Better conception = Easier Execution

Wow, I am back after almost a year and a lot has changed since.

Okay, so this is one important concept I have studied in my PM course and sort of knew that it was true. But I got a good handson today. I have my cousin’s diesel car with me for some days. But due to the monsoon, its engine gets cold if not used frequently. And then it does not start. This happened a few days ago and I had to call my mechanic to get it started. He used a simple wire to heat-up the heater coil by connecting it to the battery electrode, but charged me 150 bucks. Ya, labor in India is getting expensive.

I used the car a couple of times last week and then again it would not start on Saturday. No way would I spend 150 on a lame wire trick this time. I knew what to do, I only needed the material. I was not sure which type of wire would work, and that was the toughest part because the wrong type would even burn my hands or something else could go wrong. So I had to plan everything properly and with a cool mind. Then I remembered I had a tool kit which contained a battery to battery connection cable in my dad’s car. That would surely work. So I got it last night and decided I would give it a try today morning 7 am. I leave for office at 7.45.

As planned I tried to start the car at 7 and it did not. So I opened the hood, connected one clamp of the wire to one electrode of the battery and took the other clamp near one of the heater coils. It touched the engine covering in that process and gave out sparks. No don’t worry, this had happened even when the mechanic did it, so I knew I was on the right track. I touched the clamp to the coil and started feeling the heat in my hands. After 3-4 seconds of heating, I tried to start the car again, but no success. I knew it needed more heat. I clamped the wire to the heater coil now. And tried again after 3-4 seconds and VIOLAAAA!!! The engine came to life like when the mechanic had done it. I was so happy that I could DIY some car stuff, which is one of the wishes of a lot of us car owners to know what goes beneath that hood. Total process took not more than 10 minutes. Had my planning/design/conception been not proper, I wouldn’t have seen success.

Moral – Always take more time and effort to plan and design a project properly and it will make the execution much easier.

More examples always welcome.

The Premier League

The past few months have been predominantly occupied by cricket. The ICC world cup started on 19th Feb and since then the cricket fever is rising with the rising temperatures of summer. We won the world cup on 2nd April and within a week the IPL season 4 started off. Some said it will lack the fun this year because of the recently concluded world cup and it was not entirely incorrect. The fun seems to be reducing now, since people have realized, though a bit late, that they are the ultimate losers, and the players and organizers are minting money, whether they win or lose.

But the fever has caught up with my company and the eInfochips Premier League (EPL) is in full swing. I am strongly against the IPL matches, but am totally enjoying the EPL ones, since there's not a single paisa involved....PURE SPORT HERE. My team has already lost both matches and we are out of the tournament, but another team from my department is the topmost as of today and have played really well throughout.

This is the first time I am involved in such intra-company matches...well, I did participate once, but it was carrom...so a bit small scale u know. But otherwise, matches in my earlier company used to be played at Dadar and travel itself used to be a big turn-off. But being in the heart of any city has its own advantages and so now I can be on the ground within 15 minutes from home.

I always used to think it would not be that much of an involving experience since it is between colleagues and friends. But when it comes to cricket, some people do get quite serious; whether they are playing or not. I am sure many of you will agree to this, since such people can be found in all companies. And some seriousness is surely needed to perform and stay there on the ground for the entire match, which is not at all easy especially in such a city where temperatures cross 30 deg. cel. at 7 am in the morning. Still, a couple of them have crossed the 100 figure mark already. You might think the bowling was not as good, but still to make so many runs facing overarm bowling is no easy thing. One of my friends made 102 n.o. today and I was truly stunned. He was the opening batsman and stayed till the end of all 14 overs hitting 13 fours and 4 sixes facing 49 balls...looks like the score of Gayle or Yusuf Pathan. The bowlers also did well to restrict the opposition to just 56 runs by bowling them out in 9.5 overs and the run rate has now put the team in the top spot and a secured place in the semis (wow...I can be a cricket reporter).

I admire the players' spirit and enthu because some of them head straight to the office after play and start working. This requires true love for the game and a very strong desire to play and give the fullest. One of our colleagues has played cricket at state level and even being around 40 yrs of age, he is very keen to give his 100% on the field. I have never followed IPL but am very much enjoying EPL and the feeling of being a part of the topmost team is indeed very exciting.

Keep it up boys!!

P.S. - Thanks Jaymin for the inspiration and good captainship...

Mouse Hunted

"Justice has been delivered"....these are the words spoken by the proud President of United States Barack Obama in his address to the nation, or rather to the entire world on Sunday when the most significant Mouse Hunt in US history was concluded in the mice hole of the world - Pakistan (we Hindustanis call the place something else, but thats besides the point). The most wanted mouse Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head by US Navy Seals which all of us know by now and I share my extreme happiness with all of you.

This mouse had been causing a menace all over the world for a long time now and has been spreading a very dreadful disease called Terrorism. Lot of innocent men, women and children have fallen prey to the disease, irrespective of their religion or nationality. But it is the US determination which did not forget the death of its people and finally succeeded to deliver the justice. I am jealous that they don't have "the spirit of Mumbai" which whole-heartedly accepts whatever anyone comes and does to it. Infact, such people are taken special care of and given our own food and air and water to survive. How shameful, pathetic, loserly and cowardly....

