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I found this interesting little book which came along with my Reader’s Digest subscription. It’s called ‘The little book of Detox’ by Jane Scrivner. And it contains many simple to follow and surely effective methods to detoxify oneself when things aren’t going the way they should be. Even if everything’s alright, it’s a good idea to practice the helpful and useful tips given in this book. I’ll share some of them here :-
Owls. Are they good or bad? This is the question I found asking myself when I spotted an owl perching on the window grill of my room. I had never noticed it before and I never had any strange incidents with any wild creatures, except of course that day a few years ago when a snake crawled up the water pipe into my bathroom while I was taking a bath!
Since the owl is a nocturnal bird I don't find it doing anything else except sleep. A few times a day it will change its position. One interesting thing I found is that it will sometimes lift up one of its legs (forgive my inaccurate anatomical description) and retract it, while it perches on another leg. I thought only herons did that. In the night it probably flies away in search of food. When I wake up in the morning, I again find it perched quietly. All these days ( I remember it showed itself on 21st Nov. the very next day after the CAT), it has never made a sound, even when a couple of naughty and noisy birds disturb its sleep by cackling incessantly in the afternoon. The owl just rocks its head left and right trying to put itself to sleep.
Sometimes it opens its eyes if it catches me working on my computer. It cranes its head and twists it almost 180 degrees (clockwise and anti-clockwise). I tried to do it once but strained my neck in the process! I'll take a picture of it someday. I don't want to open the window lest it gets frightened and flies away.
People told me that it is a bad omen if an owl hoots by a house. But I don't mind them. It hasn't disturbed me and I'm not disturbing it. We just let each other be.
This is not a review of the movie by the same name. I wouldn't have the guts to watch such a movie, especially before some important exam. Instead it is a frank criticism of the songs of this movie and the trend of songs with similar 'properties' becoming hits with the general population. Personally, I find this song a piece of crap. The reasons? The singer is literally singing through his nose, there's no rhythm or correspondence of the words with the music. And when this song plays I literally want to scream out loud pleading with whoever is playing it to stop it. My hatred towards this song increased a lot when my 'helpful' neighbour gave me enough practice in filtering out background noise when I wrote my mock tests. This song used to play on repeat mode, so just when I think that the noise attack has ended for the day, again the irritating nasal strain of the singer spread throughout the society. The song has since changed and replaced by the song by new kid on the block - Ganesh Hegde. I must admit the latter song is better than the song I'm talking about.
The whole soundtrack of this movie is filled with such stupid out-of-sync music. Another example I can think of is the song that goes something like 'Aaap ki nazar yuh madhosh hai...' Aaarghh! Even worse. I don't ask you to take my word for it. Listen to these two songs carefully and you'll see how amateurish they both sound. Thankfully I haven't seen the video of either of these songs which I'm sure must be worse than the song itself. I think this trend of songs with their singers using their nostrils more than their vocal chords started with the famous (or rather notorious) movie Murder. It had two popular songs - Bheege Hont and one more song which I forgot. These two songs were the start of a trend which has spiralled down ever since. After that we had the 'Yeh lamhe' song in Zeher. That song too, was good enough and I'm reminded of the nights we used to spend in our office with my colleague playing this song end on till it was time to catch a bus and head home. But after that there hasn't been any improvement. There comes these two songs. I don't know what made the director accept these songs. I don't claim to be a music critic but I can atleast distinguish between good and bad music, and this definitely falls in the latter category.
I think the singer of the title song is the music composer itself. This too seems to be a recent trend in the film industry. Whoever you sign up as music composer has to sing a song himself (I hope no sexism here, I haven't yet heard of a female composer) This started with AR Rahman, who after a few mishits proved that he could sing. Then came the trio of Shankar Ehsaan Loy out of which only Shankar Mahadevan sang. Oh of course, how can I forget Anu Malik who had his tryst with destiny in films like Judwaa (that movie about non-working lifts and 9-12 shows and a song praising India left and right) and Auzaar. Then comes this fellow. It seems like a packaged deal. Five songs will be composed and one or two will be sung by the composer. But what about the poor public? Agreed that the people who are playing these songs must be enjoying them, but what about the others who do not want to hear such songs? This is kind of like passive smoking. There is still not enough awareness or concern. But as long as the public keeps on buying such songs, the producers and directors will keep on belting out such pseudo-songs. I guess such songs might be quite popular with the college romeos.
