005-09-12T00:44:00.000+05:30

Okay, finished FarCry. My previous post describes the game. In this one, i'd just say that I simply loved it.

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EclipsE

Review: FarCry

2005-09-11T01:29:00.000+05:30

They say, computer games have come a long way, that they have evolved. But after playing FarCry, that sounds like an absolute understatement. You have to play it to believe it. I happened to have got a free copy along with my graphics card and kinda ignored it till recently with the typical view that "muft mein koi dhang ki cheez nahiin milti". Anyway, few days back, I just decided to ckeck it out and was simply amazed!!! I thought i would write this review after completing the entire game, but its quality has forced me to write about it while I still have a level to go before it's done.
Coming to the game, i have been taken aback by the spell binding graphics this one has. Huge (believe me, HUGE) environments have been rendered with near perfection quality. From now on it's gonna get a little techy. The particle systems used to render the tree and grass are like never before. This game is a treat for the eyes. You get a feel that you're right there. I haven't such water being rendered with such amazing quality. You actually get to see the reflection of the world in water with the blending of textures used for the waterbed. There are gigantic levels where the polygon count would be insane. The only way to do this is to code an outstanding algorithm for distance and backface culing and line of view based culling ...and then further improvise on it. This one is easily the best rendering engne I've ever seen. The shaders in the game are outstanding.
Coming to the gameplay, the physics of the game matches current standards. You can't just walk in with a gun and win the game in a "bam bam" style. You have to apply logic and strategy to take out the key posts particularly the recketeers and the snipers. Slow and steady is the policy of the game. For the save-load kind of gamers, there's a bad news... there is no quick save or load in the game. It automatically saves after a logical checkpoint.
Finally, I would say that it is one game that every gamer should play ...it'll be an experience. For the people interesting in graphics related technology, it's an inspiration. There is so much to learn from it. Its existence proves that very soon, real time convincing graphics will be for real!!!

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EclipsE

This might get you interested in Rajmachi!!!

2005-09-01T10:31:00.000+05:30

This might get you interested in Rajmachi!!!

2005-09-01T09:52:00.000+05:30

Where do I begin???

2005-09-01T09:50:00.000+05:30

Hmm, so where do I begin?? ...it's been a day over 8 months since my last post here and i have, finally, decided to end the hibernation and turn the wheel here. Last 8 months have been a period of change ...and it's been a good time i must say. I've had a blast all this time... a real good working life i must say - 5 days of good work and another 2 days to settle the score when it comes to having fun. The balance has pretty much been there. Looking back at this period of time, there are a few things that i am reminded of -

1. Ryzerabad
I have seen hyderabad turn into Ryzerabad, thanks to this awesome online (and now offline too) community called ryze (www.ryze.com). The basic idea is simple, just get registered on the site, join the hyderabad network (http://hyd-network.ryze.com) and land up at any of the meetings, which happen pretty often. Ryze has the credit for making weekends happening for a lot of people ...people like me who have come to this city from other places and have practically no local group. We've watched loads of movies together, been to pubs, readmeets, ghazal sessions and a lot of other things. My page on ryze can be seen at http://www.ryze.com/go/DarkDevil

2. Rajmachi
This was one trek I can never, ever, forget. The dates were 1st to 4th July ...which means rains in the region were at their worst (or best, however you may put it). Rajmachi is a fort in the hills of the western-ghats, between Karjat and Lonavala. The plan was to get down at Karjat and trek from there to Lonavala over the next 2 days. It's been sometime, so, i don't have the enthu of writing a complete travel log. Still, all I would say is that it was the worst time to go there as the treks were pretty slippery and dangerous ...but at the same time it was the best time to go there as that place would never have been more beautiful. There was greenary everywhere, and of course, water water everywhere. The worst imagined rainfalls were happening every 15 minutes and the Ullhas River in the valley was flooded. Against all odds we made the trip successfully getting to see Kondana Caves and Rajmachi Fort, which was a tough trek through really steep hills and valleys ...and the beautiful and untouched region between Rajmachi and Lonavala, which was almost a 17 Km trek. Overall, this was one awesome experience and I would recommend everyone to try this once ...in the worst & best time!!!

