Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wait..why so happy?

I find it insanely funny when most people, once every year, scream their lungs out for something so trivial that happens every day. Strike of the clock at midnight! I was watching CNN this morning and amazed myself for the umpteenth time, at the amount of hulla-gulla thats being created for the imminent new year celebrations. In the simplest of perspectives, it's just another day. Yet, people jump around as if the earth would come to a stop if they dont. 

I would have received a minimum of 50 emails in the last 2 days wishing for New Year - I wonder how many of those people really wish I have a PROSPEROUS new year. 

On a different note, life of humans thrive in this planet just because of plain vanilla belief on various things. People believe without thinking, because if they do, they would clearly know its just a make-belief. People make themselves believe that a party is a mandatory activity for new year. They never wonder if the movement of the calendar (invented by ancient humans) to the next cycle become a good enough reason to shed some dollars and drink/dance the night away. 

And even if its just the calendar movement, New year for most countries does not fall on January 1st. Yet people celebrate on Jan 1st. Maybe people just need excuses to get away from mundanity. 

We do things just because everybody does, don't we?! 

I'm amazed by us!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Curious case of Benjamin Button...

...Amazes. Moves.

An ideal example of how to select a totally unbelievable story and film in such a way to make the viewer believe it, as if the story was a believable one in the first place. Unbelievable! 

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Seven Pounds...

A heart wrenching, thought provoking, sympathy evoking and a serious movie.

All these to teach one heck of a moral : Do not type emails in Blakberry while driving. Else one would be killed by a Jelly fish in a bath tub. (Sure. No spoilers!)

Monday, December 22, 2008

Yes man...

Jim Carrey could be funnier. A lot lot funnier.

Zoey Deschanel was cute though!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Doppelgänger - III

Continued from here.

Carl did not know it was going to be the longest night he has ever seen in his life. 

He climbed down the stairs as fast as he could and when he reached Aunt Natasha's room, he stopped. The living room to his left looked eerily silent and unperturbed. So did the hallway. Absolute Silence. He held his breath for a moment and he could hear nothing but his pounding heart beat. He was not sure if he should knock the door. 

He heard something behind him in the stairs. In the spur of the moment, he pushed open Aunt Natasha's room and stormed inside. Aunt Natasha was not there in her bed. 

Utterly panicked, he looked around the room. Finding no movement but for the swinging ghostly drapes, he thoughtfully made his move. He knocked the door to the bathroom and called out for Aunt Natasha in his shaken voice. Receiving no response, he slowly opened the door. The lights were ON, but he did not see what he half-expected. The bathroom was as tidy as it could be.

He quickly turned around and walked towards the closet. He examined the closet doors one by one, when he noticed the third closet door left slightly ajar.

Scared and bewildered, he opened the closet door as slowly as he could. He saw her there. Aunt Natasha looked pale and her eyes were wide open. Her hair was awfully disheveled and blood was still oozing out of her head on the right side. Aunt Natasha was dead. Carl screamed and felt his head spinning. 

He ran to the living room and lifted the phone to call his mom. He heard somebody walking down the stairs. Carl slowly kept the phone receiver down and remained silent. In a moment, he saw his own image walking down the stairs slowly looking directly at him. The image increased its pace and hurried towards Carl. 

His senses urged him to run, but he could not respond. His legs refused to cooperate. His brain was numb. He knew he would be killed. He was out of tears. He realized he was totally helpless. 

The image kept walking towards Carl. 

The next 10 seconds seemed unceasing. The image took every step cautiously. There was no mercy left in it. No sign of love. No smile. Carl suddenly thought of his piano, his only obsession and desire in life. He wished he played his piano one last time before dying. He could not figure out why he thought so. The image almost neared him. Carl hated the image, oblivious of the fact that it’s his own. 

In seconds, the image came close enough to touch Carl, but stopped. Carl closed his eyes. He waited. He waited for pain. He waited for death to beckon. But nothing happened. 

Carl opened his eyes and saw the image still standing at the same position. He raised his eye-brows. So did the image. He raised his hands. So did the image. He smiled slowly. So did the image. 

He suddenly heard his mom shouting "What the hell are you doing at the bathroom for so long?! It’s getting late for school!"

 

The author, being inspired by Manoj 'Night' Shyamalan attempts (vainly) at writing horror stories. And dreams of being called Arun 'Day' Sundar. 

Monday, December 15, 2008

The day the Earth stood still...

One wishes it really happens, instead of having to watch this movie. 

