It's better to burn out than to fade away...

Thanks to Kurt Cobain, the last time I felt burnt out wasn't too long ago and these were the lines that kept me going..
While am not a big fan of getting burnt out.. I'd prefer to burn out than just fade away.. fading away to me is losing control, jus disappearing.. without a trace. and is a very scary feeling..
I'm someone who always wants to leave my signature (in a good way of course).. all the time. so burning out is like adding more light.. let's say lighting things up until the last bit.. like a candle perhaps.
So I think it's better to burn out than to fade way..
This is too much philosophy for a come back blog.. I'm hoping to get better.. more cheeky and comical.. more ME! soon.. :)

Life...!

Guess who's back! After a long hiatus, I'm back to do what I'm passionate about.. "Being opinionated" lol..

After doing a lot of different things for over a year under the mask of being a "freelancer" I took up a real JOB! and it's been quite a task ever since.. After being asked my a lot of friends, am here to share a lot of "opinions" so this marks my come back into the blog space again.. And this time I plan to be better than before.. more humorous and definitely more spontaneous.

Am thinking what I should write about.. You guys can suggest...?

Cheers,

~M

Wayanad Ends.... :)

Woke up by 6:30 something,3 of us went for a walk while the great silly was sleeping, before we could return Silly went for a shower, we returned; Silly had finished her shower, we started getting ready. Barath went, followed by me and then Sukanya. Silly for a change was ready quickly, both of them started clicking pictures of each other!! By now, Barath and I were all set, luggage packed and kept into the car also. Sukanya went to answer the nature’s call for a whooping 30 mins! Delay! Delay! Delay! It was 9:45 something

Mr. Sunny Menon’s bill cleared.. Mr. Sunny menon played a perfect host, my intention was to ask him a discount, but I didn’t coz we loved our stay so much and he, roopesh (the guy who guided us to Tall hill) and other chetta played such an amazing role. Our trip wasn’t one bit spoilt. Mr. Sunny Menon, showed us his home stay that’s under construction, showed us his daughter’s tanjore painting, it was a family full of creative people. We all took pictures of us together! And we bid adieu to Mr. Sunny Menon who was almost a part of our group now. I asked him to call me when he came to Bangalore and he asked us to go back there again, we promised him that we would..

We left Vythri by 10 only difference, we knew the directions well.. I was ripping, I knew the roads and the bends well now.. The darlings wanted to buy some spices for home (What’s a Kerala trip without a spicy purchase) I stared, first pit-stop in the first 45 mins!? Hated it…Finished shopping and clicking pictures with cowboy hats!! Took for from there, drove fast to reach our first check post at Bandipur, Karnataka police doing there election checks, cleared the first one. The bandipur forest area was beautiful, the darlings wanted more pictures I wouldn’t agree, they kept cribbing and crying.. I pulled over and braked suddenly, all of them were so happy, they clicked pictures, and I didn’t get out of the car. Started driving again and this time I told them that am not going to stop anywhere else, they agreed. Saw another beautiful place which even I liked, didn’t want the children to curse me, so stopped again, and surprised them! Clicked their pics, started driving again… was driving quite fast this time.

We reached Mysore by 12:30. To my horror the great people pissed me off by saying that they wanted to go to Mysore Palace. They had absolute majority, so we went. Mysore palace was ok, crowded heavily (what else could you expect during a summer vacation weekend) the darlings were repenting their decision, now. Came out of the palace after 90 mins.. I was cursing the kids by now!! They were cursing themselves too..

Lunch!?! Where @ RRR! This time we didn’t have to search too long, all of them directed us well. We walked into a jam packed RRR waited for a good 25 mins before we got a seat, ate some delicious biryani, it was worth the wait. I belted happily! Got out had a nice sweet pan, it was 3:30-4. I’d have loved to take a good 2 hour sleep but time to get back home. I had to meet this friend of mine.. I needed to actually, so I was speeding. Sunday evening heavy traffic, speed breakers and election check posts, I still was averaging at 90s. Something was running on my mind, it is inexplicable, controversial but I wanted to be there by 6.

We reached the city at 7, dropped off Barath by 7:30. This friend of mine who I wanted to meet called and check if I could make it. I responded negative *sad* *sad*. I felt really bad for not being able to make it.. Told that I’d talk to this person in a bit, I went off to drop Sil. We stopped for a bit for some work, I called this friend and apologized for not being able to make it. Spoke for sometime.. Felt really nice..Dropped Sil, Sil’s family members were warm and nice (Sil is the only exception.. lol)! Dropped Sil and her prized possession, her car. Sukanya and I took an auto.. On our way, we discussed about the same thing we discussed the night before and I bid adieu to Sukanya and reached my place after a while.. this my trip came to an end.. Happy Ending.. Very happy indeed… :) *Cheers*

End of Wayanad Trip! ..........Waiting for Pondy!

Wayanad.. The dream continued.. :)

All of them woke up. I was the last one to get up. All of them were looking at me with absolute curiosity. I woke up.. good mood.. started talking to all of them, including Silly. It was peaceful. after a while, Barath and Sukanya started.. the way you both behaved last night we thought this would continue and were really upset and look at the 2 of you, you’re so nice to each other now. We both smiled. We got hot water to shower, we started getting ready, Sukanya went first, Barath next, then Silly and then me. I got out, got read and the girls were getting ready like they were going to walk the ramp or somethin'. they got ready, we had a breakfast appam and Puttu! I liked it and the others didn’t.

