What? a News!

Looking at reports in newspapers, websites for the past few days, one will see there is only one topic that they are talking about -- Bush visiting India. There is no doubt that Indian media has all the potential and credentials to blow wrong news out of proportions and they get the right Masala whenever an American president visits India. Last time when Bill Clinton visited India there was lots of excitement created by the media esp. days before he was schedule to arrive with reports (on all TV channels) ranging from Secret Service men scanning the area to where he is going to stay, what he is going to eat.. Thank God they did not reported what he is going to wear, what colour etc. Does the Indian media has ever bothered to showcase SPG (Special Protection Group) men who are handpicked only from Rajasthan Police special branch. These are the men who protect Indian Prime Minister and as we all know what security issues a person like the Indian Prime Minister faces today.... this reminds me of the saying "Ghar ki Murgi, Dal barabar". There is another point that comes in my mind ... after 58 years of Independence we have yet to realize the pride of being an Indian. Alas! We look in others for fascinating stuff and print them on front page of National Dailies while the news of National Importance is pushed to inner pages. One such report is there was a graphic coverage of "Air Force One" in TOI dated 27th Feb. describing every detail....making no short of a sci-fi script......for all those who are so fascinated to print about the "joy ride" of American President...lemme remind them that Indian Prime Minister does not travel on a Bullock Cart...he also has one of the most sophisticated plane but how many of us know about that? Just browsing thru rediff I noticed a piece of article Clinton bought carpets, what'll Bush buy We at lest deserve to read better news like Bird Flu in India? Budget 2006?
I agree that Bush visit is very significant for that matter it is true for any American or Russian president visiting India, however we should also be informed about the issues which affects our daily life (its been one week since I am off chicken diet :( ). Besides does the Indian Prime Minister gets the same coverage in the western media when he visits US or UK... I don't think so.
In my view Indian media has a long way to go before we call them as mature.

PS: this view is only for the reports I have seen in Newspapers and web-sites as I do not have TV at home, so guys do post howz the situation is on News Channels. Hopefully we will get some news about budget too ;)

Unconsciously conscious

Many of us would have noticed that whenever we want something or planning to buy something (say a apartment), we suddenly start noticing them wherever we go. for example when my collogue was planning to buy a flat, he can only see flats all around and every time he opened his mouth to speak we knew the discussion is going to be on flats, their dimensions, color etc. :) Well the same thing has happened to me, few days back I started learning to drive a car and suddenly I have started noticing the way people drive....how they shift gears, what’s there feet position, how they stop the vehicle, change gears, etc. etc. I am surprised how human psyche work till last month I was least bothered how our cab driver drives but now every day I take notice the way he is handling the controls...it’s simply amazing. Last Friday while coming back from office my fren said "Almost every car here in Bangalore has dent", initially I did not bother on his comment however when he showed me cars with big dents every now and then... I remembered my unconscious observance of how ppl drive...and asked him "Did u get a dent on ur car recently?" His look said it all.....
Hopefully in 10 days time I will be getting my driving license and then I will think about which car to buy.. So next time u see a guy staring at the cars... thats me and another guy staring at girls...that will be my frend: D

Its a Bomb Scare...Everybody Run!

Monday Feb20 4:30pm: As i looked at my watch and thought gosh one more hour to go back home...as i slid my head back on the desk to take another nap...out of corner of my eyes i cud see some activity gng on in our floor..ppl quitely getting up their desk picking up their belongings and leaving....i again glanced at my watch thinking am i dreaming? Well i got my answer immediately when the admin head came to our Team Area and quitely said (with a smile) "Please leave, there is a bomb threat, do not panic, hit the stairs". As the words sank in ..Bomb? (Today is not April 1st) oh my Gosh? well i got up drained my glass of water... and headed towards the stairs....having done this drill 2 times earlier everybody on our floor was calm and i think within 2 minutes we were standing outside the tech-park premises.
As were descending down the stairs on thing i noticed is everybody was quite calm and infact some even carried a broad smile...which ofcourse they do here at workplace.
Now sitting in office we are still waiting for the offical mail for the threat being Hoax..but what puzzles me is why this has happened second time here in span of 3 months or so...which person/group of persons love this tech park so much that this was the second hoax call in 3 months time.
What if it wasn't a hoax....the thought sends chill down my spine.....well then the question arises what we can do? or what can the company security do? We can be alert all the time but still the security lies with Police and not the private security which every company hires.
As i think of the Hoax second time.....i hope "Third Time lucky" shud never happen...

Hello Hello Bird Flu in India.....Stop Eating...Chicken

these were the words my worried mother told me over phone on saturday Nite...............
After having spent full day with my college frend i returned home on a Saturday nite pretty early around 9 pm, me and my flat mate decided to watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S.. so we hooked the laptop to the speakers decided which season we wanted to watch....2 episodes down i got a call frm home, i looked at the time and it was 10:45 and thought what happened? i never get calls frm home this late...i picked up the call...
Have u watched the news my mother asked in a worried voice and then she added there has been bir-flu case reported in Maharashtra.. Stop eating all non-vegetarian food. As i heard the words i was thinking my gosh what am i gonna eat? Trying to convince her i said mamma its just in birds, there is no infection in human is reported in India...just calm down. After 10 min of persuation i finally got persuaded of not eating chicken for some time :( and now i am thinking gosh what i am gng to eat.....mm...Fish .. neh they do not server as good as i am habituated off frm my Port Blair days...
Next Day gng thru TOI report on Bird Flu on line got my attention "These cases may have occured a week or 2 earlier but due to business considerations were reported yesterday"......... Business Considerations? what does that mean...has ppl have lost their mind or they value money more than their life? Well what else can u expect here....where ppl are use to make money even in money alloted for relief work for natural disasters. But this is Bird Flu...hope ppl realise that smtime they have to forgo and provide genuine help....as for myself i have to think for alternative non-veg food :) ... Stay Safe ppl

Finally...