Thu!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Being Prodigal - a good deed

I read about the falling US economy in more than one daily. There is not a single news channel that does not mention the job losses and the "financial down-spiral" in the US, as the experts call it. As much as I wish for people's happiness, there is pretty much nothing I can do to save the economy.

Knowing me, from the day I started earning I have been excessively extravagant. As a matter of fact, a stronger adjective than 'excessive' would fit the above sentence better. I always say to myself "There is only one life - I might as well live it the way I like it!" And saying so, I try to master the art of spending and strive to become the 'Lavish Lord of Philadelphia'.

Having said that, I revisit the first paragraph to say "As much as I wish for people's happiness, there must be something I can do to save the economy." That's right.

I spend more and attempt to save the economy.

By virtue of expending more, I'm left with not just a bank balance that's hitting the floor, but also a great mental satisfaction of uplifting the economy (?!). I can explain. The much-needed cash is put into churning the economy. I travel more, I gas up my car more, I buy a lot of clothes, I watch many movies, I buy a lot of electronics. You think I'm doing all these for myself? Not one bit!

All for the economy.

I tell people they should travel more often than they normally do. They should travel by flight and avoid buses and trains. I ask people to periodically change their mobile phones to the latest and expensive ones. I ask people to upgrade their laptops every year. I ask people to stop cooking at home and eat out everyday. I ask them to stop walking and take cabs, even for short commutes.

And by indulging in such activities, people spend more. Because of more money being put to use, more services are needed in turn. More people are employed. More job opportunities. More cash inflow. Increased spending. Increased Rate of exchange. Higher GDP. Saved economy.

My dad always tells my mom "Your son is unbelievably prodigal. He should be more calculative." My mom expectantly replies "Not so true. He is always right. If he does something, there would be some good in it!" I smile.

Being prodigal is indeed a good deed!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Doppelgänger - II

Continued from here.

Carl thought he saw something moving at the last moment, but he was too scared to turn back. Instead, he started running. Suddenly, something held his legs and he tripped. He fell flat on the floor. His nose hurt. He couldn't breathe with ease. With the heart rate refusing to go below 120 bpm, he looked back at what made him trip and fall.

The carpet edges were worn off and were folded up. Could the carpet have tripped him? He wasn't sure. He quickly got to his foot and raced towards Rachel's room. He switched on the lights and almost called her out, but only to find she wasn't there in the bed. Puzzled and confused, he looked around in the big room. The room was silent and untroubled - he was not sure what he is to do next.

Rachel must have gone to the restroom, he said to himself. Someone touched him at his shoulder. He jerked heavily and almost screamed. But out of reflex, he turned back. Deep inside, he was expecting Rachel. But he was aghast at the sight he saw. It wasn’t her. He choked for a moment and his body started shivering tremendously. What he saw made him gasp for breath. He saw was his own image staring right at him, quite diabolically. He couldn’t believe he is seeing himself standing right in front of him.

He cried out for help, but words wouldn’t come out. He was trembling and the tears were already rolling out of his eyes. He couldn’t process any thoughts. As he was shaking, he felt one more touch at his shoulder from behind. He turned back and this time, it was Rachel. Carl turned back once again, but the image was gone. Rachel asked "Carl, what are you doing here? I thought you were asleep. And why are you crying?" with all concern and mild panic. Carl talked for the first time in the last couple of hours. He said "I'm scared Rach…"

Rachel was about to say something and Aunt Natasha came. "Aren't you kids supposed to be sleeping now? Carl, what happened? Why do you look so pale?" Rachel pitched in "No Aunt Natasha, he was going to the restroom and he tripped. I heard the noise and came to see him. He is ok". Aunt Natasha wasn't convinced, she looked at Carl, who was still trembling "Carl, are you alright?" "I...I should be ok", Carl said. "Ok kids, go back to sleep. This is close to midnight and it’s not healthy to be up!" After Aunt Natasha went, Rachel looked inquiringly yet empathetically at Carl. Carl slowly asked "Can I sleep in your room today?" Rachel nodded without second thought.

Rachel had the reading lights on. Carl could not sleep. He could not understand. Fear was more apparent than anything else. In about 20 minutes, Rachel dozed off. Carl still couldn't sleep. As much as he tried to shut the thought of the image out, he couldn't. He still heard the crackling of the glass windows. He rolled over to lie on his chest, his face buried tight inside the pillows. He heard nothing for 10 seconds. Silence. This is better, he thought.

Suddenly, he felt someone jerking his legs in one fast motion.

He quickly turned over to saw all the lights switched on. Windows and doors were wide open. Not being able to understand a single bit of what's happening, he turned his face to Rachel. Rachel was lying in a pool of blood with her neck split open. There was not a sign of motion. There was no sound. His heart stopped for a moment. He felt like screaming at the top of his voice, but his senses did not cooperate. He felt numb.

