Hmmmmm... The worst week in my life

I guess the past week has been the worst in my life. Wht else can i say when I( ya u heard it right) was made to sit in class from 9 in the morning to 6 in the eveining. Thats the total number of hours of classes that i attended in college in one week(wait... was it one month???). And i was consistently made to do this for five days this week. More of this torture will be unleased on me in the netx 10-12 weeks to follow. Guess i will have to work out something smart and i know i will win this one too. This is the first week in two months that being in bangalore i didnt meet my girlfriend for a week. Made up for the loss today but then thing will be this way for a few months atleast. This week was also the first time that i suffered from acidity in my life. And finally this was the week when i realised why software engineers are so desperate for an weekend. There is lots more to write but i guess i will write it from college when i have nothing else to do. I guess that nothing else to do situation wont arise till next weekend. But then for now will spend the time enjoying this weekend atleast. Lots more on this story to come in parts over the next few weeks. I might end up as a competitor for ekta kapoor so please dont mind!!!!!!!!!

I think, therefore I am....

I really tend to wonder sometimes whether I am mentally unstable as most people tell me or just crazy. And sometimes tend to wonder whether I am foolish or brave. A lot of these things haunt me a lot of times but one thing I must admit is that in the end I enjoy the most compared to others being the way I am. I guess no one else would brave to stand in freezing water in the middle of nowhere helping people cross a stream and in the end be at the verge of hypothermia and still enjoy it. Nor would any one drink water with elephant pee in it when on a trek to Bandipur. Nor would anyone else brave to drink rain water unfiltered directly from a puddle. And no one else would certainly sit in snow without a shirt in freezing temperature just for the kicks. When I come to think of it I guess I just have a dick that’s half an inch longer than most of them. I have done some of the craziest thing, hurt myself the most and in the end enjoyed every bit of it.

But then coming to seriously think of it I wonder why I am that. Is it because of my genes cos my dads more crazy than me (He’ll fight a cobra and give it the first two bites before getting bitten.), or is it because I am outright foolish and crazy. Why do I do things that would send shivers down other people’s spine just hearing what I have done?

I guess there is just one answer and that is I think, therefore I am DANGEROUS.

My Delicious Account

Finally got my del.icio.us account finally. Dont have any idea of what i will be doing with it but then most of the people i know have one and thought i might also have one. Also downloaded the Flock browser which is mostly a better version of Firefox which completed 100 million downloads today. I guess Flock will beat that with its excellent features that i have noticed till now.

Bangalored!!!

India shining is one thing I remember when I ride on Bangalore roads these days. You can see the w(hole) of Bangalore in its innumerable pot holes for which NASA has sent a team to research mistaking them to be craters. I guess things are a lot better in Timbuktu than here. We have some of the worst infrastructure, perennial power problems, water scarcity. You name the trouble we have it. Two hard showers and all that is left is a “Holy” road. I really would not blame the people running things. I guess the problem is with me and u. Things will never improve until I, you and all of us take some active interest and voice out our opinions. We have to come out of our attitude of “Swalpa Adjust Madkolli” and think beyond ourselves. What have we contributed to the system that we have the right to complain about. Its nothing less than a nightmare driving on or roads. We have really bad public transport system or whatever is left of it. We have to look to cities like Kolkata, Delhi and other cities which have alternate means of local transport. Someone once said “A city can only be as good as its people”. Just as an example when the Delhi Metro was started there were reports of vandalism by people for some time. Now people have become more responsive and care for the metro and use it well. If all of keep quiet who will voice out. I don’t think Kalki will come in my our your life time. Most of you might say that you locality is really good and you have no trouble, not that I have any either. It might merely pertain to some places and not yours. So why worry? But didn’t we hear those famous lines by pastor Martin Niemoller:
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Salaam Namaste

Wow!!! Finally a great movie that suits my taste after a long stretch of time. I am still wondering why it was names as it was. Maybe cause Saif is Muslim and Preity is parsee(Not sure about that though). But then whatz in a name they might say. Very true. A really fun movie with some quality humor. Unlike my favourite Jaggesh movies. What else can one expect when you get characters like Saif, Arshad and Javed and of course Abbas Tyrewala(The name itself sounds funny).

Well for junta that don’t know him hez the guy who wrote the script for this movie and also for Munnabhai, Asoka, Dhadkan and stuff. This has to be his second best only next to Munnabhai. I was ROTFL during and after the movie. (H)Amber has done some really neat acting as usual. Her On-Screen kisses might give Mallika a run for her money. Arshad Warsi at his usual best. Coming to Javed I really have no words to explain. We all know hez good but hez at his best here. You will definitely be bowled over by his Hinglish.

