Monday, September 28, 2009

~~Not a best way to start a weekend trip~~

Brief introduction of people in my weekend trip:

Raj : My ex roomie (yea the same guy who is learning Salsa)
Saravanan : My ex team mate(a guy passionate about Indian temples and heritage)
Padma : My ex PM(we worked over the phone for more than a year)
All the three are coming from Bangalore!

Main objective of this Trip: Attend Banu's marriage who is more than a colleague to me,a sister which I had never had.

Coming to the beginning of the trip...

I reached Tenkasi by 9 o clock after a 12 hour journey from Chennai, I called up my Raj and asked where he is ,he annoyingly replied Virudunagar, I asked how the hell did you ppl end up there, he said that's because of my suggestion. When we were planning this trip Raj asked me way to reach Tenkasi from Bangalore,I gave few options like reaching Tirunelveli and take a bus from there or reach Kollam and get a bus from there,as a last option I told him to reach Madurai and from there buses to all South TamilNadu will be there and he took that as the best option and from there he took a government bus to Tenkasi and scolding me all the way.

For Saravanan and Padma who were accompanying him ,if travelling was frustrating experience, problems created by Raj were even more tiring than that.Just because he has been in USA for some 200 days he complains about all things and process followed in India. So getting in a government bus was something untouchable to him.When they stooped for having breakfast at Rajapalayam ,Raj started complaining about the restaurant not about its food or hygiene,his problem was with the waiter just because he was not smiling at him and he threatened to walkout for that.

In the other end I was killing my time reading newspaper from pillar to post,after that I started reading Vikaten once I was done with that ,I started reading Kumudam. We had planned to have bath at Kutralam that morning but still there were no signs of them.Everytime I called for update Raj used to give same answer we will be there in an hour. 10 11 12 1.... finally they reached Tenkasi around 2. After freshening up,we went out for lunch but since we were late all the shops had closed their stalls then we found this good place suggested by Banu's father Vinayaka mess ,a place we got attached to for rest of the trip.

After lunch we took a local bus to Kutralam to finally have the bath for the day.
(to be cont...)

~~Wonderful weekend at Tenkasi~~

This was my first trip to Tenkasi and what a beautiful place it is. Situated at the foothills of western ghats this place has a wonderful climate with a gentle drizzle and a pleasant breeze.

There were quite few places we visited ,

1)Paid beating's at five falls
2)Exploring Chitira sabai's pond
3)Countering Sani at Kutrala Nathar temple.
4)Keerai Dosai at Vinayakaa Mess
5)Majestic Kasi Viswanathar
6)Banu's Marriage

I will write in detail about each one of them individually when I get time.

Friday, September 25, 2009

~~Planned vacation~~

I m waiting for this day for quitesome time , my vacation should actually start from tomorrow but it started from today. I was asked to attend a training in other office which was just for 2 hours and didnt have nothing much to do for rest of the day.

First I m travelling to Tenkasi attending my collegue's marriage and from there going to Trichy to help out mum. Will be there in Trichy for the rest of the week.So dont know how often I can blog for rest of the week.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

~~Sitcoms-New seasons ~~

With new seasons of How I met your mother and Two and half men starting last monday , I have something to laugh at night and go to bed.

Before that I used to get the DVD of the entire season and see it but this is the first time I am seeing each episode one by one. Only thing to wait for every week to see the next episode.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

~~Subscribing Computer Magazines~~

In our company we used to get some award points whenever we do something good or achieve some milestones. These points can be redeemed to get something in return. I have never bothered to check those stuffs because I know my standard of working :)

Sometime back one of my friend told me there are some points credited for people who have completed 3 years in service,since I have completed 4 years I checked it. As she told some points were credited longtime back. So I looked for items to redeem I didnt find anything interesting and in the end opted to subscribe to 'Computer Active' magazine for a year, my one time favourite.

In the end of nineties I was crazy to get magazines like PC quest,CHIP etc mainly for the CD coming along with. I would install whatever freewares,sharewares,tools,games available in that. Sometime filling my the entire hard disk. Those were days my techie skills were upto date and knowledge about PC's were in finger tips. The happy times stopped as soon as I entered 11th standard when PC was taken away from me and there was no point in renewing the subscription for those magazines after that. After that I studied four years of computer science and engineering and worked for 4 years in IT industry but craze to explore more about PC's and tools was lost.

So after almost a 10 year gap when I read a computer magazine I feel like a lost man in desert.Most of the technological updates are like greek and latin to me and I m thinking twice before installing it in my PC and test the same.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Book I read..

