Making "Reality"....

I am ardent lover of Music and Dance and readily connect to any kind of art forms. This is one of the very obvious reasons that I watch every damn reality show ( singing, dancing shows aired with no language barrier) that have swept Indian television in recent times. Last weekend, I was at my friends place and we had planned with great excitement to watch couple of grand finales (of music shows) that were lined up.

One of the finale we watched was the hunt for a "Chote Ustaad" in singing which kick started at 7:00 in the night. The first hour was really a joyous journey with 2 amazingly talented girls singing to glory - the best known melodies and dance numbers. This was the first time 2 girls have made it to the final. The second hour also filled us with a sense of elation wondering how tough it would have been for the gals who were <=14 to keep enthralling the crowd by being upto the mark in singing and showcasing their talent. Slowly third and eventually fourth hour also crept in and there was no sign of announcing the winner of the evening. We started getting impatient. This is a show which had tested the contestants for months now and was it really needed to toil the kids so much for an advertising stint???!!!

The comparer, who was also a poor Junior of the same show sometime ago, kept on hinting that the coming up song was the "Last" performance and there never seemed to be an end. It was very evident that the girls were lip syncing the songs since singing no longer remained "SINGING" anymore. It has adorned a new element of glitter, gloss and movement. They have to sing, dance, act and do everything possible, to catch the attention of the audiences, which can’t go right in an open air stadium when you have a finale stretching for 5 hours and there are lakhs of eyes watching them. Surely it is no longer a question of proving their talent but keeping the crowd and sponsors happy whose money is at stake. Do they have to do this in the name of a reality show???!!!

Things dont stop there. India being a "Celebrity craving" society, no show is ever complete without named celebs. Bollywood biggies like Amithabh and few others graced the finale and gals had to further enact the play of Singing before them and this extended for another hour. Every judge, guest of honor after listening was asked an opinion as to who was the best of the two and none were frank enough to take a stand just to keep the curiosity intact. C’mon!! It’s a basic human instinct to develop a soft corner when you hear two sides and what grave mistake is it to just say who you feel is the best. The liners each said were so well rehearsed just adding to our impatience. So very artificial.....These reality shows are surpassing the drama we see in the soaps.

Then there are these SMS polls dividing the entire nation in regions to vote the candidate from their region making talent take the back seat and just fill pockets of the sponsors and increase the TRPs of the channel. Channels are not leaving any card unturned that can mint money for them in anyform. When so much money, emotions and pride involved for a simple singing show, just imagine the amount of pressure the kids and thier parents would be undergoing. I saw in one of the channels where a contestants mother getting a heart pain while the results being announced. Is this much hype and pressure really needed for hunting a real talent ??!!! We had the great MS or Lata or Sonu for that matter who proved their mettle with nothing in place. This unwanted competition atmosphere is created by the franchises to meet thier ends in surplus. We have a Voice of India or an Indian idol every 3 months now whose fame is as short lived as a water droplet on a lotus.

After an evening of overdone reality( if one can call it), I felt only thing that’s surely “REAL” was the foolishness of the audiences watching these so called "Reality shows" at the expense of their time, money and energy.
Making this so called "Reality" work has become a part and parcel of every show whose soul purpose is to bully people that this Virtual reality is Real. This has just not stopped just with talent hunts or shows but is slowly creeping into every walk of our Lives. I feel People would soon fail to distinguish what is real and what is surreal. A scary future awaits for us.....

P.S: I was so digusted with the overdose of the grand finale thingy, that I was provoked to spurt out my anger this way;) Few more observations may follow...

~$,08/04/2008, 11:45pm

On Wheels!!

Have been on a traveling spree for 3 weeks now. Mid March was spent in Bangalore, Week next in Madhurai and the Latest one in Hyderabad....Anticipating the next one to be in Coimbatore on an official trip....!! Truly a taxing month this March had been and probably explains why there was very lil activity here. Hardly had any time to sit back, relax and spend a lazy weekend.
I have grown up believing in a myth since childhood that whatever one does on the very first day of the year, they continue to do the same or it automatically happens thruout the year. This myth was so strongly placed in my mind, that I had always planned my new year pretty special and dreaming of doing best things so that whole year turns out rosy...;)
This new year, forcibly I had to spend the evening in a train while getting back from my home town and probably my myth is turning out to be very true....!! Atleast first three months went on wheels with lot of traveling within city and states too...:-)
Ohh now when I think of it , fate has been so very harsh!! How I wish now to have travelled with a handsome hunk in the same train ;)
Read a great quote today : This is the day when one is reminded of what they are on the other 364 days..:-)
Since you reached here reading thru, Happy B'Day!! :-)

~$,01/04/08,11:30pm

TFTD!!

"............But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I placed above all things."