Mr. Sunny gave us a tourist booklet and suggested that we go to Pookote lake, Soojipaara falls and Kuruva Island, We started, we headed to Pookote lake, Pookote lake was the mallu version of our Ulsoor lake. It was amidst hills and forests, people were boating.. looked commercial. Not my kinda place, I prefer nature, primitive and raw areas.. All of a sudden my expectation from The God’s own country dropped, I was sure that the waterfalls would be something similar and I was kinda disappointed, the best part; I never express all this, it was too sunny, so we didn’t go boating (thankfully), there was this aquarium, I was very curious to see the fish, went in to see freakin Gold fish, Angels, Tiger fishes! I was mindforked by now! Lol.. After the so-called aquarium, we started to Soochipaara falls.

This place was 35-40 kms. We reached the place with no pit-stops, entered and parked, were asked to carry water as it was 1km walk from where we parked, I was like 1km I can easily do it, no water thanks.. We started walking and look on my right it was a deep valley and on my left was the mountain (Soochipaara hill, I suppose). It was kind of downhill, so I reached there first, since I’m slim, I did this almost effortlessly, the girls were panting for breath and Barath escorted the girls like a pure gentleman. All of reached the falls and I must admit that I LOVED IT! It was the raw, crude, primitive country side water fall, no commercial element, it was a lil crowded as there were some college/school students. Barath and I stripped shamelessly, went and drenched ourselves in the water, I was a lil scared as it was rocky and slippery, so If I slipped, I’d have a bad fall. The scare lead to a shitty feeling! (Literally!!!) We were in water for a few minutes… and then the girls wanted to go back. We started walking, now it’s uphill, we were tired!! And the shitty feeling! I was helpless! There was another waterfall, Barath and I saw it and returned immediately. We had to walk up, they were selling butter milk and lemon juice, I can’t drink or eat nothing! For obvious reasons, I kept asking every vendor if there was loo.

We reached the place where we started, there was nice lunch place, we decided to have lunch and I can’t handle an upload coz I had no bandwidth, I needed to download first! So I asked people, all of them directed me towards the entry where there was cop sitting, this was a mallu cop, so I wasn’t allergic, asked him where the loo was and he smiled and directed me to another guy, now I was freaking upset, I’d download anytime! I walked up to this man, asked him for the loo, he said the most horrifying thing that I’ve heard this year, “the download is supposed to be inside the forest, in the open” I haven’t done this in ages! Having said, he gave me a mug of water and said go deep side but beware of snakes! I was…. Inexplicable feeling! I went slightly deep, could hear weird noises, download Complete.

Now I was relieved and hungry. Had lunch, we set off to Kuruva, it was a good 2 hr drive from Soochipaara. I enjoyed the drive; we drove thru a lot of nice scenic places!! Then saw a nice cashew tree, nice fragrance! And we kept asking people how far Kuruva is and everyone gave us consistent responses, the response was 1KM! I drove a total of 9, 1KM! and then we reached Kuruva, we saw some interesting foreigners and then it started raining.. The 3 darlings went out to get wet in the rain. I sat in. I didn’t want to catch a cold and end up with a fever, so I stayed in.

We waited for a while, looked like it wouldn’t stop, so we were heading back!! It was 6 already and we had 60 kms to cover and I wasn’t very happy about driving in the dark but what the heck, I did. We had a nice dinner!! Delicious fried rice, KP (Kerala Parota), chicken Manchurian! People loved it, I didn’t like it much coz It lacked nativity; I’d have preferred nada choru, some gravy, avail and pradhaman! :) But no complaints, the dinner was good, Barath wanted "the refreshments" yet again, others weren’t keen.. Since Barath didn’t have majority, we did away with "refreshments". We reached home, Mr. Sunny Menon wanted to know how it was, we had a nice chat and I felt nice talking to him.

We were scheduled to leave early next morning (by 6), Our timekeeper Barath kept an alarm for 4:30, Sukanya and Barath retired to bed, Silly and I were arguing for some time and then I went to bed, I wasn’t sleepy; I woke up Sukanya and asked her if she was sleeping (Cheeky.. Cheeky ME)

Barath was fast asleep, Sukanya and I started talking and she started telling about her family- her mom, I was inspired after I heard the about her mom, I intend to write about it after I meet Sukanya’s mom. While Sukanya was telling us about her mom, she sat up, so my first victim lost her sleep.. We spoke for some more time while Sukanya wanted to check what sil was doing, Sil was sitting in the other room listening to music, so I got up to check what our lady Sil is upto. Silly was snoring away to glory; I woke her up and asked her to come on sleep on her bed.. Sil came in and sukanya complained about how I woke her up.. Sil laughed and we started talkin about.. Sil also joined the conversation, as soon as Sil came in Barath also woke up (my 2nd victim.. yay!)

We all started talking.. discussed all our stories. spoke about the good, bad and ugly (ugly took precedence)!

Shared my perspective about a lot of things, Sukanya was amazed, her total outlook towards something was changing (for good). ..Spoke a lot, saw the time, it was 3! So I asked Barath to please switch off his alarm since we knew that we could get up in 3 hours and I can’t drive with just 3 hours of sleep. Off went the alarm.. We all SLEPT end of Day 2.. :)

Wacky Wayanad..

Work done, we set off… by now it’s already 11, I was thinking we’d be crossing Mysore by 11. Being the control freak that I’m, I was losing it but I’m trying to be nice!! We were reaching Mysore and Sil started grumbling that I wasn’t letting her drive. So I gave her the car and went to the rear to flirt with the other girl (lol..)

