Bangalore Autowallah's

Every time I step out of my place in Bangalore to go somewhere, it might invariably lead to a war of words with an auto-wallah for the exorbitant amounts they charge for a ride in their precious(read made of gold) auto's. Having been here for almost two years now, it now comes as second nature to argue with an auto-wallah. Some of the reasons that that they give are downright funny and it’s sometimes hard to maintain a straight face while arguing with them.

A few years back Star One used to air a game show, "Family Fortunes". In the same format I give you "Top 10 stupid reasons given by Autowallah's for charging high"(arranged from most common to rarer)

10) Mujhe akaele aana hoga(I've to come alone)
9) Meter nahi chalta hai(Meter doesnt work)
8) Bahut traffic hoga (Traffic will be high at this time)
7) Mein wahan nahi jaata (I dont go that way)
6) Petrol ka daam bad gaya, jante ho?(Petrol prices have increased)
5) Mein Wahan se akele aaya hoon. (I've come alone till here)
4) De do saab. 10 baaje ke baad one half lega(Give sir. After 10 we charge one and half (meter) (this at 9, when he is almost asking double))
3) Meri gaadi naayi hai.(My vehicle is new)
2) Kya saab, aapke paas toh paise hai. (Why (are you penny-pinching) sir, you have money)

The last and the one that takes the cake along with the icing and also the box that it came in...
1) Bahut thand hai saab.(Its cold)

Got any more?

I've some very sarcastic replies(and i know you have too) for all of the above, but will save that for some other time. In the meanwhile keep arguing, lest the autowallah's swindle you of your hard-earned money..

Adieu 2011.. Things i learnt from You..

Its been a bitter sweet year, more bitter than sweet. But as every year goes by you grow wiser and I'm no different. This year has made me learn a lot of things, a few of them the hard way.

-> dear can move to a land of no return when you least expect it to happen. So cherish their company while they are there.

-> Never believe your superior, no matter how convincing they sound, until you have seen the results.

-> If you have something on your mind, say it out, rather than let it stay in you and mutilate your mind.

-> Not everyone is interested in helping you in your troubles. Some are just curious(straight from a SMS).

-> If you did something you always wanted to do, but didn't end up well, have no regrets. Atleast you gave it a try.

-> Being physically fit and staying fit actually makes you feel good, even if it required a lot of effort.
-> Learn to say "NO". A "YES" doesn't sound nice every time.

-> When you cook you realise the amount of effort mom puts in every dish.

-> Its good to have many friends, but sometimes all you need is sometime with yourself.


So goodbye 2011.. Roll in 2012..

The Climb

I move forward
The peak looms larger
Just within reach,
but still further.
The climb steep,
the path treacherous
and a battle rages inside.
The heart wills, says
"Go... Grab your destiny".
Mind pulls back says,
"Leave..There is a next chance".

As I ponder,
time seems to have stalled.
In this valley of hope,
the silence is mortifying.
The cold seeps through,
chilling to the bone.
A Push is all I need,
but nothing is forthcoming,
a helping hand is a farfetched dream.
The wailing winds carry a message
"Onwards... Your Destiny awaits."

Now...
There is no turning back.
A deep breath,
an almighty heave,
and the step is forward..

I too had a Love Story

"This Post may contain spoilers. So if you haven't read it yet, i advise you from reading this "

Finally, after a long wait, I read "I too had a Love Story" by Ravinder Singh. To think that I passed on buying this book thrice and had read it so late irks me now. On the top of the book is a simple review by N.R. Narayana Murthy which says "Simple, honest and touching" and I couldn’t agree more. It’s not one of those great epic novels that will get make everyone stand up and clap. It’s a simple book with simple characters and a simple story that everyone can relate with. And then a true story, a string of events which happened in the life of the author. In an age where the term "True Love" is very loosely used, such that many dont believe in it anymore, this story will give everyone a belief that it really does exist.