He shook and got up from the bed to run towards Aunt Natasha's room. The image appeared behind him, smiled and followed.

Carl did not know it was going to be the longest night he has ever had in his life.

Continued here

Monday, November 24, 2008

Slumdog Millionaire!

Nothing short of Top notch! Cinematography, Camera, Lighting, BGM, Direction, Story - everything top notch. Definitely, one of the best movies released this year and a 'must-see'! 

[Trivia: As soon as I heard the first background music, I asked my friend if ARRahman is the music director. Not knowing, he shrugged vaguely. Apparently, it turns out that indeed ARRahman is the composer. Just that a bit of BGM made me recognise his signature music style proved what a fan am I! Little happiness in life!]

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Twilight...

...teaches me that

1) Vampires drive a Volvo

2) Vampires fall in love

3) There are vegetarian Vampires

4) Vampires live forever

5) Some beautiful girls fall for Teen vampires

Bottom-line : Chick flick!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Vacation-o-mania!

Work is the only known entity, which can make one feel miserable and mirthful, both at the same time, most of the times. As dubious as it sounds, I wonder why I like what I do with fervor. When I step into most meetings at workplace, I feel like a Gladiator stepping into an arena. I have no idea of what might come from which door.

I work in an environment which demands agility, responsiveness and deftness which would otherwise be required only in the Space station building team at NASA. But I don’t work for NASA. And we aren’t building a space station. Yet I strive.

These days, I have started wondering how much of a fit is the verse 'Life comes at you fast' to my life. More surprising is the fact that this statement fits like a charm when the word 'life' is replaced with 'work'. 

I'll not be the only person in this world if I say I look forward to vacation desperately. And I'll say exactly this when asked any time of the year, no matter how the days look like. Apparently, seeking vacation seems like a universal birth right. 

An average IT professional gets about 2 weeks of vacation an year. At times, I wonder if it'd make one happier when work and vacation switch roles.  That is, every year one should be granted about 2 weeks of work and 50 weeks of vacation. 

Though hypothetical, would one have enough stuff to do for 50 weeks an year and call all that as part of vacation? Doing nothing in life is as challenging as keeping oneself sane while being busy. I reckon doing nothing has to be one of the toughest things in life. 

My imbecile brain invents that humans hate idling as much as they seem to love it. One needs to be occupied in their life. The seek for vacation and the thirst to slug is shallow. Being busy is the solace. 

To earn or to learn, one needs the brain to be put to use!


Monday, November 17, 2008

Varanam Aayiram...

...velangaama poirum.

Did somebody tell Gautam menon that this should be his last tamil movie for him to exercise all his ideas?! 

Epitome of digression!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Quantum of Solace...

...not even a quantum of sense.

Thu!

(Other than watching the 12.01 am show, a literal first day first show, nothing was fascinating!)

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Theory of Supportivity!

Women are more supportive to men than men are to women. That indeed makes men seem more blessed than women, in spite of all the efforts that women take to be more supportive than men. With less travails, men being supported makes them seem blessed, but they actually are cursed for they are sought after to take more efforts to be supportive. Yet, men dont take such curses for long by one woman, as another comes in, only to prove the 'supportive' theory in the first place.  

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Role Models..

...shows how to be funny when one's life is fucked up. And that too when the redress is to spend supportive hours with random kids. 

Rated R and a must watch for kids!

Madagascar 2 escape 2 africa

...just another animation movie, yet as amusing and entertaining!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Work...

...takes precedence over life. And a few other things.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Quarantine...

...a movie which explains what 'Shit Scary' means. Chill runs down one's spine. Literally.

[And when the guy behind me in the theatre dropped the water bottle by mistake and when hit my foot, suffice to say that made my heart come to my mouth for a second!]

Not a thu, but a Phew!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Thinking aloud...

...is one art most women have mastered with effortless ease. Apparently.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Rewind and Rejuvenate!

Re-experiencing the past days of life always gives one a nicer feeling. Going back to the past, reliving those happy moments, forgetting all about the present makes one a happier person. The other day, I took off to New York City to meet a friend. Pressingly short, yet incredible vacation right in the middle of an otherwise hectic work week it turned out to be. I used to work in NYC for 3 years and after I moved out of the city, in spite of so many weekends I go there to meet friends, its been a while I spent a week-day there. It indeed gave me an incredible feeling to witness the same fast life, where there is an untold haste in every body's lives. I reassured for the nth time that nothing is slow in this city, except for the hobos.