On seeing Sil drive, I couldn’t be bothered about who is sitting next to me even if it was Eva Mendez (wow) I thought I was only one until I saw Barath’s hand, he was already holding the handbrake, just in case.. We let Sil be behind the steering for less than 3 kms until I lost it and took over! Sil was obviously upset about the comments we passed and with me since I didn’t let her drive, but I couldn’t be bothered. It was a matter of life and death! (Aww.. she wasn’t so bad, I’m just exaggerating) Barath, hasn’t had his breakfast, wanted to have a heavy lunch; suggested that we go to RRR restaurant as they made delicious biryanis! We started looking for the place and we looked for over 20 mins and I lost it (again..)I said can we please have lunch at the nearest restaurant rather than roaming around endlessly?, all of them nodded (they didn’t have another choice anyway..) and then we went to this roadside restaurant, veg meals it was! I didn’t have anything since I’d feel sleepy if I have a heavy meal.. Yes, am used to sleeping in the afternoon after my meal, so it’s RISKY!! I had a really cold mausambi juice and 2 butter milks!!

Lunch over, we set out again.. oops, I forgot something.. After our stop at the puncture shop which was after kengeri, our darlings wanted me to stop at Coffee day – Maddur. I just didn’t even pay attention to what they were saying (This was the reaction to anything Sil said.. by the way. She’d ask… Manoj can you stop here? Nice scenery, Manoj Manoj.. Can I drive.. Manoj You need rest.. everything had the same reaction which was nothing.. Complete silence! Lol..)

After Mysore I was behind the steering, Barath was navigating, Sil and Sukanya were behind. I asked Sukanya if she had some tamil songs and she said she had some really old songs, I asked her to play them and she said, they are really old, I insisted, The first song for a beautiful Illayaraja song from the movie Vedham Pudidhu, I was like “Wow, this is not old, this is a beautiful 80’s number” Sukanya was kicked already.

I was enjoying the music and my dear friend Barath was dozing off. I looked around to realize Sil was also off to her dream world, I usually brake suddenly to wake them up but since Sil had worked last night, I thought I’d let her rest, so I stopped, asked Barath to go to the rear and asked Sukanya to sit next to me. There was a place where I was supposed to take right to go to Kozhikode via Bandipur, I missed that right effortlessly with absolutely no idea how much of a damage it would cause later..

We entered Bandipur, beautiful forest area. Silent, green and picturesque, I asked Sukanya to be ready with the cam so that we can click... click animal if and when we spot them. Both the darlings behind woke up (thanks to the bad roads) and there was this Tamil Nadu check post, I’m a lil allergic to Tamil Nadu Police, so I stopped a little ahead and asked our great driver Sil to take over, she was so happy.. Scared but happy! We stopped by at the check post; the cops were like madam,

where you are going madam?

Where are you coming from madam? And all..

I looked at the cop and asked him how to go to Wayanad and the cop gave me the directions and said it’s another 70-90 kms. I raised by eyebrow, cursed the cop that he didn’t know anything. We went a little ahead, driver change, and then, we headed to Cudaloore from there to Vythri.

I kept driving.. And driving.. Looked endless, I was carrying a print out from google maps which said, I only had to travel 220 kms, when we started I thought we’d reach by 2. It was 4:30 and I was seeing milestones that said Vythri 40 kms, I was seeing stars.. And then I increased speed, ( it was a hilly area so our speed dropped from 100’s to 50’s and 60’s.) I was zipping at 90s, the darlings in the car had no idea about the sudden increase in speed, I was very keen in reaching our destination before it turned dark. At last by 5 we reached the place that the cop told, he was exactly right. It was close to 90 kms and it had some nice resorts and home stays.

On reaching Vythri, we asked the jeep drivers if there are any Home stays and they directed us towards a left turn. And I drove 50 mts ahead, there was a right turn and there was home stay advertisement, I asked Sil to call that number; Sil called, the genius who picked the call was asking us to call the other number, upon trying that number it was a different response, confused us and then I looked at the main road to see another eco friendly resort advertisement hoarding and I said, this is it, let’s go there don’t waste money. It was an uphill (slightly) We drove up, parked the car asked someone where this homestay was, a nice mallu man showed us the way and walked into the homestay, a nice lady walked out, looked at me, asked me for how many days will we need the place, and I said 2-3 days, she said, sorry it’s booked (Thank God).

When I walked back, I realized that she was a cop’s wife and I was happy that we didn’t get the place. Then I looked at that guy who guided and told him it’s occupied, asked him if he knows of another home stay, he smiled and answered positively. He took me to meet Sunny Menon of Tall Hill Home stay! Sometime I get a hunch about people and places, I got it here, I felt at home here…this place was very creatively & colorfully done, I can’t explain it, see the pics! I walked back to the car, asked my darlings to check out the place, the darlings weren’t convinced they wanted us to go to that guy who we called, it was called Lake View home stay.

I was tired, annoyed and almost-dead. I still drove, by now I was missing gears, and clutching badly, we reached Lake View, it was a yellow building, looked like a Bangalore house, I wasn’t convinced, the room he showed us was small and wouldn’t accommodate 4 of us. The guys immediately said, let’s go back to Tall Hill home stay, I smiled.