I've grumbled enough about something which I can't change. People will play whatever music appeals to them not caring whether it assaults other people's sensibilities. Oh well, its already time for my mock test and I wonder why hasn't my neighbour started the background score yet. Anyways, here I go stuffing cotton in my ears and becoming oblivious to the world outside.
Peace. Silence. Heaven.
Media sensationalism is reaching new intolerable heights in recent times. Around a decade ago, when cable television invaded Indian homes, people were relieved to be rid of the monotony of the boring Doordarshan news. In the beginning there were few news channels, mostly foreign - BBC and CNN. Gradually the number of channels proliferated as people needed more choice. This too was welcome as one could watch the channel whose style he/she preferred. But since the last couple of years, this abundance of news channels mixed with the new marketing techniques used by them to increase their TRPs has taken its toll on people wishing to watch unbiased, unsensationalized news. But no, that is not what is happening. News channels are fighting it out tooth and nail with each other and pulling out all stops to lure people to their channel. We've already seen the notorious Shakti Kapoor expose, and before that the Tehelka controversy. While some of the 'under-cover' is definitely helpful, but now Zee and Star have spiced up their anchors so much that it is more a comedy than something serious. I'm not sure of his full name but Raghavendra on one of the channels is one example. The way he stresses and shouts his each sentence is humourous. Star One had done a brilliant spoof on the fellow in its 'Great Indian Comedy Show.' Effective oration does not mean that a person has to exert in every breath. For God's sakes, you're not Amitabh Bachchan. This fellow looks like Zee is stopping him from going to the loo until he delivers his dialogue. Koi use Hajmola de do.
Even in the recent deluge in Mumbai, Star News kept harping on one point - Kaha hai Sarkar? Showing the concern and the condition of the people entials doing it responsibly, not exploding the issue more than it requires. And this reached a record (which will be broken, no doubt) during the recent controversy about Suneil Shetty's Hummer. Each news channel had sent its reporter to roam about the car, expound the car's features which would be then interspersed with a telephone call to the actor. One reporter even found his way in the car.
Each channel nowadays has exclusive breaking news which no other channel bothers to cover. The channel *has* to make an ordinary event into breaking news to increase its viewership. As my father said, "They have to run 24 hrs. What else would they broadcast?" Now each channel has its own crime reporting show which claims to solve more cases than the police itself. Even the timing of these shows is unclear. We would have to see these shows during the lunch hour at my company. Eating food while listening to murders and rape makes your food undigestible.
Well, the channel war shows no sign of stopping and is bound to go on and on. People who are tired of them will have to tolerate it in the coming days. Well, no matter, I can always switch off the idiot box and curl up with a good book.
It seems that I just can't get enough of the hottest topic on the Indian blog scene today. After reading all the posts from various blogs I realize that someone just swallowed more than he could chew on.
Here's my take on the whole issue. This is how I would sell my institute. Laugh loudly if you like it. Comments welcome.
All these ads about skin creams making you whiter than before, detergent powders cleaning your clothes cleaner than before, shampoos making your hair silkier than silk got me thinking about one thing. Do these ad agencies actually show what the product claims? Does the model - whose hair looks as if the dog has just had its afternoon nap in it - really wash her hair using the shampoo and make it smooth as silk? If so where did the ad agencies pick up such a model with hair like candy floss? Or if not, how did they manage to get her looking like that?
I've thought about this after I saw an ad of floor tiles, where a man picks up spilt ice-cream from the floor and gives it to his wife, who unknowingly eats it and enjoys it too? What is this? I mean I understand what the message the ad was trying to give, but the execution...? Would anyone in India knowingly pick up food fallen to the ground and eat it? I think not.
This question comes up mostly during ads of cosmetic and grooming products. The most blatant of these - the fairness creams and the toothpastes. I don't have any experience of the former but I can comment on the latter. I've been using a toothpaste which claims to make your teeth whiter in 30 days. Assuming that the average 75gm toothpaste tube lasts for a month(?), I can say that I've used up two of these tubes without any marked improvement in the whiteness of my teeth. Yeah, my gums have surely become more redder, and my tooth brush needs replacing. This makes me wonder how in the world do the models on TV manage to whiten their teeth in a matter of 60 seconds? Beats me.