Last week I read the book Scoop by Kuldip Nayar a veteran journalist and political commentator. He has brought out what actually happened inside the bureaucratic circles in his own style. It is collection of events happened in India from independence,personal interviews with Gandhi, Jinnah, Nehru,Mountbatten and Radcliffe, till the famous trip made by Vajpayee to Pakistan.




It was quite an interesting as well as informative to read this book.

Monday, September 21, 2009

~~Building structures and boxes~~

My US aunt's niece(Keerthi) has recently joined Architectural Engineering course in Chennai. Last week when I went to her house I gave her few e books related to her subject.

Today being a holiday on the account of Ramzan, I was thinking on how to kill my time
when Keerthi called and asked my help in helping out building a structure made of matchsticks.Its been quite a while I have done tasks like this but its always interesting to try out stuffs like these. When I reached her place she almost completed more than half of the structure with a proper foundation.I gave few suggestions here and there and got involved in the work. It took two more hours to finish the whole thing. Picture below shows the model we made.





Then she said she has another assignment to make a cigarette box which is little bigger than the normal one. And she had ruined two cigarette boxes while trying to decode the structural logic behind it. I carefully took one box and examined it properly ,it was the first time I got time to admire the beauty of it ,a 21.5 * 7.5 rectangular piece of paper can be folded into a flip open box. Then with dimensions 50% larger than the previous we made a cigaratte box. But one careless cut while folding the sheet made a box look little awkward.

It feels good to revisit engineering basics !

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Pic for the day!!!

Today I visited my cousin's place and it was funny to see her with braces on! I quickly took my mobile and clicked a picture ,annoyed she grabbed my mobile deleted the pic and gave the mobile back to me only when I left her home.



I found a similar picture on how she will look when she smiles with braces on, I swear its better than Monolisa.


PS: After seeing this post my cousin threatened tp sue me legally for using her photo without prior permission and she said charges will also be there for causing mental agony to her. So I had to replace the pic !

~~Spl Saturday~~

One good thing being with your grand parents is number of festivals you get to celebrate which in turn gives an opportunity to get good food. Many time those are the occasions which I would have never heard of and this is not a complaint from my end as long as I relish getting good food.

Something similar happened yesterday when I woke up in the morning, there was a buzz going on in the kitchen and grandma was busy making lots of dishes.I tried thinking what's the occasion with Diwali month's away and Saraswati pooja week's away nothing striked my mind.Then I asked my grandma whats it for ,she said its Purattasi Sani and its ritual to do pooja every yearfor that. Ooooh thank GOD beacuse of You we have been graced with good food.

I tried helping her our by arranging the items to perform the pooja by putting items she prepared in plantain leaf.Sweet Pongal,Ven Pongal,curd rice,vada side dishes etc were layed out in my crative style. Once the formalities were over we had good Brunch.


Long live grandma! Long live Tamil rituals!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

~~Obituary:Thenkachi ko Swaminathan~~

I felt sad when I read the news Thenkachi ko Swaminathan has passed away. My thoughts went back to my childhood days , the time Thenkachi ko Swaminathan was working in All India Radio delivering his popular daily programme 'Indru Oru Thagaval'. Even though it was just a 5 minute program he used to convey a short story,wonderful message and a cranky joke to give a perfect finish. My dad's daily routine was to hear this program and start the day with a positive note then leave to office.

Once he had come to Trichy to deliver a speech , my dad took me to that event. He was exactly looking opposite to way I imagined,looking pretty serious for a person who cracks jokes at will.Then I came to know that was his speciality throughout his speech he was making us laugh mad but he was as serious as if nothing had happened. Best thing he was making fun of himself rather than other people.That one of the wonderful speeches I have listened to,never realised how soon an hour passed away.

In that speech he was telling about his early days in AIR,when he used to be anchor for Uzhavar Ulagam(farmer's program). His first assignment was to convey the message to spray insecticides to the crops,in the manual it was told to mix 10 litres of water with one litre of insecticide and spray in the crop field. He delivered the information as take a bucket full of water ,pour a mug full of insecticide in that take a long stick and use it mix them well and then spray it on the field.Next day a group of farmers came to AIR office to meet him, he was afraid that his message might have messed up their crops but what they told him was they have listened to Uzhavar Ulagam for many years and this is the first time they have understood what was conveyed in that program.

He will be remembered for starting the day for several people accross Tamil Nadu with his wonderful messages.

