gogglygogglya reverie of curious, imbecile and wandering mind. I write what impresses me, influences me, intrigues me and squirms me and this could be due to people, place, poetry, Articles
Traffic and Bribe
2007-02-13 17:24:02 Around the same week, when President A P J Abdul Kalam was inaugurating a two-day conference of senior officials and heads of anti corruption wings , I was witnessing traffic policemen collecting his ?hafta? (share of bribe!) at the traffic signal opposite President Kalam?s official residence. This traffic signal stands at cross roads of Vijay Path (a road the leads from Presidents? palace to India Gate) and road that lead to Parliament. This is no ordinary traffic signal or pole but a singular small light that it put on the top on the dome of the permanent stand kept in the middle of this large intersection. This funny, obscure signal light is known only to regular delhites but those who are visitors to Delhi become a victim of the traffic violation. On weekday, visitor is protected by cars ahead that stop seeing the signal but on weekend or holiday, the place is barren- visitors come to see the grandeur of President Palace, Vijay Path and India Gate. Traffic Policeman sets his bai...
Happiness Index
2007-02-13 17:24:02 I am yet to come across a Philippine national- Filipino- who is grumpy, gloomy and cribbing about life. I am not aware the reason behind it ? they are neither affluent nor spiritual ? a common benchmark for happiness. He or she may be it maid, waitress, nurse, salesman, worker, physician or technician ? all of them portray tremendous zeal to savour the life. They enjoy food, drinks, clothes, movies, music and above all chatting. Its rare to see a Filipino sitting quietly in one corner reading a book or complaining about job satisfaction or economic hardship. Very often, they would be seen huddled, chatting ,drinking, laughing and if alone ? humming and singing. They appear to live for TODAY, work to live, NEVER live to work.I felt this could be true with Philippine Expatriates in Middle East ? who are outnumbered by their Asian expatriates. Often minorities cling to ecahother and remain contented but Filipino are the happiest all over including in their own country. But what surpris... More About: Happiness , Ness , Index
Brands I am addicted to
2007-02-13 17:24:02 No matter how frequent one travels, it?s not so easy to ensure that everything is put inside the briefcase. This time, I missed out on my new Sony Digital camera bought at Akihabara, Tokyo. This camera wasn?t that lucky purchase once I realized that memory card of Sony was at loggerhead with Toshiba laptop. I was fortunate that my laptop remained intact. But the resultant damage was repurchasing US$50 for 1MB stick. It is surprising that two big Japanese brands don?t work with each other but one from Scandinavian Nokia memory coo coo?s well with Toshiba. I don?t know why these companies can?t declare their compatibility with other devices. Perhaps they do in their manuals but lazy as I am, I never read those and rely on ?on the job? playing around with push buttons to grapple with functioning of these gadgets.Camera is not something I missed that much, what it really affected was my Mach3 razor. How important is this ?astra? is when I used my backup single blade Gillette razor. Few ... More About: Brand , Brands , Addicted , Addict
Being with Peacock
2007-02-13 17:24:02 India had just completed their innings against Australia in the Champions trophy. I watched it in my hotel resort ?Straightway Head? at Somerset west in Cape Town. It was lunch time and I decided to have a bite in an open area outside the restaurant facing lush green gardens of the resort.The next table family party was getting over and I was all by myself reading about Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Garden route while basking in the sun on a cool day. As I finished my Mushroom soup and started with vegetable sandwiches, unexpected companion arrived. Beautiful iridescent blue-green coloured highly elongated plumage ? tail ? captivated me as he squezzed between wrough iron chairs. I had never seen peacock so close but I wasn?t sure if I should shoo him away or safeguard myself by pulling up my legs to prevent him coming clsoer. He solved my fear ? he was more shy and more scared than I was. He went behind my chair in an open space and started looking for titbits of food that my pred... More About: With , Bein , Cock , Being
Stellenbosch ? Cape Town?s wine heritage
2007-02-13 17:24:02 In my first visit to Cape Town , I was tied down to the downtown with a distant view of Table Mountain. Naturally, when I saw expansive terrain of Johannesburg ? I was little generous in elevating this city over Cape Town ? much to the chagrin of South Africans. This time, I stayed at the Somerset west - the country side of the Cape Town ? and toured along the vineyards at Stellenbosch, had dinner in African settings at Moyo.I was quick to realize my earlier folly. First Impression is definitely not the lasting impression; Cape Town can match any other spectacular place on Mediterranean. No wonder Europeans who arrived decided to stay put!!!I was being driven along Stellenbosch Wine Routes, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Western Cape. It has more than 200 wine and grape producers and considered as the second oldest town in South Africa with most winery façade as Cape Dutch buildings. All around Stellenbosch lies in a fertile green valley surrounded by vineyards,... More About: Heritage , Elle
my favourite RD songs
2007-02-13 17:24:02 Roz roz aankhon taleyEk hi sapna chaleyRaat bhar kajal jaleyAankh mein jis tarha khwab ka diya jaleyTere liye palkon ki jhaalar bunoonKaliyon Sa Gajre Mein Baandhe PhiroonDhoop Lage Jahan Tujhe Chhaaya BanoonAaja SaajnaRaina beeti jaye,shaam na aaye,nindiya na aayeKatra katra milti hai, katra katra jeene doZindagi hai, behne doPyasi hoon main, pyasi rehne doBahut door mujhe chale jana haiBahut nazdeek tumhe aana haiTeri bahon mein mujhe aaj mar jana haiKya ghazab karte ho jiPyar se darte ho jiDarke tum aur haseen lagte ho jiDukki pe dukki ho ya satte pe sattaGaur se dekha jaye to bas hai patte pe pattaKoi fark nahi albatta koi fark nahi albattaWaada karo nahi chhodoge tum mera haathJahan tum ho Wahan main bhi hoonMausam mastaanaRasta anjaanaJane kab ki mod pe ban jaaye koi afsanaKuchh bhi kar lo ek din tum ko meri hona hogaHamara TumharaO Dilbar De YaraNa Hoga GuzaraArre Hoga!!!Gum hai kisi ke pyar meinDil subah shaamPar tumhe likh nahi paoonMain us ka naamHaye raam!Rimjhim rimjhimR... More About: Songs , Song
National Shame or Call to Honor?
