Put a Shark in your tank...

I read this somewhere and this is interesting....

Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the water close to Japan has not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went further than ever. The further the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring the fish. If the return trip took more time, the fish were not fresh. To solve this problem, fish companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go further and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen fish. And they did not like the taste of frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So, fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, they were tired, dull, and lost their fresh-fish taste. The fishing industry faced an impending crisis! But today, they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan .
How did they manage? To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks but with a small shark. The fish are challenged and hence are constantly on the move. The challenge they face keeps them alive and fresh!
Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired and dull? Basically in our lives, sharks are new challenges to keep us active.If you are steadily conquering challenges, you are happy. Your challenges keep you energized. Don't create success and revel in it in a state of inertia. You have the resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

My Sony Ericsson W580i

Everyone is very possessive about their cell phones, not just because you may have some private stuff and not so private stuff in it, but it is a reflection of your day-to-day lives. I know some would let their mind horses loose when i say private stuff but it is open to interpretations :) Coming back to the point that an innate necessity of privacy creeps in when someone is near your phone or even have their eyes glued on to it when it rings (to see who is calling) or on a message beep. I know this is very annoying and people must respect other's privacy...A cell phone has become so much more than an accessory nowadays.

But today my post is not about this. It is about some cool stuff that i can do with my phone. It is a Sony Ericsson W580i Walkman. Apart from the sleek looks, good music output, superb bass boost, a decent camera clarity, it has some not so common features. Particularly for fitness. Yes, it has an auto step count which displays number of steps taken, the distance covered and the number of calories burnt. You can record and analyse the results for a period of a month and it throws up charts and graphs of your performance. It also calibrates it against your height and weight to give you the standards. I have checked the output for distance through my gaadi's distance meter and this thing is damn accurate. All i need to do is to keep the step count on and keep the phone in my pocket! So much to motivate you to go for a regular jog/walk :)

20th Jan - Happy Obama Day!!!

Mr. Obama took over the post of the most powerful person on this earth on 20th January 2009. No body knows how this day would be remembered in the pages of history, some 50 years since now. Either he would be cherished for steering the economy of US and the world out of the worst ever crisis that mankind has ever faced or would be remembered as a flunky with just good oratory skills. He has made enough waves through out the world already. Every morning since last 4 days, I am waking up to a newspaper with a 4x4 picture of Obama kissing his wife. I wonder why only kissing shots get printed? Is the media trying to bring some cheer and love amidst the crisis times or is it trying to portray the caring side of the man? Whatever the reason may be, the whole world is looking up to him. Obama's swearing-in ceremony was watched by billions over the world. And as usual he did not disappoint with his first speech as a president. I guess he must be paying big to his speech writers. Click, an idea just struck me...one more advantage of blogging - one day you can aspire to become the speech writer of a president!

With so much of attention falling upon him, what would he be feeling like? Would he be getting sleepless nights thinking about the uphill task of reviving the economy that lies in front of him? Would he be having loose motions or constipation thinking about the jihad outfits? These answers can be given by only him but still it amazes me.

Analysts who are optimistic about the crisis say that it will take an year or so for things to revive. Guess what the pessimists would be estimating. An year or so for God sake!!! Another of my friend's got laid off...sad times are these. Whatever you do Mr. Obama, may God be with you (literally) because we know you need him and we know we all need him :)

Masakalli Masakalli.....Tera Emotional Atyachar

Aye Masakalli Masakalli, Ud Matakalli MatakKalli

Aye Masakalli Masakalli, Ud Matakalli MatakKalli

Zara Pankh Zhatak, Gayi Dhool Atak aur Lachak Machak ke Door bhatak

Ud Dagar Dagar Kasbe Khooche Nukkad Basti Mein yeaaiyeee

Masakalli Masakalli, Ud Matakalli Matakalli

If you are wondering what the hell is this...it is one of the songs of Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor starrer Delhi 6. Music by A.R. Rahman and crooned by Mohit Chauhan. Yes, you guessed it right, he is the same guy who sung Na hai yeh paana, na khona hai from Jab We Met. I am sure this still does not clear the mystery of what is this song about. Penned down by Prasoon joshi, Masakalli is the name of the pigeon who flutters in the song. And of course it is sitting on Sonam Kapoor's head in the song. The tune is very catchy and the video has a very Old Delhi kind of feel to it. A sure entertainer....BTW Sonam is looking absolutely gorgeous in her just out of the bed look...i have become a fan for sure.

Coming to the second one...Tera Emotional Atyachar! This is a very different song....in a very different way. OK even i did not get it, too many differents. It is from Dev.D. It sounds like the shaadi ka band singing in a baraat. You will get the same vibes!!! The tempo and the pitch of the song make it a very unique.

The songs of our beloved movies are really coming of an age. Rahman has a history of such songs, for e.g. Humma humma and chaiyya chaiyya. I still did not get the meaning of these words and am sure the lyricist of these would be in the same situation. However the tunes really catch us up.

Verdict:

Masakalli - A track not to be missed. Actually you can't miss this. In a week it would be on all FM stations. And the soulful voice of Mohit is outstanding!!!

Casting the right shadow

The White Tiger...a Booker prize winner. I found it astoundingly brilliant not just because it is a coveted winner, but because it a very well written story in a simplistic manner. I can remember the characters, the analogies, the instances because it gets retained in the membrane because of this simplicity. But nothing matches the way it has been put across. The story unfolds through the plot of Balram Halwai writing a letter to the Chinese premier, in which he narrates the story of his life, the journey from rags to riches, how he became a entrepreneur from being a measly driver.