The story is about Ravin(Shona) in Bhubaneswar and Khushi(Shonimoni) in Faridabad. Both working in the IT industry and trying to grow in their field. The story goes on about how they meet via Shaadi.com and fell in love with each other in due time. A modern love story in which, love starts from a website and multiplies via mobile calls, SMS’s and chats and finally the meet. To add it is the romance, the humor, the descriptions, the feelings. Not to forget, the final chapter. Everything adds up to make this a wonderful (in want for a better word) experience (not able to call it a book anymore). The events here can be summed up in the following line:

"Not everyone in this world has the fate to cherish the fullest form of love. Some are born, just to experience the abbreviation of it."

While asking me to read it my friend said that in the end I would feel sad for Ravin, I will feel sad for Khushi. And I did. The fact that I put myself in the characters shoes didn’t help. I didn’t know what was happening around, didn’t know what to do, was lost and didn’t know how time went. And the rest of the day the the events just kept flashing in front of me. Before I slept that day I did say a small prayer for Ravin(der).

The back cover of the book has the following line
"Not all love stories are meant to have a perfect ending. Some stay incomplete. Yet they are beautiful in their own way."

Ravin, I understand it would have been very difficult for you to pen it all down. May your story live long.

To everyone who has ever loved someone, and then to those who have loved and lost, I would suggest you to read this. You will laugh, you will feel attached, you will build palaces in the sky, you will love every moment, you will feel sad and then, maybe, you will cry.

P.S: If anyone from Bollywood is trying to make a movie out of it, I have a humble request to you. PLEASE DON'T.

To The (Over) Enthusiastic Photo Uploader...

Ok... I've said this once, briefly though... But I don’t mind repeating... For those who care to listen... I'm not saying that I haven't done it. I have and have learnt from it too.

To,
The (Over) Enthusiastic Photo Uploader

29/09/11

Hi,

You probably would know me. I'm one of your innumerable friends on Facebook(a year or two ago would have said Orkut). I know that you love to take photos and own a very good camera too. But then this is the age of Digital Photography and anyone with a 20000+ quid can get a decent DSLR/SLR (if I ask you to expand DSLR/SLR, you would give me a blank stare). And as everyone wants to be a Jack of all trades, you want to become a photographer too. You might know Photoshop too. Oh Cool, The better. But what bothers/irks me are the throngs of photos that you upload on the social networking site. Trust me it’s a virtual eye sore. Not many of your friends would say this but this is just my opinion/view and a humble plea, from me and few other that a bugged of this "Upload Your Photos" phenomenon.

These days I open (the new)Facebook and find that the inhabitants have made it a photo sharing site(the enlarged pics don't help either). The self confessed photographer has come up in all of us and we have been clicking away and hoping that some jobless soul will like and comment on it and you can proclaim "Hey, I'm a good phtographer."

You had gone on a trip to Timbuktu. Ok, we know that already. You had updated your status as "Rollicking in Timbuktu". And then you come back and put up a heap of photos of what you did there. Gleefully Facebook says "XYZ added such-and-such-number of photos in the album Rollicking in Timbuktu"... Everyone goes W.O.W, G.A.G.A... 5 photos into the album and they are already brain dead, cos all they see is the same thing posted over and over again in different angles and different tones that would help anyone, with a image manipulation software, build a 3D image of the same without missing any bit of the scene, if they had access to the album.

Entire lines in an album are dedicated to leaves, trees, sand, lamp, cows, cow dung (you get the point). Ya we know you took it. But is it really necessary to flaunt them? And with the new FB uploader it is real easy to upload. Select the whole folder --> Upload. Leave the rest to you superfast internet connection and Go have a cup of coffee, come back and voila it's up. And then you have the whole world drooling on your "well taken" photos (well, at least you think so). 300 odd photos and half of them are useless. What’s the whole point of uploading so many photos? A few are fine but 300? Are you ok? We, Ok I, aren’t that curious and mostly not interested to wade through all of them. Upload selectively.