The biggest good news in all this is that he has been killed in Pakistan, right near the capital and ya I know, near a military camp. I read somewhere that he was even called as a visiting faculty to the camp sometimes to deliver some lectures on "Offense against the white arts". Today I feel really proud that Mahatma Gandhi divided the country and saved us from facing this shameful moment which has put more sh*t on their face. I would like to pray to honourable Veer Savarkar to leave his wish to get that piece of land or rather that mice-hole back in our home. The pakistanis should atleast show some wisdom, or borrow it from us if they don't have it, and hand over the where-abouts of other mice they have hidden.

And our corrupt government should now not sit back and fear when will the mice retaliate. Rather, they should hit the iron now when it's red and try to eradicate the other mice who have troubled us. I am sure our black cat commandos are equally capable of the courageous act performed by the US Navy Seals. Else, in light of the ongoing corruption charges the government is facing, people of Hindustan will sense some underworld links of the government.

The media can play a big and matured role in this regard. It was very childish and irresponsible to show some random face as that of osama yesterday, when the US had not even decided whether to publish the photographs or not. When will our media grow up?? I was happily astonished that not a single Navy Seal officer has been named or revealed and the President has himself taken responsibility of the entire operation. People might see it as election campaigning, but I also see it as the correct way to act as the Commander-in-chief. Our media, on the other hand, was showing live coverage of the operation in Mumbai. Grow up kiddos...

But we, the citizens, should be alert and vigilant once again, since we are still the soft targets to fall prey to the disease. Our PM is busy trying to have peace talks and I hope he doesn't get stabbed in the back again. And if he does, this should be the last time ever. It should be our time to deliver justice (nukes). I request you all to keep your eyes, ears and noses open and looking for anything suspicious.

Be safe !!

The greatest sportsman ever...

To start the blog, I was looking for a lead and found Big B's blog on bigadda.

The exact sentiment which has been coming to me from the day Sachin scored the double ton is shared by Big B. That same day, Sachin has proved that he has attained a place where no one has ever been and probably will never be. What follows now is just raising his own bar higher and higher. I have read a couple of self-motivation books and found mention of players like Tiger Woods being greatest players and how they manage to be great. They all are great including Sir Bradman, but the greatest is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.....the son of the country once ruled by another country which has never won the world cup of the game invented by themselves till now and neither do they have as great players in the history of their game. He has no extra marital affairs nor has he been involved in betting scams or flirted with any woman married or unmarried or such filth. He is the greatest sportsman on earth and an even greater human being.

During the football world cup, I was hearing accolades of how some players were so popular and were highest paid and thought if they had actually achieved anything. Sachin has achieved all these records in such a game which depends mostly on the team performance, generally. Had he been playing in a one person game like tennis, he would have made the world feel that their 10 fingers are less in number to put on their mouths or their two hands are less to bow down to him.

I sincerely feel the time is ripe and has come to award the degree of "Sir" to Sachin. But wait a minute....am I doing exactly what Big B has said we have been doing??? Yes....Sachin doesn't need a "Sir" but rather a "Mahatma" to be added to his name or something of that greater sort. And I have little doubts that if other countries manage to get good batsmen in the future they will be called "Sachin Tendulkar" of their resp. country. And every parent will feel there should be Sachin Tendulkar and in their own home (Marathi people will prolly know what I am talking about) and kids in developed countries will want their parents to call them "Sachin" like we have been calling our Sameers as "Sam". I am proud and obliged to share the same first name as the master and already thank my parents for that.

Salute to you Sachin....asach khelat raha ani jagaala namavat raha....amhi kaayam tujhya paathishi aahot.

Jai Hind....

Finally, an app for Mumbaikars

During my stay in Reading, UK last year, I came across an interesting iphone app. It could tell the user the exact door to get in a particular London Underground tube rail to get out right in-front of the exit, to avoid tourist rush and exit quickly. I am sure lot of research and programming must have gone into it, considering the number of tube lines running in London. But the programmer earned some 3000 bucks on the first day itself, paying a handsome return for the efforts.

And I immediately thought, how useful it would be to have an app which tells about the local train in Mumbai, the time it would leave from a particular station I am at, if it is fast or slow, and if it would stop at a station I wish to go if it is a fast train. Sorry for the confusing lingo, but Mumbaikars will get all of this, am sure. And to be frank, I myself downloaded a coupla ebooks on flash programming to see if I could be the one. Come on, I too have good programming skills.

Anyways, I did manage to get employed with a IT company, but for my structural stuff. But a few days back, my collegue from Mumbai showed me an app called mIndicator which does exactly the same stuff I just talked about. But that's not all, it also has BEST routes and taxi and rick tariff cards. Ya...it is too good to be true. Best part is, you don't need an iphone to use it, because it is a java app, meaning it can be used on any phone with java. And it doesn't need a GPRS connection either, except to check your PNR status or mega-block details. The time table of trains also shows the trains only from the current time onwards and not from the first train in the morning. This is more than a humble little Mumbaikar can ask for. The app is created by Mobond. More details about the app can be found here.

Mobile age is very much here. Looking forward to mobile season tickets and card tickets now....like mobile boarding passes.

The third dimension...

Some days back, I was surfing google maps and found a small window on the right saying "Maps" and I hovered my mouse on it and it slid to expand into "Earth" and "Satellite". To see what the new thing was, I clicked "Earth" and it asked me to download a plugin, which I did. After clicking again, it started loading, but thanks to my home internet, I couldn't achieve the end. So some time I checked back and to my amaze, Google Maps can now be seen in 3D. This is different from the street view feature and I saw Ahmedabad, but was not much excited. So I thot I will see Mumbai (thinking it won't be much different either, knowing the innovations to be implemented in the "major cities of developed countries" first) and I was surprised to see the 3D of the icon of Mumbai's spirit, The Taj Hotel. And then I also checked out my favorite structure of my city, the Bandra Worli Sealink and it was a literal virtual drive.