3. My Monster
It had been almost a year since my gaming insticts had been on the backfoot. The major cause was my machine that wouldn't support any of the new games around. Anyway, my bro happened to take that thing to his college ...good enough for his "Educational Purposes" >:). So, I bought my new Monster couple of weeks back. This time it's an Athelon 64 bit 1.8 geegz processor with 1 geegz RAM. Got an MSI, NForce M/B with SLI. The real pleasure is the graphics card, which happens to be an XFX GeForce 6600 GT - supports dual monitors and TV. As of now, this thing runs any damn game around. I just finished with HalfLife-2 and Doom-3 and Farcry are on the list. There are also some movies that i got from IIIT, that are awaiting my attention. Overall, my monster that happens to be called "Nocturno", is doing pretty well.

Well then, this post is just a warmup excercise coz i haven't been writing all this while, but from now on, I shall try to be a bit more regular with this. So, all you readers, have awesome fun!!!

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EclipsE

"Happy" New Year???

2004-12-31T02:31:00.000+05:30

"2004 ... almost rounded up. ...woah man!!!, I love this year. It marked a new beginning for me. I closed all the old chapters and started afresh... with the amazing sagittarian spirit, that shall keep me going till I conquer the entire world >:-]. When I turn and look back, I feel happy ...and I feel proud that I've been able to set my foot in this wild wild world, and have set it firm. Now, with my mind without fear, my head held high and my eyes, still focussed on my goals (the world isn't yet conquered), I take the first step into the new astronomic timeframe that we call a year."
...I was supposed to say all that to myself, as I partied all night on 31st. Personally, for me this was a great year. ...and I was also suppposed to wish a "Happy New Year" to everyone I met.
But, at this point of time, calling this "New Year" event "Happy", would perhaps be the most ironic statement to make. Why are we celebrating new year this time? Is it because, while 100,000 of us perished, we are still alive? Did we live, so that we could forget the ones gone forever and just move on?
I think I have a new "New Year Speach" to make - "2004 ...almost rounded up. I still love this year on a personal note. But if I go out to party tomorrow, boozing and dancing the entire night, looking at and lusting for the babes there, I won't be able to muster up enough courage to see my face in the mirror, the day after ...for every penny that I'll spend there means "life" to the people who will "celebrate" their new year in a relief camp.
But tomorrow, I shall still celebrate life as it seems, no longer to be a gift but a privilege. This time, let us not give out a message that we don't care. Instead, let us tell them that we are with them in their time of trouble"
Do you watch the morning news??? ...well, I never did. But these days I make it a point to watch the news so that when I start my day, I know that while I would be sitting leasurely in my air-conditioned office, there are people longing for a breath of fresh air ...one that doesn't have the stink of rotting bodies of the people they adored.
It is a humble request to everyone reading this, that whatever money you had shelled out for the new year celebration, please donate it to any of the Tsunami Relief Funds. Even the smallest of efforts can make a big difference. Spending some good time with near and dear ones is also how you could celebrate this new year.
Today, I proudly call myself an Indian ...a ciztizen of the country that is not just battling one of it's worst calamities on its own, but also rendering a helping hand to other countries.
"Vasudhev Kutumbkam" - The earth is a family

