Lost control

My temper is something, which I have never had, control, was a dread while I was a student and then it subdued as time went by. Everyone around said, Ah the young lady has matured. Well the maturity has not lasted long. From the past few days I have been back to my old self, minor things get me ticked off and I am always finding reasons to vent out my anger. and my anger goes out in ways people would take sometime to realize. I will make a statement and just walk off, and my target left tongue tied, and promising not to take panga with me again.

I have decided to control it again, nope not joining any anger management course, but will find my own way to handle it.

Fusion Poetry

Every sect has a faith, a direction (Qibla) to which they turn,
I have turned my face towards the crooked cap (of Nizamuddin Aulia)
The whole world worships something or the other,
Some look for God in Mecca, while some go to Kashi (Banaras),
So why can't I, Oh wise people, fall at my beloved's feet?

Every sect has a faith, a Qibla...
I have become you, and you me,
I am the body, you soul;
So that no one can say hereafter,
That you are someone, and I, someone else.

I am a pagan and a worshipper of love: the creed (of Muslims) I do not need;
Every vein of mine has become taunt like a wire,
the (Brahman's) girdle I do not need.
Leave from my bedside, you ignorant physician!
The only cure for the patient of love is the sight of his beloved —
other than this no medicine does he need.

If there be no pilot in our boat, let there be none:
We have god in our midst: the sea we do not need.
The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.
So he does, so he does; the people he does not need, the world he does not need.

The cloud weeps, and I become separated from my friend —
How can I separate my heart from my heart's friend on such a day.
The cloud weeping — and I and the friend standing, bidding farewell —
I weeping separately, the clouds separately, the friend separately...

-- Selections from the poetry of Amir Khusrau

Happy Weekend

Ever thot of

Software that detects when a cat is walking across your computer keyboard.
Estimation of the Total Surface Area in Indian Elephants.
Mathematical Law of Exponential Decay.
Washing machine for cats and dogs.

Somebody else thot of it and have been suitably awarded

Read about the Ig Noble awards, the Igs honor people whose achievements "cannot or should not be reproduced."

It might not "inspire" u to do something "out of the world", but it definitely guarantees a good laugh.

Capricorn

QUALITIES: ambition – organizational skills –efficency – amiability – pragmatism – calm – spirituality – internalization – lucidity – diplomacy – demanding – volunteer spirit – perseverance – realism – patience.

FAULTS: calculating temperament – distrustful – intransigence – proud – hardness – miserly – social climber – rigor.

ELEMENT: Earth.

MODE: Cardinal. RULER: Saturn.

COLOR: Black, Dark Green, Cherry Red.

FAMOUS CAPRICORN: Kate Moss, Martin Luther King, Gérard Depardieu, Matisse, Kevin Costner.

CAPRICORN symbolizes the Earth, its weight, its secrets and its fatality. This is the sign of critical discernment and mind over matter. CAPRICORN’s mastery over his/her emotions, and his/her determination get him/her to the goals he/she has fixed for himself/herself. But CAPRICORN also has a nasty tendency to bring everything back to himself/herself…Through his/her intelligence he/she imposes respect for everything he/she deems useful and necessary.

A WOMAN'S PRAYER

Lord, I Pray For:

Wisdom to understand my man,
Love to forgive him,
And patience for his moods.

Because, Lord, if I pray for Strength,
I'll beat him to death.

So many times, far many times than you can count, I get these wonderful thots, the first reaction is that; it should go on the blog. But like the proverbial "Many a slips between the cup and the lip", by the time the thot reaches the blog, it would have gone through n-number of iterations of changes and most of the time succumbed under the censorship of the mind.

"What do I want to put in my blog?" is the next question that comes up by the defensive thoughts and the not-to divulge anything brain says, not something which is too personal, up jumps the thot and say, but this is a very generic thought?

Everyday, the brain and the thot go through this fight of what should be posted and what not. Sometimes, either of them wins (very obvious, u duffer), sometimes it’s a truce and most of the time it’s a "lets compromise" situation.

Come September and its going to be a year of association with the blogging world. A whole new vista which opened, doors to many many new friends and a peek into their wonderful life and times, guess the journey has just began and “Miles to go before I sleep”…????!!!!

Friends:

Once who hear ur owes without even you having spoken it
Appearing the minute you think of them and sort ur problem within no time
who think just the way u want them to (well...most of the time)

People who are with u, during good times and bad, during the the thick and the thin, all through ur life.

Happy Friendship's Day buddies :)

Pessimist by policy, optimist by temperament -- it is possible to be both. How? By never taking an unnecessary chance and by minimizing risks you can't avoid. This permits you to play out the game happily, untroubled by the certainty of the outcome. --

From "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long" by Robert Heinlein

Love and caring at sometimes like the heavy cloud which appears on sunny noon and drifts away without a hint of rain....

Strange are the ways of life

In the dead of the night, apart from the snores, the ticking of the clock, u hear ur thots screaming louder than loudest noise around....questioning the whole idea of life...

Monday......came and went..............yet another week :)

Khalil Gibran's writing have always given me a high...i am mesmerised by the way he writes, all i can say is awesome. A sneak of his great work.

The Creation

The God separated a spirit from Himself and fashioned it into Beauty. He showered upon her all the blessings of gracefulness and kindness. He gave her the cup of happiness and said, "Drink not from this cup unless you forget the past and the future, for happiness is naught but the moment." And He also gave her a cup of sorrow and said, "Drink from this cup and you will understand the meaning of the fleeting instants of the joy of life, for sorrow ever abounds."

And the God bestowed upon her a love that would desert he forever upon her first sigh of earthly satisfaction, and a sweetness that would vanish with her first awareness of flattery.

And He gave her wisdom from heaven to lead to the all-righteous path, and placed in the depth of her heart and eye that sees the unseen, and created in he an affection and goodness toward all things. He dressed her with raiment of hopes spun by the angels of heaven from the sinews of the rainbow. And He cloaked her in the shadow of confusion, which is the dawn of life and light.

Then the God took consuming fire from the furnace of anger, and searing wind from the desert of ignorance, and sharp- cutting sands from the shore of selfishness, and coarse earth from under the feet of ages, and combined them all and fashioned Man. He gave to Man a blind power that rages and drives him into a madness which extinguishes only before gratification of desire, and placed life in him which is the specter of death.

And the god laughed and cried. He felt an overwhelming love and pity for Man, and sheltered him beneath His guidance.

Over the weekend, i went to my school...not that i made a special visit, i invariably pass through my school, when i get out of home...its been a decade that i stepped inside the compound of the place where my foundation was lid.

Each day holds its special place in my heart, from the first day, where i walked in as the frightened little girl to day i left the school as the confident teenager, they are brightly etched spots of memory.

Every activity at school would be on the lines of a world war, the hard work which would go in, even at a small competition had that "I need to win" Spirit...which was healthy few times and very unhealthy most of the times.

Competitions are school were both health and unhealthy, best friends would turn hard core rivals just for a simple competition like the lemon and spoon race or say the essay competition. they were wars declared when such events were happening...after the results were announced a perpetual gloom if u don't win, or a saintly glow when u win....the air of supremacy would last for quite sometime....

Well now we smile at the stupid behaviour of ours...but they were the lovely days...well spent.

A nice little story about friendship...me thinks how may of us really follow what we read or preach????
Anyways, read the story...

People often wonder why some people have such great friends and manage to keep them...If you manage to apply the following in your life, the same could work for you:

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?" "Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter test." "Triple filter?" That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend,it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?" "No," the man said, actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, You want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness.

Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?" "No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?" This is why Socrates was a great philosopher & was held in such high esteem. If we are able to protect our friends and those we love in this manner, we cannot be influenced by outsiders in having bad notions about them.

LET WHAT MAY COME, NEVER LOSE A FRIEND, ALWAYS MAINTAIN THE RELATIONSHIP!