The bottom line of course is that why should the actors have any qualms about doing ads which exaggerate beyond a limit as long as they're getting paid? I guess I have a lot to learn about economics.
Well well! The current Indian cricket team coach has outplayed everyone's (surely mine) by taking some really daring steps with the team. A few weeks ago he made it clear that he won't tolerate any complacency in thet team be it by the captain of the team itself. And now we see Dravid as the new captain. I was watching the first one day between India and Sri Lanka in the morning and saw some changes, which seems to have worked atleast for the current game. Irfan Pathan coming in at no. 3 and scoring an eighty. And looking at the current score (117/5), it seems that the bowlers aren't doing too bad either. But of course, one can't make an accurate prediction by just one game. If India do win this game, Sri Lanka will definitely bounce back in the later games. Only by seeing how India maintains a winning streak over a longer period of time. (Well, M. Jayawardene just clean-bowled by Murali Karthik, who's sporting a new hairdo again!)
It's good to see Tendulkar back in form. He's scored some 93 runs and looks in good nick. Well during his injury days, I was reminded of a few lines from the famous song by Simon and Garfunkel 'Mrs. Robinson'...
'Where have you gone DiMaggio,
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you..."
Now that Tendulkar's back in the team and hopefully in form, we'll look forward for an explosive Diwali treat.
Finished reading Blink last week. The verdict? Same as that of The Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell has the tendency to introduce a certain topic in his books, which is quite new and interesting. But he fails to follow up on how we can make the book useful in some way. Blink explains the ability of some people to make snap instinctive decisions in certain situations which they themselves cannot clearly explain. The book starts on a promising note, but then the author wanders off track and the book just becomes a collection of interesting but non-useful anecdotes of how people have used the blink phenomenon.
In the latter half of the book, the author goes on the opposite side describing how making instantaneous judgements can result in bad outcomes (The Diallo incident). So the reader feels confused at the end of the book as to whether the author is supporting or opposing making snap decisions.
The book gave an insight on quick thinking, which was - similar to the Tipping Point - a relatively new topic for me. Thus I found the book interesting. I had picked up the book thinking it would help me in removing my procrastination and making quicker decisions. Guess I'll have to find another book for that. Still I give the book a .....*blink* 4 out of 5.
Check the following link out. It asks you a few questions, and on the basis of your answers tells you which character from the Matrix you are! Well, obviously the choices are quite few. But after the popularity of the Matrix trilogy I don't think there's a person who would mind taking this quiz just to see where he/she fits in. My results are shown below. Check my previous post. Deja vu?
You are Neo, the chosen one, the slayer of agents
everywhere. A former nerd, you have evolved
into quite a stubborn hero.
Although Trinity is not that hot, at least you're
one of the few that can get some in the real
world.
You can stop bullets and you're immmortal; so what
the hell are you going to do in Matrix:
Reloaded?!
"Yeah. Wow, that sounds like a really good
deal. But I think I got a better one. How about
I give you the finger... and you give me my
phone call."
What Character From The Matrix Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Got shifted to a new floor at work this Monday. Started off from the top floor, then the second floor, and now the first. One more step from the ground floor and then?! :-)) Don't mind it though. Pros and cons to everything, I say. Cons include :-
1) a kind of isolation from the rest of the team
2) too damn boring.
3) feels like a punishment (though the real reason is acceptable)
Pros include :-
1) More free time to ...?
2) Privacy and peace
That all is ok, now let me explain the reason for the title of this post. Well, just because the hall in which I'm sitting is empty, and completely white, from the false ceilings to the floor. And from where I sit I can see the door at the end of the hall. Reminds me of the plain white rooms in the Matrix movies, the part where Morpheus explains Neo about the pills and also the part where there's a huge fight in a hall (the one where Neo later enters the elevator at the end).
Anyways that got me thinking. Is this the Matrix? Am I Neo? Just a desperate wish from someone inconsequential.
Just returned from a weekend break to my hometown. Felt homesick as usual while coming back. :-) I'm still a child in that respect. Anyways, came to work directly and there was a surprise lined up for me. Our product was supposed to be tested by the functional people and someone had come over.
