Sunday, February 29, 2004

Hello People, howdy? If all of u have been wondering if i have joined the bandwagon of bloggers who stopped, nope, not yet. I still have a long way to go before i say Bye to Blogging. Here i am...:)

Have been away at the Capital for a Conference, which was fantastic, more details as i get time....

Meanwhile a Big hello to all of u and Happy 29th Feb 2004, wonder if i would be blogging till 29th Feb 2008...Some food for though eh?


Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Its review time on Images of Life....

For all those die-hard foodies at Bangalore, check out this restaurant on Outer Ring Road near Martathalli, its called Malgudi, and the minute you enter into the compound of this restaurant, ur taken into the magical creative land of RK Narayan. Yes like the traditional South Indian house, the portico has a wonderful swing, to which ur attracted like iron to a magnet. The magnificent door leads u to the inner hall which is again a replica of Swami's house. The walls are adorned with caricatures of Swami and his family (Courtesy RK Lakshman), and ofcourse showcasing the tanjavore paintings and the like.

Coming to the most important aspect of the place...the food...its yumm....a good combination of veg and non-veg. you can try a variety of starters. Try the kokom sherbet, made of a special variety of fruit from South Canara, its refreshing, or the Tender coconut concoction with a difference....they are amazing. The main course, has a wide variety of all south Indian palate. The curryleaf rice along with kotu is a good choice, or the neer dosa with spicy prawn curry is a heavenly delight. For a person like me who eats bland food, its quite spicy, but it does tickle the taste buds. The veg thali is quite filling with the various interesting accompaniments.

For those who hate south Indian food they can try "Dhaba" which right atop this south Indian restaurant. The review of this some other time :)

P.S: Spelling mistakes maybe over looked please.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

After a long long time, the weekend was a quite a happening one and it started from the weekend eve itself. Watched "The Lord of the Rings - Return of the King" special screening on Friday night...what better way than this to start the weekend. The theatre was booked by one of a vendors, thus a few of us got passes for this special show. Though there was nothing special about it. The MC there was pathetic, who goofed at every step. He called the movie Lord of the King - Return of the Rings, not just this, he didnot even get the name of the vendor right. Me wonders if they paid him any money for his pathetic service. Here's my views of the movie.


The final film of Peter Jackson’s exemplary fantasy saga is an enthralling, near overwhelming experience. For patient followers of the three films, there is almost too much to absorb here in one sitting. For what has been a complete impossible task, Jackson has brought to life these made-belief character and they sure do drive a chill down ur spine. Nothing seems make belief here, you actually tend to belive that these mammoths and all those creatures may exist somewhere in this world. You are caught breathless with the wonderful scenic beauty of New Zealand. The artistic effects of the movie are just out of the world. I did feel sad that here comes an end to the trilogy, no more waiting for what would happen next, ofcourse u would know it most if u have had read the book.
But watching it makes it all the more different.

Coming to the story line:
The Return of the King starts out with the wizard Gandalf as he rides to Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor (with Pippin in hand), to seek it's leader. Meanwhile, Aragorn and King Theoden march triumphantly into battle against the forces of Mordor along with Legolas, Gimli and Merry. The reunited six members of the Fellowship, joined by Eoywn, Eomer and Faramir, face off in a final war against the Dark Lord Sauron's forces.

In the dark depths of the tower of Cirith Ungol, Frodo has been captured by Orcs after the climactic battle against the spider Shelob, leaving Sam with the Ring. Gollum has slinked away, and Sam must brave through Mordor to fulfil his master's duties. But when Frodo escapes, both of the hobbits enter Mordor to finally finish the dreadful deed of having the evil One Ring destroyed.

Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is confident that eventually the good men and women will triumph but he also knows he must buy time for Frodo to toss the Ring into the lava at Mount Doom and destroy its effectiveness, and save humanity The White Wizard really gets into the thick of battle in this one, and does not fail to capture the heart of his fans.


Aragorn finally gets to show off some of his heritage, and Viggo Mortensen acts it marvelously. Also coming into their own are Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. Merry and Pippin, the hobbits truly get their chance to shine in this film, and show true courage and spirit. And then there's Elijah Wood's Frodo, Sean Astin's Samwise, and Andy Serkis' Smeagol. The enslavement and downfall of Smeagol is wonderfully enacted by Andy in the first few minutes of the film, and just like before, his Gollum is cruel in all the right ways. Elijah wood has done a great job, you sure go through his trails and errors of being able to destroy the ring. The exhaustion is very much natural on his face.

But the hobbit who takes the whole show by storm is Samwise. He goes through the hardship, pain and heart wrenching trails with Frodo. Living through each turbulent moment as Smeagol tries to get him out of his way. He is just awesome.

The magic comes to an end and it is just sheer magic, which you would want to live through again and again.


As i drove back home, i could picture the entire movie again and again. And for quite a large part of the night i was tempted to start reading the book all over again just to relive the moments again. Call me a crazy LOTR fan, well i am :)

We are having Sports Competitions happening at our company, and i a absolutely good for nothing sports(wo)man was pulled in to play Ladies doubles & Mixed doubles Badminton. These were slated for the weekend. God Bless my partners, who were as supportive as they can be. I can hit shots and manage to play, but the basic problem with me is my serivce...and that itself is the life of the game. Thanks to my partners we reached the second round and then lost at the quarters. Not a bad show after all. The after effect of the entire day are swollen arms and muscle ache. This is what happens when u play once in a way. The best team won and it was a treat to watch them playing. It was more like game of Tennis rather than Badminton.

Sunday was when Bryan Adam was to entertain Bangalore. After the whole thought of Do we or Do we not go? We ended up at the place at 6:30 p.m. To be welcomed by a sea of humanity. After initial performances by Assma and Dragonfly (a Boston based rock group), both the groups were booed whole heatedly by the mad crowd gathered to watch Bryan, who ultimately made an entry at 9:20 p.m. with the song "Here I am"...i need not tell u how the crowd reacted, u have to see it to belive it. My first visit to rock show and it shall remain a memorable one.

The weekend just zipped and gave way to another hectic week.

Friday, February 06, 2004

Blog posting have been refrained for Friday, am amazed how I am letting my blog suffer, though there is so much to write...as anyone else in this world, am short of time, or is it the simplest excuse I can come up with?

While I brood over this, a comical fact....Happy weekend fellas.

Gentlemen, I have been riding trains daily for the last two years, and the service on your line seems to be getting worse every day. I am tired of standing in the aisle all the time on a 14-mile trip. I think the transportation system is worse than that enjoyed by people 2,000 years ago.
Yours truly, A Commuter

Dear Sir, We received your letter with reference to the shortcomings of our service and believe you are somewhat confused in your history. The only mode of transportation 2,000 years ago was by foot.
Sincerely, The Railroad

Gentlemen, I am in receipt of your letter, and I think you are the ones who are confused in your history. If you will refer to the Bible, Book of David, 9th Chapter, you will find that Balaam rode to town on his ass. That, gentlemen, is something I have not been able to do on your train in the last two years.
Yours truly, The Commuter