A quote that I came across today while surfing net which catapulted a not so great yet profound string of thoughts within myself thru the day. It even motivated me to open up a new space just to myself.

Weather today : Pensive, thoughful

~$,03/17/08,11:55pm

~ A thing of beauty is joy forever...!!~

“A thing of beauty is Joy for ever…!!” ~~ John Keats

The poet who quoted this quote ages back, never would have thought that the “Forever” word used in his quote would be short lived. He would not have foreseen that there will be a point in time where an ignorant human mind can get ugly and transform the thing of beauty into a beast, slowly yet steadily.

Yes!! Our reference here is to Nature/Earth which is the only beautiful entity that has been taken for granted and misused from times immemorial. It is high time that each one us, being a part and parcel of this entity, turn our energies and thoughts to bring back the original glory of nature. Theme of our module has been one of the most obvious, unanimous and relevant choices of recent times.

Our theme “Rescue Earth – Together “ is just our way of paying tribute to mother Earth and Nature which has served, cared and nurtured us through the ages with true harmony, synergy, ecological balance and persistence. Of course last but not the least, rewarding us with an amazing spectrum of what we call “Colors” today.

Our motto of life from today should be living in agreement with nature rather being the cause for its detriment. Let’s pledge – “We will Rescue Earth – Together”!! "

When I wrote this write-up for the creative module contest that explained in nutshell the theme of our module, I was pretty confident of us being the best but never knew my confidence was also short lived like the poet. The theme was an easy choice by couple of other modules too but we (Module C3) were very proud of the way we carved, engraved and depicted the concepts in a unique way that others couldnt even think of. We had chosen a constructive central sub-theme where we depicted the Do's and Dont's of how we can bring about a change to rescue Earth. And the rest of the module took the theme of 5 elements of nature in Earth (Brown), Sun & Fire (Yellow & Orange), Air & SKy ( White), Water (Blue). We had a Banyan tree effect with a tree sturcture at center of the module with birds and monkeys hanging from it. You wouldn't believe that it actually gave our module an effect of a forest and our efforts did really satify us.

Alas! The results were out today and it came as a shocker to us that we never bagged a prize. It was beyond anyone's sense and sensibility that how this could happen. We questioned, rebelled and cursed amongst ourselves that how could the panel of judges dint have the aesthetic sense to see a true conjuntion of Color, Theme and Beauty which everyone else around could see and appreciate. These were words not out of frustration but the confidence on the kind of effort and sincerity potrayed by each and everyone in our Team. We wanted to know the parameters on which judgement was made and boo wooed HR for handling it very unprofessionally. Anyways guess thats the way certain things work at times.

A temporary gloom filled all of us for a while and we being the best enthusiastic and enrgetic module around, cheered ourselves, boosted each other and made an oath that we would turn up in BLACK this friday to silently show our protest against such a judgement :-) I guess its these times our strength as a team doubles and quadruples;);)

At the end of the day, we knew and believed who was the BEST and all that mattered was the JOY we experienced creating the creative pieces that would surely remain with us FOREVER whether we bagged a prize or not... he he :-):-) Guess this is exactly what the poet had in his mind when he would have written that quote... Its the intangible joy you experience which would remain with you forever rather the tangible returns.....Phewww!!!!!Getting philosophical actually helps you a lot at times he he ..;);)

I somehow had carried a lot of negativity thru out the day at the whole affair and found this is the best way to vent it out...:-) I bet the day would pass and tomorrow we would be all in the best of our spirits with a new hope and belief. As someone rightly said, its on this HOPE that earth revolves which is bigger and stronger than gravity ;)

~$,02/18/2008, 11:00pm

Going Greeen;)

My blog in a completely new avatar from today.....;) I logged on to write my story for the week and I was not very happy seeing the bland background of the blog page (mustn't forget that I am wearing one of my finest (?;)creative caps since a week now;). So I thought let me get more organized first, learn some new tricks and tips to make this corner a little more brighter.

Here I come into green light from a bland background. But why green?!?!?! Surely there is a reason behind it...!!

As someone rightly said " Practice before you preach”, I thought let me “Go green” in my blog as a first step before I campaign my theme for the week “Rescue Earth – Together”. Wondering what’s behind going green and turning pink…he he he I assume you guessed that it is the theme for the creatively stuck week that it had been at my end.

Since I am all tired and done for the day after a hectic day@work :-(, would post the complete story tomorrow as a finishing note for a marvelous, meticulous yet very creatively satisfying week I had. Until then Cheerio....;))

~$,02/16/2008, 11:55pm

@@When Love is in air@@

I hardly had anytime to breathe ...!!:-) No. not cos of the uncountable roses that I received (virtual I mean:-) but a creatively taxing activity that kept me v v busy thru this week. Thankfully it also helped me to not end this day in discontentment for not receiving that "One'" rose from "The" one..;))) Anyways, a whole bunch of 60 brains creative effort and one weeks untiring enthusiasm energised and synergised the whole Team for this big event coming up tomorrow...