Also a couple of people and myself were supposed to shift to the first floor! The part which was absolutely bare, hardly any furniture, a lone AC pumping cold(what is the correct word?) at full blast. But I have a nice seat by the window, where I can see the adjoining road, the TV tower in front, and a generally nice climate (till now). But it gets real boring after a while. Got enough privacy but .. Its the nature of humans to complain no matter how ideal the situation. Let me leave it at that.
That was about the new place. Let me write something about the new start. Recently I'm getting an itch to start with my MBA preparation again. The thing which got me started was the news that one of my friends got selected this year into IIM-A. And a couple of other reasons (mainly about the workplace). I've got time,can't remember when I started last time. I'm not worried about the written test, what gets me is the GD/PI. Though/Because I haven't reached that stage yet, I fear it. And reading all those interviews on the PG, it makes me more worried! But I'm going to keep my target in focus. Here's wishing myself a new start, a new beginning. This time I will succeed.
IIM Campuses
The name says it all. Just click and you'll find a couple of sites which have very good pictures of the IIM campuses. One of my favourites is www.theharder.com
A M A Z I N G!
That's all I can say about Google. Just amazing. Now what did Google do to evoke such a response from me? I was just browsing through some newsletters, when I came upon one which said how detailed the google maps were, especially the new feature where they have put up satellite photos along with the regular street maps. The detail is just astounding. Here's a couple of examples. The two links are pages which open up to show the Golden Gate bridge in SF, and the Statue of Liberty in NY. Just see the power of the satellite images. And Google has neatly packaged it in a easy to use, and freely accessible database. I admit the search isn't too accurate till now. But I'm sure within a few months or so, it will be up to the expectations of everyone, more importantly, upto the level one expects from Google. These guys are just geniuses. Can't describe them succintly enough.
Well, if you thought that Google Maps was the only things these people got me floored with, you must try out Keyhole. You'll have to download a 9MB file to install it, and then create a free trial account on the website. The basic idea behind Keyhole is to allow the user to 'fly' around anywhere in the world through a well-detailed globe. I didn't have enough time to extensively check all the features, but I found my home town on the Google globe too! :-)
These two things have further increased the aura surrounding Google and its success. I've heard about the work environment there too is really cool. I bet it would be everyone's dream company. Someday someway I hope to get closer to Google. Let me close this post with a silent wish.
Just started reading 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell. Its an older book by the same author whose recently published 'Blink' is creating waves all over. The Tipping Point is about how little things can make big differences in the world. I have just started reading it today and have only finished reading the introduction. But even in those many pages, the writer has captured my interest. He starts by taking an example of a shoe brand called Hush Puppies (the same one as by Bata?) and explains how after a period of low sales, it suddenly caught up in people's eyes and came into fashion during 1994-1996. He takes a further example of the crime rate in NY.
There is also another interesting examples of how a simple thing as yawning can be contagious. I don't want to reveal too much about the book here. Let me finish it first. The actual review will come later. Already got Blink lined up for my next read.
22/04/2005
Just finished reading The Tipping Point. My reaction to the book is quite neutral.
First the bad points, I was expecting the book to be more helpful in explaining to the reader what could he try out to achieve the results achieved by the Connectors, Mavens and the Salesmen. Some practical tips would have been helpful. Also it gets quite boring at the end. The case study relating to smoking is needlessly carried on and on.
Looking at the good side, the book explains something which is quite new to me. It made me realize the importance of word of mouth and social ties. These can be very powerful communication medium. Some of the studies mentioned in the book do make you think twice about the nature of humans, esp. the one where how two groups participating as prisoners and prison guards in a study started behaving like their actual counterparts. Overall I would give the book 4 out of 5.
Started reading Blink. Will post the review later.
here's a nice collection of pictures of Lord Ganesh.
Lord Ganesh
Hats off to Google's power and innovation capabilities
Thinking of starting a new series, consisting of saved Google searches. Cannot be exactly called saved, more like dynamic Google search queries. These could contain image searches or other types of searches. Again, to distinguish it from other series or posts, I'll put a GSEARCH: keyword in the title of the post. I don't know yet what purpose this will actually serve, but lets see how it turns out.
Let me start by posting an image search on places with balconies that provide a view of the city below. Actually I was doing this search to send some images to my gf, but anyways, you can also enjoy these.