My Breakfast: A bowl (soup bowl) full of curds with lots of sugar.

My lunch: A big bowl of Creme de la Caramel - combination of vanilla ice cream, cream, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup and roasted cashewnuts.......yummmmmmmmmm it was amazing, and absolutely irresistible

My dinner....maybe a nice big glass of hot chocolate :)

Dark clouds loom, the sun not in site for quite a distant, it looks like go and tug the clouds and it will pour....and it did, rained like no man's business...but the sight was by itself very very pleasant. Working in the 6th Floor of a high rise building sure has its own advantage...

Dark clouds loomed over my mind as well, but then there was a silver lining in one of the clouds and thanks to a dear friend who brought back the smiles to my sullen face.....I owe it to u...

I like this particular strip very much, but can never imagine cuddling up with a soft toy...eeeiikkksss not me.

Dil mein terii yaad liye phirtaa huun
Zakhmon ki baaraat liye phirtaa huun

Dekh ke zindaa mujhe hairaan kyuun ho
Ek dil-e-barbaad liye phirtaa huun

Un se mulaakaat abhii bhii hogii
Be-wajah ye aas liye phirtaa huun

Pyaar mein dil-o-jaan lutaa dete hain
Ye ajab se khayaalaat liye phirtaa huun

Meri haalat pe aansuu bahaate kyon ho
Aiye zamaane terii saugaat liye phirtaa huun

Ye sher mere aakhirii afsaane hain
In hii mein dil ki aawaaz liye phirtaa huun

Agale janam mein hogii mulaakaat Khalish
Is baat ka vishwaas liye phirtaa huun

-- MC Gupta `Khalish'

Translation

MEETING IN NEXT LIFE

With memories, I carry on
With wounds in heart, I carry on.

Why surprised on seeing me alive
With heart a wreck, I carry on.

I may one day yet meet my Love
With this hope distant carry on

In love one parts with heart and life,
With such odd thoughts I carry on

Why cry for me, my fate, O friends,
With these your gifts, I carry on

Last page of life are couplets these
With these heart's wails I carry on

I'll meet my Love in the life next
With faith, Khalish, I carry on.

Silent exteriors always have turbulent interiors.
Does the opposite hold true?
Not always i presume

Getting lost in thots is a regular state of mind with me. This has had both its pros and cons. Its one way where in I get to brood over what’s happening with me in life, and help me get out of any tangled situation. On the other hand, during these pensive moments, I tend to just forget the world around me; a total zombie is what I am.

The worst victims of these mood swings are my car keys. Talking about my car, its my only prized possession in this whole world is my dear little car, some people tend to call it a toy car, whose bothered about their comments anyways. Its my second home, my pal, who listens to my grunting without a frown, only time I hear it grumble is when I am in my fowl mood and drive like a maniac. Else we are those two good friends who fell in love at the first sight.

It’s a simple car, without any of the modern day gadgets, no automatic lock blah blah. Well that’s the biggest drawback is what I have begun to understand now. I have time and again left my car keys inside the car and locked the door. I realize this only when its time to go out. I dig into my purse my tables at office and as an after thought look inside the car to see them grinning back at me. For a few days I was advised to carry the duplicate keys with me, but the wonderful person that I am, left the bag containing the duplicate keys and the other one in the ignition and walked out, banging the door after locking it. Wow u may say. But that’s me.

Last week, I walked out of the car, keys in my hand, came to the lift and realized that I have my access card in the car, walk back, leave the keys in the key hole and happily walk back. In the afternoon when I was going elsewhere with a friend, one of our company’s drivers asked me “Madam, are u looking for keys?”, I said no, I have them, He said, “Are u sure, they are with u? We found a key around here”. Suspiciously I start digging in my bag and then the keys are missing, Holy Shit is what I scream, and voila, the car keys are with those drivers. Well since they know my habit now, they check for my car now and then. If not for them, guess I would have lost my car till now. Surprisingly, this has happened only at office, never elsewhere, May be I know that my car is safe around here. But I remind myself that this is not a good habit ;).

Open Access Movement

The Free Online Scholarship (FOS) Newsletter, is accessible at https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OANews/Message/95.html

A blog on OAM, called Open Access News is also a good read.

aahat si koi aaye to lagta hai ke tum ho
saaya koi lehraye to lagta hai ke tum ho

jab shaakh koi haath lagate hi chaman mein
sharmaye, lachak jaaye,to lagta hai ke tum ho

Sandal se mehakti hui purkaif hawa ka
jhonka koi takraye,to lagta hai ke tum ho

Sacred Space, is the column which i never miss reading in TOI. An interesting story from the same column

DIVINE DESIGN

When I was little, my mother used to sew a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. As from the underside I watched her work within the boundaries of the little hoop that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat.

She’d smile at me, look down and gently say, ‘‘Son, you go about your playing and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side.’’ A few minutes would pass and then I would hear mother’s voice say, ‘‘Son come sit on my knee.’’ This I did only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or sunset. I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

Then mother would say to me. ‘‘My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realise that there was a plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing.’’ Many times through the years, I have looked up to heaven and said, ‘‘Father what are you doing?’’ He has answered, ‘‘I am embroidering your life.’’ I say, ‘‘But it looks like such a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can’t they all be bright?’’ The father seems to tell me, ‘‘My child, you go about your business of doing my business, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on my knee and you will see the plan from my side.’’

Confusion

Could someone please tell the authorities at The Hindu whose who.

The news item, talks about the Security threat to PM and features the Prez's details first. If u had seen the same pre-noon, then u would not have seen any details about the PM.

Slip of the mind is not the fault of the fingers they say!

Funny how people make promises and forget to stick to them.

Any rule to penalise them?

Every Monday as soon as the latest issue of "Outlook" lands on my table, i open the page which has the stratch card to find out what i have won....no prizes for guessing, each time its a blank.

What do i do when i find that i have not won anything, pull out the sticker and crush it beyond recognition. I laugh at myself for all these crazy antics.

The kid in me never ceases to exist....

Job Interview Answers for Tough Questions...
Question : Why did you leave your last job?
Real answer : It sucked.
Suggestion : I felt my talents and abilities were underutilized.

Question : What are your biggest weaknesses?
Real answer : I can't concentrate for more than five minutes, hate all forms of authority, and tend to fall asleep at my desk.
Suggestion : I'm a workaholic. I just don't know when to put down my work.

Question : You seem to have moved around a lot in a short amount of time. Why should we think you'll stay here any longer than you've stayed elsewhere?
Real answer : My employers have always had a hang-up about keeping only non-competent employees.
Suggestion : I'm at a point in my career where I am tired of moving around. I really want to feel part of a team, a long-term enterprise, where I can make a contribution.

Question : How do you handle change?
Real answer : I deal with it everyday unless I'm out of clean underwear.
Suggestion : I think everyone knows that today the only constant is change. I thrive on it.

Question : How do you get along with others?
Real answer : I hate people, as long as they stay out of my face.
Suggestion : I think the interpersonal dynamics of the work place can be among the most satisfying aspects of any job.


Question : What does the word failure mean to you?
Real answer : It means I continue to collect unemployment insurance, with the hope of a 6 month extension.
Suggestion : Failure? I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean. That word is not in my vocabulary.

Question: Do you get along with your current boss?
Real answer: I get along fine considering what kind of a malicious jerk he is.
Suggestion : I don't think I'd call him a boss; he's been more of a mentor to me.

Question : Do you ever get angry with coworkers?
Real answer : I don't get angry. I get even.
Suggestion : Nothing angers me more than to see a coworker not pulling his weight, goofing off, or stealing. Yes, sometimes I do get angry with coworkers.

Question: Can I contact your references?
Real answer : Sure, but they wont know who I am.
Suggestion : Maybe I can arrange to have them contact you.