Friday, September 18, 2009

~~Got this from my friend~~

Its been quite some time I posted forward here , I got this today and really enjoyed reading it. Kudos to the author who wrote this

அப்படி என்னதான் வேலை பார்ப்பீங்க ?" நியாயமான ஒரு கேள்வி


"ஏம்பா இந்த கம்ப்யூட்டர் படிச்சவங்க எல்லாம் நிறைய சம்பளம்
வாங்கிட்டு, பந்தா பண்ணிட்டு ஒரு தினுசாவே அலையுறீங்களே? அப்படி என்னதான் வேலை பார்ப்பீங்க ?" –
நியாயமான ஒரு கேள்வியை கேட்டார் எனது அப்பா.
நானும் விவரிக்க ஆரம்பிதேன்.

"வெள்ளைகாரனுக்கு எல்லா வேலையும் சீக்கிரமா முடியனும்.
அதே மாதிரி எல்லா வேலையும் அவனோட வீட்டுல
இருந்தே செய்யணும்.
இதுக்காக எவ்வளவு பணம் வேணுமானாலும் செலவு செய்ய
தயாரா இருக்கான்."

"அது சரி பல்லு இருக்குறவன் பக்கோடா சாப்பிடுறான்".

"இந்த மாதிரி அமெரிக்கால்-ல, இங்கிலாந்து-ல இருக்குற Bank,
இல்ல எதாவது கம்பெனி, "நான் செலவு செய்ய தயாரா இருக்கேன்.
எனக்கு இத செய்து கொடுங்க கேப்பாங்க.
இவங்கள நாங்க "Client"னு சொல்லுவோம்.
"சரி"

இந்த மாதிரிClient-அ மோப்பம் பிடிக்குறதுக்காகவே எங்க
பங்காளிக கொஞ்ச பேர அந்த அந்த ஊருல உக்கார வச்சி இருப்போம். இவங்க பேரு "Sales Consultants, Pre-Sales Consultants....".
இவங்க போய் Client கிட்ட பேச்சுவார்த்தை நடத்துவாங்க.
காசு கொடுகுறவன் சும்மாவா கொடுப்பான்?

ஆயிரத்தெட்டு கேள்வி கேப்பான். உங்களால இத பண்ண முடியுமா?
அத பண்ண முடியுமான்னு அவங்க கேக்குற எல்லாம் கேள்விக்கும், "முடியும்"னு பதில் சொல்றது இவங்க வேலை.
"இவங்க எல்லாம் என்னப்பா படிச்சுருபாங்க"?
"MBA, MSனு பெரிய பெரிய படிபெல்லாம் படிச்சி இருப்பாங்க."

"முடியும்னு ஒரே வார்த்தைய திரும்ப திரும்ப சொல்றதுக்கு
எதுக்கு MBA படிக்கணும்?" –
அப்பாவின் கேள்வியில் நியாயம் இருந்தது.

"சரி இவங்க போய் பேசின உடனே client project கொடுத்துடுவானா?"
"அது எப்படி? இந்த மாதிரி பங்காளிக எல்லா கம்பெனிளையும்
இருப்பாங்க. 500 நாள்ல முடிக்க வேண்டிய வேலைய 60 நாள்ள
முடிச்சு தரோம், 50 நாள்ல முடிச்சு தரோம்னு பேரம் பேசுவாங்க.
இதுல யாரு குறைஞ்ச நாள சொல்றாங்களோ அவங்களுக்கு
ப்ராஜெக்ட் கிடைக்கும்"

"500 நாள்ல முடிக்க வேண்டிய வேலைய 50
நாள்ல எப்படி முடிக்க முடியும்? ராத்திரி பகலா வேலை பார்த்தாலும்
முடிக்க முடியாதே?"

"இங்க தான் நம்ம புத்திசாலித்தனத்த நீங்க
புரிஞ்சிக்கணும். 50 நாள்னு சொன்ன உடனே client சரின்னு சொல்லிடுவான்.
ஆனா அந்த 50 நாள்ல அவனுக்கு என்ன வேணும்னு அவனுக்கும்
தெரியாது, என்ன செய்யனும்னு நமக்கும் தெரியாது.
இருந்தாலும் 50 நாள் முடிஞ்ச பிறகு ப்ரோஜெக்ட்னு ஒன்ன நாங்க deliver பண்ணுவோம்.
அத பாத்துட்டு "ஐய்யோ நாங்க கேட்டது இதுல்ல,
எங்களுக்கு இது வேணும், அது வேணும்னு" புலம்ப ஆரம்பிப்பான்.

"அப்புறம்?" - அப்பா ஆர்வமானார்.