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EclipsE

I see the light

2004-06-29T09:36:00.000+05:30

It was a journey that started 4 years ago in this very campus (IIIT-H) and now it is over... I am happy and satisfied to have achieved the goals I had set for myself before coming here. In fact, I think I did much better. Anyway, It's unfortunate that I'm not senti or sad when I leave this place... In fact I am happy that I am getting my much deserved change. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (Hope that's not a train >;-]). I have been literally counting days here. People look forward to their college life as a period where there are no rules, full mastee and a time they would never forget. But for me this was the darkest time in my life and I would have been lost in this darkness forever if I had not decided to shine!!!
The last 4 years were weird. An alltime topper in the class, fell to level of a below average student. An "Always Bindaas" guy, turned into an "Always Serious" one. A happy and shining soul, became absolutely dead. I hate these years because I cannot justify what I did all this time. Frankly, I did not do anything... these years are a void in my life. Neither did I excel in studies, nor did I have my share of fun. Then what did I do??? Frankly, wasted 4 years(no, last year was fine)... okay 3 years of my life completely without doing anything, living in a dream world because the reality was not what I wanted. I stuck to the goods of my past and never cared unwrap my present. Life changed drastically... I changed. Towards the end of it I was totally frustrated and one fine day I decided to have everything back... everything that I had lost in this journey. But it was too late. People already knew me...and to my bad luck, they knew me as "not-me" and would not accept me as "me". So, at that moment I decided to postpone this till the end of the college life. Once I break free from the demons of the past I shall be what I am... rather what I was. Till the end of the third year I feel my life in college was a total waste of time, money and energy... an empty mind had already become a devil's workshop. Swept by darkness, I had changed more than I could imagine.
By that time I had figured out that if I stay in this campus any longer, the damage will be more than repairable. So, I started moving out of here, picking of professional work to do. I had already screwed up three years and I had to make up for all of it in the fourth. I had to shine now... for that was the only way to get rid of the darkness around me. I started taking up professional work... and in a short time, became a thorough professional. I knew that I was "coming back to life" (there's a reason why it is my favorite song). I started to "live" life from then on, live it like there's no tomorrow and here I am today.
Now, I love my life... I am back in action and like I was never before. It seems that the "EclipsE" is almost over. Though there are still traces of darkness that will be there forever... but I don't mind that because it does not control me. I control it now... and also like it. There is darkness in me, but it is not inspired by evil, it is just "The Beauty of Darkness" (Look at what the title-bar says). There is a devil is me, but it is not the bad part of me, it is just the "sharaarat" (mischief) in me.
Now, when I look at tomorrow, I see a time when I would have cut all ties with this past of mine and would be shining like the sun...AGAIN!!!

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EclipsE

Harry Potter 3

2004-06-27T00:20:00.000+05:30

Oh my devil!!! why the hell did I have to go for this movie at all... and that too after paying a major 185 bucks for watching it on the massive IMAX screen. I think it was just a bad day!!! This movie is not even kid-stuff... it is utter nonsense. They build up the suspense like anything...making the movie so slow that it literally crawls... and then when it all gets over in the end, you are like "what the f*ck!!??", not because you are surprised (as would happen is any good movie), but because you are feeling so irritated. Anyway, if you are the types who likes "shocking ends" then I would definitely recommend "The Others" (*ing Nicole Kidman). It has the most shocking end that I have seen till date. Otherwise also I am recommending some movies where I really liked the end because of the surprise element in it... Payback, Bandits & Ocean's 11. Can't think of more names right now (I guess I'm feeling too sleepy right now)
Coming back to Harry Potter 3, there is absolutely no content in the movie... not even anything entertaining. This one is the worst of the three. Not that I liked the other two, but they were still better than this one. Well I think i'm feeling so much for this movie because I ended up spending so much money on this one. Anyway, that's all for the moment.

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EclipsE

Lakshya - That's the word

2004-06-23T19:48:00.000+05:30

Lakshya - that's the word!!!... Finally watched it. Good movie.. In fact a very well made movie, but nowhere near DCH (DCH was a class apart... a cult in itself). Some of the scenes were really good. I loved the rock climbing scene. Had it been any other director, he would have made a horrible copy the MI-2 scenes and put some matrix effects, but Farhan Akhtar has shot that scene so perfectly that it all looks technically very correct and believable. That guy has put some good action sequences in the movie. Hritik is better than before and preity... well, she's always that good. But Amitabh Bachchan and Om Puri were totally wasted... just doing "5 dialogue" roles. Still, i guess they were there, just for their screen presence. The storyline was kinda weak... actually very straightforward and predictabe (hence, boring). Only the good scenes in the movie hold it together and make it look good.
Personally i liked the theme of that movie... Lakshya, that's the word, that's what really matters!!! do anything you like, but do it well. I believe that "if anything is worth doing, it's worth doing well". Lakshya is very important in life. We read force*direction = work. But force with no direction is waste of time, energy and maybe money also. There have been people who came to me for a career advice (frankly, even i dunno why), but i have always said the same thing to everyone... make a call about what you have to do and then forget everything and live by your decision. Anyway... today's doze of philosoohy is over.