Images of balconies
Does this hyperlink post properly? Or will I have to use one of those online URL shortening programs? I hope not.
Comments welcome on this series
Here's a couple of sites which can help you someway in increasing and
bettering your memory. Oh yeah, and this is a new collection of posts prefixed
SITE: which will help me keep an online collection of bookmarks. Enjoy
SuperMemo
Memory Key
Tell me how they are.
Recently I had noticed a number of posters in the city - there were photographs of people whose mouths had been covered with a grey tape. Something to the effect of restricting what they wanted to say. It was a curious sight for quite a few days. But recently they've removed the tape from their mouths and it seems that they have something or the other witty to say. The ad is actually of a newspaper (I guess) called DNA - Daily News and Analysis. It has the tagline 'Speak up, its in your DNA'. It is from the Zee-Bhaskar group and I've heard that they've already got involved with the Times - Maharashtra Times group regarding some legal action.
Anyways some of the comments are quite interesting, including my favourite - There's this man who has an uncanny resemblance to the singer Sting who cheekily proclaims "What is BMC always digging for? Gold? Oil? Fun?", and another - an old lady who looks like the headmistress of some school saying, "I want to meet Shakti Kapoor" , probably to give him a hiding. And just today morning I saw the one with an old man, retired, saying "Bring back Negar Khan."
Well, as usual we were getting bored sitting at home on the weekend (with the landlady pestering us all the time). So we made a plan to go for some movie at some place where it was cheap. The problem was that last week there wasn't any good movie showing. Also the usual problem of agreeing on which movie to see. As I said they were no good movies on and I don't know what made us select this movie.
well, if u bothered to click on the link and see which was it, u must have groaned and recognized the movie. It was one of the tackiest and sickest (if there is such a word) movies I've ever seen. No story, no talent, no nothing. It was as a famous movie critic said 'a soft-porn'. What was the director thinking while making such a movie? And the tagline proudly proclaims, 'The shocking reality of the casting couch.' There was hardly any reference to the casting couch episode except a badly inserted part which was probably done as an afterthought.
We walked out halfway from the disgustingly boring movie. Should have rather stayed at home and watched something on TV. Jo ho gaya so ho gaya (What has happened, has happened), but that'll teach me not to go watch such a movie again, ever.
But then after the movie, we caught a train to Marine Lines, and then sat for sometime on the famous Marine Drive walkway. We were hoping to see the sunset but it didn't seem to come down at all. Tired of waiting for the sun to take a dip in the ocean, we walked to Churchgate and then to the Fort area to browse through the famous book stalls lining the footpath there. Bought The FountainHead for a cheap 70 bucks. But already there's a waiting list for me to read.
"You are made of love; when your thoughts are judgmental and resisting what is, then you can recognize that is not the real you. So my advice is: if it's not love, STOP, gather yourself in the moment and reconsider."
This is one of the interesting lines I came across in this wonderful ebook by Peter Shepherd, called "The Positive Approach". It can be download from
The Positive Approach. Whenever u get a chance, do read this book.
Well, they have made our internet access even tighter. It makes me angry. If they keep on doing this, I have to think of quitting. What is this? Ok u block the offensive sites, but what is the need of blocking forums and blogs? They've installed W******* or some stupid software. Whatever the merits of this software maybe, I hate this kind of control. The Internet is a free world. People won't be bogged down by such tactics. Previously too we had found ways to go around this restriction and this time too we will. Anarchy rules!
Reminds me of a Latin quote from a book I recently read - Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
Yesterday, while coming to office, I had to take a taxi for some reason. To avoid all the traffic signals, the driver took us through the bylanes of Bandra village. Turner Road, Chapel Road. It was a whole together different place. Completely opposite to what I have till now seen in Mumbai. Just like the little cottages you come across in Goa or even Daman. It was quiet and peaceful there. Someday I'll make a plan to explore such hidden and lost pockets of Mumbai as it was before it became so crowded.