On our way back, we got lost, this was almost normal now.. on reaching the main road, we thought it would be better to pick up our “refreshments” and dinner coz I was sure that I wouldn’t drive after this. So we asked the people for the “refreshment” shop and guided we were.. J

On reaching the refreshment stop, we realized that we had to stand in a queue. Stood, didn’t get what we wanted. Reminded us of our old school proverb “if you don’t get wanted, be happy with what you get” (or something…)

Went to the shop next, picked up sprite, peanuts and mixture. Dinner? We called our host Sunny Menon to check about the restaurants around, the man said he will arrange everything and we could come home in peace and we did!

Got home, I was TIRED! Freshened up! The refreshments were inviting us and the girls were delaying (this will be repeated over and over and over again coz they did it all the time.. ahh Sil and Sukanya..)

At last we started.. came chicken kebab, and we continued.. I was thinking that I’d be tired and sleepy but I was in complete form. Top class leg pulling, Silly was getting harassed! Sukanya was married to her phone! (oh this is the first time I’m talking about it? So sorry!... Can we roll a tortoise coil and go back to Bangalore? Important point missed!! Sukanya was on the phone so many times before we got out of Bangalore and this was pissing Sil, so Sukanya was ordered to put her phone off, she was saying, hey no.. official call ya and all that, later we caught her getting up close and personal on the phone and I immediately said, oh… Official call ah? Very nice!! And she smiled.. no blushed!! I said “Caught you” and we all laughed! Later Sukanya was kind enough to put off the phone until we reached Vythri.

Flash back ends!!

Now and then Sukanya took breaks to talk to that someone.. Barath and I were busy pulling so many fast ones on Silly! We had one too many “refreshments” and Sil was warming up. Since I was in top form and was getting better, Silly was getting annoyed and the “refreshment” was making her argumentative. I went on… I was “refreshed too right!” We kept arguing and I was making some smart-ass-statements and then made a foot-in-the-mouth statement, Sil lost her cool, walked out on me. Started call her friend, I had no idea why she was upset (none of us know what I said, it was something so miniscule) We ran out of “refreshments”, Sukanya walked in got some super attitude from Silly, followed by Barath. I was sitting peacefully in one room. Barath and Sukanya were trying to make peace but Silly wouldn’t care! Sukanya and Barath were extremely sweet, they wanted us to make peace had have dinner, I tried talking to Silly but she was too pissed! I thought “Wish I know what I said, I’d do it again!”

They all had dinner “I guess” we all slept..

End of Day 1... :)

Wayanad - A dream journey!

I’m a big fan of being organized, so when it to our Wayanad trip; I kept telling Sil (the silly girl) the do’s and don’t’s . sure did annoy her. Since she respects me a lot (at least I’d like to think she does) she patiently listened to me.. Told her that I’ll not drive in the night, I’ll not drive if am sleepy, I’ll not drive if am this and I’ll not drive if am that.. lol, basically threw my weight around since I was the only driver, Sil said she’ll come by 6:30-7 in the morning, since I wanted to get out of the city before the peak hour traffic that starts by 8. Asked Sil to wake me up by 6 and she did, she also told me she’ll be slightly late and she will call me when she is leaving home. I took another 5 minute nap, got up, had a nice shower and got ready by 7-7:15. No sign of our madam,

I wondered if she went off to sleep as she had just finished her shift at 4:30 in the morning. Patiently waited and our lady calls by 7:45, says she’ll be there in a bit. I was all set, I was looking at the mirror and I figured that I’d look better with a nice shave, so I called Harish (My beautician) Harish was at his parlor, so I carried my baggage to the parlor had a nice shave and waited for Sil to call, she called and she reached the place (Thankfully).

Sil introduced me to Barath, her friend, we exchanged pleasantries and I got behind the steering wheel and also soon as I drove the first 10 mtrs, I could feel the relief on Barath’s face. He said, ”Sil this is how you should drive”. I smiled and we started to move towards Ulsoor, we were supposed to pick up some girl. So Sil and the other girl started talking on the phone. Sil saying “get ready!” “we’re almost there” “where are you?” and she was telling me to go to the temple at Ulsoor. And I went and parked the car..

Sil asks the girl again “Where are you?”
the girl “in front of the temple”
Sil “come on, we’re just outside the temple and I don’t see you”
The girl “I’m standing right outside the temple”
I intervene “Which temple is she at”
Sil “which temple”
The girl “Subramanya Swamy temple”
I smile “This is perumal temple, we will have to go further ahead”

The girl asked us to come near the bata showroom and we went. I stopped and I adjusted the rear to see if I could see anyone approaching and I could see one stylish girl coming. I told the 2 of them in the car, there she is and I open the hood, started keeping all our luggages in order.

She arrived, Sil introduced her as Sukanya, we all said hello.. kept her luggage and we set out for our trip!

Sukanya and Barath were initially (I repeat INITIALLY) quiet and I was getting bored, Barath was directing me so that we get out of the city asap, it was 8:30 something already. Barath asks, can we stop at MTR and have breakfast? I look at him and think “we’ve not started the trip only and you’re asking for a break!”