More easy access to the wrong social elements, I know, but its so amazing to see it. Do check out...

Being here, did it...

Hella fellas...how was your festive season?? I hope you all had lot of fun having sweets and bursting crackers. So did I, though I didn't buy much crackers. But I had lots of fun for sure, starting right after Ganpati festival.

Yes, right after Ganpati, people here in Amdavad were busy with preps for Navratri. Shops and females started getting ready for the long awaited Navratri festival (the festival of 9 nights to put it literally). Traditional gujarati dresses showed up in shops and as per each year, each female had to spend approximately 1000 bucks on clothes and accessories. Ya, accessories are important as much in quantity and price as the actual dresses. And the variety one gets to see here in both is mind boggling (and mind perverting, at times). Party plots all around the city started getting dressed up with stages and food-stalls.

And the festival began and got exciting with each passing day. I went on the first weekend, courtesy our office, but just watched and came back. Basically, I used to go for the disco dandia when in Mumbai during the college days. But here in Amdavad, they only play garba, their traditional dance which is very complicated. Or so I thought at first sight. So we went, saw and came back in an hour. However, on the second (and last) weekend, my colleague offered me passes to a club hosting the garba and they were a group of 10 or so. But I told him I would just watch as I didn't know how to play the garba.

But after going there and seeing the crowd and the atmosphere, I couldn't hold myself. I went into the crowd right away and joined the group. And it was pure fun. I played for an hour or so and could pretty much pick up the steps with the group. Then after a break of about 10-15 mins, a very interesting variety of folk was played. Its called Sanedo. Its a hot favorite among the young crowd and children here and it is sure fun. Have a look...

After this the second round started, but it lasted only for less than an hour. But it was already 1.30 in the night. So then we started leaving for home and to my surprise, my colleague asked me if I wanted to go with them to have fafda and jalebi. Ya, I had the same reaction, but he said that it is a custom here. On the last nite of navratri, people dance till the morning and then go to the sweet shops and eat fafda and jalebi. I, however, didn't feel like eating it at that hour of night, so we left. But while on our way back, the crowd at every road crossing made us change our minds. And we finally bought some of it, went home, ate and slept off.

I had never thought I would be in Gujarat, that too in Amdavad, during navratri, during my college days. But I enjoyed it fully and appreciate the people here for their enthusiasm and appetite. Diwali was more of crackers and rituals comparatively, but still enjoyable. All in all, festival season was great this year and I am waiting for the winter to set in now. And ofcourse, for the Uttarayan in January.

Coooool, isn't it?

Ganpati Bappa Moraya !!

Ten days of His stay in millions of homes and crores of hearts is sadly over. And so we rightfully say "pudhchya varshi laukar yaa" so that He returns quickly next year. Because these ten days are the most waited for. He brings a lot of joy, mental strength, confidence and hope with Him. And this year he has also brought Goddess Lakshmi with him (Sensex touched 20,000 and Nifty touched 6,000 on Tuesday, His day).

But for me, apart from all this, He Himself came to my home this year. Yess, we had Ganpati in our house starting this year, which used to be at my uncle's house till last year. And my happiness had no bounds. I was not part of the preparations at home since I was in Ahmedabad and so could not join our gang to bring Him home the previous night. But when I reached home on the 11th morning and saw Him virajmaan in the makhar, khushi ke aasu started gathering in my eyes. It was like a reward to my intense devotion towards Lord Ganesh and a strong belief in His powers. I pray that He stays with me all along and bless me with such opportunities to serve Him.

So there was the much awaited modak lunch and again my hunger knew no bounds. The next day we had the avartanas as per every year and then bid Him farewell in the evening. It was a very sad moment, but the 1 1/2 days were like bliss. I hope you all too had a good festive season and may want to share with me here; so do add to the comments.

Ganpati Bappa.....Moraya!!!

Life time experience...

It is true that Silence speaks more than words, but not in blogs. And my silent blog has been longing for a post for quite some time now. I have been deciding to write since the day I landed here, about the revisit to memory lane, back to good ol' Cincinnati and the US on the whole. But didn't quite get down to actually doing it till now....when I am just 4 days away from going back to mera India. Laziness is the foremost reason for it, but then what can I do if my apartment doesn't have an internet connection. So, that is the main reason for the silence.

Having decided that, I will keep posting about my trip here when I return, the same way I did when I returned from UK (ya, I know I never completed that too...but there are more reasons for that, anyways). The reason I for my post today is the one amazing experience I had yesterday evening, which most of the people I know have'nt had till now in their life. Wait...don't start imagining things....I am talking about flying. Well, wait again...I know most of you have had that experience more than once, and me too. But did you fly sitting in the cockpit...alongside a pilot....and did you actually try your hands on the control stick??

Yessss... I had the privilege to do all this, all thanks to my colleague here in Alexandria, AKH. He has a license to fly and takes flying hours every year at the Alexandria airport. When he mentioned this to me and my colleague, we were both excited and expressed interest in accompanying him during his flying hours. But he was not able to find time till yesterday to do it. The weather too was good and so he planned to fly and I was to accompany him.

