Whatever...

Atanu Dey's article on the PanIIT conference reminded me of something similar. It was somewhere in 2001 when BJP government ruled the state of Goa and every Goan proudly showcased the IITian chief minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar. Even I was one of them, and still am proud of Mr. Parrikar. I was an engineering student that time and didn't know how things worked in politics. I was appointed (not elected) as the General Secretary of the student council of my college by the management itself. We got a news somewhere in October of 2001 that the Government of Goa under the able leadership of Mr. Parrikar was all set to change the face of professional education in Goa. For this, a committee of eminent persons from the fields of education and industry was formed. All these big names were true sons of soil and were willing to give their time and effort for their motherland. To kick off the effort, a grand summit was organised at the Govt. Engineering College grounds in November 2001. I w...

I met her around 6 years ago. I was in secod year engineering that time. I stayed in Vitthal Mandir in Madgaon. I was a paying guest of sorts there. It was a proper temple and I stayed and tried studying there while bhajans and kirtans defied all decibel levels. Prajakta came came to my room that evening with Mugdha and Mridula (her cousins). She stayed there till kirtan started. Then she said she wanted to go. I tried to convince her to wait till the kirtan was over. But she badly wanted to go, she started sobbing. Even Mugdha and Mridula couldnt convince her. To go home, they would have to pass through the temple. My room was bang opposite God's! I mean it was like a store room you would climb your way up. And the wooden staircase was really steep. Prajkta had climbed up herself. But when it was time to go down, she was scared. Looking down the staircase she started crying. I didnt know how to handle the situation. There were people in the temple. And could have created a sce...

Weekend brings up the big question of how to live through it without feling that you have wasted it. On those grounds, this was a good enough weekend. After getting up at 11 in the morning, went to play cricket. After a long long time. Felt good bowling. But the post is about a play "Goodbye Swami" staged by a group from Hyderabad called Sutradhar Actors . If I was to give them credit for an effort, I would give them 85%. But if I am to judge, I give them half of that, say 40%. The script looked stretched, and childish. I dont know. May be I am making a wrong comparison when I compare it with scripts from Mumbai. May be its not fair on part of people at Sutradhar. But lets say not childish, but the flm was at least simplistic. Too simplictic. The story goes something like this... "A thief/killer/robber/bad man while running and hiding from police, reaches an ashram. Coincidence leads him to becoming a swamy. He knows the shallowness of the disciples as well as has his th...

F1210036.jpg This beutiful view is from the aerocon cottage of Tyada Jungle Bell Resort - an eco-tourism effort from APTDC. I made a weekend trip to tyada on the last weekend. Lets start from beginning. After leaving Hyderabad to go do a project in Mumbai, it was always on top of my mind that I hadnt seen enough of AP. Eco-tourism (basically roaming the jungles) being top on my list, I was determined to check out APTDC's eco-tourism projects in Arku/Tyada. I was actually hoping of some participation from friends also on this trip. But they ditched big time. Anyway...scores shall soon be settled. As it was destined to be, I embarked on this journey... "Ekla chalo re" . Tyada is approx. 80 kms from Vizag. So i took this amazing semi sleeper volvo of kaleshwari Travels from Hyderabad. Trust me guys...this is the best bus I have ever travelled on...EVER & remember I travel quite a number-o-times. it has sufficient leg space for a 6 footer. The seats recline enough ...

An incident that has shocked me.It has shaken me rigorously. While the media has stopped reporting and other bigger breaking news fetch limelight, I challenge the responsible media (read Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardessai and the likes) to have their "We the people" &  "the big fight" on this issue. What I am talking about is the gaziabad incident . Where in about 4000 aspiring policemen went on a rampage damaging public property,harassing general public and even pulling women out of cars and molesting them. This is a law and order situation later. First and foremost it is a big questionmark on the value system, culture and the educational system. Out of these the first two are the ones we say we have inherited. And look at what it is producing: hooligans in thousands. Are the parents of all these youth ready to owe up for what their patrons did? Even the media is not highlighting the real issue here. It is focussing on the easiest target, the police. Whereas t...