So here I am ending my day, unlike many others today, with a really bad throat, cough and lil fever but spirits really really unconquered and waiting for the Big competition "Module Decoration" thats going to be adjusdged tomorrow.....Phew!!!! Dont miss to watch out this space tomorrow ;);) I will be back with loads of action, drama and stories ofcourse beyond any doubt ...:-)))
It would just be incomplete if I dont wish "A very Happy Valentines Day!!"

May the love that keeps this world going, stay until the Sun disappears, Oceans dry and Stars fly....:-):-) I am sure even if they do, Love will pull and bind them together....!! Yeh Fevvicol se bhi majboot Jod hai, tootegaa nahin..;))

~$,02/14/08, 11:00pm

" Tujhe sab hai pataa meri Maa"....!!

A lovely soulful melody from "Taare Zameen Par" that had touched me in recent times...!! Kudos to the lyricist who could bring out such subtle unsaid emotions of a kidd when he feels insecure and alone.....A big pat to the director who had conceptualised and shot this theme song like no one else could......

Main Kabhi Batlaata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

Bheed Mein Yun Na Chodo Mujhe
Ghar Laut Ke Bhi Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Bhej Na Itna Door Mujkko Tu
Yaad Bhi Tujhko Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa
Kya Itna Bura Meri Maa

Jab Bhi Kabhi Papa Mujhe
Jo Zor Se Jhoola Jhulate Hain Maa
Meri Nazar Dhoondhe Tujhe
Sochu Yahi Tu Aa Ke Thaamegi Maa

Unse Main Yeh Kehta Nahin
Par Main Seham Jaata Hoon Maa
Chehre Pe Aana Deta Nahin
Dil Hi Dil Mein Ghabraata Hoon Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Hai Naa Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Meri Maa

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa

Many a times we may have felt left out and ignored in relationships. In all such moments how much we would have wished we were never a part of such a situation and wonder how did we compell ourselves to carry it off till that point.....!! Guess neglect is something that gives utmost pain than a tight slap on your cheek.....there are very very few people who understand and respect this feeling...
Bow to a wonderful person called "Mom" whose selfless Love from centuries has been untouched and intact in an adulterated world like this!!!

~$,02/11/08, 10:50pm

In Search of Soul...!!

A wonderful short story that I came across recently that triggered great series of thoughts this week.....Thought of posting it today since there's nothing much to write about the weekend at my end....!!

Once upon a time there was this girl who had four boyfriends.
She loved the 4th boyfriend the most and adored him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best. She also loved the 3rd boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighbouring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another. She also loved her 2nd boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.
The girls 1st boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the firstboyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him. One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die,I'll be all alone.'
Thus, she asked the 4th boyfriend, I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, willyou follow me and keep me company?''No way!', replied the 4th boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.
His answer cut like a sharp knife right into herheart.
The sad girl then asked the 3rd boyfriend, 'I lovedyou all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'
'No!', replied the 3rd boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!' Her heart sank and turned cold.
She then asked the 2nd boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been therefor me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the 2nd boyfriend. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.' His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, andthe girl was devastated.
Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.' The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend.He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!' In truth, you have 4 boyfriends in your lives:
Your 4th boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.
Your 3rd boyfriend is your possessions, status andwealth. When you die, it will all go to others.
Your 2nd boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the farthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.
And your 1st boyfriend is your SOUL. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of theworld. However, your Soul is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go. Cultivate, Strengthen and Cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue withyou throughout Eternity.
Thought for the day: Remember, When the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray. Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections .

How wonderful and thought provoking, ain't it???!!! When one's caught up too much in the worldly pleasures and relationships, guess they need breakers like this to turn to one's Soul. I am sure all of us have some association with the Girl in the narration. Such a simple story but carries the ultimate truth of Life....;) Yes, me in one of my philosophical selves today.....!!!

~$,02/03/08,11:00pm

Little Lizzy and Me..!!!:-(:-(

This is my desk where Lizzy found its groove and you can see how comfortable this part of my desk is to hide and laze ....;))

Its may be very wierd that today's topic is as trivial as a Lizard and its impact on me...;))))You might be thinking WTH??!!!:-)) Yes....!!! There are certain things in life which are so insignificant by nature but can be biggest troubles for u on a given day and obviously very very situational...he he he So I am going to write about how a little Lizard (lets name it Lizzy for conversational convinience hehe;) scared hell out of me...Sorry for those B rated words here and there....;))

Yesterday was like any other typical Monday's (may be I am writing for 10th time now in my blogs;) where morale was low, work load heavy, 100 things running in parallel and I was all worked up, exhausted by the time it was mid day.