We reached the airport at 3.50 pm, but were in queue due to some delayed flying by previous people. So we had to wait for half an hour and we spent it talking about general flying in US. The line-up of aircrafts infront of us was quite varied from a Cessna 172 to a helicopter. There was one with floats too. And then the aircraft and the moment arrived. We headed for it and AKH started doing initial checks of fuel, oil etc. I got my camera out only to find the batteries fully drained out, which I had anticipated. So I put it back and pulled out my LG KU990 viewty to do the work (I mean my cellphone which has a good 5 mp camera). After filling the oil he asked me to "hop in".

That was an ammmazing feeling to sit infront of the huge instrument panel and wear the headphones. I remembered all the movie scenes I had seen till then, and was so glad to enact one of it. AKH then warned me not to panic if the latch of the window opens...gulp. I made sure its firmly in place a couple of times. He then started explaining me all the different instruments, controls and their use...lot of stuff. He then announced his take-off on the radio and we entered on the runway. He pulled the throttle full and we started speeding. What a feeling that was. And then he gently took-off and that was when I notice there was a huge lake at the end of the runway....gulp again. (Here's the video).



We then started gaining altitude and saw all the nearby lakes, went over our workplace and then started heading towards the tornado hit area near our county. He wanted to see the damage it had done. After looking around for a while, we could see the path of the touchdowns. The oak trees were badly hit and could be seen uprooted and twisted in all directions... here's a picture.




We went as far as Wadena county and then turned around. And AKH told me to take the control stick. I was a bit scared initially but then could fly pretty nicely, since there was not much to it, as he had said. That was one experience of a life time. After about 5 mins, he asked if he could do a landing-take off cycle, and I agreed almost instantly. He showed me the location of his new house and then we landed....pretty neat work he did there and immediately took off for another quick round and came back. It was the most happening hour of my stay in US so far and to remember for my life, all thanks to AKH.

He has promised to go again on Monday, if the weather permits...so hope for the best!!!

Gender Equality

I was catching up on J's blogs and came across this blog about Lords of the ring and thought of bringing up a strong discussion I was having with M on this past hot Sunday morning. It was all about what is expected from a guy and his family after the girl comes to his house. And also that the guy is expected to work whole day and then again help or accompany his wife in the kitchen, even though she is not working full time. If he works whole day and then says "My part is done, I am gonna stretch infront of the TV and relax while the wife will make dinner", its considered the biggest sin done by him. Then I asked M, if the girl is working then can the guy say "You work whole day, I will quit my job and make food for you and enjoy the rest of my time, you be the bread earner of the house?" she said, "no that's not socially correct". Again the same social norms which J talks about.

If gender equality is expected, which btw is only seen prominently in India, then it should really be "Equal"ity. The thing that a girl is allowed to expect whatever she wants and the vice versa is not correct is a wrong thing. But this thing is so much into our minds that when M said that she wished to contribute for the expenses of our first anniversary getaway, I was initially perplexed, since it would not sound "socially" correct. But then she explained that if by her contributing we can enjoy a much better hotel stay and gifts for each other, why not. And after some calm thought, even I felt that was the right way. It was her hard-earned money which she wished to spend for both of us, the same way I wanted to and it was totally correct. And we did have a blast.

So guys, don't give in to each n every demand. Keep in mind, girls want equality and thats what we need to give them ;).

The Interstate travel

Hello all, long time no see. My bad, been busy with job, studies, family and so on. And now, the change in job is keeping me busy in adjusting to the new workplace, city, people and state. Yes, I have taken my new job in Ahmedabad which is making me travel interstate to go back home every weekend for now. But, I am able to find some time now to catch up with my blog which has been in hibernation for the past 4 months.

About the new place, the heat is tremendous and the whole place feels like a giant oven. And baking in this oven are sweet cookie-like people here. Whoever I have met here has been very sweet in every way to make me feel at home, from my colleague to the lady in the BSNL (government) office. And so is the food here. Lots of variety.

But still, home is home, and you do feel like going back every weekend (ofcourse also coz the gharwaali is there). So I might travel by the long distance railway so much in this one month that will almost be equal to what I have done till now. And it is also giving me a flavor of a long distance relationship which had not yet happened in my case, esp. after marriage. So I am getting to experience it all; inter-continental before marriage and inter-state after marriage. And so I really feel sad for the people who have to do this because they have no choice, I mean its ok for a month or so, but more than that...no scope.

Anyways, I atleast found some time to write this one, and will write as long as I am doing inter-state travel. Keep coming back.

Panchratna Haar

I wish to write this blog in both English and Marathi...for the English version, please scroll down.

काही दिवसांपूर्वी मी माझ्या सऊला म्हटल की बर्याच दिवसांपासून गाण्याचा कार्यक्रम नाही पाहिला. त्यातून मधले चार महीने तर बाहेरच होतो. ह्या वर्षी दिवाळी पहाटचा कार्यक्रम पण बघायला कुठे गेलो नव्हतो. त्यानंतर १-२ चांगले कार्यक्रम आले होते पण जाणं काही झालं नाही. आणि काही दिवसातच भाऊ म्हणला की डोम्बिवलीला सारेगामापा लिटल चॅम्प्सचा कार्यक्रम होणार आहे. हे ऐकून माला "भगवान जब देता है ..." ह्या म्हणीची आठवण झाली.

