On the way to office, encountered the following obstacles on Intermediate Ring Road: At the National Games Village signal, there’s a glorious and empty Intermediate Ring Road in front of me. The signal goes green. I am stuck behind a two-wheeler that fails to start. The glorious and empty Intermediate Ring Road disappears. 100 metres […]
It’s a BIG tweet today! I couldn’t have read “Banker to the Poor – The Story of the Grameen Bank,” by Muhammad Yunus at a better time. I had bought this book out of sheer boredom at a Landmark store in Chennai. Call it fate or karma or whatever, but this book’s put my mind […]
Tulana Nasti ithi Tulasi. Tulasi leaves should not be plucked on the following days: Tuesday, Friday, Sunday, on Dwadashi, during Poornima and Amavasya, Sankranthi, during afternoons, evenings, or during nights, and during Grahana. We can reapply the Tulasi which was offered to God the previous day. The sanctity of Tulasi remains for 10 days, then […]
Continuing my thoughts on movies produced in the previous generation: Udaya Movies, today morning, aired the fantastic movie Malaya Maarutha starring Vishnuvardhan. This movie is worth watching many times over just for the realism in acting. In an interview published in today’s New Indian Express, Aamir Khan said it right: “When I am reading a […]
Check out Jezebel – the women’s magazine you won’t ever see on the newsstands. Jezebel’s mission is to cover celebrity, sex, and fashion for women — without airbrushing. Think of it as the sort of women’s media property that could never see the light of day in traditional print because the big-name advertisers and the […]
TGIF. If you are a Hallmark (the TV channel, not the store) addict, like I am, don’t miss today’s episode of Midsomer’s Murders. If you must, I think there’s a rerun on Sunday morning. Informed A about a superb writing/blogging opportunity. A’s the best guy around for this kind of role and I wish that […]
Let’s begin with a quick poll. How many among you would be interested in proudly owning – and more importantly, checking – the following email accounts: your-name@bangalorerocks.com your-name@chennaisucks.com your-name@jayanagar4thblock.com your-name@ilovegoa.com your-name@iclimbedeverest.com your-name@somestupidwebsite.com Now, how many among you think that owning such email addresses makes you unique? Do they tell you what kind of Indian you […]
You probably have heard about – or worse, experienced – XM’s satellite radio service conking out in the United States. For all those hard-earned dollars paid as subscription fees, you would be forgiven for thinking that XM could have put out a better press release than simply saying: XM Satellite Radio has resumed normal levels […]
There’s a new VLCC flyer that’s doing the rounds with the morning newspaper. Let me know if the following messages printed on the flyer inspire you to sign up. My comments are in parentheses. The only place where LOSERS win! (Spot on!) VLCC keeps you stunning at 20 and gorgeous at 40. (And in between?) […]
“Bangalore will be unwired,” they said. The only wires I see coming out are the ones being dug up under the guile of the road-widening project. We were supposed to be hopping on to the wireless bandwagon by February, 2007. That got shifted to April, 2007. Ok. We Bangaloreans understand a delay. We are used […]
Had been to a Fiat Palio showroom sometime back – to help a friend out. The Palio’s a weird vehicle. The driver’s seat has you admiring the sky rather than the road. There are no separate turn indicators. Using the glove box gives the impression that you are up to something naughty. And where’s that […]
Today, we will learn the meaning of the word Seeta. “Seera jata iti Seeta,” meaning “born from the land.” Here Seera means Bhoomi (or Earth). Jata means to be born. Recollect that Seeta was found when ploughing the land (Bhoomi). Hence the name. Feel free to offer your suggestion or correct any mistake in the […]
Last week, Avinash and I had a chat about the current state of mobile phones. We wished for a simple mobile phone that would just let us talk, message, and get on with our lives. I don’t need – to quote Avinash – a “multi-device franchise.” To my surprise, Nokia’s just about granted my wish […]
Quite a busy morning. Woke up at 04:15 for a swimming class from 05:00 to 06:00 followed by Fitness One from 06:05 to 07:05. Height of frustration: Slow drivers hugging the right lane on Intermediate Ring Road and acting deaf to your honking. Pinnacle of frustration: 2-wheelers sticking exactly to the centre strip on Intermediate […]
During a discussion at our team meeting: The food served at our canteen is horrible. I don’t have my lunch there. I walk over to the food court. Ok. So have you ever though of solving this problem instead of complaining or taking the easy way out? The last statement keeps ringing in my mind. […]
Switched to an AirTel corporate connection. I get 600 minutes and 200 SMSes free every month. I can finally have a 2-way talk. # Cooked up an Excel-based income tax calculator. Discovered that I’ll have nothing left at the end of the month. # I don’t want to be the only one left with nothing […]
Yesterday, an acquaintance asked me this question: I have received an admit into XYZ college for the two-year MBA program with specialization in marketing. I have a month’s time before I join the college. Is there something useful I can learn in this one month? Based on my experience, here’s what I think you could […]
Here’s a quick list of why nots. The signal strength and quality are simply too poor to have any meaningful conversation. On numerous occasions, the cellphone display suggests that the signal strength is excellent but you are either having a one-way conversation or the call simply gets dropped. I haven’t been able to send a […]
Completed a long pending upgrade to WordPress 2.1.3. Everything looks good to go. Let me know if anything looks out of order. # Plugged in Alex King’s Twitter Tools. You should now be able to read a daily digest of my tweets. # Will probably head over tonight to Infinitea on Cunningham Road. Look around […]
Please read through patiently and understand. In our sampradaya, taking food is a yagna. So, one should never get up in between meals. Once you take aposhana, it means yagna has started and will end once you take the aposhana again at the end. A morsel of food once taken in hand should be taken […]