After a sumptuous meal at Saravana Bhavan, my friend and I decided to get out of the city and go to Long Island beach. As we were passing Queensboro Bridge, I saw the building we used to work and I instantly felt the surge of nostalgia inside me. Without giving much of thought, I took the exit and in minutes, pulled over in front of the building. I found the number of an ex-colleague and called him. He was fortunately still working there and he said he would be more than happy to meet us. He came down to the lobby and we met for coffee. A few minutes later, we called up another colleague and he joined us too. The four of us spent more than an hour, talking nothing but old memories. It was like school-kids talking fondly of their previous years as they grow up.

In a while, I enquired for our ex-boss and one of the colleagues suggested we go up and see her. He signed us in. We went to the 37th floor to meet her. I knocked her office and peeped inside. She was still for a short second and her face lighted up instantly. She enthusiastically screamed and gave me a huge hug. That her scream did make a couple of other folks open their office and check if everything was alright did not bother her. She enquired about my well-being and said she is really happy to see us. She wanted to go out for a smoke. And we all went down - another one hour passed in a jiffy.

Overall, it turned out to be such a wonderful evening. I honestly never knew I would be such a wanted guest at my previous workplace. I have busted my ass off for a good 3 years there and opted out of the place myself, because of fear of career stagnancy. The decision of moving out has been good for me, but to revisit the place for one day was absolutely great! When I stepped into the elevator and walked among the cubicles, it gave me such an inexplicable happiness. I have felt such a strange felicity only once before when I went to my school. Rewinding the days of life is indeed nice!

The other thought that I had, as I was driving back home is the gratitude that Americans show. I know it’s a tad silly to compare Nations in this regard and invoke generalization. Yet, as much as I hate to say this, I have not seen many desi managers who are great vis-à-vis western managers. Maybe it has got to do with the basic instincts or ethos.

My plan of going to the beach was messed up, yet I felt so satiated to have met people from the past. That immediate happiness my ex-boss showed or the excitement my colleagues displayed - I guess I cannot forget for some more days to come.

Rewinding in life does rejuvenate! Big time.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Beverly Hills Chihuahua...

...definitely recommended for dog-lovers. On the flip side, even a dog-hater is made to leave the movie hall with a smile!

Chihuahua - Wah re wah!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Body of Lies...

Everybody lies!

Caprio is captivating.

Movie is wow!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Next?!

Life, they say is a roller-coaster ride
Or perhaps a rafting trip on a tough tide
No seat belt or life jacket to save from the fall
Yet one rides with comfort, to just have it all!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Life's best feeling....

...is to love oneself. Just.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

...sequence of how the same chewing gum is being chewed by four different people at various times is the crux of the movie. And add some gay love and sporadic humour to that. 

Thu!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Red...

Being born blessed with the endowment of infuriating and irritating people is a curse for some. Existence as the epitome of evoking annoyance on others seems inconspicuous for them. Scorning at them muttering something in the lines of 'Son of a bitch' inwardly does not really help. Neither to communicate the ire nor for self-satiation. One unfeignedly attempts to brush it aside as a likely sequence of event life poses, yet ends up writing a blogpost. For this is the best vent. A pressure valve.

Relief.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Nights in Rodanthe...

Melodramatic. Richard Gere dies. My friend was sobbing. Almost.
I was sleeping. Almost.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Eagle Eye

A credible Make-believe.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Pets and Door banging!

Animals are one of the those creatures in this world, who can make me happy only when they pose in a wallpaper or be inside the cage. Definitely not when encountered in person. I like watching Animals on TV - I can watch the life history of even a hippopotomus in National Geographic for 4 hours. But when it comes to humans moving closely with animals, it sort of subtly freaks me out. I have this strange habit of being a totally different person while watching animals/pets on TV against seeing them in reality.

And yaa pets...when I see a dog on a leash being walked by somebody and when they come under proximity, a mild tension creeps in uninvitingly. I make all efforts to conceal my fear, or for lack of a better word, restlessness. Yet I resort for a detour. The other day, I saw Chandler saying in 'Friends' sitcom that one can never say what a dog thinks. How true!

Whenever I visit people who own dogs and consider them as more than family members, I make sure that the dog keeps a safe distance from me. Howmuchever they find it difficult to understand, I keep emphasizing 'dogs have to be kept where they should be'. I have a strange feeling that most dogs in this world hate me and somehow or the other, plan on attacking me one day.