And did you forget something after you uploaded? Oh, Not the wait for the comments. Think again. Need a clue? 5 letter word starts with and ends with L. Yeah, Label. Pls do that. You might sometimes get lucky and get a truly good shot, but then the world doesn’t know what it’s looking at. Do that if u want to avoid questions like "where is this?", "is this XYZ place?” But then you would be happy, cos you are getting the comments that you wanted, ain’t it? Let sense prevail.

About Photoshop. It’s a great tool. Used sparingly can make your photo better. Used excessively it can do the opposite too. A picture would say what 1000 words can, but with excessive editing you end up removing the 999 words. BTW what happened to those good ol’ original pictures?

Come on people. Be realistic. A horde of photos on Picassa is just fine. But on Facebook, think again. No one has that much time to shift through the entire collection. Most would view a few pics, like/comment on them and get back to work (yeah, we are all busy people you see). Most of them don’t care. Some comment just for the sake of it or sometimes to follow the conversation which is happening below the photo. Basically, the joke is on you. Better thing to do would be to put it on Picassa and share the link on FB (Real tech savvy). You will know how many are actually interested.

And as Ernst Haas puts it
“There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.“

The Camera is a powerful tool in the hands of the capable. Use it well.

Regards,
A Guy on your Friend List

P.S: While you are at it you can visit my album "Random Glimpses" on FB(#shameless publicity) :P

Credits

Teenage Google

Today our dear know-it-all friend, Google, celebrates its 13th birthday. Thus officially we can call it a teenager now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Google. :)

As it takes its first steps into adolescence or what is called as the "troubled teens", here are a few things that can happen while it passes through from 13 to 18:
1) There will be significatng increase in size(meaning more storage sapce in google in Gmail).
2) It will suffer from violent mood swings(will depict using doodles).
3) It will start hiding things from you in your search results.
4) It will suffer from drastic mood swings and the search results will vary in accordance with the mood.
5) It can be influenced by its peer group.
6) It can decide to be a rebel and revel all our personal data.
7) It can go into depression and stop replying to anyone, whatever be the query.
8) It will be come more curious and start poking its noses into others business. Like finishing our search query way before we type the first word.
9) It will be grounded but will find ways and means to break out(US Govt. trying to clip Google's wings).
10) Last but not least, Now that its old enough it will sign up for a Facebook account(it already has one, but with a false DOB).

Anyways for now, Enjoy you special day.

The Story of a Strand

Started as a tiny strand
soft, small and tender.
Time added layers ,
at a steady pace,
magifiying in size,
making the strand a rope,
reliable, flexible and strong.
Duly it shrunk in size,
getting thicker and stronger,
bringing other strands closer,
so to stand the test of time.
But it only got so far.
Consequences left it with deep cuts.
No matter how thick the rope grew,
the weakness was evident.
Just waiting for that one jerk ,
for that one hump in the road.
And when it happened,
it just snapped,
leaving two pieces,
similar in strength,
but with edges frayed.
Knotted back,
the rope became one,.
Knot and edges frayed,
but stood out,
the testimony of the struggle.
A gentle and humble reminder,
of how that small thread,
grew into a fine strong rope.....

Light At The End

from the archives, written on 11/02/09

Tired with this life I am
never did I feel such a thing

my thoughts are just so jammed, but

like the council of a king....

I don't know what should I do

when I am hanging around in a crossroad

where kind-hearted and honest so few

and the heart burdened with excess baggage....

But I in search of bliss wander around

like a person without a cause

where troubles and strife's are unending, found

slowly learning all the ups were just false....

The downs are never too long

nor are they hear to last

but I am lost in this throng of troubles

who no sign of leaving, show....

Lost in this endless maze am I

seems impossible it is to come out

from this burden that on me is laden

for that elusive light I'm craving

the light at the end of the tunnel....