Yesterday I was coming back from work in the bus and I noticed a very interesting thing. The way all the people turn around to face any temple when it passes by. Everyone says a silent prayer to God. It is really heartening to see that Mumbai has so much faith in their Ganpati. But what's more heartening is that it doesn't matter to the common man whether the bus is passing by the Siddhivinayak Temple, or the Mahim dargah, or Mount Mary's church. A place of worship is a place of worship. Any God is God to him. This cosmopolitan nature and the tolerance of the people in Mumbai is one of the things I love so much about the city.
Yesterday as I was walking back home after work, guess who passed by me? It was none other than Mandira Bedi, should I say, the first successful female cricket presenter. Apparently she was out on her evening walk. In a pink full sleeved top and trackpants(?) and in full makeup! Who goes out on a walk with makeup?! She had headphones on and was walking quick trying to avoid everyone's eyes. In Mumbai you do get to see your share of celebrities in person.
A few days back, I was just browsing Google Groups. I was in the comp.databases.oracle.server or some such USENET group. I saw an ad in the posts, advertising an Oracle m_onitoring tool. The poster was so blatantly selling his product that it was disgusting. And as expected people had reacted strongly to that post. I don't want to name the product or the poster but he was so childish in behaviour. I mean he was swearing and making fun of his own customers. A.D. you badly need a PR rep. Also it seems that his product too wasn't worth using. But the fellow wouldn't take any criticism at all. Forget criticism, he just couldn't talk politely. But he was continuously getting free publicity coz the others wouldn't stop arguing with him.
The story I was about to write got cancelled. The fact is that I'm too lazy to write a full sized novel. Short stories suit me better, coz once I get any inspiration its hard for me to carry on with it for an extended period of time. The same happens with this blog too. I someimes post regularly to it, and sometimes I feel so lazy or I get hardly any material to post that i forget it for days and weeks. This post is just a test to check the plugin which will let me directly post from Outlook. Maybe this will increase the frequency of my posts. Lets see.
What was new? Oh yea, Paris got her cell phone hacked. It was because she had kept the secret question's answer to the name of her pet. I mean, how dumb can people be??!! :-)) also I read about Mark Jen, who got fired from Google because of his supposedly too revealing blogs about the workplace. Cmon Google, u're not like this.
just finished reading five point someone, a book by chetan bhagat, about three IITians who mess up their life in college bigtime. The story is all about what they do and how they get out of the rut. Fantastic book, finished it in a day. It brought back so many memories of my college life. Man, it was so inspiring that i decided to write about my college life. a similar semi-autobiographical account of the four years i spend in college. of course, it will take a long time to finish and i don't have any idea of what the final product will be like. But I've always wanted to write a novel, be it scifi or a collection of short stories. let me atleast start. lets' see what will happen.
Well, I'm back from a trip to my home town. Sneaked out of office on Friday and caught a train. Almost missed it because of the heavy traffic at Haji Ali in the evenings.
The train journey wasn't much to write about. Actually I have a huge post ready on the Journey in the second class coach of the Indian Railways. Will post it someday. But one thing which impressed me every time I go back home through train is the Daman Ganga bridge. For those of you not aware, this is a railway bridge built over the river Daman Ganga. This bridge is quite old, probably pre-independence. It is one of those Truss bridges, just like the one on the Narmada river(near Bharuch). Well, the thing is that every time I cross this bridge by train, it fills me up with a sense of awe. I just love the rumbling sound the train/bridge makes as it thunders past.
When I was small, this very bridge used to scare me! Yes, every time we used to come back from Mumbai, mostly in the Flying Ranee, when the bridge used to roar past in the darkness I clinged to my mother. Well, times do change. Now I just get a feeling of satisfaction and calm.Maybe the satisfactory feeling I get is due to the fact that my station is next. After crossing the bridge, the chemical factories go past. And the nauseating but familiar smell signals that you've reached one of the major industrial centres in Gujarat. Someday I wish to photograph this old bridge. when I'll do that I'll post the pics here. It has stood the ravage of the recent flood during the monsoons this year. Hope this bridge stays intact for a long time to come.
PS. This post reminds me of a line from the movie 'The Ghost and the Darkness'
"what better job in all the world, than build a bridge?- make things connect- bring worlds together"
Well, a couple of days ago, as I was waiting for my bus, I saw this sight, which at first struck me as strange. A rickshaw passed by, and while there were no passengers in it, there were two drivers! At first, I wondered whether the two people were feeling a bit extra affectionate towards each other. But no, to display that affection in the front seat of a rickshaw?! That can't be logical. I mean if no one else, the cops would catch up with you, if they see a two-driver rickshaw passing through their traffic lights. But all my confusion would soon be cleared up.