"இப்போ தான் நாங்க நம்பியார் மாதிரி கைய பிசஞ்சிகிட்டே
"இதுக்கு நாங்க CR raise பண்ணுவோம்"னு சொல்லுவோம்.
"CR-னா?"

"Change Request. இது வரைக்கும் நீ கொடுத்த பணத்துக்கு நாங்க
வேலை பார்த்துட்டோம்.
இனிமேல் எதாவது பண்ணனும்னா எக்ஸ்ட்ரா பணம் கொடுக்கணும்"னு
சொல்லுவோம்.
இப்படியே 50 நாள் வேலைய 500 நாள் ஆக்கிடுவோம்."

அப்பாவின் முகத்தில் லேசான பயம் தெரிந்தது.
"இதுக்கு அவன் ஒத்துபானா?"
"ஒத்துகிட்டு தான் ஆகணும்.
முடி வெட்ட போய்ட்டு, பாதி வெட்டிட்டு வர முடியுமா?"

"சரி ப்ராஜெக்ட் உங்க கைல வந்த உடனே என்ன பண்ணுவீங்க?"
"முதல்ல ஒரு டீம் உருவாக்குவோம்.
இதுல ப்ராஜக்ட் மேனேஜர்னு ஒருத்தர் இருப்பாரு.
இவரது தான் பெரிய தலை.
ப்ராஜெக்ட் சக்சஸ் ஆனாலும், ஃபெயிலியர் ஆனாலும் இவரு தான் பொறுப்பு."

"அப்போ இவருக்கு நீங்க எல்லாரும் பண்ற வேலை எல்லாம்
தெரியும்னு சொல்லு."
"அதான் கிடையாது.
இவருக்கு நாங்க பண்ற எதுவும்யே தெரியாது."

"அப்போ இவருக்கு என்னதான் வேலை?" –
அப்பா குழம்பினார்.



"நாங்க என்ன தப்பு பண்ணினாலும் இவர பார்த்து கைய நீட்டுவோம். எப்போ எவன் குழி பறிப்பானு டென்ஷன் ஆகி டயர்ட் ஆகி டென்ஷன்
ஆகுறது தான் இவரு வேலை."

"பாவம்பா"
"ஆனா இவரு ரொம்ப நல்லவரு.
எங்களுக்கு எந்த பிரச்னை வந்தாலும் இவரு கிட்ட போய் சொல்லலாம்."
"எல்லா பிரச்னையும் தீர்த்து வச்சிடுவார?"

"ஒரு பிரச்சனைய கூட தீர்க்க மாட்டாரு.
நாங்க என்ன சொன்னாலும் தலையாட்டிகிட்டே உன்னோட பிரச்னை
எனக்கு புரியுதுனு சொல்றது மட்டும் தான் இவரோட வேலை."

"நான் உன்னோட அம்மா கிட்ட பண்றத மாதிரி?!"

"இவருக்கு கீழ டெக் லீட், மோடுல் லீட், டெவலப்பர், டெஸ்டர்னு
நிறைய அடி பொடிங்க இருப்பாங்க."

"இத்தனை பேரு இருந்து, எல்லாரும் ஒழுங்கா வேலை செஞ்சா
வேலை ஈஸியா முடிஞ்சிடுமே?"

"வேலை செஞ்சா தானே?
நான் கடைசியா சொன்னேன் பாருங்க...
டெவலப்பர், டெஸ்டர்னு, அவங்க மட்டும் தான் எல்லா வேலையும் செய்வாங்க. அதுலையும் இந்த டெவலப்பர்,வேலைக்கு சேரும் போதே "இந்த குடும்பத்தோட மானம், மரியாதை உன்கிட்ட தான் இருக்குனு"

சொல்லி, நெத்தில திருநீறு பூசி அனுப்பி வச்ச என்னைய மாதிரி
தமிழ் பசங்க தான் அதிகம் இருப்பாங்க."

"அந்த டெஸ்டர்னு எதோ சொன்னியே?
அவங்களுக்கு என்னப்பா வேலை?"

"இந்த டெவலப்பர் பண்ற வேலைல குறை கண்டு பிடிக்கறது
இவனோட வேலை.
புடிக்காத மருமக கை பட்டா குத்தம்,
கால் பட்டா குத்தம் இங்குறது மாதிரி."
"ஒருத்தன் பண்ற வேலைல குறை கண்டு பிடிகுறதுக்கு சம்பளமா?
புதுசா தான் இருக்கு. சரி இவங்களாவது வேலை செய்யுராங்களா.
சொன்ன தேதிக்கு வேலைய முடிச்சு கொடுத்துடுவீங்கள்ள?"