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EclipsE >:-]

Yippee!!! what more could i ask for???

2004-06-20T19:37:00.000+05:30

ureka ureka!!! I found a house for myself. That brings an end to my apartment hunt. For a moment I had really started to doubt if i'll get a house here. But I am feeling really great... and I'm in one hell of a mood today. Well, today Varun and I started a door to door operation in telecom-nagar asking anyone and everyone if there's an apartment available on rent. Finally we found "my" house, nice drawing cum dining room, good kitchen (very spacious), 2 bedrooms of decent size... actually everything I wanted. I'll be moving in by the end of this month. Anyway, let's get over with that.
...last night's dinner, one more awesome thing. Shailesh and I happened to go to indira-nagar to have dinner. My original intention was to see some good infy girls, but shailesh had to make his "important" phone call. So, ended up reaching there at 10:15, when all the girls had already left. Then I looked at what was there for dinner... man!!! unlimited aalu-parathas for 25 bucks. That too each paratha, king-size, think and with a big peice of butter on it. What more would I ask for from life!!!??? ...ended up eating 4 of those things (Shailesh, of course, managed 5). Forget walking, even getting up was tough then. Somehow we managed to get to the hostel. Today, in the lunch, once again there were aalu parathas... definitely NOT that good.
...otherwise spent the entire day chatting and doing nothing else. Finally went for the hunt in the evening and came back successful. I am invincible!!! hee hee hee

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EclipsE >:-]

The Microsoft Hyderabad User Group Meet

2004-06-20T00:29:00.000+05:30

I had been to the Microsoft Hyderabad User Group Meet yesterday. Frankly, it was horrible. There were 3 guest speakers but none of them was good... in fact a couple of them were really bad. The topics weren't good either. First was "Fun With Powerpoint" which was short and okay types... but no technical content. Then was the real presentation I was there for... ".NET Cryptography". But to my disappointment the speaker himself messed up whatever he was trying to show. The last and definitely not the least was a presentation on the "Blogging Phenomena". Now, this one was the most pathetic. No technical content ...in fact, no content at all. The speaker had prepared some 20 mins of presentation while this is something that hardly takes 2 minutes. The only new thing I gathered from there was the funda of RSS feeds, which was nice but not enough to make me feel informed. Anyway, I did get to meet some good people out there. Then after the meet, some of my Hyderabadi friends and I went for dinner to compensate for the waste of useful time by wasting some more time and money.

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EclipsE >:-]

gmail ..all the way!!!

2004-06-20T00:16:00.000+05:30

What a day!!! Just yesterday I was having a talk with some people about the phenomena called gmail. It has pretty much become a status symbol between us IT guys >;-]. None of us had an account out there. 1GB of storage space...man!!! what else could you ask for. Yahoo had to increase the storage space from 6MB to 100MB just because of gmail. Anyway, the talk of the day is that I finally managed to grab a gmail account. Credits to Gautam (One of my IIIT friends, currently getting screwed at XLRI)...he had an invitation and he forwarded it to me. I have registered by e-mail id as frozenthrone@gmail.com and have decided to use this as my primary address. Now, talking about the name frozenthrone ...well, that originates from a game called "Warcraft 3". It wasn't quite my type of game but the game videos were simply awesome...easily the best work ever done in pre-rendered graphics except for the masterpiece called LOTR. I still remember the days when all night my graphics group and I used to watch those videos again and again (while cooking maagi) and kept admiring the detail. Anyway, the bottomline of this post is that I am now a gmailer!!!