Some times when I am worked up, I tend to scoot off home at three to have a breather, leaving work for the next day. But Yday, I had some handful of tasks and anvil right on my head that I had no chance of escape....Guess when ur not so energetic or interested, even ur body doesn't seem to cooperate. I was slowly developing a soar throat also by tea time but still kept myself motivated for the long day ahead......Then came the real terror.....!! This little lizzy which was sitting on my desk behind a calendar on the desk wall scurried off and I frenzied in my chair not knowing what to do.

People who know me would know how much I hate this little thing and how scared I am of it..:-((

Since childhood times, I never used to go into the room(rest room;) if I spotted one on the wall. I used to make my dad run around it with a broom to shoe it off the wall to be in peace. This fear doesnt stop with just Lizard but with rats,cats, dogs etc etc he he he I am no Maneka Gandhi, but just enjoy watching any pets from distance and a Lizardddd......Absolute NOOOOOO to even look!!!! And see, how well God tailors a script where I find a Lizard right on my working desk in what we call a sophisticated IT company and of all the people, just ME..;))

When I saw it hurrying it to next desk, I got up with a little scream and warned people in and around. Few teammates gathered around and started watching its movements and making fun of the special affinity these creatures have towards my desk which is pretty much colourful and no less than a fancy store...he he he btw this is the second time a Lizard is found in my vicinity, the first time on my neighbours desk. Another instance was a small cockroach in my food in canteen...Hmm..Scary...!! Ain't it??? My life's always happening you see...;)))

Yeah coming back to yday, I immediately reached the maintenance number and asked them to send help( he he ) to clear this little lizzy off my desk.... I was closely monitoring its movements so that I dont lose track of it by the time they come.

Just as we find our Indian Police reach after the thief leaves the crime spot in movies, so were the maintenance guys at my work too. They are always late and by the time this lady came, the little lizzy scooted off somewhere in a fraction of second when I just turned my eye :-( After a 15 mins exhaustive search in and around, we couldnt spot it. With giggles all around, the lady left saying, " Why are you scared ma??? Its a poor little thing". But in contrary, I felt rather I was the poor little thing left at the same desk not knowing where and when Lizzy would pop up;) Lizzy would surely have fun now with poor little Silly...;))

This thought( quite imaginative though) was heights for me after a frustrating day and with a feeling of disgust and pressure(;) I decided to go home even if the pending tasks are at stake. I started immediately and all these trivials guess subconsciouly effected me and I was down with soar throat and fever when I woke up this morning....;))) Phewwww!! At least this timely fever made me escape the little lizzy and its troubles that were awaiting me at my desk....But what about tomorrow??? Boo hoo....:-(:-( Wait if there would be more adventures of Silly with Lizzy...!!