Mission: Tyada Status : completed As of: 11/06/2006 0800 hours Details: awaited

It wasnt surprise to me that my roommate with a compulsive shopping disorder bought a laptop. It had to happen one day or the other. Neither did the configuration come as a surprise to me. He had to buy the best. When I came back from Mumbai to my good old apartment in Hyderabad, a sleek new Compaq laptop, a 256 Kbps broadband connection, a relatively quit and sane new acquittance with his laptop awaited me. Abhishek has taken all the effort & expenditure to make this little apartment wirefree. Can you believe it! This has made me wonder how fast life is changing for me. Till I went to Mumbai on a project, laptop was something "wow" for me. It no longer has the value. Just before I left Mumbai, I had thought of visitng a barista with my official laptop just to check out what exactly is this wireless connectivity. And here I am lying on my bed, with no wires attached to this computing device of the size of a A4 sized notebook, that weighs 80% lesser than what my school bag...

Thats what I had recently when I went to Planet M at fort mumbai. Bought myself a whooping 18 film titles. 2 DVD and 16 VCD sets. Almost my dream collection. I am going home for diwali. So planning to indulge in some filllumgiri. I have been bestowed with titles from home for this. But what all fail to understand is that it is a awsome deal for 2000 bucks. Hey...an idea. I can review thse films one by one on this blog. That will ensure the continuity of the blog and also make me see the films with an objective in mind. Kya kool hoon main...

What we are today is a function of our environment through our past. Our parents, teachers, relatives, neighbours are our key influencers. One such influencer in my life and in the life of millions in this country is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or the RSS. This organization established in 1925 has a very interesting history . Established with a aim of nation building, the initiative had no trace of fundamentalism in it. Started with a clear cut nationalistic view, and on time tested values of ‘simple living-high thinking’, the organization spread like a wild fire. Then happened, what was destined to, for an organization that was all-inclusive, had no political representation or was based on non-sensational issues (like religion, cast or region). What RSS is today (or is perceived to be) is certainly not what it was (or is) meant to be. I, as an individual, strongly believe in the RSS, its motives, its structure and its values. I feel being a part of the Sangha and consider myse...

There is a new township developing behind my apartment. Amidst new construction, rubble, concrete, steel and artificial structures, I found this small flower growing. The purity of it's colours attracted my attention amidst broken tiles and scrap. Just felt like capturing it. I wish I could show you the BG without diverting your attention off the subject. But that wont be possible...so here is the best I could get for you.

After zillions of visits to ameerpet, lots of "sorry saaar"s, kind help from a forum friend-Rohit, spending petrol enough to take a space ship to jupiter (and check out Sabu's babe there), I GOT MY NEGATIVES SCANNED IN HYDERABAD. Now the "aam junta" of this country will get to see some "what the hell in the world is that!!!" snaps from me.

After coming to Hyd, (Hyderabad of yester years, became Cyberabad after IT came ...call itHyd if u wanna sound kool). I have been feeling movie thirsty. Having spent more than a year at a fart's smell distance from a Theatre in Matunga and having seen films like U Bomsi n Me it pains to travel 30 odd Kms and pay more than 100 bucks to watch a movie (I never paid more than INR 70 to watch a movie at Auroras Matunga). But last few day have been better. In the last 4 days, I have managed 2 latest films. Corporate and Golmaal. I liked both of them. CORPORATE: This is film is a typical Madhur Bhandarkar dark film. Shows the manipulations and unethical practices in the corporate world. Not that we dont know such things happen, but only that it shows them. Madhur has built up expectations after Chandani Baar & Satta (i have deliberately missed out Page 3). Corporate is 70% of the expectations. However if you compare it with the Roshan or Johar films, its 70% better. For all those wh...

Bloody bastards did it again! A friend of mine from the Photograohy Forum Shinu Thomas in his blog describes how he was miraculously saved. He was in the train in which the first blast happened at Matunga station and the first class compaterment in which the blast occured was his regular compartment...

This change was inevitable. As I read more and more blogs, I wanted to imbibe those features and kool looks into my blog as well. Also, the urge to blog regularly despite constraints (yeah sure!!) was getting stronger. so here I am, shifting from my earlier blog to this new advanced version. Now...as the title suggests, this is about Whatever. Whatever that happens to me or around me. Whatever I think. Whatver I do. Whatever I feel. Just Whatever... But the blog name is globestop.blogspot.com ...why? Because (ummmmmm ...scratching head) its kinda toungue twister. If you keep telling people about my blog, you may endup having a sexy flexi tongue. So, Keep checking this space!!