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EclipsE >:-]

I am invincible!!!

2004-06-18T02:09:00.000+05:30

Well, the new codecs seem to have solved the problem. Now the picture and the sound are in sync...yippee!!!

The Hunt for the Good Apartment

2004-06-18T01:43:00.000+05:30

...yet another day full of conflict between linguistics and computer science. There's this algorithm that I was supposed to study and work on...now my ways are simple, read the algo once and get a hang of it. When the coding time is there, keep it handy and code the damn thing. But this time things were really strange...rather wierd. They want me to learn the algorithm...to be able to write it down without the book... now why should I do that. As a programmer just knowing the thing a little and using it while the implementation looks perfectly sane. The issues regarding the input to the program etc. are the linguist's issues... definitely not mine and I damn care about them. If you give wrong values, you can't expect me to write the code in such a way that it still gives you right answers.
Anyway, let's get over with the bad stuff. Today it poured like hell out here...the weather I really hate. It was really good until it rained. I went to look for an apartment at a nearby place but no luck...seems I got a little late and all apartments in the locality are taken >:-[. So, the hunt is not as simple as I expected it to be. Frankly, that's nothing new for me... coz life has never been easy. Now, the unpredictability of life has become so predictable. Spent the entire evening chatting and making a couple of new friends and also watching con-air. Okay types movie..typical hollywood action stuff (The stuff I like!!!). Dimaag lagane ki zaroorat nahin, just enjoy it. It's almost 2 in the night. Started to watch "Paycheck" at around 1 but the codec was screwing up badly. So, i'm downloading the latest version of the "Ace Mega Codecs Pack". Hopefully that should take care of the problems. During those painful 41 Mega Bytes to be downloaded, I am writing this. Hey...the download is over. So, that's all for the moment.

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EclipsE >:-]

Linguistics and Me >:-[

2004-06-16T19:17:00.000+05:30

Well, I'm doing a course on Computational Linguistics these days. Of course, I had no other option ...otherwise linguistics and I!!!??? >:-| . So, lemme tell you what happens when someone who's too much into technical stuff and programming etc. goes to study linguistics.
...The first problem is the language problem. I have been so much involved on the technical side that now, I write in C and use mathematical expressions and don't care about language any more. But in linguistics you need to write proper hindi/english/french/russian/papago/...potato, tomato...what and what not. I didn't even know about the existance of so many languages. Moreover, I got to know that there are people in this world who have the time AND THE MIND to learn/analyse/disect/operate on them. Some of these are really pathetic. I don't have my assignment papers right now, otherwise I would have written a few examples. So, my first problem is that I'm hardly able to make any sense out of these. Then the second problem is the representation. I am a computer engineer and look at everything from the point of optimization. As a result I tend to write as less as possible and use mathematical symbols and/or abbreviations to present my answers. Now all this is greek and latin to my teacher. I had to do an assignment again today and even now she was not happy with my presentation. I am really really frustrated now. I told her that from now on I won't care about what linguistic representations are. I'll write a paragraph telling what my deductions are. Moreover, they want me to read. I tell them give me the code to read and the specs and I'll do the project. But they want me to read loads of theory inspite of my telling them that I HATE READING!!!
Anyway, who the f*ck wants to do linguistics!!!??? I'm happy enough with my profession. Now it's a matter of counting days. But this thing is getting on my nerves now, and I'm really losing patience. I just hope that these guys stop testing my patience and just do the damn f*cking course... coz if that line is crossed I'll bloody show them the finger and walk out!!!
...just holding on. Let's see.

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EclipsE >:-]

Busy Days Ahead...