The best part of the movie for me was the beach side house. The location and the house are simply mind blowing. Finally coming to Saif all that I can say is hez at his usual best and has graduated well from being second-in to being a quality hero.

Ganesha Symbolism

Found this picture in a website. Thought i'll share it with junta.

Mechanic and Heart Surgeon

A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley Davidson motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop.

The surgeon was there waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his bike when the mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc, can I ask you a question?"

The surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the motorcycle.

The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic..."Try doing it with the engine running.

Who was Mangal Pandey?

For the few who think of Mangal Pandey as just another character role played by Aamir Khan, a quick lesson in history:

So, he's not a fictional character?

Of course not. Born in the village of Nagwa, district Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, Mangal Pandey was introduced to history books as the sepoy who played a major role in the Indian uprising of 1857.

He was a soldier of the 34th Native Infantry whose attack on a superior officer came to be recognised as the event that sparked India's First War of Independence. Little is known of his life before that momentous incident but he has been declared a martyr since.

What happened that day?

Pandey attacked his British sergeant and wounded an adjutant. The office in charge, General Hearsay, noticed that Pandey was in the throes of some sort of 'religious frenzy', and ordered a jamadaar to arrest him. The latter refused.

Surrounded by guards and European officers, Pandey tried to commit suicide by shooting himself. He was seriously wounded, and promptly arrested.

Following a court-martial on April 6, he was hanged at Barrackpore on April 8, 1857. As a collective punishment for his act, the entire regiment was also dismissed.

Was he India's first freedom fighter?

According to records at the Jabalpur Museum, Pandey was to be executed on April 18. But he was hanged 10 days earlier to prevent the regiment from harbouring ill will against superiors. The English were also aware that news of Pandey's death could spark more unrest.

Going by the date on which he was executed, Mangal Pandey became the first freedom fighter and martyr of 1857.

His name has since been synonymous with revolt.

Has Pandey been in the news before?

Yes. He made an appearance in newspapers not so long ago, with the release of Mangal Pandey: Brave Martyr or Accidental Hero?, a book by Rudranghsu Mukherjee.

The author claimed Pandey was an ordinary sepoy who, under the influence of bhang, committed a reckless act for which he was hanged. Mukherjee's analysis examined whether Pandey really was the heroic figure history had made him out to be, or just a soldier who happened to get lucky.

The book had its share of controversial statements such as: 'Nationalism creates its own myths. Mangal Pandey is part of that imagination of historians. He had no notion of patriotism or even of India. For him, mulk was a small village, Awadh.'

It also went on to claim that Pandey's action was contrary to the spirit of insurgency: 'A rebellion is a collective will to overthrow an oppressive order. Pandey acted alone; he was a rebel without a rebellion. The name Mangal Pandey meant nothing to the sepoys who raised the revolt in 1857.' Luckily for us, no post-publication riots ensued.

Does he ever appear outside history books?

You might want to try the post office. The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department has issued four commemorative stamps in the memory of freedom fighters, one of which sports the face of Mangal Pandey. Interestingly, British author Zadie Smith's award-winning novel White Teeth also has a reference, with Pandey cast as the fictional protagonist Samad's great grandfather.

Why did Mangal Pandey do what he did?

There are a number of reasons. To understand his action, one must analyse the religious, social and political milieu in which he operated. In a nutshell, the British already had given the Indians much cause for unhappiness, thanks to the doctrine of Lapse, the forcible introduction of a British system of education, and social reforms that didn't exactly go down well with the higher castes. The sepoys were also dissatisfied with army life. Coupled with low pay, their need to constantly pit themselves against their countrymen also took its toll.

To make things worse, the East India Company introduced the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle. Its cartridges were covered by greased membrane that, apparently, had to be cut by the teeth before loading. There was a rumour that this membrane was greased by cow or pig fat, which was offensive to Hindu as well as Muslim soldiers.

The British tried reasoning with the sepoys, and even asked them to make their own grease from vegetable oils. The rumour, however, persisted. General George Anson, Commander in Chief in India, reacted by saying, 'I'll never give in to their beastly prejudices.' He refused to compromise.

Then, on March 29, 1857, at Barrackpore near Kolkata, Mangal Pandey started an open mutiny, inviting his comrades to join him.

The Rising had begun.