~$,01/29/08,11:15pm

~~~~Godavari~~~~~

I watched this telugu movie called "Godavari" today which is really worth a mention...!!! Before actually I get into the movie, my lazy Saturday started so bad with a really poisonous headache which never seemed to fade away.
There will be few days when I get these acute headaches offlate which go away with a cup of hot coffee or a great shower. Neither of them seemed to have worked today and only worsened it as day progressed. I completely confined myself to the bed but since that trait is not mine, tried out cooking a bit but alas. Then I thought let me play the movie which I brought from the library yday and which had been on my " Must watch" movie list for a looong time now. Truly, this movie brought a little sunshine into my relatively low morale world today.

The story is about a boy and gal who belong to 2 completely different worlds, who have had their own share of heart failures set out on a Journey to a place called "Bhadrachalam" temple which is believed to have housed Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshaman when they were in exile. Interestingly the only way to travel to this place Bhadrachalam is thru a boat (locally called "Laanchi") on the river Godavari ....
Godavari is one the crown rivers of South India which is known as a Jeeva nadi (river filled with life) that never dries unlike other rivers even in dead summers and supports the major strech of farming in and around. All this has been said to just emphasise on the scenic environs in and around the river. Probably this back drop and the journey on the river added to the wonderful cute love saga that this boy and girl were yet to unfold.

The story was more or less predictable but the sensitivity of the Director to show those subtle moments between the lead pair was just amazing. I am all gaga over this director who is just 3 movies old and this being his second one. All the frames have been so natural, something that everyone can associate with and at the same time so much away from vulgarity and obscenity which are inseperable in cinema these days.

Coming to the lead pair, heroine Kamalini(known as Sita) was just awesome, one who enthralls in her simple looks as well as acting. She has never gripped my attention until now but in this one she was commendable and takes us thru the story line. She showcased all the insecurities, stubborness and sillyness that a girl would have and it was such a hilarious feast to watch her.....Hero Sumanth(known as Sriram) was good and apt though any one else could have filled his shoes. The comedy track entwined with a kid and dog and the slap on societal hypocrisies potrayed thru them suggests the intelligence of the Director in putting the right message uncontroversially.

The pace of the movie is one thing which could have been fastened and music was ok ok types.
But then the characters and subtle moments would just keep us tick to every frame and would make us long for more and more. Thankfully the movie had a feel good chweet ending after few dramatic set backs where lead pair unite in filmy ishtyle. Made me feel that there is atleast good in movies unlike reality..:-)
Watching this movie atleast made me forget my terrible headache and lows for all the 3 hours and I was back to the bad reality after a nice journey over Godavari....

Still down with headache, couldnt let this day end without writing about this movie which I am sure I would watch it again...:-):-) Hopefully tomorrow is better...;) ohh....I almost forgot to mention that it is our Republic day today......What a shame!!! :-))) Happy Republic day and Jai Hind!!!:-)))

~$,01/26/08,11:00pm

Pongal O Pongal!!

Something pretty strange that I am trying hard to think and write of something thats worth a mention. This is the problem I have been facing since the onset of 2008 and could not put up anything in this space :-0) Let me write about my Pongal vacation back home on a lazy sunday.

I have always grown up hearing an axiom that says " Whatever you do on a new years day and the frens you meet on that day, you would be doing all that through out the year" and coincidentally it seems to be coming true in my case. Atleast month of Jan seems to be proving the saying. Ohh..You are now curious as to what I did on that day..;)

As I told in my archives, I have been at home for new year after almost 5 years and also partly in train travelling back to the pavilion. After that, within 2 weeks of time I planned my vacation yet again to my hometown for celebrating Pongal. This is something very much unlike me to travel in such a short time with reasons being two. Mom's food is one constant reason and the other being a school frens reunion after a decade. Ohh my...!! That really makes me look old...he he he

My school days(@ Kendriya Vidyalaya Waltair) are really unforgettable cos of the kind of people I met and the teachers around. I strongly feel that it was then that the foundation was laid of whatever I am and can call myself today. I bet every student out from KV comes out into the BIG bad world with a sense of pride and confidence for being part and parcel of KV. I can write on and on about school days....:-)

Yes, thanks to orkut that I got in touch with all those school mates whom I completely lost track for almost a decade...and it dint take too long to plan for a small get together during Pongal as most of us would come home.

We did meet... relived all those moments ...shared the notorious stories...and had a glimse of everyones journey from "Piggy tails to Pony tails" ( Yes guys, I am being a lil partial here he he he but then these days guys also have ponies..;);)
Catching up with old pals couldnt have got better as we all had lotta fun on the Vizag beaches and on Kailasa giri. The day was done and we all had fun and I was back here for a hectic week...Boo hoo....

More than anyone else, I was surprised to see people follwoing this space and expecting some crap here..:-)
~$,01/29/08,9:45am

A bland Start...!!

Let me do the "Shri Ganesh" of writing my first blog in 2008;) Whoa!! It took almost 10 days to find my groove and space to fill this space a bit, though a bland start..;)