Question: What words best describe you?
Real Answer: Genius, Horny, Dog, Clockwatcher, Unorganized, Lazy
Suggestion: Compassionate, Creative, Team player, Organized, Efficient

For all ur techocrats, herez a link which u will pounce upon..

Free books from O'Really, I mean O'Reilly, check it out!

Good Old days

Chatting with a friend yesterday we went into a flash back mode. To the days when Doordarshan was the only mode of entertainment. The umpteen shows on weekends, Wah Janab, Quiz time, Spiderman, the series of cartoons in the morning, Whats the good word?, Lucy Show, and not to mention the movie. That was the only mode of spending your time after regular affairs of the weekend. Homeworks, washing ur uniform, shoes blah blah stuff.

Come June, it was the Tennis season, French Open followed by Wimbeldon. The "Quite Please" followed by "thank You", would make the viewers also quite at their homes. The sadness when your fav player lost. The delight of watching your star win, the glee at having scored over ur neighbour at the bet, these were just some of the small pleasures in life. those few hours of television was enough to keep you entertained for hours.

Since that was the only platform, i presume that generation was witness to luminaries of the Art world. I remember watching Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Allah Rakha, Pandit Jasraj, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shiv Sharma, Ms Subbalakshmi perform. The performance would make me sit up amazed, that they can perform so well. Am still amazed at the way the flutist performs, i for one cannot control my breath movement. A total dud when it comes to performing arts.

I was reminded of all this stuff also by reading about Ustad Bismillah Khan and the news related to him. Strange is the way the media reacts. Every paper and magazine worth its salt has a news item on this great artist. I am personally a great fan of his and try my best to watch or listen to all his concerts. For me the best piece is the one in the movie "Gunj uthi Sehnai"...amazing, out of the world is what i would call it.

One such article about this maestro is in Outlook Which shows the other side of him. He to this day is taking care of more than 100 members of his family single handedly, apart from that funds for upcoming artist, the musicians when they are out of work, dependents of the deceased team mates. for a person of his caliber it is very easy to fall for the lure and settle abroad, but this simpleton prefers to live in his haveli with the entire khandan.. Wah Janab Wah!

Reading about these celebrities, makes you think about a lot of stuff. Their success stories, their hardships, their failures. Its their pure conviction that they can make a difference is what has got them to this stage. Each of these exemplary artist have carved a niche in the hearts of their admirers. Their fan following shall always remain strong, Unlike the stars of today, who vanish even before they are clear on the horizon.

A quote for all generations

"In case you're worried about what's going to become of the younger generation, it's going to grow up and start worrying about the younger generation."
-Roger Allen

Leading by Sharing the Light

The light within you is a gift to share with others to illuminate the vision, articulate the mission, leverage assets, map minefields, restore trust, and take small steps. Your talents grow when you share your ideas and experience with colleagues and then take action.


These are the opening lines of a journal called Executive Excellence. An real good magazine of leadership development and management related issues. Each issue is a treat to read. Unfortunately it has no web-format, I shall share the best articles with all of you some day.

Itssssssssss Frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddddddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Yippppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Do u say late realization? Well have had no time to read any blogs or any such TP work.... 13th the Friday has played havoc with me. Ask me how.

I placed a booking for Chalte Chalte on Monday, till last evening I was assured of the tickets and suddenly this afternoon I am told "Sorry sold out"...grrr...its not everyday that I decide to go for a first day first show types. Not that I am a HUGE Sharukh or Rani fan, just wanted to chill out. But the program went into a cold chill.

A friend’s birthday decided first for a dinner party, and then that came to a round of ice cream and ultimately, nothing at all. Work has taken precedence over friends. Another program falls flat on the face.

During the day a couple of scheduled meetings were called off, extra work laded on the already heavy shoulders, and all this being dealt with a smile. Guess that is what it counts at the end of the day!

Have a good weekend fellas...:)

It’s not everyday that I decide to leave office a wee bit early. But then when I decide (which is once in a green moon), I just do it...I dump the entire workload and walk off with a devil may care attitude.

Such was a day on Tuesday; I left office early, more so to finish a task, which was assigned to me at home some 4-5 weeks back. After finishing the task rather unsuccessfully. Listening to the tuneful melodies on Radio City, my devilish mind started wondering as to how do I spend the next couple hours, before I meet a friend for a round of cold coffee. It was about 5 p.m. and I decided to walk into British Library. Lost in my world of thots, I enter the premises to bang (literally) into a good old colleague. After the hi, howdy, he goes on to convey his condolence for the bereavement in my family, Now this touched my heart and also gave me a jolt (possibly the adage "Jolt off the blue")...here is a person who is seeing me after nearly a year and knows what’s happening around me, guess that’s what friends are for. We stood there chatting for nearly an hour, till the bell at the library said, u may please go, we are closed for the day. We re-exchanged our cell numbers and moved our ways, happy that we bumped into each other. I was at the coffee shop with the another friend for quite sometime (read it as 3 hours). With my cell phone ringing every 10 minutes, I could see the nasty look on my friend’s face, well such is the state of life.

I reach home to find that I have a cheque, which was long due from an investment made so 4-5 years back. It was a wonderful day for me, old ties renewed, friends who made me smile and to think of it, I had put a apology post that day :)

Such days filled with suprises are those which renew the energy in me.

REFLECTIONS

What does she see when she looks in the mirror?
Does she see that wonderful smile?
It radiates the face aglow!
Rather she sees two pouty lips
And lipstick with uneven flow.

What does she see when she looks in the mirror?
Does she see a beautiful soul?
A warm heart that can't be denied?
She thinks that she is coldhearted
At times, pushing her friends aside.

What does she see when she looks in the mirror?
Does she see a shapely figure?
A body that turns heads around?
Instead she sees a pile of clay,
Poured into an uncaring mound.

What does she see when she looks in the mirror?
If she could look through other's eyes.
She would then meet the closest one.
The friend who carried the baggage;
Her other self, the inside one.
-Fred Dampier

A sorry face

"There used to be a girl called Ayesha, do u know if she is alive?"
"Doston se baat na karna, khairiyat na pooch na, call na karna... aap to aise na the"
"Suna tha, waqt ke saath bahut kuch badal jata hai...magar aap mein itna badlaw, yeh nahi soocha tha..."
"Don't sacrifice your life to work and ideals. The most important things in life are human relationships..."

These are a few samples of the messages/mails, which I have been receiving from the past few weeks. And each time I hear or read these words, I realize that, I am committing a blunder, which is not excusable. When I look back I realize that I have been neglecting my friends, my dear blog, all the TP that I used to do, being bindass etc etc. Well, life took a massive jerk after Dad's death, and the thots are yet to get back to normal, its not an easy task to start life without a parent. Friends have been a great support during these tiring time and I have been nasty by being cold towards them.

All I would say is Sorry guys...u shall find ur friend back in form very soon....

Two news items, which kinda give me a jerk...ofcourse one dealing with Newton's laws...Indian researcher challenges Newton's law...would definately be interested in knowing the climax of this challenge.

Another was earth shattering if i may say, Survey.
The Survey findings are basically for the Western outfit, but u never know if this is already a fad in our country. God save our country.

A few heart touching lines from Javed Akthar, from "Tarkash"
The last two lines take the cake....

woh dhal raha hai,ye bhi rangat badal rahi hai,
zameen suraj ki ungliyon se phisal rahi hai,

jo mujhko zinda jala rahe hain woh bekhabar hain,
ki meri zanzeer dheere dheere pighal rahi hai,

main qatl to ho gaya tumhari gali main lekin,
mere lahu se tumhari deewr gal rahi hai,

na jalne pate the jinke chulhe bhi har savere,
suna hai kal raat se woh basti jal rahi hai,

main janta hoon ki khamshi main hi masalhat hai,
magar yahi maslahat mere dil ko khal rahi hai,

kabhi to insaan zindagi ki bhi karega izzat,
ye ek umeed aaj bhi dil main pal rahi hai,

[khamshi=khamaoshi, masalhat=samajhdari]

Life has got very hectic with work from the past few days, which has been quite prominent with the few uninteresting posts made over the last two weeks.