2007-02-13 17:24:02 I arrived in Entebbe ?Uganda from Khartoum via Nairobi. As my hotel minivan rolled out of Entebbe airport on way to Kampala, Uganda, images of Israel?s daring rescue operation of hijacked Air France plane on June 3rd 1976 flashed my mind. But soon, Kandahar incident of dec 24th 1999 stood like a blot against this courageous and brave commando operation.Somehow most ?singh? that occupied India?s post independence ministerial posts have been great disappointments. Tradition continued with Charan Singh, Arjun Singh, V.P Singh and Jaswant Singh. All these Singhs came with great fanfare and showed lot of charisma and rekindled hope only to leave behind them traces divided society. But Jaswant Singh went further by demonstrating an act that perhaps has no parallel in public behavior. I don?t know much about Jaswant Singh but his appearance gives an impression of being aristocratic background. He does look physically fit with his erect stance and his straight pointed nose project his milit... More About: National , Nation , Call , Honor , Sham
Brabourn Stadium
2007-02-13 17:24:02 Seeing Brabourn stadium in Champions trophy brought memories of my early days of seeing live cricket matches. My first experience was Mumbai v/s Baroda. Mumbai team had Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai, Ajit Pai, Saeed Hathia. On that day, Baroda opted to bat and Vijay Bhosle scored a century. My second match was West Zone v/s South Zone Duleep trophy final. West Zone started with Niranjan Shah, Madhu Gupte followed by Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai, Vijay Bhosle, Ashok Mankad, Ajit Pai. South had Jayantilal, Govindraj, Krishnamurthi etc. Ajit Wadekar would get the rousing welcome he would enter to bat one down. In later years, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandip Patil and Sachin Tendulkar got similar applause. I remember a catch of the bowling of Govindraj. Second slip fielder dived and scooped the ball up, first slip fielder lifted it up and the ball was caught by the wicketkeeper. Kulkarni brothers ? Vijay and Sunil, our second floor neighbour in Govt colony ? both ardent cricket fans and players t... More About: Stadium , Adium
Birth Anniversary of Pu La - Marathi legend
2007-02-13 17:24:02 Today is Pu La's birth anniversary. I accidently happened to notice it while surfing the site??. ?. ???????? a site dedicated to Pu La Deshpande.I reproduce below one his speech 'sujan ho' taken from ????? ??????? that reflects his philosophy towards life in succinct manner.'??????' ?? ????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????? ?? ?? ????? --?????? ???????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????, ??? ????????? ???????? ???, ??? ??? ?????. ?? ?????? ????????? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????. ????????? ????? ?? ??????? ????????? ???? ???? ????, ???? ???????????? ????; ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????, ???? ???????????? ????. ?? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???. ??????? ???????? ??? ??, '????????? ??? ???? ??????, ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???, ??? ?? ?????? ??? ???. ?? ?????? ????? ????????? ????? ??? ??? ????????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????.' ????? ?????????, ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??????. ????????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ????, ??? ?????? ?????? ????, ??? ????????? ????... More About: Anniversary , Birth , Rathi , Legend , Marathi
My Life Companion
2007-02-13 17:24:02 My father had bought this in 1964 at Indian Rupee 4.00 (10 cents). Printed in Great Britain, this ?The Little Oxford Dictionary compiled by George Ostler is still is intact with her brown cover bind that has inner liner in the form of surgical dressing. The thread ? almost like suture - that holds the pages has still not given up. This little dictionary has been my companion from early English learning days and still with me next to my worktable.There used to another Marathi ? English ? Marathi dictionary ? I think by Veerkar. It was bulky greyish green coloured one that reminded me of baby elephant. This baby elephant helped me in my Marathi school days. Later in college days, my father brought Riverside Webster Dictionary ? crimson red colour with few illustrations on thin butter paper. He put his name on this dictionary but I grabbed it when I saw it. Being gentle person he was, he didn?t object. Other than Veerkar, both these dictionaries are still part of my life. Little oxford... More About: Life , My Life , Comp , Compa , Companion
Dr. Ashok Tulpule : My First and the Best Customer