As the rickshaw passed by, I saw a big red-lettered L dangling from the back. Then I realized that this was a rickshaw of some driving school, and the two men sitting snugly in the front seat were the teacher and student! It wasn't clear who was driving. And to me it didn't matter as long as it went in a straight line w/o knocking down someone.(A single-driver rickshaw drives badly enough, what would happen with a two-driver rick?)
I smiled to myself, thinking, only in India can someone come up with such a novel idea such a two-driver rickshaw!
"The sun playing hide and seek with me among the palm trees lined up on the side of Bandra Lake"
Today the blue and the white of the sky blurred perfectly like the brushed up pinups of Playboy
As I reach my bus-stop, I say a silent prayer, asking God to guide me through the day. Then I stand there quietly, waiting for my bus to arrive. I look around and this is what I see.
In one of the buildings in front of me, I see a man come to his balcony. He turns around to face the sun. He joins his hands and prays to the Sun God, his own prayer. His face bathes in the morning light. He then turns around and faces the opposite direction. He prays again, this time I do not know to whom. In some other flat, a lady open ups the curtains, and cleans up the dust that has settled on the windows.
The taxis are driving by, their drivers boorishly honking their way through traffic, not caring for people who have set out for their morning walk. Benzes and Lancers and Fords pass by, with their owners relaxing in the back, probably reading the Economic Times. Their drivers meanwhile have their full concentration on the road, taking care not to even slightly sratch the expensive cars. There goes Bus No. 81, the one I usually catch on my way home. Why don't I go in the morning by that bus? I use the company bus. Speaking of the company, I see few of my bus-mates walking over.
One lady is coming to drop her little girl to the school bus, or rather a cramped little Maruti Van. God only knows how that driver must be driving with all the kids inside. A few more school buses pass by, with some of the children inside excited, while some sitting with gloomy faces.
Just behind me is a bank. A few of the employees of the bank are already here waiting for someone to bring the keys to the shutter. It reminds me of my father's office back home.
Uh oh, here comes a rickshaw. The poor fellow is slowing down thinking I'm wating for a ride. "Nope man, got my own bus". Speak of the devil, here it comes. Right on time, 8:10.
I was just browsing thru the recently posted blogs, and I noticed the following blogs. Will follow them for a while, see how they turn out
http://pathofmeditation.blogspot.com/
http://dasssaurabh.blogspot.com/
http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com/
Well, the new year has passed by quietly, what with the tragedy of the tsunami. Most of the people I know didn't have a 'great' new year this time. The mood wasn't too upbeat. Here's how mine passed
Well, I was in Mumbai on 31st. I took a train home to Vapi, reached at around 6. I had told my friends to call me up that night so we could hang out or do something that night. Well, what happened was that my parents went to a function, and so did my brother. My friend did call, and I told him that I'll be right over. I absentmindedly took the vehicle keys and shut the door. As I put the key into the lock, I realized that I had picked up the wrong key!! It was for another vehicle which wasn't there. Also I didn't have my house keys! So there I was, stuck outside my home, waiting for someone in my family to show up. I sat in the garden and swatted mosquitoes which were feasting on me. My parents came after a long time, and by that time all my mood of going to meet my friends was ruined. For me the new year just passed silently, just as any other night. At least the next day I got my mp3 player to work. That was the only consolation. Hope everyone else had a better new year. Till next time...
Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space lies our power of choice.
Exercising that power will bring control to our life
To build strong relationships, you need to conquer prideful passion.
Honour the Past,
Live in the Present,
Create the Future
This is just a few of the paradigms of life you'll get to know while reading the 'Living the 7 Habits' by Stephen Covey. The same author who wrote the 'Seven Habits..' The book is filled up with stories of ordinary people who have transformed their lives in some way or the other by applying the seven habits and by living a value based system. The Seven Habits changed my way of thinking quite a lot. By being proactive I found that I could better control my life and not react adversely to other people's behaviour or comments. I lost touch however in these years and I hope that with this book I'll refresh the correct way of living. I'll post other gems like this from this book as I read more of it
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