अर्थातच मी जायचं ठरवलं, ते ही ५०० चं टिकिट काढून. १९ ता ला कार्यक्रम होता. सऊला माहेरी असल्यामुळे यायला जमणार नव्हतं. मी तिला सहानुभूति दाखवली (आणि मनात टुकटुक केलं) कारण तिला पण कार्यक्रम बघायची खुप इच्छा होती. मी भाऊ आणि वहिनी जाणार असं ठरलं. त्याप्रमाणे मी ६ लाच डोंम्बिवालिच्या घार्डा सर्कल च्या मैदानात पोहोचलो. लोकांची अलोट गर्दी यायला सुरुवात झालीच होती. आणि काही मिनिटातच पंचरत्नं तिथे येउन पोहोचले. इतके महीने ज्या रत्नांना टिव्हीवर पाहून मन भरत नसे ते आज डोळ्यासमोर आल्यावर सहाजिकच डोळ्याची पार्णँ फिटली. सगळेच मागच्या वर्षी पेक्षा उंच झाले होते. त्यांच्या पाठोपाठ ५ मिनिटातच पल्लवी ताई (मुलांची, माझी नाही) तिथे आली. वाद्यवृन्दाचे घटक एक एक करत येतच होते. निलेश परबला इतक्या जवळून पाहून खुप बरं वाटलं. भाऊ आणि वहिनी आले आणि आम्ही आत गेलो.

७.३० च्या सुमारास कार्यक्रम सुरु झाला. आयोजकांनी प्रेक्षकांच स्वागत केलं आणि सूत्र पल्लवीच्या हातात देताच तिने नेहेमी सारखाच कार्यक्रम दिमाखात सुरु केला. झी मराठीच्या नांदीने सर्व चॅम्पसनी सुरुवात कली. त्यानंतर प्रत्येक चॅम्पसनी येउन एक एक भक्ति गीत म्हटले. त्यांचे ते दिव्य आवाज पुन्हा ऐकून कान तृप्त झाले. मग प्रत्येकाने आपापले लोकप्रिय झालेलं गाणं म्हणायला लागले आणि कार्यक्रमाला रंग चढायला लागला. त्यातून एकाचे एक गाने झाले की पल्लवी अजुन एक लोकप्रिय झालेलं गाणं लगेच म्हणायला सांगत होती. त्यामुळे एक पे एक फ्री ऑफर मिळाली. त्यामुळे आर्याचं "माझ्या पायाला बांधलाय भवरा " नंतर लगेच "अहो सजणा " ऐकायला मिळणं म्हणजे एक प्रकारची पर्वणीच. तसच रोहित नी "मोरया मोरया" आणि कार्तिकिनी "कांदा मूळा भाजी" ही गाणी सादर कली. त्यानंतर हिंदी गाण्यांची एक फेरी झाली. आणि कार्तिकी देविन्नी "ओ लाल मेरी" म्हणून जीव खुश करून सोडला. त्यानंतर सत्कार समारंभ झाला आणि शेवटच्या फेरीत सगळी नविन गाणी सादर झाली. ही ५ ही गाणी अफलातून झाली. स्टेज समोरची मोकळी जागा रोहितच्या बोलावण्यावरुन नाचण्यासाठी भरून टाकली. कार्यक्रमाचा शेवट कार्तिकिच्या "कोमडी" गीताने झाला. आम्हा तिघांच्या तोंडातून नुसता "वावाकार" होत होता।

ह्या सगळ्यात सिंहाचा वाटा होता तो वाद्यवृन्दाचा. निलेशनी तर "रेशमाच्या रेघांनी" गाण्याच्या सुरुवातीची ढोलकी वाजवून सगळ्यान्ना मोहित करून ताकलं. ती पूर्ण संध्याकाळच अविस्मरणीय झाली. कार्यक्रम संपूच नये अस वाटत होत. पण तो जरी संपला तरी चॅम्पस ची ही घोडदौड कधीच संपू नये अशी आपल्या सर्वांचीच सदिच्छा आहे, नाही का?

And now in English -

Lately I felt that i hadn't attended a good musical program since a long time this year. The 4 months in summer were in UK and after that not very interesting programs came up (good excuse na...). Even the early morning Diwali programs were not as good as last year. Last year we had attended the b'day program of Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar and Asha tais surprise arrival was like a double Diwali bonus.

But then a few days back my cousin told me that the lil' champs are performing live at Dombivali on the 19th Dec. Of course I went; all loaded with my Canon S2 IS. I reached quite early but people had already started pouring in. And within half an hour the champs arrived. The jewels who were seen only on TV till then were right infront of my eyes and I was thrilled. These five have become the beloved Panchratna set of all the people of Maharashtra. And they were followed by the one and only, Pallavi Joshi. She does have glamour in her and is a crowd puller. People started clapping seeing her and as if following her famous "एकदा जोरदार टाळ्या झाल्या पाहिजेत" line. The orchestra was coming in pieces and by 7.30 the show began.

The organisers introduced the cause of the show and handed over to Pallavi and off she was with her regular sweetness. The five started the show with the Zee Marathi song. Listening to those divine voices again, that too live, was bliss. Then followed a round of religious songs and then each of them sang their popular tracks. And was asked to sing another one immediately by Pallavi. So Arya sang "Maazya paayala" and "Aho sajana" back to back. It was like a buy one get one free offer. After this there was a round of Hindi songs which were equally popular, esp. Kartiki's "O laal meri" thrilled the audience. The last round after a small felicitation was that of new marathi songs like "Ye go ye" by Rohit, "Navri natali" by Kartiki and "Chham chham karta" by Arya. The show concluded with Kartiki's "Kombdi", the most popular marathi song today.