Study: In dating, extravagant gifts keep on giving

If you want to win the object of your affection, an extravagant gift that has no resale value is the way to go.That's not the opinion of a battle-weary veteran of the dating scene. It's the conclusion of a mathematical model created by researchers at University College London.
Dating obviously involves gifts, and not just among humans. Gift-giving also appears in the mating rituals of some insect species. A team of applied mathematicians created a sequential calculation as a model of dating. The new study, designed to explore the role of gift-giving in courtship, appears online in the biological science journalProceedings of the Royal Society According to the model's creator, Robert Seymour, a math professor at the university, this model reduces dating to a collection of numbers.The researchers assigned points to an array of courtship behaviors, including gift-giving. The computer considered the hypothetical facts, mulled over a few variables and calculated which behaviors would result in the highest score for the imaginary male or female dater.This is what applied mathematicians do. They look at these kinds of outcomes and interpret them in a biological framework.
Because the goal was to understand the role of gift-giving, the researchers varied the type of gift the man could give. (Political correctness aside, it was a given that the man was the pursuer and gift-giver.)In the model, a man chooses a worthless, valuable or extravagant gift. Valuable gifts might include diamonds or appliances, expensive items that have intrinsic value in that they are useful and can fetch a good price if resold. Extravagant gifts, on the other hand, would be something like dinner at a fancy restaurant, tickets to a Broadway show or a moonlit serenade. The value of these gifts is just in the experience.
The model showed that extravagant gifts had the highest score for both men and women. In Seymour's interpretation of the results, women feel confident that they have found a strong and committed mate when they receive an extravagant gift. And men avoid gold-diggers by giving only gifts that have no intrinsic value.
"In order to create trust, it has to work both ways," Seymour says. "The male signals his commitment by giving a costly gift, (but) the male has to avoid a female who will take his assets and then say 'get lost.'
"Would flesh-and-blood women really prefer a horse-drawn carriage ride to a diamond? Relationship experts have mixed feelings about whether the model's insights translate to real life.
Linda Carter, a couples therapist and director of family studies at New York University's child studies center, sees some truth there. "The more the energy, cost, extravagance - the attention - that goes into (a gift), I think the assumption would be that he is really interested."
But personal touches and shared experiences should be considered extravagant, she cautions, rather than costly grand gestures, because these are the best indications of commitment and interest.
Daniel Kruger, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, says the model is a simplistic take on highly complex behavior. "It's interesting to look at, but I wouldn't make an inference about what to do in a relationship based on these models." Kruger is interested by the evolutionary interpretation of the results. The male peacock's beautiful, and cumbersome, tail might be an example of extravagance in the animal kingdom, he suggests.
"If women are complaining about how men are in relationships, they should think about the hanging fly," Kruger says. The male hanging fly gives the female a gift - a large dead insect - only to take it back after mating to be used in his next encounter.
This was a study conducted by the University College London

Inlaws and Outlaws: Arranged Marriage

“Why do the lead pair run around and roll about so much during a song sequence?” he asked, in genuine puzzlement, as though he were trying to decipher some deep-seated cultural response to falling in love that he had missed.

I assured him that the average Indian woman does not typically spring up and scamper off over hamlet, hill and dale with her lover in hot pursuit. But the question made me think about things that I had taken for granted. I tried to explain the gulf between reality and “reel”-ity. “

So… do you think you will have an Arranged Marriage?” he asked at the end of it. His tone suggested that it would be similar to offering myself up as the main course for a cannibal dinner.

“I don't know,” I shrugged. “I may, or I may not.” This was about four years back when I used to work with Steve at Janaagraha That was the time when I couldn’t really take care of myself lest think about falling in love or think about marraige and taking care of someone else.

When I think of marriage I recall what I had read in Alice and Wonderland as a small boy. Alice said “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” And so it is with the Indian Institution of Marriage.

No doubt a lot of things have changed over the years but some things stay stubbornly the same. People still want their spouses to be “fair.” Divorcees still claim “innocence.” And people mainly advertise their degrees and salaries as bait rather than talking about who they are.

The plain truth is that given the limitations on socialization between men and women in India, arranged marriages remain the norm for the vast majority. When I come to think of it a lot of things haunt me. When I see the girl and reject her(based on a photo, let's say), how will it affect the girl or guy, for that matter? Is it fair, or is it just the practical way of going about it?

I beg to differ. Having seen the highs and lows of arranged marriages I suppose I have other ideas in life. One point I would like to make clear is that I personally have nothing against arranged marriages. I always live life with my own perspective.