One of my friends (while being caressed all over her face by the tongue-lick of whatever-dog-she-has) offers me an explanation. For her, the dog is more than a sibling. The only companion who can identify her. The only comrade who never changes color. The only friend who is loyal, honest and trustworthy. I laugh her out. Considering me, other than the reality that a dog can never talk back, I find nothing spellbinding.

During many of my regular visits to Central park in New york, I have wondered how small a grown-up dog can get and how much of love and affection can it withstand, no matter how small it is. No exaggerations - I have seen dogs smaller than the size of my sneaker. And it is funny when they bark. I laugh at my own joke of imagining telling one of such dog-owners to take the dog out of my way or I might mistakenly stamp on it! As per many of my friends, 'Stamp on it' is considered a blasphemy. Should be 'stamp on him or stamp on her'. It is amazing how much of affinity, love and affections humans show for pets.

And yesterday, the salesman at the guitar shop while talking to me and walking, tripped and fell on the floor. One of the on-lookers mockingly offered a comment that the salesman has the eyes of a cat. He gets up and asks her not to compare him to a cat. Per him, the cats are partially blind. He extends an unsolicited explanation - how his pet (a cat) runs across his living room and the kitchen at lightning speed when there is no need for such a real hurry. And most of the times, he says the cat at such a blinding speed would go bang herself straight on to the door. Not a glass door, not a transparent door - but a plain hard wooden one. BANG! He says he can never explain such a behaviour. One more person joins in saying how his lazy dog would be sleeping in the couch - And all of a sudden, out of the blues, she would toss herself up from the couch and sprint like a lightning.

Such maddeningly-crazy-running-episodes in the house are okay. And so are the annoyingly jarring barks. But there is much more pets can do. As much as they invite incredible love and affection of some people (like these babies do), they lead to the opposite too for others.

Without even their knowledge, pets can easily give one a phobia, one is not born with. Funny. Indeed.

[P.S : Pet lovers, please take this post in the lighter sense, as this is my 150th post!]

Monday, September 22, 2008

Lakeview Terrace..

...a riveting and a thrilling pop-corn movie.

Bold film making though!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Alcohol and women...

Being a teetotaler makes life seem futile. And the conception turns silly when the friends of opposite sex, one goes out with, drink margaritas and vodkas. Asking for a virgin drink in a bar is almost considered a capital offense or so the looks of the waiter/waitress convey. But one does not deter. With self-amusing composure, one rephrases and asks for fruit juice. And it indeed is a little sappy to be sipping cranberry juice, when the tablemates are gulping down cocktails.

But perceived with the truest of the thoughts, one feels a little untold pride. And the haze of being called a 'loser' fades away in the pride. One personally enjoys whenever people invite for arguments centering on the 'beaten-to-death' topic of drinking Vs abstaining. Such arguments are delightful and that too, it becomes all the more funny when the arguing person’s blood is so filled with ethyl alcohol.

Talking about drinkers, the other day I went out with a couple of friends to a local Italian restaurant. I was having regular coke and they were having wine. As soon as they said the wine is just so perfect for the evening, I added saying Coke is definitely better at that restaurant. They didn’t seem to understand. In fact, for somebody who drinks, it’s hard to appreciate the 'kick' of a non-alcoholic drink. One of my friends, for the sake of argument, asks me for one good reason for me being a teetotaler and I tell her honestly that the pride of not having touched alcohol yet makes one a stronger abstainer.

She could not readily agree, my other friend joined her and both of them were enjoying this 'lets-convince-Arun-today' business than the wine in the first place. I was having equal fun, trying to come up with answers for all the 'otherwise-valid' questions. After some 20 minutes of vain attempt, one of them showed a little frustration and resorted back to the wine. The other joined. For me, the pride sneaked in. I smiled.

I have always been the solo non-alcoholic person in a alcoholic group. I accompany folks to bars/hotels and invariably hog at the side-dishes meant for the drinkers. And as soon as the drinking starts, if any of the guys talk, I keep telling them to stop the gibber-talks. And if one of the guys walks to the restroom, I mockingly warn him not to dance along the way or bang the waiter.

As more alcohol mixes with the blood and as the guys get 'high' by the drink, triggering them to unexpected expressions and ridiculing is what makes me high.

In spite of the sporadic kicks and blows one might receive, such attempts of ridiculing a drunkard is the funniest experience one can feel thru. Not even watching all the seasons of Seinfeld in one shot can come close. Of course the side and the after-effects of the 'puke' episodes would be like interrupting ESPN abruptly and switching to Doordarshan.

Yet, what I missed to figure out was why some women have a strange attraction towards guys who drink. Maybe they mistakenly think drinking has got to do with manliness or something. Or that’s what I assumed.