Life in a software company is very monotonous. There are many talented people but their talents get snubbed under the heavy pressure of coding. To get the talent of all these wonderful people around, we formed hobby clubs in our organization and on Friday we organized for a Musik and Dance festival. All of us were looking forward to this event, either to listen to the talent around, to unwind, to boo, and shout and hoot and just have some good time together.

Friday came and by 4 p.m all were set for the showdown. We had 3 good hours of entertainment. People sang, danced, played their favorite tunes with their favorite instruments. All inhibitions shed. After 2 hours of talents show, the dance floor was opened and do u need to invite people to jump in to dance? The regular dancers do jump into the foyer and also drag the people which four left feet (read that as me)…

At the end of the day, there were beaming face, contended smiles. And people saying, next time you organize for such a show, am gonna be on the other side of the stage. The Push and pull technology works so very well in life. The day was yet another beautiful "Image of life" :)

This is a really Unique Love letter...got that in the mail y'day and its pretty funny. But nothing to beat the Tapori's love letter.

Howdy Menaka,

I am actually a friend of Karunakaran on whose behalf I am penning this love epistle. Karunakaran wanted me to remind you that he is the pencil-line mustached
individual who sits behind you in Chemistry class.

Coming to the subject matter of a love letter, he seems to think that I would do a better job than he, albeit this is my first stab at one by proxy. And he wanted me to convey that he has a huge crush on you. Which pretty much sums up the letter. But he wants it to be at least a page long to seem proper and wants me
to throw in some flowery language and such to impress you. So let us meet in the next paragraph.

You should note that this poor fellow has been making numerous attempts at a love letter, the evidence of which remains in the wastepaper basket. Pity that love
must kill so many trees. I took a peek at the crumpled up pieces. He apparently had starting trouble, much like trying to jumpstart a motorbike on a cold
morning. He never got to the body of the letter...and seems to have put away a few glasses of the finest toddy in trying to come up with a good opening. Since
he has gone to bed with a severe hangover, let me give you a glimpse into his valiant efforts.

My Dear, Dear Menaka

My only dear Menaka

Meri pyaari Menaka

Pyaari pyaari Menaka

My Menaka dear

Dear Menaka

Hi Menaka

Menaka oh Menaka

My darling Menaka

Menaka darling

Sweetest Menaka

Goddess Menaka

Luscious Menaka

Menaka delish Menaka

Rup Tera Mustana Menaka...

I had told Karunakaran that in order for me to do justice to a love letter, I needed to know how you looked. He simply said, "She's a babe!" and proceeded
to hand me your photograph before dozing off.

Now I must say that you do look very cute. I can't tell if it's a blot on the snap or you have a mole over the right corner of your lip. In either case, it
is very attractive. I can imagine the mole moving delicately over to the side when you smile. And your wavy hair reminds me of a shampoo commercial; you
would have made a superb model. As for your eyes, they seem very pretty although the left one looks crooked owing to the fact that Karunakaran has been keeping
this picture in his pocket the last few days. I just can't wait to see you in person to give a more thorough rundown on your features. For now, I have taken a shot in the dark. You are a babe all right!

Well, this is about a page now. He will surely sign this and send it to you tomorrow. I hope you have a very very lovely day ahead !.

(Signed Karunakaran)

[Menaka -- Be aware that Karunakaran has this habit of having crushes every other week on a different girl. So if his crush wears off on you, please remember that
I am second in line. My name is Jolly, 5' 10-1/2 ", bad at maths but a pretty decent singer in the bathroom and a Shayar and guitarist too.The day we meet I will start adoring the air you exhale. Cheers.

The most fragile piece in the universe, the heart. People just dont take a damn when they break ur heart...

No wonder Reena Roy sang long long ago.."Sheesha hoya, dil ho...akhir toot jata hai..."

Work has taken over me completely, but there sure has been sometime to drop in to your blogs...:)

A poem which i read today and have been happy eversince...passing the buck to u.

MAN MAY BE HAPPY.
- PETER PINDAR.

"Man may be happy, if he will:"
I've said it often, and I think so still;
Doctrine to make the million stare!
Know then, each mortal is an actual Jove;
Can brew what weather he shall most approve,
Or wind, or calm, or foul, or fair.

But here's the mischief--man's an ass, I say;
Too fond of thunder, lightning, storm, and rain;
He hides the charming, cheerful ray
That spreads a smile o'er hill and plain!
Dark, he must court the skull, and spade, and shroud--
The mistress of his soul must be a cloud!

Who told him that he must be cursed on earth?
The God of Nature?--No such thing;
Heaven whispered him, the moment of his birth,
"Don't cry, my lad, but dance and sing;
Don't be too wise, and be an ape:--
In colors let thy soul be dressed, not crape.

"Roses shall smooth life's journey, and adorn;
Yet mind me--if, through want of grace,
Thou mean'st to fling the blessing in my face,
Thou hast full leave to tread upon a thorn."

Yet some there are, of men, I think the worst,
Poor imps! unhappy, if they can't be cursed--
Forever brooding over Misery's eggs,
As though life's pleasure were a deadly sin;
Mousing forever for a gin
To catch their happiness by the legs.

Even at a dinner some will be unblessed,
However good the viands, and well dressed:
They always come to table with a scowl,
Squint with a face of verjuice o'er each dish,
Fault the poor flesh, and quarrel with the fish,
Curse cook and wife, and, loathing, eat and growl.

A cart-load, lo, their stomachs steal,
Yet swear they can not make a meal.
I like not the blue-devil-hunting crew!
I hate to drop the discontented jaw!
O let me Nature's simple smile pursue,
And pick even pleasure from a straw.

The never ending 5 mins...

A few quotes in my mailbox, which greeted me this confused morning...

Ability Natural abilities can almost compensate for the want of every kind of cultivation, but no cultivation of the mind can make up for the want of natural abilities. -- Arthur Schopenhauer 1788-1860, German Philosopher

Discipline
Temperance is a bridle of gold. -- Burton

Motivation
What we see depends mainly on what we look for. -- Sir John Lubbock 1834-1913, British Statesman

Success
Everybody loves success, but they hate successful people. -- John McEnroe 1959-, American Tennis Player

Work
I have long been of the opinion that if work were such a splendid thing the rich would have kept more of it for themselves. -- Bruce Grocott 1940-, British Labor Politician

Love
Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship, never. -- Charles Caleb Colton 1780-1832, British Sportsman Writer

Knowledge
What is not fully understood is not possessed. -- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe 1749-1832, German Poet

Belief
Human beliefs, like all other natural growths, elude the barrier of systems. -- George Eliot 1819-1880, British Novelist

Change
We don't change what we are, we change what we think what we are. -- Eric Butterworth

Men & Women
When men and women are able to respect and accept their differences then love has a chance to blossom. -- John Gray American Relationship Expert

"When a country ceases to be merely a country and becomes an empire, then the scale of operations changes dramatically. ... I speak as a subject of the American Empire. I speak as a slave who presumes to criticise her king." -- Arundhati Roy

A wonderful article by her, which is the cover story on Outlook.

Is friendship all about "doing" and not "telling" or "tell and do"?
Do u need to prove time and again, in any relationship, your credentials, your approach, your committment?

Life is full of questions and not correct answers......

Microsoft and Laloo Prasad Yadav

Laloo Prasad sent his Bio Data - to apply for a post in Microsoft Corporation, USA. A few days later he got this reply :
"Dear Mr. Laloo Prasad,

You do not meet our requirements. Please do not send any further correspondence. No phone call shall be entertained.
Thanks"

Laloo prasad jumped with joy on receiving this reply. He arranged a party and when all the guests had come, he said: "Bhaiyon aur Behno, aap ko jaan kar khushi hogee ki hum ko Amereeca mein naukri mil gayee hoon." Everyone was delighted.