I told him, “oh sure! If it’s on the way” rather hesitantly.. thankfully the road was a lil crowded, so we didn’t want to stop anywhere until we reached the outskirts of the city.. Sil slowly said, “Manoj we need to fill fuel” I turn around and give a “can’t-you-do-this-last night” look.. “ I said ok and I said there is a Shell and we’ll stop there”

Reached Shell, filled gasoline, the girls went to the store at the fuel station, picked up snack and came, I asked Sil why didn’t they pick up water and Sil said “oh nooo, the water is manufactured in January!” I gave her a W-T-F look, and I asked “So?” she said noo.. it’s old. We’ll buy it somewhere else.. I asked, oh so you want me to stop again?!? We set out to drive again, we spotted Mc. Donalds’ sign boards indicating the distance, Barath proposed that we stop at MCD and the other to ladies too joined. So we stopped at MCD, they all walked in, I parked the car and followed them, as I walked in, I was told that there was a power cut and MCD did not have a back up! Sad but true! I walked in, washed my face, took a seat and the others went in to freshen up! A while later the guy at the MCD crew told us the power will get restored in 30 mins, I was like F-O-R-K! We walked out, clicked some pictures and back we were on the road..

while talkin something, I commented, since the car is new, the spare tyre is all there right.. Sil says “YES” and after 5 seconds.. “M-a-n-o-j… the stepney is punctured, I drove into a gutter and it tore off the tyre, I didn’t bother to repair it” “though I was irritated, we laughted it off and I started looking for a tyre repair shop” spotted one at a fuel station (Mind you this was our 3rd stop at a fuel station in a span of 90 mins”) I stopped, gave the tyre for repair and we started to wait. Barath was thirsty, he went off to get water and I told him to check the manufacturing date!? Lol..

End of Part - 1..

Appreciate More...!

Before I start, let me admit.. I'm writing this with a lot of agony; it may not really sound like it, but that's the truth. It's sheer agony that tempted me to discuss this "Gesture"

Let's say.. Thank you is not appreciation, it's an expression of Gratitude. So if you're going to say that you express appreciation because you say thank you, I'm sorry! You're disqualified.. :)

Do this... Walk up to some one who really has made your life better (however big or small); could be your mom, father, niece, a good friend and appreciate them, which means, you will tell them about one trait or characteristic of their you really like, tell them why you like it and tell them how amazing it is (For E.g., Hey Mom, I've been noticing your patience with all of us and now after so many years, I realize it's so tough to be so patient and positive, I'm trying to learn this from you, it's amazing)

Now, close your eyes and see how you feel and look at the other person's face..? Feel it? Start from home because that's the most neglected area.. not many of us appreciate our mom's cooking until we start missing it. so, that's a place you could start from. There is also a lil drawback to this gesture, people will think you're flattering them because you need a favor, it's only a temporary thing; with time people will know it's genuine..

Gone are the days when people will feel obligated or will make you feel obligated when you express appreciation. There are have been days when people would think twice before saying something nice about someone but now. It's the time to turn around and express heartfelt appreciation to people who have touched our life in one way or the other.

Appreciation is an excellent win-win situation, the giver and the getter feel brilliant. I felt it after I wrote one of my previous blogs.. "My Inspirations.." (it's quite popular now!) I felt so nice when I published the blog and felt the best everytime someone updated a nice comment!

There were only a few brilliant people I had mentioned about.. but I haven't discussed about a lot of beautiful people, so many of them who have made life so beautiful and memorable.. So many people who have inspired me in so many different ways, I thank them everyday for making my life so cool and enjoyable..! So many marvellous people and I love them all.. :)

For God's sake remember.. "What goes around comes around", so appreciate more.. You'll only feel better if not BEST!

Election 2009 - The Great Indian Drama.

Let me start with a Big Thank You to all of them who made my previous blog so popular and I really appreciate so many comments, made me feel really happy, I must say "Content".. Thanks to the ones who read it without leaving a trail... It was a heart felt blog, now am back with a "mind-feel" :P

It's the time we will see a lot of developments happen @ extreme speed! If you walk out of the house and travel around 4 kms, you should be able to see someone repairing the road or laying new ones! Yes, it's the time for
The Great Indian Elections.


The other day, I was at my sister's school and all of a sudden people started reparing the roads, dug it all out and blocked the traffic (it was a small lane, though) there was confusion for sometime (as always) and then work continued. I was wondering why they started working on that road all of a sudden and then dad uttered the word.. Elections and I ridiculed (as always) "ohhh no wonder"


Ok, let me try to be serious!! Elections is the time for us to voice out! Voice out our opinions, it's time to make a choice.. simple. I see newspapers, actors and the media, almost begging people to vote! Feel digusted! It's your freaking "responsibility" to vote. During elections, people are happy about getting a day off, they sit at home and galavant. And after it's over and some wrong guys comes to power, they'll see him doing all sorts of sh** and then complain about the political system. Whose mistake was it? YOURS! my friend, when you had a choice, you didn't. now SUFFER! simple and easy to understand. No one has to beg you to vote, it's your responsibility for God's sake!


I'm trying to think of 2 sane people who would make a difference with their presence... In

Politics I mean.. :) Since I call this a drama, these men are our heroes!


Dayanidhi Maran - Undoubtedly my favorite, he is smart, educated and he is action-packed (as in he does what he is supposed to do). I wish he stayed longer in his portfolio, we would have gone a long way, I don't mean Raja is bad, but Dayanidhi Maran is the best!
He brought in investments well in excess of $30b for the IT sector alone and set the ball rolling for making India a chip manufacturing hub! not a joke!


His "Vision 2010" is brilliant, realisitic and competitive.


I don't know if he'll contest from Chennai Central and if he will get a ticket from DMK, whatever happens, I wish this guy comes into politics again. There is a lot he can do for the country!!

I see his potential to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at a later stage may be after the time (I'm talking about his time in politics) of Dr.M. Karunanidhi (which will be in less than 5 year), and if only that happens, you can be rest assured that we'll see some great developments.