But a few days ago, a few of my friend were saying that their strategy is to 'go out' with guys who drink, who dance, who smoke and who call them 'babe'. But at the end of it, they settle down for a guy who symbolizes 'chamathu' types. As much as that logic is confusingly stupid, it blurs me as I don’t fall in either of the cults. And all this when I'm not drunk.

I'm sure only women can confuse and increase the thinking time of men. Not even alcohol!

Burn after Reading...

Asattuthanam'ly Amusing!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Righteous Kill

...Predictable.

So-so would be an under-rating. Good would be a over-rating. Falls inbetween. 

Monday, September 8, 2008

On being busy…

One finds the subject of being busy, as a matter of fact, very immanent. But in the general notion, the definition pertains to one's work. The work, which pays for the bread and butter, which in turn leads to the want of more bread and butter. And when one is occupied with heaps of work, everything else seems to shift to lower gears. The frequency of hectic days spilled with strenuous schedules in crescendo turns one to be habituated to the same.

The journey of 'work for home' to 'work from home' seems fluid. The occasional scream of the US open applauses amidst rallies on the TV does not seem to bother, strangely. The saga of such feverish days makes one a little upstage from an otherwise social life. One finds it difficult to fit the tasks of writing stories or tweeting, in the always-less-than-sufficient 24 hours. Needless to say, the whole befalling leads one to hope for a serene weekend.

Oddly, the thirstily anticipated weekend ends up less placid than the weekdays. And the weekend radar is replete with variegations of flashing laziness by idling away comfortably in the couch, watching TV aimlessly, staring at the clouds from the balcony, listening to music avidly, fiddling with the phone for hours, talking on the phone for minutes and the likes. Some might call exactly this a defined form of relaxation. Yet, one considers doing all these diligently as being busy and absorbed.

However occupied weekends are with aforesaid activities, just to think of Monday morning and the week ahead rapidly throws up a flare of alarm. Life suddenly seems brilliantly mundane. But this seemingly incidental thought is attempted to be hazed under the hoods of being busy.

Yet another week beckons. One teaches oneself the art of being busy.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Rock On...

...Rocks on!

Super. Fantastic. Excellent. Bale!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Height of desparation

...is laughing uncontrollably at one's own joke.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

College

...galeej. And disgusting.

Thu!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Tennis and Rafael Nadal

One follows tennis for the sheer energy and the agility in the sport. No other sport known to mankind seems to give the 'feel' of the game like this one does. That, even for one watching the sport in TV. Yesterday, I was watching the 2nd round US Open Men's singles between Rafael Nadal and Deheart. There are only a few sportsmen in this world that has the capability of making you jubilant with every move of theirs during the game, if you support them and cringe with frustration, if you support the opponent. Most of you would not disagree when I say how it feels to be a fan of Sachin when he is in full form in a winning match against let’s say, Pakistan. At the same time, you know how it feels to be a Pakistani supporter, while Sachin blasts the kookaburra all around. Rafa is the only other player who in my opinion can give a similar feeling to the audience, depending on if one supports him or otherwise.

I used to hate Rafa for the very fact that he played almost every Grand slam final in the last couple of years. And mostly against Federer, who was incidentally my Fav only after Sampras. Rafa getting to the finals almost became a routine, just like how frustrating it was to watch Venus and Serena play almost all women's grand slam finals. As much as I hated to watch Nadal play, his sheer aggressiveness and the attitude on and off the field made him seem more like a real fighter. Or in better terms, a gladiator. No matter whom he plays against, he makes sure that he doesn't let go that easily. If he gets beaten by a good volley or loses a tough rally, he comes back hard. He approaches the next point with aggression mixed with finesse and wins it, mostly. Just like how Sachin (in top form) goes after the bowler when beaten by one good lucky delivery.

If the opponent is easy, Rafa crushes him, showing little mercy. Over time, Rafa has reached a position where it leaves one in surprise when he makes an unforced error. He strives for perfection and that’s exactly what it takes to be a No.1 player. Federer is more a composed and yet, a compulsive player. As much he is considered to be one of the greatest players in the tennis history, a much younger Rafa is taking over the throne after much of strenuous hard work and discipline. As much as one hated Rafa, it is admiring to observer the way he is climbing up. The very body language of his shows no pressure on winning whatsoever. That is something I have seen in a very few players. Winning seems easy for him.

For the sheer love of the game, one might think 'No matter who wins or loses, the sport is the winner!', but certain players like Rafa redefine. They invariably ascertain what the game is all about. And I love it.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Twitter...

...indeed is fun!