After a great beginning to the year back home, I got completely lost in work (or rather no work???) after getting back and never had anything substantial to write when I had mood and no time when I had something to post....
Today being yet another bright day - thursday passed by. As someone rightly said, if its not a special one, you need to make it one. So in those lines, anticipating quite a long day, I went to work dressed all glary and jazzy :-) Its one of my traits to dress high when my motivation levels go low and I just tried the old trick and not bad ....it did work again:-)
Reached home after a long day and yeah this day Tata Nano was launched...Quite a good car and whether I own the costliest car in the world or not, I am happy that now I can own atleast the cheapest car....Kudos to Tata!!

~$,01/10/08,11:00pm

Adieu 2007..!!

Though its a too early to say this, guess I would not be able to write anything in this space until 2nd Jan :-) In a while I would be leaving to my hometown(Vizag) to celebrate the New year with my family and frens there after 5 years. So hope it turns out to be a special one for me and brings in a change....!!

I have mixed feelings and lots to write about the year that 2007 had been in my life but probably would do that once I am back. As any other year end, I am in a nostalgic self this year too but undoubtedly this year has made me dwindle between two extremes - Tremendous highs and lows.

Yet in a mood filled with nostalgia, I bid farewell to 2007 for it had taught me lifes toughest lessons and yet survive. Guess thats an achievement in itself. I have always watched rather sneaked into my Dad's diary(the amazing writer that he is and he does till date), writing the ending note for an year and welcoming words for the coming one. Today I feel good doing the same thing.Since I am running out of time now, I would wind it up with one nice quote I read today...

May your battles be few, your pleasure many,
your wishes and dreams fulfilled.
At the sound of the tolling midnight bell a brand new year will begin.
Let's raise our hopes in a confidant toast, to the promise it ushers in.

Goodbye my dear 2007...!! Welcome 2008.....:-))

Those who have sneaked into my space now, A very happy New year to YOU!!! :-)
May you find all the choicest colors to fill your canvas of Life this year to make it one of the best pages...!!

~$,12/28/07,8:30pm

Its all about Lac :)

No No....Thats not a spelling mistake for a Lakh but Lac that I am going to talk about:-) Sometimes weekends get really boring with friends not around and this weekend something very interesting came my way when I was thinking what to do after a really hecitc week at work. I have been looking to get into some kind of creative learning for sometime now and One of my very close fren told me about this 2 day "Lac jewellery making" workshop that was being held@ Dakshin chitra on ECR.
Without any second thoughts both of us enrolled and were all excited to know what did this Lac jewellery all about.
Saturday morning!! and I got ready by 8:30 and we set out to take the cab provided by the organizers. All thru the way, we were discussing and planning how wud it be if we would take this up as a Business line down the lane when we get fed up with our work:-) I was almost ready and quoting my success speech too...he he he
We reached and being there for the first time, I felt it was a great concept at Dakshin Chitra. It has a village like atmosphere of all south Indian states and lot of stalls and ofocurse mostly visited by foreigners though to learn about our culture and aesthetics. We were greeted by a Tutor( Rajasthani) who was going to be with us thru out the day.

We were all together 8 ladies, a very good blend of different ages and regions which added to the fun. The workshop was quite interesting and time flew never giving us even a moment to think about anything else. All of us made a pair of ear rings, pendant, bangle and a key chain out of our hand. Also the workshop was reduced to a day as only 8 of us were there and we finished our course too...;)))

By the end of the Lac jewellery making, all of us knew none of us would be able to actually try much at home as it required lot of equipment which is a little too expensive for a hobby :-((((:-) but then I was happy that atleast I dint sleep thru the day like any other saturday not knowing what to do....Made some new interesting frens and ofcourse my very own hand made jewellery to boast about...;)))) The day ended with us getting to the Besant nagar beach for an evening walk and sipping my favourite coffee from Barista and watching the waves from a distance:-)

~$,16/12/07,10:45pm

$%^&*(%^#$^^

There are so many things in life which are not so pleasing to us. All those feelings and actions that make us bad and nasty but still knowing all that is bad, the human mind tends to do the same. I feel the toughest thing in the world is to tone your mind and heart to the right tune. Hmmm....
There are so many Qs that I sometimes dont find answers for...How certain set of people change overnight? Why that one person in a crowd is so vulnerable and yet the other next is so apathetic?? Why does one get exploited to the core and the other just watches the show.

I really dono what i have been writing for past min but I guess the title says it all as to what mindset I am in for no reason or maybe one...
In all such moments, I reach out to that folder where I had preserved my personal fav songs. Ahhhh.......Thanks to Music that it has such a healing effect that it erases all these Qs and takes us to a state where you stop thinking of stupid Qs like this and makes you feel that life is meant to be light......

Had a very hectic week by all means and not so great end to the day today. Feeling loooot bettter to be living in these moments with Music ON and slowly slipping into sleep and ofcourse hoping to wake up for a bright day...;-))

~$,14/12/07,12:00pm

Flutes....

This funda has been written and conceived by one of my "once upon atime" greatest buddies. You cannot stop appreciating his fertile brain with a tinge of humour once you go thru this. I found this from my mail mining and posting it.