Dr. HT. Sangliana - A retired Director General of Police (I never liked Cops so much..) with 3 doctorates, I'm sure he is something! A very honest and progressive (I usually don't use these terms for a politician) politician, since I feel they are faaaaar from being honest and progressive, so here is a welcome change.

There is a lot he has done to Bangalore and Karnataka as a cop and a politician, It's a bad idea to write just 1 or 2. however, I admired when his courage to stood up for what is beneficial for the country, even after knowing that it would cost him his relationship with BJP ( which I never liked anyway).. It required a lot of guts to do what he did. Fantastic, I admit..

I would love it if he gets a ticket in Bangalore, if he doesn't he should contest out of Mangalore, may be!

Why Mangalore?

Simple strategy, after what happened there 2 months before, imagine a cop contesting, would that restore people confidence and boost their morale?

The answer is a yes!!


Simply said, this gentleman can deliver, wherever he is, it's only a matter of time.. again, he's an amazing option for The chief minister of Karnataka (quite honestly, The only good option). Strong, Honest, Progressive, EDUCATED (in bold and Caps) and yet Simple.. He's stupendous..

Some really nice news articles about Dr. Sangliana..
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/interview-indian-mp-ht-sangliana

http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/nov/22sang.htm

My Inspiration(s)..

We all have role models (at least most of us do..), the people who inspire us, the ones we want to follow and the ones we want to be. I'm thinking who inspires me the most and from childhood till now, there have been so many people.. I wouldn't do justice if I just wrote about one person. so am gonna think write about a few people who inspired me from time to time, I'll write about teachers, friends, relatives, actor and so on...

Class 4 - I joined a new school since we moved into a new home, nothing registered well until our exams, Quarterly exams ended, the day we were going to get our papers our principal, Mr. N. Vijayan was addressing all of us during our assembly, he first appreciated the ones who did well, then gave a pep talk for the ones who want to top in their classes and then he came to people like me. The BQ! (Bottom Quartile) lol.. He said the ones who have not passed need not take this as a disaster, remember.. "Failures are the stepping stones to success". I didn't really know that I was going to hear this dialogue twice a year for the next 5-6 years but yes, after 2 years, I'd say this dialogue even before he would. After years, I figured the impact it had created. It made us more optimistic, I don't know about other but it mattered at least to me!! so our first person is Mr. N. Vijayan.

Class 5 (I guess) - Back in the I think it was late 80's or early 90's, I was a very passive student (I mean, I was just the opposite of active). Computers were just getting added into our syllabus when a young guy in his early 20's joined school, computer sir!! The school bought a few computers (IBM) and there was separate room with a thermocol ceiling, A/C and so on.. This computer sir, Anand was calm, composed and tech savvy! I still remember the way he used to handle his computer, learning Keyboard shortcuts started with him and it's still continuing. I admired Anand because computers were so freakin new and he already knew how to use it and also trouble shoot! Awesome!! Deep down, I decided, when I grow up, I want to be like him and guess what Dell happened to me when I grew up and I was exactly what I wanted to be. So Anand was my 2nd inspiration... He's now a big brother to me!

Schooling ended at class 10, I was (hehe I'm still) hopeless when it came to Math, So I decided to do something that had nothing to do with Maths! and Hotel Management was a craze back then.. I went to this college, a guy (Andrew Kurien) pitched for this course and I was in complete awe! I came back with only one feeling "This is it, this is where I want to be" so I joined Hotel Management.

Days passed.. people would ask me, "so you are going to be a cook ah?!?"
I'd say... "It's called a Chef"
Then "Yedho Samaiyal Kaaran dhaaney" (Untimately you're a freaking cook right)
It would leave me fuming.. he he!

Andrew was our Vice Principal, a man of class, a well spoken and one hell of a practical man! He'd teach us everything about service, Food, beverage, Wine! You name it! and he'd have that class.. Something not many of them would notice, I'd see what exactly he does and copy it. He liked me for it. I learnt Event Management from him. He was amazing..

College ended, sat home for a few months, then worked at a few places I don't feel like naming... and then I joined Bay Leaf, the owner Arijith Purkoyostho. He was a leather business man who owned a delivery and take away outlet called "Wish a Dish" now he had just started "Bay Leaf". Arijith was a hardcore business man and a nice boss.. It's from him, I learnt how to oversee operations of an outlet, how to react and how not to.. Sometimes he'd walk in quietly, order his food, eat and leave. Next day, he'd call us for a meeting and tell what he did right and what we didn't do right. Extremely sharp observing skill... that's what I learnt from Ari and Vidhu, his better half.

While I was working at Bay Leaf, my sister introduced me to her friend (yes, yes, her BOY FRIEND! and then husband...) Vimal Kumar. Vimal was a Management Graduate, Smart, Talented, Well Read, Tactical, A Good listener and a amazing human being... For the next 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 years, I didn't need to look outside for an inspiration, I admired him as a Financial Planning Advisor at Aviva where he went to become a Sales Manager in just a year or so... and then at Dell as a Team Manager. His strategies were clear, his team loved him, some worshipped him... I still do. His role as a husband was the most challenging and he did a pretty good job... and his role as a dad, It's from him, I learnt how to nurture a baby, he would take care of Aishu better than my sister.. much much better! He'd cook better than anyone I know.. He was flawless (almost)

God took him away from us last year coz he felt he needed Vimal up there as he was such an amazing person, he left behind a lot of amazing memories and lessons which I will never forget..(My eyes are wet, never knew how much I loved him until he was gone)

A few freinds who have inspired me.. Ben, he's smart, quick, analytical and extremely dedicated to his work.. and now also to Dimple!