Laloo prasad continued......
"Ab main aap sab ko apnaa Appointment letter padkar sunaongaa - par letter angreeze main hai - isliyen saath-saath hindi main translate bhee karoonga.

Dear Mr. Laloo Prasad ..... Pyare Laloo prasad bhaiyya
You do not meet ---- aap to miltay hee naheen ho
our requirement ---- humko to zaroorat hai
Please do not send any furthur correspondance ---- ab Letter vetter bhej ne ka kaouno zaroorat nahee.
No phone call ---- phoonwa ka bhee zaroorat nahee hai
shall be entertained ---- bahut khaatir kee jayegi.
Thanks ---- aapkaa bahut bahut dhanya

Khazaan ki rut mein lamha e jamaal kaesay aa giya
Yeh aaj phir singhaar ka khayaal kaesay aa giya

Abhi to dhoop rozan e qafas say kauson door thi
Abhi say aaftaab ko zawaal kaesay aa giya

Hansee ko apnee sun k aik baar mein bhi chonk uthee
Yeh mujh mein dukh chupanay ka kamaal kaesay aa giya

(Parveen shakir)

Oppression against women is a common phenomenon, be it a developed nation or an under developed nation. A few fight this oppression and a few just make this their fate and go along with life. Those who fight it out are labelled as the rebels and many a times, their acts are debated. But it sure takes some spirit to come out of the oppression and yell to the world that "I am not gonna take it any longer".

TOI in its editorial today gives the story of a girl in UP who walked sent her prospective groom to jail for making unreasonable dowry demands, they mention that "Ultimately, it is women who must determine what a woman's worth is. "...how very true, both in specific and generalised terms.

This is one of the regular chain mail which reaches our mail box, but there is something really good in this piece

As I was walking down life's highway many years ago. I came upon a sign that read
Heavens Grocery Store.

When I got a little closer the doors swung open wide And when I came to myself I was standing inside. I saw a host of angels.They were standing everywhere

One handed me a basket and said "My child shop with care." Everything a human needed was in that grocery store. And what you could not carry you could come back for more First I got some Patience. Love was in that same row. Further down was Understanding,you need that everywhere you go. I got a box or two of Wisdom and Faith a bag or two. And Charity of course I would need some of that too. I couldn't miss the Holy Ghost It was all over the place. And then some Strength and Courage to help me run this race. My basket was getting full but I remembered I needed Grace, And then I chose Salvation for Salvation was for free I tried to get enough of that to do for you and me.

Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill, For I thought I had everything to do the Masters will. As I went up the aisle I saw Prayer and put that in, For I knew when I stepped outside I would run into sin. Peace and Joy were plentiful, the last things on the shelf. Song and Praise were hanging near so I just helped myself.

Then I said to the angel "Now how much do I owe?" He smiled and said "Just take them everywhere you go." Again I asked "Really now, How much do I owe?"
"My child" he said, "God paid your bill a long long time ago."

A good read

First Monday peer-reviewed journals on the Internet, solely devoted to the Internet and related technologies. A good read for the tech savy brigade.

Give a man an inch and he will call himself a RULER.....

Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?
--Mary Manin Morrissey author

If u ask me, i have released my non-existant brain, and now i am completely lost ;)

All i need now is a huge bowl of Cake fudge to get myself up and running......

He:Just out of college and no credentials worth mentioning, how would u prove your standing for the job? Neither do u have experience nor any outstanding credentials?
Me: Unless and until u give me a chance to prove my capability, how i can prove myself to you. Agreed I am not a big Don at the University, but with time comes experience
He: But at the end of the year, the students will be your competitors, you are too young and just out of college, there is a long way for you to go
Me: Yeah i realise i have got into a tunnel at the end of which i see no light, I am sure, i will have no competition from my students, i would have considerable experience by then
He:Ayesha, there are two things, good and not good, from your academic records i see you have stood first for the Univ, excelled in ur curricular activities. Now you are doing a course which is a added bonus to ur degree. There is no doubt that you are good...(a brief pause)
Me: (The ever impatient...) but no so good, thanks a lot Sir
He: (cutting me mid way and shocked at my outburst), No, No i don't mean to discourage you, You are young, just out of college and there is a long way to go, from the session (which lasted nearly half an hour of questions and answers), i see a great potential in you. You got the right attitude which will take you to greater altitude. We shall tell you what our decision is.
Me: (feed up of the entire episode)...Thanks a lot Sir, (walks out with a humph)

On this day 4 years back, i attended this interview, the "he" here is the VC of my univ. A interview which surely shook the entire board and tested my patience. The requirement was for a Lecture with no experience, but all through the interview, stress was on experience and proving ur capability. And when the board was questioned how can u ask a fresher to prove their capability, unless given a chance, all u got in turn was a balnk look...These are the times which make u feel like changing the entire educational system.

Eitherways, lucky for me, i ended up as the second preferred candidate in the interview, possibly they did not want a rebel to be teaching at the masters program. A wonderful and memorable experience nevertheless.

"If I knew he was so fussy about food, I would never had marrIed hIm"

These were the words I heard from a friend y'day, In response to hows married life is going. Since I know both of them pretty well, I know how passionate he is about good food and how she hates cooking.

Each one of us are passionate about food, and love to eat good home made food. After all u "Live to eat, and eat to live". Unlike my friend, not all ladies hate the idea of cooking, its the greatest stress buster, and the best returns are the contented look after having the meal.

Don't they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?

Was wondering Whats the way to a woman's heart...any guess?

jin kaa sach honaa kisii suurat se bhii mumkin na thaa
aisii aisii baate.n aksar sochanaa achchhaa lagaa

vo to kyaa aataa magar Khush_fahamiyo.n ke saath saath
saarii saarii raat ham ko jaaganaa achchhaa lagaa

pahale pahale to nigaaho.n me.n ko_ii jachataa na thaa
raftaa raftaa duusaraa phir tiisaraa achchhaa lagaa

The voice (TV) : Madam, I have a message for u, your husband had called.
Me(literally jumping out of my seat) : Message for me from whom?, have u got the right number
TV: Ayesha madam, message for you from ur husband, he said he will call back later.
Me : What rubbish, are u sure it was for me, FYI, I am not married
TV: oopps, correct, then how can ur husband call u? How did i forget u are still single?
Me: Listen, Better clean your ears and don't give me such stupid messages.
TV: Am sorry, but that person said,...eitherways, Sorry.
Me: Guess some one has fooled u and the duffer that u are have fallen for it.
TV : Probably (Still in a state of shock, hangs up)

It was a perfect end to a sultry and sweaty day. The city got a pristine look after the lovely shower.What a sight it was, thunder lightning and the sudden downpour. Its a delight to be driving around at such a time, with some wonderful soft music playing in the background...The lovely weather continues today as well.

The best part of summer are dewy morning, cool evenings (both of which give a feeling of "Its wonderful weather today" ), the air is filled with the gorgeous smell of jasmine, the magnificent flavour of the kind of fruit in air, loads of ice-creams, cool cool lassi.

Why don't we enjoy the wonderful things around instead of complaining of the steaming weather at the end of the day?

Marketing tips

The CEO of KFC manages to arrange a meeting with the Pope at the Vatican. After receiving the papal blessing, he whispers, "Your eminence, we have an offer for you". KFC is prepared to donate $100 million dollars to the church if you change the Lord's Prayer from 'give us this day our daily bread' to, 'give us this day our daily chicken.'
     
The Pope responds, "That is impossible. The Prayer is the word of the Lord - it must not be changed".
"Well," says the KFC man, "We anticipated your reluctance. For this reason, we will increase our offer to $300 million dollars. All we require is that you change the Lord's Prayer from 'give us this day our daily bread' to 'give us this day our daily chicken.'