While The White Tiger was still in the run for the prize along with The Sea of Poppies, i came across some articles on these. Some journalists as well as fellow bloggers had commented on the rise of the Indian authors and how the world had started looking at Indian Fiction pieces as real art. However there was a counter agreement that most of the books of authors of Indian origin do well on the basic premise that these portray India as a third world developing country which is, on one side lauded as a technology superpower and on the other hand is gravely poverty stricken. The stark gap in these two Indias makes the book or the story an astonishing read for the western world. While most would argue that it may not be the best way to depict your motherland (My friend also commented on this in her blog) but we also need to agree that a majority of the state of affairs in our country are like this only!!!

The authors draw inspiration for their plots from their surroundings (at least i would like to think that) though am not sure about Mr. Adiga, Mr. Ghosh or Ms. Lahiri. I have been trying to pen down some thing myself and i have realised that the vast cultures and the stark happenings in our very own great nation provide great fodder for these stories. Indian authors are known for their humane stories and emotive abilities. The twists, twirls and tears in these stories do come from the people around. I have been in Mumbai for four years and every time I am standing on the Andheri station, i see hundreds of people around, hundreds of characters for hundreds of my plots; each one unique with a different tale to tell. Slumdog Millionaire won Golden Globe, depicting the life of a slum boy. For someone who has been to Mumbai even once in their lifetime, is it possible to overlook the slums spread all over? I guess not. This is a part of the answer to the question of why such stories and why such depiction of India. Our leaders have been glorifying the nation in the past and would continue to do so but it is we who know what it is like. So why blame the authors? It would be wrong to say that they are cashing on the deprived state of the country by trying to sell it. At least their hardwork is being recognised and rewarded and the Indian publishing industry is flourishing. Isn't it?

How I Taught My Grandmother To Read

Even before your imagination runs wild, i would like to clarify, that my grand mom was literate and could read and write in 3 languages. How many can i, thinking, thinking? 4, i guess. No, it would be 3 and half. I can't write one of the four. Then what is this post about??? A book by Sudha Murthy. Yes, you guessed it right, she is the wife of the great honcho Mr. Narayana Murthy!

On a recent trip to Bangalore, a friend of mine gifted this book to me. Apparently Ms. Murthy is also based in B'lore. I guess this tendency of linking things come to the fore with me at times! Anways, the book is a collection of short stories or rather real life instances that happened with her over a period of number of years and have been penned down in a very simplistic manner. That's why it has been published by Puffin instead of Penguin. After reading it through, i was sure that these stories are not just meant for the children. And when i say children, that does not necessarily mean me! My mother had finished her marathi book by that time and i suggested her to read this one. Apparently, she loved the stories and instances and could relate to it much more that i did! I have not come across many books that would be equally liked by two generations. I could not say the same for one of my other favorites...The White Tiger!

Satyam all the way...

I came across these on some social networking websites. I found it hillarious and have to share it...

Raju Raju sat on the wall
Raju Raju had a great fall
Balance sheet died
Shareholders cried
Raju Raju made a fraud....

Another One:
Raju Raju....Yes baba
Cheating us...No baba
Telling Lies...No baba
Open the balance sheet...HA HA HA

I am feeling bad for the 50k plus Satyam employees who are stranded because the wrong doing of the management. We employees get so content when our salaries get credited in our accounts at the end of each month. Our hearts get filled with sheer joy when the SMS from the bank comes. I wonder if even Mr. Raju felt the same everytime he saw his fraudulent balance sheet!!!

Antipathy or Apathy

I at times wonder why people are so fond of blogging. A free medium of expression with no boundaries, and that too with an option of anonymity, what else can you ask for? One can write anything that he/she may wish for without thinking what the reader may think about him/her. It has become a mass hysteria... oops, am sorry! Hysteria is not a right word as it has negative connotations. It is descibed as a mental disorder. Bloggers would kill me for this and that too on my first (new) day on blogger. Phenomenon suits better. Thanks to farlex!!! Has this happenned to you too? When you were indulged in a thought process way too deep and trying in a rush to communicate it, you used words which had the exact opposite meaning of what you wanted to say.

Another example: While i was in the middle of listening to a friend, describing how a character in one of his stories was furious when he thought about something, he worte "his apathy..." and later on realised that it should have been "his antipathy..." These 2 words, though sound similar, mean two ends.

Apathy: Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; a state of indifference. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

Antipathy: A strong feeling of aversion or repugnance or in simple words, a feeling of strong dislike

I guess we still fare better on these. How about the Chinese trying their hands on these???

Challenges of the Continuum

It has been some minutes that i made my first post, in the entirety of it, a token of conformity with my friends. Though i felt like applauding the Blogger team for keeping it so simple for a new signee (not exactly a new one but i have a new blog though), it was just not easy for me! The caffeine was not effective as it was 3.00 PM and i was struggling to find a name for my blog. I thought of random words and...and hence goes the mystery of christening my blog down the drain.

I felt gratified that something not so random came out of this...however this trance did not last long. The inherent pressures of making a first post haunted my mental foregrounds and i started thinking what to write? A thank you note for the people who had introduced me to this some years back or about the boredom faced in reading your own blog or just something random again?

Somehow I made the first post and then came the time for the second. I really wanted to write something good but the problem persisted. What to write??? I kept thinking about it... Is it the day or the time or just me? But when i scroll up, i see i have made a post and another one. Guess that's all for a continuum!

Blog reincarnated!!!

It had been more than an year...

All it took was some persuasion from one friend and a good post from the other...

Though the "All it took" wasn't that simple... some would agree (I am sure)

I follow blogs regularly though...

I hope my zeal to blog continues...

Till then Happy blogging...