A huge round of applause was also regularly given to the musicians who were ammazing. Nilesh was the favorite with his mindblowing dholki rendition for various songs, esp. "Reshmachya reghanni" for Kartiki. It was a unforgetful evening and will be like a benchmark for many to come. The champs schedule was the longest one on Zee Marathi and I am sure the career path of each of these champs will be equally long. Bless all the Panchratnas. May you continue to entertain us for ages to come..

Windsor Castle!!

So the English summer had just begun and the air was still cold for us. We planned our first weekend outing to the Royal Weekend Home - The Windsor Castle. Its about half an hour of train journey from Reading, via Slough. It was our first British Train experience and also my first international train experience. The diesel trains reminded me of the long distance trains here in India, though these were much shorter. They have two classes, the first and standard, but you can hardly tell the difference, except more spacious seats. We changed the train at Slough and boarded a 3 coach train to Windsor.

The castle is a 5 min. walk from the train station. The day was bright and sunny. As we approached the castle, we could hear a band play inside, which we figured out later was the famous "Change of Guards" ceremony going on. We had missed it. After taking the tickets, and the audio tour handset, we started off. The first view of the castle is very overwhelming. A big green lawn welcomes you and the castle is situated at the backdrop. As we approached the outer walls, we could see small slits in the walls, which were provided to put the gun barrels out for firing at the enemy.

Inside the wall are 3 main structures, the castle and state apartments, the chapel and staff apartments. The chapel is St. George's Chapel, a huge and ancient structure built by King Edward IV. The architecture of the chapel is beautiful. Read all about the chapel here. The ceiling of the chapel is marked with plaques of various royal army guards. The altar is magnificent and hosts the plaques of all the knights till date. It feels very nice and quiet while sitting here.

After the chapel, we headed for the round tower and the state apartments. It had a long queue for entry, so we decided to have our lunch and then stand in the queue. While in the Q, we got our first sight of the bobbies and their marching, which I must say is very admirable. The first room inside is a museum of various paintings owned by the royal family and prepared by world famous artists, including Da Vinci. It was a very exciting feeling to see a painting done by such a master with my own eyes. Then we entered the doll house, which was gifted to Queen Mary. It is a small scale model of the castle's state apartments and is very cute.

The last were the State apartments which were huge rooms used by the royal family for various purposes, like dining, meeting guests, bedrooms, baths and so on. All the rooms have lots of paintings and rich upholstery.

With that, we had come to the end of our tour and were very pleased to see a nice castle as our first attraction. We bought a shot glass in one of the stores, where M picked up 2 postcards, thinking they were free to take and left for Reading.

Moblogging!!

i have been blogging for quite some time now. its a good hobby i have

developed over the years and would thank blogger for that. but

lately i am finding it difficult to write due to travelling and then

settling down at home, though i have loads of stuff to blog. but now

thanks to my viewty, i am able to take the next step in blogging-

mobile blogging or moblogging as it is called . i will write

a detailed blog on the phone later, but for now, i can say that now

i dont necessarily need a comp for blogging. go MOBLOGGING!

The English Summer

The Badshah of Bollywood, Big B, had once said "London ki shaam bahot haseen hoti hai". And it truly is. I got to experience it this summer on my secondment to Reading, UK courtesy JIS. I was told by all my collegues that I am getting the best season to visit UK, since it was just the beginning of summer here. One would think being in Hindustan, why would summer be best. But those staying in US and UK will know why summer is always wanted. And you will know too, after you read through.

I reached UK at the start of May, the start of peak summer and mango season in India. And it was a "cool" welcome change for me and my wife. It was cooler than the winters in Mumbai. And brighter too. The sun shows up here since 5 in the morning and doesn't go till 10 at night. I used to get up at 5.30 am for the first couple of weeks, many times feeling that I am late for work, due to the early mornings. But it helped me track the stock market back there.

But then gradually we adapted; to the long days and cold temperatures. And even the temperature began to warm up. There's a ground near my house, where students started to play....cricket. And that is where you realize you are in England. Green fields are dotted with white players and a pitch in the middle.


In US, it's mainly football. Yes, comparison does come in every part of life. The roads are quite narrow here. And houses are quite small. Cars are right had driven. Public transport is quite ammmazing and you can comfortably stay even if you don't own a car. This is a very positive thing in today's world of climate change. "Bike to work" is a very popular corporate initiative and a lot of people can be seen using bikes. And like the countries, people are also quite different. They have a more formal and disciplined, but fashionable lifestyle. Walk down Oxford street in London and you feel you are walking on a ramp full of thousands of fashion models. Every human being dresses up nicely. Every woman wears make up and touches it up wherever she feels right, as J said in her blog, may it be train, bus, road, anywhere. And any type of attire is style.

But London was not the first place I visited, though it's my most visited place in UK until now. And comparing it with the other major cities of the world (read US) I visited, it's the most visited one here too, after Mumbai, ofcourse. So I feel one blog would not be sufficient for it and I will continue the visits further. This one is just to restart my dried blogpen. So do visit again for the english updates. Cheers mates...

Put an end!!

Its the end of the month and also the end of the week, in Maharashtra atleast, since its holiday tomorrow on ocassion of Maharashtra Day. So Happy Maharashtra Day in advance to all of you. Its also the last phase of elections today and an end of the voting process. So this marks the end of the current government. And to do that I went out early in the morning and cast my vote. I exercised my right after almost 10 years.