Again, the Pope replies, "That, my son, is impossible. For the prayer is the word of the Lord and it must not be changed."
Finally, the KFC guy says, "Your Holiness, we at KFC respect your adherence to your faith, but we do have one final offer. We will donate $500 million dollars - that's half a billion dollars - to the great Catholic church if you would only change the Lord's Prayer from 'give us this day our daily bread' to 'give us this day our daily chicken.' Please consider it." And he leaves.

The next day the Pope convenes the College of Cardinals. "There is some good news," he announces, "and some bad news." "The good news is that the Church will come into $500 million dollars". "And the bad news, your Eminence?" asks a Cardinal. "We're losing the Modern Bread Account."

Was at a temple last evening, and what a hungama the so called caretakers of God were creating....ridiculous...

In an alien town, i am enroute to cruise through new dimensions of knowledge...must say am enjoying my self.

The vacancy

"I hope you will be there at my wedding, the greatest gift for me would be the presence of your family".

These words touched the hearts of each one of us at home. What was more touchy was the fact that this guy makes it a point to talk to each and everyone of us, from the eldest in the family to the youngest. Since i was not in town (all this happening in Mysore), he called me on the cell and said, please be there, and since its a Sunday, am sure u will be here and please don't miss the occasion.

Well, this is no relative or a friend. This guy used to work as a helper in the hostel where my Brother-in-law was the warden. After Jiju left that responsibility, this guy also followed suit and started on with life with different means of living. A very sweet fellow, always ready to help, no matter what time or occasion. He is no less than a family member in my jiju's household. And ofcourse is dear to all the kids, for helping them in their mischievous endeavors. He is a replica of Courtney Walsh, as far as looks go, and has a heart of gold. Has single handedly taken care of a huge family.

Its very weird how you get connected to people, how small things mean so much. Each time this guy helps us, we send a silent prayer to Almighty wishing, that he is granted all his wishes. Genuinely its these kind of people which make it so good to live in, and unknowingly, they teach us to many lessons which no school would impart to us.

A long due change in the blog layout happened y'day. Thanks to the comments on how bad my blog looks, made me sit up and do the job. Then realised that i could be changing my blog. Thanks buddy for the much needed push.

Happy World Book Day to all the book lovers :))

Life and Time

Love the earth and sun and animals,
Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labor to others...
And your very flesh shall be a great poem.

-- Walt Whitman

I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.

Jack London

Happy Earth Day

Its a new day...its a new week...yeap am back to work with a renewed level of enthu and energy. Not to mention i had a good weekend, spent lazing in the rustic locales of rural Karnataka. Was at a farm house and the mangoes had my mouth watering...sad they were all unripe...just cannot wait to lay my hands till they are ripe. :)

I open my mail box to be greeted by Mythri's (my dear friend, who keeps showering me with wonderful mails, in spite of me not writing very regularly to her) mail, about her trip to the Callaway Gardens...Amazing set of photographs. Raj (her husband) and she have a penchant for photographing gardens. Check the Travel folder in her Photos Album where, Mythri plays magic with her camera.

Am sure you will fall in love with nature all over again. :)

Its holiday season again...yeah a long weekend after a long time. Whats the plan for the long weekend is the question in the air?. The adventurous sorts are out on a trek, the family people out on a short holiday with family, bachelors and spinsters planning a jamming sessions, the not so active people hopping to have a relaxed weekend and lazy gang, just hoping that they can have their share of fun. And people like me still wondering how best the three days can be spent. Spend the day chatting, reading, bugging, spending time with friends. Before you can even blink, wink and squeak, the holiday would be over. Happy time guys.

A statement which got me thinking.. “Nothing happens by accident in the life, there is always a reason for what happens bad or good, and that reason, most of the time, is you! The place that you are today is the result of all the choices, decisions and actions that you have made in your past.”

There is so much of truth in this statement. Some of us give pleasure in giving others the credit for what we are and say, “Yes, it’s because of this person we are here”. Very often we fail to realize, the major role in us reaching the place is our hard work and potential which has brought us here, and of course, the catalyst has to be there and it’s a imperative part of every life. We all need that certain tug and push and pull in life. There will be a huge group of people who would always want to take pride in the grooming or growing of a person, so be it, give the devil its due. But hog the limelight and the applaud for urself.

Today the mood is very shayarana....a small doze to you guys as well.

kyaa huaa teraa har ik roz mujhe Khat likhanaa

kyaa huaa teraa har ik roz mujhe Khat likhanaa
aur Khat me.n dil-e-betaab kii haalat likhanaa

merii Khaatir shab-e-furqat me.n na sonaa teraa
merii yaado.n me.n pareshaa.N saa honaa teraa
aur phir Khat me.n shab-e-hijr kii baabat likhanaa
kyaa huaa teraa har ik roz mujhe Khat likhanaa

vo sar-e-shaam Khayaalo.n me.n mere kho jaanaa
aur phir Khud hii teraa sharm_saar ho jaanaa
vo akele me.n mujhe pyaar bharaa Khat likhanaa
kyaa huaa teraa har ik roz mujhe Khat likhanaa

kis liye to.D diye tuune sabhii ahad-e-vafaa
kyaa hue vaade muhabbat ke bataa kuchh to bataa
kis liye chho.D diyaa tuu ne mujhe Khat likhanaa
kyaa huaa teraa har ik roz mujhe Khat likhanaa

It’s so strange; people close to you realize that there is something wrong and take u by surprise when they decide to call you.
It’s so strange, that a call can change your mood and perception for a while.
Strange is the fact that when you make friends, you never take an oath to be there, always, during good time and bad. Its a commitment which comes as a package with the person, a relationship with no strings attached.

It isn't strange that the people who can make you smile through your tears are your friends, people whose shoulder is always there, to drop ur head and cry or hold u stomach and laugh.

A thanks to these wonderful people is returned through a huge smile or a big handshake or a bear hug....Imagining life without these people is a nightmare by itself.

maa(Mother)
Nida Fazli

besan kii so.ndhii roTii par, khaTTii chaTanii jaisii maa.N
yaad aatii hai chaukaa-baasan, chimaTaa phukanii jaisii maa.N

baa.Ns kii khurrii khaaT ke uupar, har aahaT par kaan dhare
aadhii so_ii aadhii jaagii, thakii dopaharii jaisii maa.N

chi.Diyo.n ke chahakaar me.n gu.Nje, raadhaa-mohan alii-alii
murGe kii aavaaz se khulatii, ghar kii ku.nDii jaisii maa.N

bivii, beTii, bahan, pa.Dosan, tho.Dii tho.Dii sii sab me.n
din bhar ik rassii ke uupar, chalatii naTanii jaisii maa.N

baa.NT ke apanaa cheharaa, maathaa, aa.Nkhe.n jaane kahaa.N ga_ii
phaTe puuraane ik alabam me.n, cha.nchal la.dakii jaisii maa.N

I share my birthday (30 dec) with the following people (the list is still huge though)

0039 Titus 10th Roman emperor (79-81), conqueror of Jerusalem
1851 Asa Griggs Candler developed Coca-Cola
1865 Rudyard Kipling Bombay, author (Jungle Book, Gunga Din-Nobel 1907)
1872 William A Larned tennis champion (US Open-1901)
1879 Sri Ramana Maharshi Hindu philosopher/yogi (Maharshi Research Institute)
1880 Alfred Einstein German/US musicologist/nephew of Albert Einstein
1883 Mary Forbes Hornsey England, actress (Terror by Night)
1884 Tojo Hideki Japanese PM during WWII
1884 Karl Heinrich David composer
1905 Emmanuel Levinas philosopher
1907 Robert Grant Grant-Ferris politician
1910 Dennis Morgan actor (Cattle Town, Canyon Pass, Waterfront)
1913 Svend Simon Schultz composer
1918 W Eugene Smith US photographer (Saipan, Walk to Paradise Garden)
1927 Bernard Barrow New York NY, actor (Ryan's Hope, Louie Slavinsky-Loving)
1931 Richard Christ writer
1934 Barry Briggs New Zealand auto maker (World Champion 1957, 58, 64, 66)
1935 Omar [Albert B] Bongo President of Gabon (1967- )
1948 Surinder Amarnath cricketer (son of Lala 124 on debut vs New Zealand 1976)
1949 Bruce Davidson equestrian 3-day (Olympics-silver-96)
1950 Yunus I Mahomed South African attorney/leader (UDF)
1961 Ben Johnson 100 meter runner (Olympics-gold-1988-disqualified)
1965 Brad McNamara cricketer (New South Wales all-rounder)
1975 Tiger Woods golfer