Its like going on a vacation when one is jobless in the first place.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Doppelgänger

Carl did not want to go on a vacation. He preferred staying at home, when kids of his age were perfectly relishing the summer by playing around, visiting places, more than all, forgetting totally about school. Carl secretly wished the school starts soon. He hated stepping outside and playing in the park. He would love if he is never asked to go out in the sun. But if he said this to someone, they would confirm him to be crazy. He would rather stay home and play piano all day- the only activity that gave him perfect solace. He wasn't sure if he really is a different kid, as others claim him to be. But he was beyond being bothered by what other kids say.

One afternoon, his mom told him he has to go visit his aunt in Cleveland. Arrangements were already made and his elder sister Rachel is to accompany. His parents called it vacation. Carl hated the very term. He hated Cleveland as much as any place in this world. And he hated his aunt too. And her big house. But he could never refuse to his mom. He looked at the Piano, the only companion he might miss for the next 3 weeks. The kids were about to leave the next morning.

Amtrak left the station at 6.10am sharp. Carl was sitting by the window and Rachel in the aisle. Carl kept staring outside, as the train picked up speed. Rachel sank in to a whole different world her iPod created for her. Carl took his PSP and started playing 'Silent hill origins'. He imbibed himself in the game and before he could realize, they were nearing Cleveland. Carl looked out thru the window and the land was so beautifully covered with snow. Carl has never seen anything even remotely beautiful like this white spread of snow. His attention wholly shifted from the game to the snowfield. The sight made him happy and the very experience of happiness was something he felt for the first time. As he was delighting the sight, he saw a hazy white figure traveling alongside the train.

Unable to figure out what it must be, he was about to ask Rachel, but she was already fast asleep. He looked outside again and the figure started gaining a definitive shape slowly. For a moment, it appeared to him like a flying refrigerator and seconds later, it seemed like a swimming crocodile. In moments, it hazed up again. Carl wasn’t sure if he should continue looking. He was confused, scared and thrilled all at the same time. As he kept looking at the figure, something like eyes appeared in the figure. Carl's heartbeat paced up and suddenly, the figure opened its eyes and looked directly at Carl.

Uncontrollably, Carl almost twitched and that woke Rachel up. She asked if everything is ok. Carl looked outside and the figure wasn't there anymore. He was hesitant to tell Rachel anything, as he was scared that she might think of him as an abnormal kid like everybody else too. He recomposed himself and seemed as if everything is normal. For the rest of the train journey, Carl tried to sit in a skewed position and not to look outside the window. His curiosity still made him look outside every while and then. But he found nothing but vast land of snow-laden meadows.

The train arrived at Cleveland. Their aunt Natasha was already at the station. She received them flaunting her happiness and drove them for an hour to reach her house. Carl did not speak a single sentence in the car journey and he restricted himself to one-word answers to all his aunt's enquiring questions. When they reached the house, the sun was nowhere to be seen. Aunt Natasha's house was an otherwise beautiful one, but the harsh weather and the foggy daylight made it look a little eerie. Or at least Carl felt so. After dinner, Aunt Natasha tucked Carl in and left for her room after a good night kiss.
Carl was too tired to sleep. He was a little scared too. His already existent hatred to vacations was increasing manifold. He got out of the bed and slowly walked to Rachel’s room. He has to pass thru the hallway to reach Rachel’s room.

As he walked, he suddenly heard noise of glass crackling from one of the windows. He stopped to look back, only to find all the windows intact. He waited for a second before proceeding. Uneasy silence prevailed. He started walking and he heard the noise again, this time a couple of notches louder. He stopped. He was sweating already. He looked back and the hallway was as dark as before. No change in the windows or the drapes. The eerie silence continued. He turned and continued walking faster towards Rachel’s room. He thought he saw something moving at the last moment, but he was too scared to turn back and he started running. Suddenly, something held his legs and he tripped...

Continued here

Friday, August 15, 2008

Habanadha...!!!

Languages are absolutely funny. So are the cultural differences. That, if looked at with the right perspective.

My boss casually asked me if there is a way to differentiate names of Indian males and females. Her personal experience of embarrassing herself in many a meeting must have prompted her to ask. I thought for a while and told her "Maybe you can understand like this. If a name ends with a vowel, 90% of the times it'd be that of a female. And if not, the name must be of a male". She smiled and said “Oh….that’s easy!” and in 2 seconds she asked "But the guys working at offshore team Hari and Ravi aren’t males? Their names end with vowels" I smiled back and replied "Their full names are Hariharan and Ravichandran. We came up with short ones for you to easily remember and you gotta know that this 'vowels-logic' does not apply for short names" She quickly said "Ohh…ok. I sort of get it now. And I’ll remember that" Appeared like she bought the idea. Good for me. Then, she asked "Hey Arun, what was the new offshore resource you said would be joining us?" I said the name and she inadvertently mispronounced it. No surprise. And I let it go, as most of the Indian names are a little difficult to be pronounced anyways.