Hubs, my favorite seller. Hubert is more like a big brother to me. He's charming, well dressed, and is the best balance of mass and class. (only a few will know what am talkin about).

Dinesh, my favorite cousin. Dinesh is one of the most finest executioners, he is street smart, caring and an awesome friend.

Jagz, Jagdish.. A friend, brother and a book of new ideas.. I love his optimism (something we both have in common.. I guess!)

Everytime I ask Jagz how he is and I know his response,
God's been kind brother and he'd smile.
I'd be like WTF, you have so many problems and how could you say it..
and then he'd say Life would be so boring without problems, so it's nice to face difficulties, they make us better people. (to me it was oh-so-philosophical, but he's right..)

Dayal Chithappa, he is now more a friend than a relative but yet another fine administrator. He always liked to be in control. Very dedicated to what he does.. Movies!!

Shashi, I just realized that I've not written about a single lady, no!! no!! no!! don't call me a MCP yet.. there are so many people and here is one fine boss, Shashi was my boss at Dell, she was more a nightmare back then, she was brilliant, analytical, problem solving, attentive and patient (Most of the time).. I learnt "Effectiveness" from Shashi..

Another person, whose name I don't want to mention but was my biggest strength without whom, I'd not exist today. She was caring, patient, concerned, cute, adorable {no marks for guessing that I was (was??) in love with her.. hehe} and selfless (mostly), I learnt how to support one's family from her! She was marvellous..

My blog mates Divya & Rach, they tempt me to write something most of the time. (Rach made me write this one) they are such wonderful souls! we keep gossiping, sharing ideas, read each other's blogs, find faults (most of the time I'm the fault finder, ya am such a ***** he he)

Rajnikanth - Oh am a huge fan of him, I like his movie plots! After Annamalai, every movie had almost a similar screenplay. He is rich, then he loses everything and then he gets everything back. Sanwich Principle? hehe.. but his songs, dialogues, action blocs are awesome. You could only admire his presence on the silver screen and more importantly his simplicity. I thought it was all a publicity gimmick until I saw his wife recently, she uses an Ambassador (Car) too!

Movies - If I write even a 4 liner about each movie that inspired me, I'd end up writing a book! :)

Dad, I saved the best for last.. Dad worked with the railways for 33 years, got out of service now working with NGOs. He writes ( he's written 7 books) ! He sings (1 music album)! He serves (Tsunami relief, free ambulance service, environmental awareness campaigns, you name it! He Inspires!! Love him and respect all the others I've mentioned above!

Cheers! (I learnt to sign off with cheers from Shashi..)

So that's a long essay! but everyone I've written about deserve more than this... I swear!

Life's Tough..

Not many of them know this side of me, I usually don't whine, have always wanted to be like a duck, like how it doesn't show it's struggle under water, above! It looks calm and cool.

I've been quite successful in being the happy me! but guess what am bloody human, I have my downs, and I want to spit it out rather than bottling it up coz it's a mental condition unlike the duck's.

I went for this interview and I badly needed that job!! BADLY! I was told it will have question on business maths, probablity and... something else which I don't even want to remember. I "kinda" prepared! I have this thing about an interview day, I like to be uber-organized, so I was. I reached the venue exactly at the time I was told..

Interview started, a nice lady said something (I didn't pay attention) and gave me the question paper, had 90 mins to finish. I open the paper, I saw stars. It was looking like a class 12 math question paper, I went nuts! ( I scored 41% in maths in class 10 and went on to study hospitality management only because it did not have Mathematics), in the mean time another set of people joined in and the lady gave the same instructions and I could hear so clearly now, don't write on the question paper and I was like sh^&!

I finished in 95 mins, I wasn't even sure if I got even a single answer right but I did something... well actually a lot of things. I quietly asked the lady, "would you be really upset if I wrote on the question paper?" Response, "not at all". At last some relief! She was the perfect HR material!

Then lady asked me to wait at the lounge. I knew I wouldn't get thru!! I so knew, but I waited for the girl to inform me "officially" and she did.

I walked out smiling but I was fuming inside, angry about myself. I wish I studied maths when it was my time to study... back in the days! I never did, now I regret not doing that.. I really do! I always wanted to work for them, I don't know if I will. but I WANT TO!

Then I met a friend for coffee, she is one of those few people I love to confess everythin to.. had a nice chat with her, we spoke for 2 hours, about movies, her life, my life, she called me a chauvinist and I got oh-so-offended but then at the end I felt a lot better after spending time with her..Glad I have such friends...

I later said to myself the same dialogue I tell all my friends when they are going thru a rough patch in life.. "Tough times don't last, Tough people do"

Life's tough, not impossible; not for me!

Beat This!

Once you read this, imagine this happening!

Rakhi Sawant ranting about something on the 15th Feb, says she is totally against something that is on the newspaper, she entertains all of us as she always does.

Then our lead actor picks up the newspaper to see what is in store on the 15th Feb. Reads the headlines "Mutalik Goofs up real big" and there are so many strings of news that explain what happened in various parts of the city, let's take a sneak peek of a few of them..

News 1 - At Mangalore, there was this couple sitting at a pub, the sevaks barge into the pub and demand them to get married, the couple declines saying they cannot get married. The man gets bashed up and then the couple are forced to marry each other. Then the sevaks realize that the girl is the man's elder brother's girl friend.