"அது எப்படி..? சொன்ன தேதிக்கு ப்ராஜக்டை முடிச்சி கொடுத்தா,
அந்தக் குற்ற உணர்ச்சி எங்க வாழ்கை முழுவதும் உறுத்திக்கிட்டு
இருக்கும். நிறைய பேரு அந்த அவமானத்துக்கு பதிலா தற்கொலை
செய்துக்கலாம்னு சொல்லுவாங்க"

"கிளையன்ட் சும்மாவா விடுவான்?
ஏன் லேட்னு கேள்வி கேக்க மாட்டான்?"
"கேக்கத்தான் செய்வான். இது வரைக்கும் டிமுக்குள்ளையே
காலை வாரி விட்டுக்கிட்டு இருந்த நாங்க எல்லாரும் சேர்ந்து அவன் காலை வார ஆரம்பிப்போம்."

"எப்படி?"
"நீ கொடுத்த கம்ப்யூட்டர்-ல ஒரே தூசியா இருந்துச்சு.
அன்னைக்கு டீம் மீட்டிங்ல வச்சி நீ இருமின,
உன்னோட ஹேர் ஸ்டைல் எனக்கு புடிகலை."
இப்படி எதாவது சொல்லி அவன குழப்புவோம்.
அவனும் சரி சனியன எடுத்து தோள்ல போட்டாச்சு,
இன்னும் கொஞ்ச நாள் தூங்கிட்டு போகட்டும்னு விட்டுருவான்".

"சரி முன்ன பின்ன ஆனாலும் முடிச்சி கொடுத்துட்டு கைய
கழுவிட்டு வந்துடுவீங்க அப்படித்தான?"
"அப்படி பண்ணினா, நம்ம நாட்டுல பாதி பேரு வேலை இல்லாம
தான் இருக்கணும்."

"அப்புறம்?"

"ப்ராஜக்டை முடிய போற சமயத்துல நாங்க எதோ பயங்கரமான
ஒன்ன பண்ணி இருக்குறமாதிரியும், அவனால அத புரிஞ்சிக்க
கூட முடியாதுங்கற மாதிரியும் நடிக்க ஆரம்பிப்போம்."

"அப்புறம்?"

"அவனே பயந்து போய்,
"எங்கள தனியா விட்டுடாதீங்க. உங்க டீம்-ல ஒரு ஒன்னு, ரெண்டு
பேர உங்க ப்ரொஜெக்ட பார்த்துக்க சொல்லுங்கன்னு"

புது பொண்ணு மாதிரி புலம்ப ஆரம்பிச்சிடுவாங்க."
இதுக்கு பேரு "Maintenance and Support".
இந்த வேலை வருஷ கணக்கா போகும்.
"ப்ராஜக்ட் அப்படிங்கறது ஒரு பொண்ண கல்யாணம் பண்ணி வீட்டுக்கு
கூட்டிட்டு வர்றது மாதிரி.

தாலி கட்டினா மட்டும் போதாது, வருஷ கணக்கா நிறைய செலவு செஞ்சு பராமரிக்க வேண்டிய விசயம்னு" இப்போ தான் கிளைன்டுக்கு
புரிய ஆரம்பிக்கும்.
"எனக்கும் எல்லாம் புரிஞ்சிடுப்பா."

Thursday, September 17, 2009

~~Link to endorse a person~~

Most of the time I used to get mails from people asking me to endorse them in Linkedin, professional networking site where I have not done more than just creating my profile.

Today I got this link endorser from my colleague mentioning endorsing is made easy because of this site. We just need to choose the name and the gender it will give us sample endorsement about that person. There are lots of samples in that. I tried giving my name I got the following.

Sriram Jayaprakash did not let me down a single time. Hard working engineer. Creative and self motivated. I can highly recommend working with him. Although extremely technically minded Sriram Jayaprakash has the ability to communicate with simple, friendly language with a great sense of humor.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

~~Vodofone's new offer~~

My mobile service provider Vodofone came out with a new offer- we can call anywhere within South India @ 50p/min which includes all mobiles and STD calls to other three neighbouring states provided if we pay little surcharge for it. And for selected few customers(like me who always keep Vodofone happy by paying monthly bill of more than 1k/month) they gave the inaugural offer free.This was told by the lady who called(pleaded) me to take up this offer. Since I have few friends in Cochin and Bangalore I thought this might reduce my cell phone bill by certain amount. By this month end only I would be able to say who is smart Vodofone or me depending upon the bill amount.