2004-06-16T18:35:00.000+05:30

well, as of now it's a vidai scene out here. Ashutosh went home (Mumbai) yesterday. Tanu left for home (Meerut) today morning. She has her visa interview in delhi on 21st. Then Arpit is leaving (For Indore, and then Lucknow) tomorrow morning. All through the night he was burning CD's in my room... that's a typical "rasm-e-vidai" at this place. You grab as much stuff as you can on CD's. I started off with my mission long time ago and as of now I have a massive collection of movies.
...Anyway, coming to me... Day before yesterday night I had a good dinner (buffet) at fortune katriya (Couldn't take the mess food suddenly after coming from Bangalore where I the food was heavenly). Ashutosh and Shailesh had gone with me. Well, the buffet also included unlimited drought beer. So, I was on a good high by the time we finished. So, just came back and slept. Yesterday wasn't really productive. Just a class of "Computational Linguistics" (Hopefully the last leech stuck to my body, after getting rid of which, I'll be free). I am having a feeling that my life is getting into a routine which is strictly unacceptable. Everyday I get up at around 11 and finish my assignments before my class which is at 2:30. This class thing lasts till around 4:30-5:00 and by then the day is already gone. I should be doing something about this. However, I have a lot of work today. ...also have to begin with the final project coding. I'm almost there but the truth is that I'm still not there and I don't have much time now. So, I think that will be something that will change my routine. Man!!! I just love coding. So, I hope GoD (My final project) will be over soon. The days ahead also look really busy because I have to hunt for an apartment now. It has become very critical now. The notice has come...and they're gonna throw us out of the college by the end of this month. No new movies watched...life seems so miserable right now...not my type of life at all. I am dying to go out and really freak out for some time with some good company.
...but "jeevan ka satya" is that I have to read some sh*t regarding my course project... I'll read that in the night. Today's timepass web-browsing was a site called http://www.funtrivia.com . The page of typical interest was http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/movies/index.html. This page had many movie quizzes for a nice timepass. The weather in Hyderabad is awesome these days. It's really windy in the evenings and nights. Anyway, that's all I have for today...I know nothing interesting. But I'll do something about it. Abhi to I'm fed up of writing this thing and want to wander for sometime.

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EclipsE >:-]

...and the Hyderabadi Hindi

2004-06-14T18:39:00.000+05:30

...on the trip, Vishal and I happened to be the only North Indians among a gang of 35 Hyderabadis. So, I finally did learn some good Hyderabadi Hindi. Within a day I was absolutely fluent with it and frankly, was really enjoying talking that way. Perhaps that's why I made some real good friends. Also met with a lot of student champs from all over India. Many of them were really great people to talk to. So, my PR skills improved by leaps and bounds and I suddenly found myself having friends all over the country.

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EclipsE >:-]

Bangalore... at last!!!

2004-06-14T17:27:00.000+05:30

Bangalore!!! it finally happened. I've been in Bangalore since the past 3 days and that's the reason why I couldn't update my blog. Anyway, I'm back now and have a lot to say about my trip which was my first visit to that place. I had been there for the Microsoft Student Advocates Meet 2004, say it was the reward for my efforts as a student evangelist. I've been involved with the Microsoft India Student Program since feb. this year and currently hold the post of the Assistant Manager of the Hyderabad chapter (http://groups.msn.com/DNUGHydStudent & http://www.dnughs.net) of the same. more than 100 Student Champs from all over India had come to attend this meet. It was an all expense paid trip to Bangalore filled with the lot of fun as well as technical content. I boarded an AC Volvo bus to bangalore with the entire Hyderabad group at 12:30, 10th night. We reached Golden Palms Resorts & Spa (the venue) at 12 afternoon, on 11th. What an amazing place it was!!! I just couldn't believe that Microsoft did so much for us. We were staying in royal suits. Steam bath and Gym at the Spa and Swimming Pool was complemetary. Food... oh yeah, I'm an absolute food-freak so can't ignore the good food out there. I got to know that the resort belongs to Sanjay Khan and was also the venue to the marriage of Hrithik Roshan. We had great fun playing pranks on people throughout the night and playing volleyball in the pool throughout the day. ...but we did attend some really productive sessions on Microsoft's future goals and technologies, hiring policies, related organisations and opportunities. 12th was a blast ...in the evening we had a Talent Show where I happened to play the role of "All American" RamLal in a spoof on sholey (For the ones who don't know, RamLal is thakur's servant). I loved doing that role and then also happened to perform a dance ...once again the song was "koi kahe, kehta rahe...". After the Talent thing there was an awesome DJ party. Once again I happened to learn the lesson that dancing after a gap of more than 4 months really scr*ws you up. Every single bone and muscle in my body is screaming with pain. I didn't visit the city at all as it was pretty far from the resort and also because I had no time. So, I have another reason to go to Bangalore. Overall, the trip was full of things that I did for the first time. These were - stay in a 7 start resort, learning swimming, tasting pork (Had bacon, really good!!!), steam bath and of course, visiting Bangalore >;-].
Anyway, all good things come to an end and so did this. I started my journey from "heaven" to "earth" at 5 in the evening on 13th and was here early morning today. Spent the entire day sleeping and i'm still relaxing trying to get out of the massive hangover.