News 2 - At Mumbai, there is a couple sitting at a posh restaurant, the sevaks get in as usual, the spot a couple and walk towards them, the sevaks realize that it is Saif and Kareena, the sevaks run for their autograph. then they realize that they are here for a different issue but they make some alterations, the let them go after some autographs and pictures.

News 3 - At another city, there is a couple that is exchanging sweet nothings in a car, the sevaks stop them, since they realize that these couple can't be anything close to brother and sister, they get them married, later another set of people come and pick up a fight with the sevaks, reason : this couple were having an extra marital affair and they got these guys together.

News 4 - The Sevaks along with Mr. Mutalik spot a muslim couple, over excited about getting a muslim couple married the hindu way, they just get it done in a matter of seconds before someone could come to support the muslim couple. Then the girl removes her burka, says "sorry papa, I didn't have any other way" and seeks his blessing!

Mutalik faints and wakes up with a MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) the other personality is our dear Rakhi Sawant who we saw in the first scene!

Mockery of Democracy.

The Mangalore Pub attack has created huge chaos and as always attracted so much media attention. I wonder why there are so many people to say something about the attacks but we still wake up everyday and lead our lives, the difference between the men who attacked the women is.. they woke up one fine day, realized Pub culture is wrong all of a sudden and They did what they did and we all blog about it and get on with our lives. We are lacking ACTION. We're not heading in the right direction as citizens or as human beings. We need to get out of our seats and protest!

If someone does something bad to someone else and we don't react to it, it will be done to us next. It happened in Mangalore, no one except the media is bothered about it; it will happen in Bangalore one fine day. Guess what will happen the next day!

Mr. Yedi will bring in a new law, all pubs in Karnataka will be closed.

Times of India publish about this for the next 5 days will a lot of views of people.

Pubs will eventually open but with very lil support and extremely less occupancy!

That's where we are headed!

Circus - The Thrill

Circus, I watched the movie along with the fans of Golden star Ganesh at Aparna theatre amidst a lof fun, excitement and whistles, then rushed to Fame Lido for the special screening in the evening, the evening was filled with a lot of excitement. You could see the excitement on Mr. Dayal's face, he was ensuring everything is going as planned. For the one's who doesn't know him, he is an excellent planner and an exceptional executor, doesn't take too much tensions but very aggressive. A Good Business man and a lover of movies, he can talk the brilliance in the quality of Al Pacino, Dr. Raj Kumar, Shivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth and Ganesh, and you'll know he is not just talkin about action but about loving Cinema, which I think he passionately does.

Circus', Radio Mirchi's and Fame's team put up a good show at Fame Lido. Commendable Team Work, in spite of a lot of tension.

The movie started and the projection was real good. Good there by Fame! As I watched the movie, I could feel that this movie is not like any other kannada movie, this is a class apart. No obscene jokes, no tears, no melodrama, not much of love, not much of Sentiments! Just nail biting, rib tickling Thrills. I'd so damn! wow! and smile at the jokes.

Aparna theatre had fans whistling when the Hero runs into the scene, Ganesh has done a fantastic work, no wonder he is the golden star, he's got the potential to go a long way, let's see how he progresses after Circus.

The movie made people sit and wait for the next scene, people were actually sitting on the edge of the seats! For a Kannada movie, I felt overwhelmed..

The songs were very well done, music, camera and Choreography of the first song (Baaro Geleya) were Very Good, there was this remix of Dr. Raj Kumar's song (Jeeva Hoovagidhey) which was welcomed by Ganesh's Fans, another song (Sajnarey) this is a song which was made with live instruments which is now an absolute rarity these days. The Super hit song was "Pisugudale" Bhatru's (Yograj Bhat) Lyrics were subliming, he, as always, has done a brilliant job!

Oh yes! We did miss the title track which the director chose not to screen till they finish 50 days. The reason the song was removed may be because it was working against the thrilling sequences. Who would want to watch a song when they want to know what is going to happen in the next scene? not me. But honestly, it takes a lot of guts to remove the title track. Dayal needs to be appreciated for this. Ganesh too has not been worried, he's been co-operative which is awesome.

For the fans of Ganesh, this is a must watch, not for the songs but for the screenplay, for Golden star's action and his smartness. The thrills could have been tight, would have liked to watch Circus like a Kurudhi Punal or A Wednesday or Slumdog Millionaire, what I mean to say is we could have watched the movie with just the thrills and no songs! I think Kannada Films will get there sooner or later. But Circus is the first step into the road less travelled.

The movie is a happy ending as always (I like happy endings) :)
There was a press meet post the movie at Fame and Mr. Dayal said "He wants Press friends to highlight the fact that the movie is not the usual formula and that they have tried to break away from the usual kannada cinema image.

In my opinion I think Dayal was right, this movie was good, excellent logics, you could see good continuity, exciting background music, fairly decent graphics (could have been better though), nice thrills. The introduction of the heroine has been done well. Archana Gupta looks like a promising actress, the director has shown her pretty well which does not happen for a new-comer in kannada cinema.

The Director of Photography - Shekar Chandru has done a marvelous job! Shots inside and outside the trains were incredible. Editor - Jony Harsha has done a commendable job. Music - Emil has been great, 3 songs are a hit out of 5. Great background scores.. we could feel the western styled thrill.
All in all Circus looks like a good team work! Good job by Dayal, Ganesh, Archana, Shekar Chandru, Harsha and team...
You guys will go a long way!