I am satisfied that I have put in my effort to be the change I want to see, and thats what I request you to do, no actually I urge you all sincerely to do. Its a very easy and hassle-free process. Take the info chit you have received giving your ward number, take a photo identity such as a drivers license, a pan card or passport and go to your respective ward. There are volunteers out there and people too, to help you find your ward and guide you through the process. I voted using the EVM. You will hardly have to wait in queue for half an hour at the maximum, but isn't it worth the wait? Its better than having to wait atleast 2 hours daily for the electric supply to get back. I am sure atleast one of your acquaintances has got an election duty today and they are putting all their efforts to make your voting process hassle-free. So please go out there and cast your vote as soon as you finish reading this post, if you haven't done it already.

Voting is our right, responsibility and privilege and we should exercise it at all costs. We are fortunate to be able to do that, unlike our neighboring country where an unwanted force of maniacs is ruling and the people and government can do nothing about it. Make sure you vote so that we all won't have to face such a situation where an unwanted group of uneducated criminal corrupts are ruling our precious Hindustan out. I don't wish to hand over my motherland to such undeserving mortals, do you? So go out and cast your vote to put an end to all the foul play. Let us be the change we want to see.

Jai Hind!!

हर हर महादेव !!

Hello again. Long time no c...well, I am back with a new template. Please let me know if this one looks good. And with a movie review. But this blog has to be in my Marathi....so kindly excuse me.

मराठी बद्दल सध्या भरपूर भाषणं होत आहेत. मराठी माणसाचा स्वाभिमान जागवायाचे भरपूर प्रयत्न सुरु आहेत. पण हे सगळे रास्त आहेत असं नाही . अमराठी लोकांची मारहाण करणं हे तर अगदी मराठ्यांच्या सुस्वभावा विरुद्ध .

पण जनजागृति तर झालीच पाहिजे . आणि संतोष मांजरेकर ह्यांचा नवीन चित्रपट "मी शिवाजीराजे भोसले बोलतोय" हा एक खुपच चांगला मार्ग आहे . मुन्नाभाईच्या थीम वर असलेला हा पिक्चर सुरु होतो डोम्बिवली फास्ट सारखाच . एका सामान्य मराठी बँक कर्मचार्यापासून ही कथा सुरु होते . सगळीकडे होणारा आपला अपमान सहन करून मराठी असल्याची लाज वाटायला लागलेल्या भोसल्यान्ना वेड लागायची पाळी येते . हे सर्व पाहून हिंदू नृसिंह प्रभु शिवाजीराजे खुप बेचैन होतात . ते तड़क रायगडावरुन निघतात आणि भोसल्यान्ना गडावर आणून चांगली कान उघडणी करतात . भोसले जागे होतात आणि मग सुरु होते त्यांची पराक्रमी घोडदौड .

भोसल्यांची भूमिका सचिन खेडेकरनी फार छान बजावली आहे . फारश्या विनोदी भूमिका न करणारा सचिन ह्या भूमिकेत सर्व पैलू दाखवतो. त्याच्या बर्याच विनोदांना हास्य व टाळ्या तर प्रत्येक आश्रुला प्रेक्षकांकडून आश्रू.सुचित्रा बन्देकरचं काम पण मिसेस भोसले म्हणुन चांगल झाल आहे . प्रिया बापटनी भोसल्यांच्या मोठ्या मुलीचा रोल सुंदर केला आहे आणि अभिजित केळकरनी धाकट्या मुलाचा . सिद्धार्थ जाधवनी गुंडाच काम पहिल्यांदाच सीरियसपणे केलय . पण सगळ्यात महत्वाची महाराजांची भूमिका बजावताना संजय मांजरेकर मात्र खुप कमी पडतात . त्यांच्यापेक्षा सचिनच्या आवाजात जास्त जोर वाटतो .त्यापेक्षा अजिंक्य देव खुप शोभला असता असा वाटत. मकरंद अनासपुरेच काम नेहेमिप्रमाणे टाळ्या घेउन जात .

चित्रपटाचं संगीत ठीक-ठाक आहे पण "हे राजे" गाणं मनात घर करतं . बाकी सर्व तंत्रज्ञान नविन आहे पण मुन्नाभाई ची वास्तवता ह्या चित्रपटात कमी पड़ते . पण त्याचे विशेष नाही ; एकुण हा चित्रपट कमीतकमी एकदा पहाण्यासारखा आहे . मी ४ तारे देतो .

हर हर महादेव !!!!

रेटिंग - * * * *

The art of troubleshooting

Troubleshooting(TS) is a term used for problem solving, especially of technical nature, that too more in relation to computers. And there are people assigned to do the job. But I call it an art because I feel it does have a personal touch to it. The type I am referring to here is the one in which TS is done over the phone. I learned TS in the US when I started working on-campus. There, it was preferable to solve problems over the phone if possible, so that the commuting time to and from classrooms is reduced. Initially, it was difficult and after struggling for a few minutes, I had to say "I will be there in a minute". But as I started getting to know the system better, I was able to TS the problems more n more on the phone. And I tell you, there's a great satisfaction when it is done on the phone. The persons on the other side are happy that they could do it themselves, only they needed instructions for it. I get the satisfaction that I saved time and efforts.