Funny thing to note here is after activating this offer calls within Tamil Nadu has become costlier than the calls outside the state.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

~~Taking a session~~

Last week our project's our learning coordinator requested me to take a session, she was forced to this abysmal position because she couldn't find any other people willing to take up sessions. Also if finding a tutor is a problem getting people to attend is another enormous task.Once I said yes we decided on the topic ,I said I m not interested to take up technical sessions which I know will make people sleep just 5 mins into the session. In the end it was decided topic will be 'personal empowerment'.

Since I had lots of ppt's and documents in store,preparing the slide was not much deal. Given the session timing was between 2 30 to 3 30 I thought my 1st intention was not to let people sleep. By 2 30 I was ready with my slide waiting for people to turn up with only friend was giving me company. Realising this wont help I called my team member and other friends to come and listen to my session. One asked whether coffee/snacks will be provided, other asked for chicken biriyani after the session.

I could count on my team as almost all of them including my PL turned up ,apart from that 2 friends from other team and our learning coordinator took two of her juniors to the session. So it was all set, around 20 members waiting for me to start.
As far as the session it was about building a positive attitude and steps to achieve it. I tried to take it funny and interactive but most of the examples which I thought I should tell never to came to my mind at that moment. In the end I could only give myself as the best example having a positive mindset. By forgetting half the stuffs I should have said, the 1 hour session got over within 40 mins. People who attended it were very happy that I finished pretty quick.

Monday, September 14, 2009

~~Shopping @ Paris corner~~

Last Saturday my uncle said he needed to get some dry fruits , my suggestion of nuts and spices a famous outlet in the locality. But my grandpa being more economical suggested us to goto Govindappa street a narrow lane near mint street in Paris corner where we used to get dry fruits at wholesale rates.
By evening myself and my uncle went to the place in my bike ,once we entered mint street I got a feeling that I have entered north India both sides of the roads with hindi boards and people dressed in kurtha pyjamas women wearing sarees in north Indian style. It was quite an experience.

What else we reached Govindappa street purchased dry fruits and came back!!!


PS: When I had just finished writing first two paragraphs of this blog my uncle called and asked me to drop him at Koyambedu,after that exhausting journey in bike. My lungs is filled with black smoke got from lorries,white smoke from autos,grey smoke from buses,apart from that it also contains some solid particle like sand dust thanks to pits dug in one half of the road by Metro water department.Who said atmosphere contains 28% oxygen?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

~~Pic for the day~~




This is the fate of my comb after three months of extensive usage!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

~~Watching Tamil movies free~~

After coming to Chennai I never went to theatres to see movies, main reason I never have the patience to see a movie which is more than two hours long without a proper company. Most of the time its with whom you watch the movie matters rather than the movie.

Even through I restrained myself from seeing tamil films,Tamilnadu transport corporation doesn't spare people like me. Its true their ticket fares are the cheapest in the country and in spite of that they have some value added services where they play some latest tamil movies from a DVD player. The main trouble comes from the DVD's they use to play ,I wonder those DVD's are run over by the buses and then used. And when they play it will be like seeing an old motion picture.Audio wont be heard for sometime or screen goes blue in color or we will be seeing the still picture for 5 mins then suddenly jumping to the climax scene.
Now passengers who had seen enough will shout at the helpless conductor, who has no other option but to change the DVD and we will get to see another movie. When we think the going is good the usual things used to happen again .

On my return journey from Erode to Trichy last Monday the bus I travelled played three tamil movie Ayan,Masila Mani and one Bharat's film in the 4 hour journey. Neither of the three movies were played full.It started with 2nd half of Masila Mani which got struck as and when the bus stopped somewhere. Once the movie for over, Ayan was played and I started seeing with some interest.But when the movie was taking an interesting turn(when Tamanna was dancing) it got struck big time and never moved beyond it. As usual conductor took another DVD and played another movie by then I made it a point not to look and started looking outside at the country side which was more beautiful and worth watching than the useless stuffs which was shown inside the bus.

Friday, September 11, 2009

~~Start to weekend~~

Friday evening we followed our weekly routine of eating outside. And this time we found a good bhakra in form of my uncle who has come from Nigeria for vacation. By evening when I returning from office my cousin called to plan for dinner. I called my uncle who was busy shopping somewhere else in the city to join us for the dinner.