For the past 2 weeks i've been asked by my frens repeatedlly "Have u watched RDB (Rang De Basanti)?" Yesteday evening i went to PVR to buy tickets for night show... got 3rd time lucky and finally got the tickets....the movie though started 30 min late and was worried when it will finish, how long the movie is.....i got back home around 2 am but its all worth it.
After watching the movie i realized why everybody asked "Have u watched it yet?"...Well all i can ay abt the movie is

T00000000000000O GooooooooooooooD

Whats gng on????

Going thru the news paper in the past few days .. there are few things i noticed which grabbed my attention....
1. Starting with Supreme Court asking govt to make marraige registrations mandatory -- i didn't know till yesterday that u have to get ur marriage also registered...hmm then ur kids (birth certificate) .. house, vehicle.. the list is all and finally smone will get my death certificate (which is i must say 40 yrs frm now). My gosh how many certificates we are gng to collect and file in our lifetime
2. Govt. initiating a controversy of census of muslims in armed force.....plz leave one institution alone which has worked against all odds just to make sure that i write this blog where i want, when i want.. leave them as independent as they are.
3. CM of Karnataka is all over TOI these days .. big statments .. even bigger headlines.....and i must say even bigger potholes (defination to be reworked) in Koramangla which i cross on my way home....but i must admit the guy has real good intentions .. hope he doesnot fall under collition partners pressure.
4. Dating -- these days there seems to be a trend of speed dating , finding a dream date whether it is in print media or in Radio City.......Seriously i do not understand the concept.

and finally, Sania Mirza is in Bangalore ............................... what more i can say :)

For all you Singles out there

Here are my thought on Valentines day..well not exactly mine but a sure one to through...so for all those thinking of a song "Akele hain to kya gum hai...", i hope this pic will help u a lot....and as for me well i do not think of a song like "Akele hain to kya gum hai..." but i yea i am being reminded of a song "Neele Neele Ambar per..." as it plays on my Winamp....

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Bryan Adams rocked Blore on 5th Feb

Bryan Admas live in concert in Banagalore and me attending that was a dream come true.....
For 4 years in college our wing had only one music....music by Bryan adams and when the mystro played his old flicks, it brought lot of memories in my mind esp when he played "Everything i do, i do it for u" i remembered my balcony mate who played this song all the later 3 years in college who screwed up his life for smone....all in all it was a very great experionce ppl present overly excited, cheering, shouting and singing, all the stuff u need for an electric atmosphere.
We totally enjoyed ourselves as i believe others too who were present. However i was a bit disappointed for he did not play "Here i am" and ofcourse "i want to be ur underwear" :)..
....in the end what i remember most is Summer of '69 which wud have been better if the star had sung full song by himself and not the audience but hell whos complaing it was one good nite to remember!

How eazy it is to get a passport

Ten years ago any body holding a valid Indian passport meant that he is flying to foreign shores soon or has already retured......i remember at that time it was smthing if u have a passport.....10 yrs down the line Its not a big deal, every one has it or shall i say every one gets it at ease these days without any trouble.
Without any TROUBLE???? Ask me, it took 3 years 7 days and 2 passport applications to finally get a passport, whats left was a dream shattered of gng to US and getting Masters str8 frm college after graduation......
It all began when i was at home in Semester Break in the winter of 2003, i applied for a passport in one of the Regional Passport Office (RPO ) in U.P. submitting all the relevent details and documents...what began after that was a nightmare of numerous visit to the RPO (which is @ 1 hour drive frm my home town).
Every 6 months when i was at home, i had to make 2 to 3 visits to the passport office to inquire abt the status of my application. And the response frm the employess was pathetic...no clear answers, u have to repeat ur questions so many times that u tend to believe the person at the other end is deaf. Thats not all even the ppl with similar causes are as bad as the officers and staff.. there was no sense of First Come First Serve basis, no Queue system. It was (and i think still is) a total choas... A jungle out there.
Frustrated after completing my graduation when i was @ home for 15 days i decided that enuf is enuf and i do not need a damn passport anymore and i went to the Passport office to get my application cancelled . Guess what the same person @ the enquiry counter says when i asked him the procedure to close passport application.... Are Sir kahen ko close kar rahe ho .. aapke hazaar rupye jaayenge (Sir, why are u closing ur file......u will lose ur Rs. 1000 for the application)....i held back the urge saying i will give u another 1000 to close the damn file.....After 5 hrs of running after frm Peon to the Passport officer i got my file closed.
Exactly after a year i decided to apply for a fresh passport (or lets say to try my luck once again), this time in Bangalore where i have been working for two years now.
One a Friday morning 4 months ago i reached Passport Office @ MG road around 8:45 am and got a shock of my life ... there was actually a queue of ppl waiting for the office to open and accept their application. A queue? my gosh this was the first of the many shocks i was gng to bear this particular day.....after 90 min. of wait in a queue.. i entered passport office and a person at the enterance verified my docs and gave me copon number and told me to go str8 and take the second right. This was shcock number 2 -- govt. official telling me the way ( i thought God am i still in India) but what i liked most was the politeness of the staff there.... i got all my paper work done within 30 min and headed str8 to office.
My Police verification was done 3 weeks later and the status changed to "You are Granted a passport" 2 weeks later.... finally i got my passport few weeks back and now i am thinking what shall i do with it now :)