Should I marry someone just because my parents like her? Should I marry her because she is pretty and I can boast about it? Or should I marry her because our horoscopes match. The “tallying of horoscopes” is a necessary part of matchmaking in Southern India, as I think it continues to be in other regions as well. I think of astrology as a science that too often sanctions the mating of alligators and orangutans. No matter how spectacularly meshed one's horoscopes may be, only the most fatalistic could view it as a proper substitute for questions like:

“What is your opinion about Global Warming?”

Or, if you want to get really specific:

“Will you share in the cooking and laundry?

There are a lot of things that I fail to understand at this point of time and I suppose arranged marriage is one that I will never figure out. When I first told me mom about my girl friend she was shocked as most mothers would be. Not that she had anything against me falling in love until the point that I told her that I had. All hell broke loose after that. She said things like “I won’t be happy if you marry her”, “Do things the way I want till I am alive”, “Why does she call you often?”, “Why does she come home?”, so on and so forth. The initial way of all mothers to get their way is to shout which she too did with perfection. When she realized she had failed with that she unleashed the biggest weapon women have “EBM” Emotional Black Mail. Fortunately or unfortunately that too failed.

I had to make her realize that it was my happiness that mattered and not hers because it was I who had to live with her for the rest of my life, and coming to keeping her happy till she was alive I made her realize that she might live or another 20-30 years max but I gotta live more than that in the normal course. So I had to make the call not her. I also made her realize that keeping her happy and keeping myself happy were different issues and they should not be mixed. And as to why she came home I had to tell her that it was just to socialize with family members which my mom has unfortunately not done till now. Not that she has a choice.

She also says that she is happy with her arranged marriage and so are all my relatives. I have seen all the HAPPINESS and don’t want that kind of happiness for myself!!! I would rather try my own ways of doing things first. That’s the whole point of being an individual.

“I love my mom” and I can stand in a crowd and shout at the top of my voice. But that is not the issue. I also love myself. I have my likes and dislikes the way she does. I have duties that I must fulfill towards her but I have my rights too. I really would not appreciate if anyone tried to take that away from me be it anyone.

Having been active with school activities through the alumni I was involved with a lot of teenagers. There were a lot of these relations that were going on. I think back to a conversation I had with a school junior. When we had some time to ourselves, she asked casually “Anna (Big Bro in Kannada), which do you think is better, arranged marriages or falling in love?”

If she expected a sage sermon on the need to make a responsible and well-considered decision, my response must have been anticlimactic:

“My dear, if you're ultimately headed towards marriage, the path to it doesn't matter,” I said grinning wickedly.

“It all evens out in the end I guess!”

Trip to Sikkim

MIRIK LAKE


NEPAL


TIGER HILL


IN THE TRAIN ENROUTE DARJEELING


HOTEL ROOM IN DARJEELING


GANGTOK


CONFLUENCE OF TEESTHA AND RANGEET


RIVER RAFTINH IN TEESTHA


JAPANSESE TEMPLE IN DARJEELING


FROM OUR TRAIN


THE GROUP AS BANGALORE RAILWAY STATION


CHANGU FROM A DISTANCE


IN THE CABLE CAR


ROPEWAY IN GANGTOK


RUMTEK MONESTARY


CHANGU LAKE


HARBHAJAN SINGH TEMPLE


SNOW ON WAY TO CHANGU


ME IN THE SNOW

Trek to Kumaraparvatha

VIEW OF KP FROM HEGGADE MANE


ON THE WAY TO KP


NEAR THE STREAM


THE STREAM


IN FRONT OF OUR TENT


CAMP FIRE


ON TOP OF THE CLOUDS


SUN RAYS


SWEET MEMORIES


ON THE WAY DOWN


THE WAY DOWN TO KUKKE SUBRAMANYA

Trek to Savandurga

THE DESTINATION


THE WAY TO THE PEAK


THE VIEW FROM THE TOP


THE GROUND BELOW


ME IN THE DITCH


ON THE FLAG POLE AT THE PEAK


ALOK AND ME


A BIT OF ROCK CLIMBING

Trek to Muninagara

RAVI AND ME WITH MY COLLEGE IN THE BACKDROP



THE DESTINATION


ON THE TANK BUND


WHATS THT?


ON THE WAY


THE LAKE FROM WHERE WE STARTED THE TREK


THE VIEW FROM THE TOP


BANNERGHATTA NATIONAL PARK


THE HILLS BEYOND


THE SUN AND SHADOW


WATER FROG!!!!(ALMOST)


IN THE CAVE(KARADIGUHE)