My cousin who is as stingy as Uncle Scrooge always makes sure that she never spends a penny out of her pocket. Myself ,my cousin and grandma took an auto to reach the hotel.On reaching the place I took my wallet to pay the fare but the driver returned back the money saying he doesn't have change for hundred. When I counted the other notes I had it came 5 rs short of the actual amount. I asked my cousin did she have at least 5 rs ,she opened her hand bag out came all sort of items from hair bands,clips,pins,visiting cards,tissue paper and all sorts of garbage , expect for money.It was becoming clear she didnt carry single paisa for the outing. Before I could spill the beans out,to save her embarrassment from the auto driver she gave a stunning reply saying she has only 500rs!!! then she grabbed the 100rs and went around few shops for exchanging the note for lesser denomination. I on the other hand took another hundred went to nearby shop got a cool drink and broke my 100. In mean time she found some innocent shop keeper who exchanged the change for 100 and gave the fare to the auto driver who was patiently watching all the mess we were doing along with my grandma.

Then we waited for our uncle to join us and then had a good dinner where the above incident was the main topic.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

~~Friend's marriage @ Bhavani~~

Last Monday I had to attend my friend's marriage at Bhavani, I had promised her I will make it.She had informed me earlier how to reach the destination, after getting down at Erode railway station there will be lots of buses going to Bhavani catch one of them and from Bhavani bus stand the mandapam is just walkable distance.

I got up very early around 3 45am in order to catch the train to Erode. After reaching the station on time, I slept again once I got into my berth.Train reached Erode around 8.Since the marriage was between 9 to 10 I thought I had enough time to make it.When I just came out of the station I saw a bus with name Bhavani to some location on it. I got pretty excited and got into the bus, after 5 minutes I asked the conductor for a ticket to Bhavani he started scolding me and said the bus is coming from Bhavani not going there and to make the matter worst he stopped the bus and made me to get down in some no man's land.From there I walked few hundred meters asked few people for the bus stop and waited for a bus to come.Then I thought let me goto Erode bus stand a place from which buses will reach only the destination. A mini bus came which was supposed to goto bus stand ,got into that later realised even a bullock cart would have reached the destination much earlier. By the time I reached Erode bus stand time was 9am.

Then I took the bus to Bhavani from there, good the journey did not have any surprises but when I reached the Bhavani bus stand the time was 9 40. I took an auto to the mandapam which was just 500m away just to make my presence on time. Relieved that I made it on dot I relaxed for a while ,then gave my gift and had a good food.

Had my friend told to cross the road and catch bus all this trouble wouldnt have happened or atleast I should have asked somebody before boarding the bus.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

~~Shopping with my mum~~

Last weekend when I was in Trichy my mum commanded me to take for shopping. If she tells take her to shopping it means I should drive her to the place,nod my head in any direction on what ever she chooses to buy,sponsor the money for whatever she gets,stand in queue to get the things billed from delivery section and carry the stuffs she got to the next shop.Do the same tasks again. All the while she will be very keen not to lose a single minute in all the useless jobs I do and will be continuing her quest to shop more.

All the above things are easy said than done, when we left the house she said we will 1st shop at Sarathas. After 30 minutes of patient driving I reached Sophys and was trying find a space to park my car, trouble started there mum insisted on dropping her right in front of Sarathas ,situated in a road which is flooded with people and even a cycle cant pass through it.I made it clear I m not taking the risk of running down few people there.After giving me few bashing she angrily started walking to the place.


She pacified the anger by doing some intense purchasing at different shops around the area. I quietly did the other tasks(billing,delivery) so that she can peacefully shop more. By end of day I was carrying some seven bags of stuffs back home.

Since I made her to walk from Sophys to Saratha(less than a km) she said she s very tired and cant cook dinner for me. My dad(as usual) made Rava idly for dinner.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

~~Grandma's Roti's~~

Only thing I used to complain about my Grandma's cooking is the way she makes rotis.Having tasted soft and thin oil less rotis for almost two years prepared by my Nepali cook in cochin I found my Grandma rotis hard and difficult to chew. So I used to say to her her rotis are not upto the standards.

Today when I sat for dinner I was surprised to see rotis as soft and tender similar to the one I had in cochin. I asked her what led to this sudden change. This long weekend when I was away from Chennai she has seek ed advise from her neighbours(Gujarathis) on how to make rotis soft. Now she has mastered the art of making good rotis and I m the one most benefited by her acquired skills :)

Monday, September 7, 2009

~~One more Quote~~

"Doing nothing is very hard to do ... you never know when you're finished."

Sunday, September 6, 2009

~~Quote for the day~~

This was my Orkut's today's fortune!