Source

Answer time

1. Tom & Jerry
2. Dennis the Menace
3. William Danby Hanna and Joseph Roland Barbera
4. Popeye the Sailor man
5. Peanuts by Charles Schulz
6.Garfield
7.Calvin & Hobbes
8.Beetle Bailey
9.Hagar the Horrible
10.Blondie

Toon Crazy folks, take this quiz

For all u boys and girls who are toon crazy, heres a small quiz, send in ur replies to me

1. He was born with another name, this character evolved into one of the most popular Cartoons to this day. He has an opponent who always outwits him. Theirs is a love-hate relationship. His opponent is cunning enough to read his mind and look at blue prints set for capturing him, which famous pair are we talking here?

2. Each March, this kid blows out the candles on the cake and becomes younger by a year. Has been as very successful in TV serials, movies as on the newspaper strip. Which character are we talking about?

3. We are talking of a duo here; the first one was born on 1910, studied engineering briefly before a lack of finances forced him to end his studies. The talent for drawing is what fetched this person the dividends in life. The second person was born a year later, worked at a law firm and before he started his career as a cartoonist Together they hold a record of creating over 200 cartoons and won several Oscar’s for it.

4. Robin Williams immortalized this character in a Hollywood flick. This was the first character ever immortalized in public sculpture. A particular industry credited and saving due to the habits of this character. He went on to replace the most popular mouse on his way to the top. Which character are we talking about?

5. A great debut which featured in 7 newspapers, this team was animated in 1957, ran as a Broadway Musical for a period of 5 years, was adopted by NASA as a promotional device, and has a painting of the entire gang in a famous museum. Which cartoon strip are we talking about?

6. He’s a genius when it comes to eating, his debut was hanging on the screen door complaining he is "bored, bored, bored, bored"...etc. When something finally does happen. Also on a hot day he clops around in ice-cube tray as shoes. Orders for coffee over Internet, who are we talking about?

7. A strong advocate of doing “nothing”, His says that the problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present. While acting as a vegetable he ruined the play because he was stuck in the washing room. Together with his mate he makes u laugh with his wise cracks. He is named after a theologian who believed in predestination and his companion named after a philosopher. Which famous characters are we talking about?

8. His creation was an accident, which came at a time when America was in a conflict with an Asian country, an error that turned very good for all readers. Stationed at an unusual place, this character is very lazy and always running himself into problem. His sister and brother form another cartoon strip of their own. which is still running successfully. The strip is a melting pot of outrageous characters that have become stars in their own right. Which comic strip are we talking about?

9. He has worldwide recognition, traveled 58 countries and speaks 13 languages. He makes an appearance everyday in 1,900 newspapers. He is a devoted family man and a reluctant taxpayer and has a huge appetite. Who is he?

10. She transformed from flighty flapper into loving wife and, eventually, mother. Warm, gentle, loving and supportive of her husband and her children, she's spent many years as a model housewife. She shocked her husband when she decided to join the work force. Always there to rescue her husband, who went on a hunger strike, defied his parents to make her life partner. Their second child was named after a reader’s contest. They together have survived decades through war and peace, boom and bust, revolution and social upheaval. Who is she?

For all the Peanuts fan....this site is an amazing tribute to the Charles Schulz.

Your Thought and Mine

Your thought is a tree rooted deep in the soil of tradition and whose branches grow in the power of continuity.
My thought is a cloud moving in the space. It turns into drops which, as they fall, form a brook that sings its way into the sea. Then it rises as vapour into the sky. Your thought is a fortress that neither gale nor the lightning can shake.
My thought is a tender leaf that sways in every direction and finds pleasure in its swaying.
Your thought is an ancient dogma that cannot change you nor can you change it.
My thought is new, and it tests me and I test it morn and eve.
You have your thought and I have mine.

Khalil Gibran (1883-1931)

Check your DQ...dumb quotient...take this test...and laugh aloud at the results ;)

At last the day arrived and I was at the premiere of The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers yesterday. It was a wonderful experience, the film I must say was much better than the first one and the element of suspense was better here than what it was in the first part. Just cannot wait for Part 3 now :)

This is indeed the war of worlds, where gallantry is seen as glorious and wickedness spits fire. The sage of quest has now turned into one of battle for survival. The utterly confused Frodo protected and encouraged by Sam are marvelous in their roles. And the twin tongue Gollum keeps you wondering what the hell is this creature up to?

The sets amazing, the scenery marvelous, the graphics would make u wonder if they are for real. Its a treat to watch and you would be kept wondering to what great heights can Technology, innovation and imagination go further.

And thanks Harris for the wonderful company…:)

Capricorn is the leader of the Earth signs. Here is a stabilizing force, one of the hardest-working signs of the Zodiac.

The Mountain Goat has intense powers of self-concentration, but not in an egotistical sense. Members of this sign find a great deal more confidence what they do than in who they are. Earth hangs tough when it comes to stabilization, so achievement provides that stability and structure.

Capricorn is one very high-achiever! Without balance, however, Capricorn can become too rigid -- as in the tall palm tree, falling to the ground, under heavy wind-gusts. To be able to move with the winds of change, the Mountain Goat must bend and flex a little bit! That makes life much easier.

Capricorn can also focus too much on achievement. Then they forget the little joys in life. When the Goat finally relaxes and enjoys life, his or her most delightful secrets emerge. No one has a better sense of humor than the Capricorn. Oh, that Cap might let us bask in that warm smile! :-)

Its rightly said, "Where there is a will, there is a way". Read this news article and the reports of the Iraqi blogger.

To my few "why's" y'day, Sampada and the rest of them gave me some answers. But as Khushee rightly pointed out, life is full of questons without answers. Not that i was looking for some perfect answers, these were thots that were at abundance at the moment and they went prompt on the blog. A formal note of thanks to all of u who found time to leave your comment and also to those who could not.

One of my q's y'day was Why do always want to win? Isn't defeat another way of winning?...not many may agree. But i still feel that when u don't win, u learn a lot in your defeat and that a big victory by itself.

A bag full of questions

Why do we always want the world to go according to our terms and conditions?
Why do we force our views and thoughts on the world?
Why do we always expect our loved ones not to hurt us?
Why do always want to win? Isn't defeat another way of winning?
Why do you always want your friends to call u, why not u take the call first?

Am a big bundle of if, buts and whys today....my idea of monday blues ;)

Yipppeeeee....am on top of the world, Reasons

1. India is in the finals, Sunday aayega maaza....
2. The TGIF feeling....yeap its frrriiiidddaaaay,
3. Am going for the Lord of the Rings - the two towers, premiere next thursday....

Uhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooo....cannot wait for Thursday :)

There is a strange silence in the air, a certain worried look on every face, uncertainty written large over the entire world.
Is it due to the ensuing cricket match or the war, which is happening in the gulf?
I donno.

May God save all those unfortunate lives who have to face wrath of war for no reason whatsoever.

A cute little story, but with a big moral...Pray, Aim High & Stay Focussed

There once was a man who had nothing for his family to eat. He had an old shotgun and three bullets. So, he decided that he would go out and kill something for dinner. As he went down the road, he saw a rabbit and he shot at the rabbit and missed it. Then he saw a squirrel and fired a shot at the squirrel and missed it. As he went further, he saw a wild turkey in the tree and he had only one bullet, but a voice came to him and said "Pray first, Aim high and stay focused."