2006-09-21 12:33:00 I should have written about Dr Tulpule much earlier but it?s not easy to articulate the impressions of an awe inspiring multifaceted person that has been evolved over many incidents and interactions. Anything scrolled down in a half hearted inadequate manner would have been a gross injustice to this immensely vivacious talented personality. A mere mention of his name in the context of Hrishikesh Mukherjee on my blog brought a comment from his cousin Prakash Tulpule. With that comment, all memories of yester-years flashed back. I decided to pen my thoughts about this renowned cardiologist without whom my career to medical device industry wouldn?t have taken off.It was early 1982; I had embarked my career in Medical Device Industry. High story under construction Hinduja Hospital building caught my attention to start working on the possibility to get some business. I started making sales calls and few such calls took me to? a wonderful gentle, light-hearted person named Mr. Abhyankar ?... More About: Customer , Best , First , Custom
Treasure Box of my Early Years
2006-09-01 11:25:00 This week, rummaging through a blog of Chennai based Journalist opened a small treasure box of my childhood that nourished my early days of intellectual growing. My parents didn?t let me posses this treasure box lest it would take me away from the drudgery of insipid academic books. But they had no objection of my spending all the time through this treasure box during my vacation days at my cousin?s place in Mughbhat -Thakurdwar; a Marathi quarter in the downtown of Mumbai.The treasure box was ?Chandoba? ? popularly known all over India as ?Chandamama?.A flimsy 40 odd page A5 size magazine bound together with two or three stapled pins would transport me to the world of fantasy, fiction, imagination filled with awe, curiosity, interest and entertainment. The style and narration of various stories were neatly segregated and structured in different sizes with abundant illustration in orange, blue colours. Combination of stories with backdrop of folk-fairly tales, mythological and histo... More About: Early , Years , Sure , Year , Ears
bismillah khan
2006-08-21 16:27:00 Ye jo des hai tera, swades hai tera, tujhe hai pukaara?Ye woh bandhan hai jo kabhi toot nahin sakta Listen This Song on Gayaki A R Rahman so wonderfully captured the essence of Indian spirit by using Shahnai in this song . This song also in many ways relate to Bismillah Khan ?s Swades - of his longing for his homeland - ?Bana- Ras? his longing for his ?music? as a religion in contradiction of his globetrotting and Islam.?Sanai? or ?Shahnai? is something I have been used even before I knew anything about music. In my early days, as green band on Philips radio would narrow ? the musical notes of Shahnai would follow a signature tune of Akashwani at 6.00 am. The journey with Shahnai continued in subsequent years with ? melodious notes of Shahnai accompanied by Drumbeats ? Chowgahda would announce the arrival of marriage season, festivals.Ustad Bismilla Khan. with his unswerving perseverance and genius, elevated this ?King of Bamboo? afghan double-reeded wind instrument with a eight-nine... More About: Milla
scotland : with scotch and haggis
2006-07-21 16:19:00 I have just passed over Baltic Sea. With clear sky, at 10,688 feet, I could see a coastline of western Europe through my right window and coastline of Scandinavia on left on the navigation map of Emirates flight. Warsaw is ahead of me with Minx on the left side. Eastern Europe and Scandinavia have so far eluded me in my goal of touching diverse geographical places around the globe but my forging business relationship with Hungarian company at EDTA meeting gives me a hope to enter Eastern European block. Now I am past Warsaw, and heading towards Black sea piercing between Kiev on the left side and Budapest and Bucharest on right side. With my seat video monitor no working; there is no better way than to continue to pen my thoughts about my scotalnd trip.When I learnt about Edinburgh being just an hour from Glasgow, I was happy. Else, another visit to the Glasgow city wouldn?t have evoked much passion. Opportunity to escape from Dubai?s desert heat to smell Scotland ?s rain soaked clou... More About: Land , Scotch , Haggis
shantaram -marathi is now part of Hollywood
More articles from this author:2006-04-15 10:42:00 I strongly believe that every criminal ?how hardened he may be ? has his humane facet intact and every noblest human being who has dedicated his life with his charitable deeds does have a room for his lurching criminal bend of mind. We gloss over charitable acts of noblest people and condemn criminal act with a single stroke of brush. I also feel majority of people like me have both these traits in sizeable measure and we very easily could have tilted to either side depending upon the presence of catalyst at critical phases of our life. I also don?t believe that crime happens only because of necessity, compulsion or helplessness. I think crime often does take place for sheer thrill of doing it or take pleasure in hoodwinking the so called guardians of dos and don?ts of moral, ethical life.I met shantaram by chance. On my flight back from USA, south Indian USA bred man was reading ?maximum city? by Suketu Mehta -a novel about Bombay and Shiv Sena. I rummaged through pages but I felt ... More About: Hollywood , Holly , Wood , Part , Rathi 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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