Everyone is gifted - but some people never open their package

Saturday, September 5, 2009

~~My Campanion in Trichy~~

Whenever I come to Trichy I would like to take my dad's car out for a ride, this pic taken during my last visit.

Friday, September 4, 2009

~~Weekend plans~~

Its planned weekend for a change , I have booked my tickets to Trichy some months back. There are two important things to do in this trip ,first is to attend my friend's marriage and next is to have a hair cut.

Apart from that a funny thing happened in between my last visit ,out of all the gifts one can give to my mum ,my uncle bought her a microwave oven who is very much contented with the minimal kitchen items she has. Now my aunt has asked me to check how often does my mum use it.Last thing I heard from my mum was during Vinayaka Chaturthi she has tried to make kozhukattai's using the oven and ended my making roasted kozhukattai.

Should go home and hear other stories from my mum!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

~~YSR's death~~

In our country particularly Andhra Pradesh there have been frequent political deaths by air crashes over the last decade. In 2001 it was our then speaker Balayogi was killed in a copter crash. Then in 2004 it was actress Soundarya who met with the same fate while canvasing for a political party.Now its the Chief minister of the state ending up lost in the middle of jungle,later confirmed dead.

24 hours is pretty long time to locate the debris of the helicopter.The situation would have been worse had the CM survived the crash and let alone inside the jungle or he had been kidnapped for ransom by the naxelites in that area.

This highlights the lack of technological devices we have to track down to places inside the forest and need for improvement in disaster management in a critical situation like this. To avoid future copter crashes safety measures are need of the hour.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

~~My first collage~~


My net speed is pretty good for picasa 3 ,even such a freeware which boasted of high uploading speed couldnt succeed in getting the pics loaded. So I thought I will make a collage. One of my friend is very good at making these stuff and she make one for each of us on our birthday with her special touches.

Anyways what I did was added all the pictures turned few pictures right and few pictures left, moved few to bottom and moved few to top. WOW a collage was ready !!!

Pictures from top clockwise direction !!
1)British picnic set waiting to be packed.

2)I thought it was big fat duck's egg but it turned out to ivory ball ,one in hundred elephants have their tusk ended with ball like this.

3)Victorian cupboard, I said to my nephew that is the same mirror used in Harry Potter movie.

4)Needed a Disthi picture for this collage ,so that pic was added.

5)Twin blade fan, its wings are larger than that of a condor!

6)British logo which says something about trust which has a picture of lion and unicorn

7)I thought it was a mini wind mill but it was supposed to be a manually operated table fan,one of the volunteer operated it for us and we enjoyed cool breeze for a short while.

8)Some statues which were supposed to be used as show cases.

9)That jewel box is made up of porcupine's needles scary to look at and at the back is a thermal tea pot which keeps the tea warm.

I m proud that I too have made a collage today :)

~~Loading Pics to blogspot~~

Loading picture into the blogspot is one herculean task given the speed of net I have , I tried to add few yesterday but I gave up when I was getting all sorts of errors while uploading the pics. Today I thought I should find a method to overcome this bottle neck.

Its always google which helps me to overcome these sorts of situation. As suggested by it I upgraded Picasa to version 3 which comes with link to blogspot ,on clicking that it will take us to our picture folder where we can select multiple pics ,uploading of the pics will be done in a new post and we just need to click submit.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

~~A slice of British life~~

I ended up visiting British Era exhibition on Kumaraguru's suggestion. I never expected an artifact exhibit to be as exciting as this one, not only the products which were on display were looking good ,add to that there were beautiful volunteers at every place explaining how the things work for ignorant people like me.

I took my nephew with me who was pretty excited seeing those stuff. What a leverage he was .I was thinking how clever I was to take this fellow with me.A smart,curious 10 year old was an instantaneous attraction to the volunteers around who trying their level best to make him understand how those old things work. I on my part encouraged him to ask questions. And he asked some brilliant questions like why cant those fans run on electricity , why do people make different kinds of chairs. I was enjoying every moment of it.

Then there some pretty good things which were on display like artistic chairs,cupboards,clocks ,old printing presses table lamps ,gramophones,iron boxes,utensils,fans and lot more apart from the volunteers. Will attach pics taken there sometime soon.

There were lot of quotes said by British about India pasted all over the place. One thing which interested me was the one by Lord Macauley .

"I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not
seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation?.
I m not sure whether this was said by Macauley but it is worth giving a thought.

Special thanks to KG once again for making a Sunday evening memorable one ;)