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EclipsE >:-]

Brand New Day!!!

2004-06-10T16:49:00.000+05:30

Yeah, it's a brand new day... but then only the day is new. All the monkeys that were on my back till last night are still there.
...10:30 AM the alarm rang and I got up looking for my assignment papers with my eyes still closed. "Why the hell did I have to take this course at all???", I cursed ...but then as the mind booted up like a Windows 2K3 Server, taking another 30 minutes, I came back to my full senses and realized that it's just "puraane paapon ka prayishchit". I had 2 assignments to finish till 2 o' clock. So, I got down to do the work and was as usual five minutes late in finishing it. I rushed to the mess and barely managed to get lunch. But the lunch was good and was definitely worth the run to the mess.
After food I rushed to the college to submit my assigments. There was no class today ...what a relief. Then enjoyed the company of a new friend who happens to have come to IIIT for a project. I had met her on ryze. We had some good time. At least I did and I hope I left some braincells in her head so that they would grow(of course, to be eaten again) in another couple of days (Food Preservation).
Now, I'm sitting in my room writing this thing, trying to burn off at least one hour in the process. Background is being made beautiful by Meenaxi songs (Rehman did a great job once again). I've been trying to give a little company to Sonu Nigam as he sings "Do Kadam" ...but I think both of us have different singing styles (Or he's a really bad singer). So, the combined result of our efforts is really bad.
Coming to the future plans. I'm leaving for Bangalore tonight for the Microsoft Student Advocates Meet. It looks good at least - An all expense paid trip to Bangalore with stay at Golden Palms Resort. Let's see what happens there. Don't know if i'll be able to write for the next 3-4 days. Also to mention a lot of pending work that is piling up. I am yet to watch "Prisoner of Azkaban" and "Dev" will be out tomorrow. I'll watch these as soon as I'm back. Then "Lakshya" is making it's entry next Friday, the 18th.
Well, that's all for the moment.

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Eclipse >:-]

Did we talk about The Matrix???

2004-06-09T21:59:00.000+05:30

Well, our discussion on *ETU ended without a mention of "The Matrix". I sincerely appologise for the error. So coming back to the point, I think we missed one of the most important sources of ETU. Studies show that when it came to ETU, Matrix fans faired far better than "normal" human beings. I have a personal record of spending more than 300 hours watching and discussing the Matrix Trilogy. The counts would be The Matrix (>50 times), Matrix Reloaded (>10 times), Matrix Revolutions (3-4 times, though it sucks majorly). I sometimes feel that Matrix could be added as an extra level in *list. So, my advice is that people going in for movies should try to watch The Matrix and try to appreciate it.

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EclipsE >:-]

*refer to my previous post

So it begins...