Imagine the situation
Situation:
A loves B.
B doesn't love A.
ok. lets start.

Analysis:
When A loves B, A will try to convey it to B.
When A conveys, he uses language to do it...
so when A says "i love u" A is actually trying to convey his/her feeling. Language is so limited that you cannot convey whatever you feel through words..........
Now when B says "i don't love u" he/she is also trying to convey what he/she feels.....

When A hears this......he/she will understand it...but will be unable to capture the complete feeling...
so A will continue to love B though A knows that B doesn't love back. Here A's feeling is more real to A than what A understood from B's words.
similarly, B will continue not to love A though B knows that A loves. Here also B's feeling is more real to B than what B understood from A's words.....

Conclusion:
join flutes.....( FAILED LOVERS UNION TO ENLIVEN SOULS)

Thank you!

Do I need to say anything more????:-):-)
~$, 12/10/07, 11:30 PM

A Sober Day!!

Today has been a sober day yet quite busy@ work. Thursdays are usually my best days in the week cos its the day of my Guru - Shirdi Sai baba. On a Thursday, a rebellious brat within me, turns goody goody. I wake up early in the morning, be a good gal and usually perform Sai aarti (yessssss...:-) and goto work. If I miss out in the morning, I do it in the evening.
Weather these days @Chennai is quite chill and fantastic in the morning that its really so tough to get out of bed and start to work. Today also I got up early with a strong desire to perform Aarti as I decided to pray for one of my frens granny who is not v well. So with the flowers I got last night for God, switched my laptop on to play the aarti only to know that it has been attacked by virus :-(

So I cudnt play the aarti from my lappy but had to use my roomys one. That just doubled my task cos now I had to search the aarti from net. Guess this happens to everyone - when you want something desperately, surely you can never get there easily. It tests you and your patience thru and thru. I thought it was tough to take the 8 bus today and atleast ill try for 8:15 one. At any cost, my conscience wouldnt allow me to go without doing the aarti after I made up my mind. So after spending 15/20 mins (one wud know how crucial those few mins are early in the morning juggling between 10 things he he ), I cud atlast find the link and was so so so happy. It was a fast forward button then :-):-)

When I stepped out of the house, I was not v sure if I cud make it to the bus but thought when I did all this for a nice cause, surely things would fall in place. And undoubtedly showing the eternity of the Omnipresent, the bus was delayed by not 1/2 but 10 mins today and I could coolly catch the bus. Wudnt you agree that there is a bigger force above all of us gaurding us thru....:-))) I was sure that this force would surely make granny well too.....
Then it was a long long day at work with nothing to write or think about much.
Btw mommy had wished and told that its my "Lunar Bday" today....he he he I leave it for people to ponder what is this new type of Bday.....ha ha ha Those who are desperate to know can drop me a comment...;)))) he he ha ha

~$, 06/12/07,11:00PM

<<< Journey to Bliss - Back in time,May'07

Its been a taxing time at work for about 10 days with long hours and less sleep and I was longing for a break sub-consciously .....!!
Thankfully at the same time, my roommate like a godsent messenger had this fabulous idea of going to B'lore to catch up with some of our frens and booked the Tix...I never realised what an enchanting episode was going to unfold until I set my foot on that soil..

Its not that I had never been to B'lore before but going amidst a blazing Summer from an oven called "Chennai" made all the difference this time...Our train reached on Saturday around 7:30 in the morning and we boarded down at Krishna Raja puram.....
I really liked this name as it gave me a feeling that I was stepping my foot in an age old kingdom ....:-))) and the atmosphere was no less than a hill station which accentuated my feelings........;))))
Oooooohhh.......the early morning cool breeze blowing against my face took me to a different world altogether..!!
Hmmmm......Mornings are meant to be this way and I realised what I have been missing for quite sometiem now......

Anyways, we pushed ourselves into an auto and headed towards the PG where our fren was put up. A decent locality and all the more decent home welcomed us and we relaxed and refreshed there. Then a marvellous 7 course lunch(might not be an appropriate word..;)) was awaiting for us at another frens place which we relished thoroughly and ate.......!! After a food hogging afternoon, we headed towards the Commercial street where they say " Fashion Parades"...;))) I was a little tired by then and could not do full justice to the shopping list I had comeup with. So just had to console myself with a "Patiyala". I wonder how many of you would know that....;))))
Tired and Tarnished came back to the room after exactly 12 hours of ramoing.....So day one ended with lot of action and fun....:-))

Day two was all the more memorable as I met one of my school frens after 15 years.....can you believe??? Yess......15 years...!!
We parted when we were in 7th and I completely had no clue about her whereabouts and howabouts....Thanks to Orkut which did the trick and brought us together and I still cannot believe that we met...It was a great walk down the memory lane.
Keeping that apart, I saw how lovely a Sunday morning could be and that too on a drive on MG road and Brigade the "Crown locales" of B'lore....Guess Sunday mornings are the best times to be on the road as the whole city sleeps and wakes up late on Sunday for the very obvious reasons....;)))

Journey in Local Volvo bus(with AC he he )is a new edition..
The picturesque greenery around leaves you in a state of suspension....
Woww.....Superb...Coool......were the only words uttered out of appreciation...;))
You wouldnt deny that it was nothing short of an expedition;))

The Leela palace in pink was Awesome....
Lunch at TGIF was quite Wholesome...