But the greatest of satisfaction was when I used to TS back at home. My mom picked up voice chatting quite fast and I do appreciate her zeal and willingness to learn new things. But sometimes there were issues such as internet didn't work, or some error messages, or installing new softwares for VC etc. My brother was not always at home to help her during daytime (night time in US) and the only way to TS was me calling home and TS on the phone. And due to my on-campus job, I had developed the art of TS and was easily able to get things going. My mom was happy that she could solve the problem and I was happy that she was happy.

The reason for writing this blog now is that the same thing I did today. We had disconnected the internet cables last night and my bro mis-connected them in the morning hurry. My mom called me to say that the net is not working, and I was able to get her to do the right connections within minutes and the happy "Haaaa....zaala" was my certificate of a good job. I knwo my mama complains that my cousin doesn't teach him voice chat and so he asked me and my bro to do it. So you can see, its surely an art.

Valentine's Day

Firstly, I admit I got inspired by J's blog. And, I don't belong to any political party yet. But, I too believe that the whole Valentine's day issue is a blown up thing. It's more of a business than anything else. I don't need to have a specific day to do something for my loved one to tell her I love. Infact, I feel everything you do should make your loved one feel that you love him/her. Be it small things or big, you can do it anytime of the year, any moment of the day. More so, on their birthdays or your anniversaries. I did use to feel lonely on these days earlier when I was single, but now I feel this day isn't that great, after I am married. And mother's day and father's day are all the more ridiculous. I am sure, most of the time I am at my home, I think how can I make life easier for my mother, father, brother and wife and think how can I make them happy. I don't need a special day for that. And giving gifts is not at all a way to do that. There are many better ways to do that.

And if people believe that Valentine's day is a special day, I wish to ask, how many are aware of Guru Pournima. Its the day when we worship our Guru, our teacher. How many of us do that? Do we even know on that day that it is Guru Pournima? This day has been designated by Hindus since epic ages. Business people making big of Valentine's day should take special note of this and think what have they done on this day this year. I am sure no DJ or restaurant had thrown a party or no shop had special gift offers for your gurus, be it your school teacher, music teacher, management guru, whoever.

I feel its more of human behavior. Its the joy of celebration, an ocassion to do something special. Thats why we all like festivals so much. I am sure if all the people who wish to celebrate V-day are asked to moan or observe a sad moment for some tragedy, half of them will back off. And thats human nature. The only thing I want to stress is if we do something, we should have some solid reason behind it, not blindly follow what the (western) world is doing. We have a much better and richer culture which this world looks up to and we all should make sure we protect it, strengthen it and pass it to our juniors. I know there are grey areas, like J has said in her blog, but I think we are wise enough to sort out the two colours and make it clear.

Have a nice weekend ahead.

धन्य ही देवांहून जनता !!

Yesterday, a very melodious period came to an end. After six months of week after week of musical Monday and Tuesday nights, the final five champs are ready for the mega-final. And I have already started to worry about what to do on the Monday and Tuesday nights henceforth. Every week, Zee Marathi provided all of us blessed people with a musical extravaganza, which we rarely get to witness, even after paying for tickets. The quality of songs, knowledge of the kids and their talent overall has ever increased during this period and has made them ready to keep giving good performances for the years to come. I take this opportunity to sincerely thank Zee Marathi for giving us this very valuable five-star gift. The show just portrays pure love for music, unlike other similar shows where faltu bakwaas between arrogant and incompetent judges just makes it irritating to watch. Here, I would like to applaud Vaishali, Avadhoot and Pallavi for taking everything in the kids’ stride and making the show a real pleasure. Cheers to all three of you and keep it up.

Yesterday was yet another excellent performance by all the five and was a fitting finish to this grand schedule. All of them sang very well and exhibited their singing skills. Prathamesh has proved that he is a very talented singer who can go on to pursue a great career in classical singing and be a very good successor to Suresh Wadkar. Rohit has already proved his talent as a classic combo music director and he has it in him what is displayed by today’s leading marathi music directors like Ajay-Atul, Avadhoot and the likes who can sing as well as churn out some excellent pieces of marathi music. Mugdha is a girl who can sing any song and make it sound extremely sweet. Her innocence renders a pure feel to every song she sings and its just amrit to the ears. Kartiki, with her rustic voice and tremendous devotional music background and home-location, is very well-poised to be an upcoming successor to Bharat-ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, that too in a female voice. But her rendering of other Anand Shinde songs also turns the crowds crazy. And finally, my favorite, Arya, is truly an amazingly versatile singer. Her progress throughout the schedule of six months has been remarkable and has transformed her into a great all-round singer to be. She is the future Asha Bhosale and I wish to request Ashaji to start a one student gurukul just for Arya to hone her skills more and make herself immortal for another 100 years. Be it any song, and Arya makes it adoringly beautiful as herself. She is my winner-elect.

But the competition really has no significance now, since all the show-followers will agree that all five are equally talented and none is even a thread lesser than the others. As Vaishali and Avadhoot pointed out yesterday, Zee Marathi should declare all the five as winners and win over the hearts of all the followers (I am not saying maharashtrians here since I know a lot of non-mahas. are also following this show). They should consider the basic purpose of the show which is to provide complete entertainment to the audience and so they should consider the demands of the audience too. I wish to watch the mega-final live. So see you there, Champs and all the very best. And thanks to all of you for bringing us such a memorable six months. Looking back at my first line now, I feel it’s not the end, but a beginning to an era of the Champs rule in the Marathi music industry, and probably Hindustani music industry as well. And I already can’t wait for this Champ-rajya. Way to go, Champs!!

तुमच्या गाण्यांनी ही सगळी जनता धन्य झाली आहे.