2004-06-09T18:16:00.000+05:30

"So it begins..." ...dunno where i heard that for the first time (I guess LOTR), but I like using that to mark the beginning of any "awesome looking" plan to utilize (read that as kill ...err. murder) my time. Since past month and a half I've been utilizing my time on sites like ryze and orkut, and have, in fact, been really successful in my venture. But as it's said, "old habbits die hard", I suffer from the saggittarian infuence of NOT being able to stick to something (or someone) for long. Anyway, the bottomline is that I'm fed up of the old creative ways and am looking for a newer way to (once again) utilize my time. Thanks a lot to Arpit (http://nd4spd.blogspot.com), another member of the "we have way too much free time" club, that I've finally moved on to a level above ryze and orkut and I'm here today!!!
For those who are potential members of the club mentioned above, here is a simple list of levels, I (of course with due credit to Arpit) have figured out since this research on Extra Time Utilization or ETU began -

Level 0 - The Solitary Thinker
You keep thinking what to do, keep getting frustrated, bite your nails, move stuff around in your room, try to sleep etc.

Level 1 - The Sleeper
You sleep 10, then 12, then 14 hours a days...hmm good enough. But still troubled about how to utilize the remaining hours.

Level 2 - You could fall in either of the following catagories (maybe in more than one)
2a. The Reader
You develop interest in books and inculcate a reading habbit. Then you read read and only read. You read your newspaper while attending nature's call. Then you pick up some book (any book actually) and read it through your classes, lunch, work, walk...maybe even sleep. You claim that a few books are your favourites and they are generally Fountain Head, The Firm, Kane and Abel, Catch 22, Lord of the Rings and maybe Harry Potter.

2b. The Movie Critic
You somehow get access to a computer and someone's video library card. Then you are on a rampage watching every damn movie. You could begin with real class (Al Pachino, Robert deNiro) movies like Heat, Ronin, Scarface etc., then move on to action flicks like Terminator, Independence Day, Die Hard etc. and then watch (no adjectives come to my mind) movies life King Solomon's Mines, Ben Hur, The Lawrence of Arabia. Watching 4 movies in a row is very good because you utilize around 7 hours watching the movies, then 1 hour trying to get rid of the pain in your eyes and another 7-8 hours sleeping to give rest to your eyes.

2c. The Deadly Gamer
You start playing computer games. You are the deadly gamer...thoroughly frustrated, try to vent out your anger by shredding your opponent's body to peices. Once again you begin from elite games like Quake, AOC etc. and gradually move on to Diablo, NWN etc. and finally to flash games like 3D ping pong, Space Pin-Ball or "Save the Damn Helicopter". If that's not enough, the dawn of new technology presents for you, Snake-2...yeah it's there in your cellphone.

Level 3 - The Public Relations Guy
Now you start off with PR. You are networking with a lot of people like you. People from 2a dicuss books, people from 2b criticise movies and try to prove that their choice is the most elite (even if the choice is movies like "dude where's my car???") and well, the people from 2c just keep mouthing obscenities, abusing eachother for not being there on the guard when the enemy came for the flag. Some of the 2c people also go room to room ...just to tell how much they scored in Snake-2 >;-]. Overall at this level you meet up in galleries and corridors and start off a useless discussion that goes nowhere (and of course, takes you nowhere), but indeed helps you burn those 4 extre hours.

Level 4 - The "Search and Chat" Guy
Life suddenly becomes interesting and words in the air are MSN BuddyZone, Ryze, Orkut... You get an account on all of these and then begin with your "hunt". Your network grows. Your useless discussions that were confined to your Office/Campus suddenly become international. With widened horizons you get more people to takl about useless stuff. Americans would be up when it's night here ...so all 24 hours you have companions, and your topics keep getting better as you get to talk about international nonsense. This is a pretty stable phase where one doesn't need to look for other options. Most people are satisfied with this.

Level 5 - The Blogger (yeah, that's me...right at the last known level)
You start to blog. You utilize time the same way as before, just that you also start writing about it and hence getting rid of the last few hours (I got them now...they were a serious pain, I didn't know what to do about them). See, I took some real good time to put this research in words for the fellow member.

That's all for today guys. Reading this should have been very productive for you. People at 0 or 1 should know the road ahead. buck up guys!!!
...and of course, thanks a lot to Arpit (God's own prototype). Where we go from here is what we have to decide.

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EclipsE >:-]