Catching up with frens was so Truesome...
Leaving all that behind and be back is so hard to Fathom......;((((

And what can I say about the weather...It was simply superb as you can never feel the sun rays until post noon in contrast to Chennai where the harsh sun rays would never let you be in bed after 7 in the morning......:-((( I can go on appreciating like this forever and you can actually sense how much I enjoyed escaping the heat ......!! I surely do now know why people want to settle down at the Garden city irrespective of their Language, the region they belong , nor the Gender......:-)))
Ufffffffffffffffffff
Time to stop here........as I am back to reality and the Sun is right on my head and my mind has gone blank...;)))

Three Cheers to the ecstatic moments in B'lore......Thanks to all those who made it so by being a part of them.....:-)))
Smiles as ever
~Sree

Discalimer : The feelings described in the above blog are purely circumstantial and the reader should not misunderstand/infer bad about Chennai but should only think good about B"lore...;)))

A Comedy of Errors!!:-)

I am writing a day late about the string of events that happened Yesterday . It was lazy and dull monday(as any other monday I would say) and I had least interest to get out of bed and start to work.
So I displayed heights of "Inertia" and reached work quite late. Adding to the misery, there was loads of work awaiting me and I cursed myself for not having fallen sick or finding a reason to bunk work.
Reaching my desk, I was hearing repeated announcements from the receptionist of my office that some CEO of some company is going to visit our center at some time and that he would be addressing all in the auditorium. I was wondering who had the time in the world to make time out of the busy schedules to go and listen to him. But fate had something funny in store for me.....
All of a suddenly, around 12:30 in the afternoon, the HR head of my center called me to his desk and gave a startling news that I would have to preare a welcome note for that some CEO of some company and I would have to meet our center head and few others in this regard.

That brought me right back to senses and thought how in the world was I targeted for this task but then there was no other go. I felt quite good and elated atleast for a while for having been chosen for this task. I dint know lot of fun was yet to unfold. I quickly gathered some facts about him from net and prepared a rough draft within half hour and I was all set for the speech.
When I reached the audi, I was surprised to see it in full capacity and knew there are quite a lot of people out there who are interested to listen to him :-)))) or rather.....;))))
Obviously the CEOs are supposed to reach late and so did he with his team....But meanwhile this delay screwed me as I was thumped with the mike to say few words, and out of confusion I goofed it up a bit and could see lot of smiles all around the audi:-) that was goof up No 1

They reached and I was all set with my words well rehearsed and delivered it well ( as per me) but only to know later that the mike was not fully functional :-):-):-) The only consolation was that my voice naturally being loud, it was atleast audible but that was fully eligible for a goof up No 2 ...wat say???:-)
Then the event was so very unplanned by the event team that the mikes dint work when guests wnated to speak, USB dint get connected to play a movie, lights went off when they were not supposed to and never went off when they were supposed to. The whole audi went in giggles looking at the wonderful co-ordination :-)
Keeping all this apart, even our guests were no less. They wanted to play a movie and theirs too never worked and it added more and more fun. After all this hungama, somehow the scheduled event ended with our guest delivering his set of words (which too was disappointing as the event was).

The event was closing and towards the end, I just had a thankyou line for all which I thought I would might as well skip it seeing people standing up. But guess the comedy of errors was not yet done. When people stood and were about to leave, the event team waved at me to say those words and I had to forcibly pick the mike yet again to thank all. This created a lil confusion and people stood where they were expecting me to say something but only to listen a "Thank you" note for me.
I couldnt resist the laughter myself at that point of time and thought I too would enjoy all these comedy of errors myself. So with a biiiiiiiiiggggie smile on fac, I thanked all :-)))
At the end of the day, Dont know if I can really laugh or cry at the disastrous turnout but surely I do bet people had lot of light moments to take back including me .

~$,03/12/07,10:05pm

Cozy Reunion

Guess Nov is a month of reunions. After an enchanting get together @hyd last weekend, this Weekend neverthless had been quite cozy and nice catching up with one my roomy's who relocated to Bangalore 6 months ago. Coincidentally it happened to be her Bday today, which added to the reunion fun. We 3 gals( Lavs,Kayal n me) have been room mates for quite sometime now (almost 3+ years). Times we have had @apt 230(720 building) in Minneapolis and ofcourse @B'nagar,Chennai would be long cherished.

The midnight Bday bash was celebrated with an excess choco cake (from Cake walk, Ppl in B'nagar would surely know this place and its one of my fav places to buy pastries and cakes :-)
We hanged around at all the places where we previously used to roam and shopped a bit. Gals i guess never get tired of this word called "shopping"...:-) The biggest perk of being in chennai and residing @ besant nagar is "The Beach". So our reunion wudnt have been complete if we wudn't enjoy the moments on sea shore. So had a fun filled evening with hot Chilli bajji, heavy dinner@Cascade and the sad bye byes .
At the EOd, I feel Life is all about living in those little merry moments and making most out of them to keep the spirit up. But what spirit am I talking about??? tomorrow is monday......Boo hooooo....I am already terrribly sick with monday syndrome and heavy cold......God pls help me....:-((( :-)))

~$, 02/12/07,10:45 PM