However, at the same time, he saw deer which was a better kill. He brought the gun down and aimed at the deer. But, then he saw a rattle snake between his legs about to bite him, so he naturally brought the gun down further to shoot the rattle snake. Still, the voice said again to him, "I said 'Pray, Aim high and stay focused."

So, the man decided to listen to the voice. He prayed, then aimed the gun high up in the tree and shot the wild turkey. The bullet bounced off the turkey and killed the deer. The handle fell off the gun and hit the snake in the head and killed it. And, when the gun had gone off, it knocked him into a pond. When he stood to look around, he had fish in all his pockets, a dead deer and a turkey to eat. The snake was dead simply because the man listened to GOD

Moral of the story: Pray first before you do anything, Aim and shoot high in your goals, and stay focused on GOD.

The boss is back...aab aayega maaza...

This was the Most Beautiful Flower
by Cheryl Costello-Forshey

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read,
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.

Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down,
And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn down not enough rain, or too little light,
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side,
And placed the flower to his nose and declared
with overacted surprise, "It smells pretty and it's beautiful too.
That's why I picked it; here it's for you!"

The weed before me was dying or dead. Not vibrant of colours, orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.

So I reached for the flower and replied, "Just what I need."
But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.

It was then that I noticed for the very first time,
That the weed-toting boy could not see, he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun,
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.

"You're welcome" he smiled and then ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he's had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see,
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know about my self-indulged plight?

Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.
Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see,

The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,

I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that's mine.
And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose and breathed in the fragrance
of a beautiful rose. And I smiled as I watched that young boy,
another weed in his hand, About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

It is indeed strange that, small incidents or you may say view can get you back to your spirits, recharge you with unbounded energy and gear you up for the rest of the day.

Last evening as I was driving to a dinner party, I was not in the best of my moods and I did not want that to be very prominent and spoil the party. I was telling myself cheer up cheer up, but the adamant me was not relenting to the inner me’s plea to smile. At that minute, I was driving on the ring road, which is perpendicular to the runway of the Bangalore Airport. I was witness to the take off and landing of two aircraft’s, the one which was on the way out of Bangalore was quite far away, but the one which was landing, literally, flew over my car, I could see the tires and the lights blinding me for a while. It charged me up and I thot, it will land on my car. But that did not happen (else u would not be reading a blog written by me ;)), what happened was that I was wonder stuck by the way the aircraft landed, have been a witness to many landings and take off, but not this way. Phew! It was lovely. I was as excited as a kid is after seeing something just out of the world, laughing with excitment and like a magician waving his wand over me, I was back to my normal self, thrilled to bits that I saw such a wonderful view. Also led me to imagine what the scene must be at JFK, where aircraft’s land by the minute.

Not to mention we had a wonderful party last night. :)

Not very long, a group of people meet, to exchange more ideas and to see who is the face behind the writing...or do I say behind the blog. The group dispersed with the promise that they shall meet again, very soon. But then like the promise of a politician, this too passed away.

Arise awake the bloggers of Bangalore, when are we meeting again? Am sure there must be quite a few more people from Bangalore, who have joined the bandwagon...

I suggest we meet this Sunday for the 2nd session of BBC...what say?

Bahut mayoos baitha hoon main tum se, Kabhi aa kar mujhe hairat mein daalo
Saari raat to sapne dekhe Subah ko ye mehsoos hua, Hamne apna sar takraya ik pathar se saari raat

----------------------
kuchh din to baso merii aa.Nkho.n me.n - phir Khvaab agar ho jaao to kyaa

koii rang to do mere chehare ko - phir zaKhm agar mahakaao to kyaa

ik aaiinaa thaa so TuuT gayaa - ab Khud se agar sharmaao to kyaa

mai.n tanahaa thaa mai.n tanahaa huu.N - tum aao to kyaa na aao to kyaa

jab ham hii na mahake phir saahib - tum baad-e-sabaa kahalaao to kyaa

jab dekhane vaalaa koii nahii.n - bujh jaao to kyaa jal jaao to kyaa

-- Obaidullah Aleem

“There is fire within…nothing burns brighter, nothing radiates more brilliance, nothing kindles her being…nothing makes her what she is…Strong, Passionate, Driven and…she loves who she is - The Woman of yesterday, today and tomorrow

Easygoing and Charming
Serene and Sensitive
Happy and Free spirited
Confident and Comfortable
Motivated and defined by an Inner Voice
With dreams and Beliefs are kindled by an inner fire!

Happy Women's day to all the Women of the world...

Mythri and me are friends for nearly a decade and keeping in tune with technology, our communication has moved from snail mail to e-mail to chat. A couple of days back she sends me this long mail, which is a review of The lion king broadway musical. For a staunch fan like me of Lion King, i felt like jumping out of office and watch this musical, but i wonder if i would ever get the opportunity, eitherways here is the review for u to read and relive the sensation of Simba. Thanks Mythri for the wonderful description. :)

"Last sunday, we were at the lion king musical. i can't praise it enough. my mind is still in a whirl. it was exactly the same story as the movie. but had more songs and dialogues. for eg, the monkey wizard is a well nourished african woman who sings long lovely songs in some african dialect all the time. and she makes fun of things, she walks in front of the stage, sees the curtain and says "hmm..looks like a kmart shower curtain". she mooned(ok, she had her costume on but the costume had a large red patch like the backside of a monkey) simba when he refused to go back to the pride. imagine a 50+ inch backside mooning. She did it with so much panache, the audience roared. It was 2.66 hrs long. it is an amazing adaptation. There is a mixture of true-to-animal-world as well as pretend-animal-people. i.e. people actually having animal costumes and prancing on 4 limbs and people with masks walking around like humans. the hyenas were played EXACTLY like the cartoon ones, 3 young men who had extensions on their arms and jumped around on them rather feeble-brainedly. the lions were real people with masks who danced human jazz like dances. young simba and young nala were little kids who somersaulted. zazu was a clown in a blower hat with a hand puppet that looks like the bird. he moved that puppet around so realistically(i mean, so true to the cartoon) and managed to somersault while doing it. There were 320 animal props--toys, etc. the stage
set up was amazing, lots of remote controlled toys gliding across the stage to show things. and a huge (60 ft diameter) round orange silk cloth that they slowly unfolded on the stage to show the sun. and this lovely set of steps that curved around itself to make pride rock. if you get a chance to see it, DONT MISS IT EVER. its the best musical i have seen and i have seen quite a few.

The acting was amazing, the voice production and the singing simply superb. the costumes were nice. not too garish, not too simple. the sets was GREAT. imagine
translating the wildbeest stampede. and making it look like the beast are heading towards you. There were people flying in the air dancing like sprites for the "can you feel the love tonight" song. Check out the Disney Site for some pix and descriptions better than mine."

First things first...Many Happy Returns of the day, to the F1 crazy fan...

The Driver of the Auto I came in today called me Cousin of Vasco-Da-Gama...he literally had me jumping out of the auto with the compliment.... And why did I get the compliment, because I showed him a new route to reach the great Airport Road in Bangalore. There I was enriching someone early in the day and am feeling good after transferring some good info to a fellow being :)

Success and Failure are according to me two faces of the same coin...you either face success or u end up with a failure and each failure is a stumbling block for the next try at success...Same goes for being happy or sad and ofcourse, life is all about being happy, sad, success and failure. This reminds me of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson....

" To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Have been doing loads of research these days, topics range from Banking to Insurance to places of visit. On one such jog over the net, found this site, Lonely Planet which is wonderful one giving details of all the countries blah blah. while i was enjoying the site, one bit of information made me shiver with fright...read on, let me tell u it might not be very digestable reading...take care