One of my other colleagues standing next to me tried to show what a smarty-pants he is. He corrected her by saying how the name should be correctly pronounced. She mispronounced it again and he said “You are wrong. That’s not how the name should be pronounced”. My boss calmly said "Oh, my pronunciation is wrong?! How about the English that you folks speak? Can we talk about that for a while?" I was almost laughing, as I know where this is heading towards. She looked at me and continued "You know Arun, the other day this gentleman here told me that he went to a shop called waaaalmart. I thought this must be a new shop in this area and I told I’ll go check it out sometime. It took more than 5 minutes for me to figure out he was actually talking about Wal-Mart (which she actually pronounced as w-u-a-l-m-a-r-t or to be exact, w-u-a-l-m-a-zh-t)". I know we guys are used to British English and pronunciations in US English are a little different. It was funny how much my boss stressed over the pronunciations of Wal-Mart and other such words.

Of course desis are much better, most can speak decent English. But other Asians amaze me. Especially Chinese people, who get most of their basic education in mandarin (that, if they had their childhood in china), not know a bit of English and still survive in Uncle Sam’s land. Earlier, I used to live in a neighborhood called Flushing in New York and that's almost considered a 'mini china town'. Most of the shops and hoardings will be in Chinese and everything ranging from cuisine to lifestyle would be directly or indirectly related to China. Most of my ex-colleagues would even make fun by asking me if I need a Chinese visa to get into the area. Many a time I have been to shops, where if the shop-keeper sees a Non-Chinese enter, he'll immediately wave both his hands and start 'No English No English' in his own funny way. One can do nothing but smile and step out slowly.

For many days, I thought the old lady in the Chinese eat-out near my house was a little crazy. She always muttered something like "habanadha" whenever I left the place. I thought she was scorning at me, till one of my friends found the secret and told me she was actually wishing me by saying "have a nice day". The old lady indeed was not crazy.

Too many non-English speaking people in an English speaking country make the place a little crazy. That too is funny, if looked at with the right perspective.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Pineapple Express:

Funny. Insanely.

And one can almost feel the ROFL experience.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Pride!

The pride of not having touched alcohol yet makes one a stronger abstainer than ever before.

One hopes the same logic does not apply for sex. 

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Dreams..

..I hate them. Mostly impertinent. And Silly.

Who the hell would get a dream in which one is a school kid and there is a gurkha in the city who abducts kids off for work? And the sequence gets interesting when one gets abducted(almost) by the gurkha. One hides under the bed and the mom lies to the gurkha that no kid exists in the house, but the plot twists when the villainous gurkha spots the kid. The kid sees the gurkha too, gets shit-scared and thinks frantically for an escape. Finding no way to break away, the intensity of tension reaches the apex. And apparently wakes one up and kills the dream altogether. The realisation that one is not a school kid, but a fully grown up 25-year old sinks in. The dufus, that I am took a while to realise the whole happening. All this at 7am. Moments later, one gets a phone call from offshore.

One truly feels gurkha was much better.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Kuselan...

...does not even deserve a review.

Thu!

By the way, who would expect to see dolphins in a south Indian village?! One spanks the forehead, unable to bear the idiocy.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Problem in hand...

One spends the evening pondering how to solve the problem in hand - I mean, the problem in real hand. Not for the first time, but for the umpteenth time. After having enough experience in tripping, falling and slipping stuffs from hands, one matures to the next level by dropping a whole plate of just-cooked rice with effortless ease, spilling all over the place. The next half hour is spent diligently and actively cleaning the carpet, to leave behind nothing but an aggravating back pain and an empty bottle of gatorade.

The plate almost would have fallen and broken into pieces, but one sprucely averts such an act at the last moment with some smart juggling act, to end up with the plate being upside down in the hands and whole lot of saadham all over the floor. But hey, the plate was saved. And during the whole episode and holding on to the plates in criss-crossed hands (thanks to the impromptu juggling - seemed like it might take a while to unfold the hands!), one ends up laughing his heart out, as the already confused roommate gets all the more confused not sure whether to help clean the carpet or to cook more rice or to join in the laughter, as such a situation is otherwise considered a repentant one.

Shouldn't one look above and say, "God, yaa You sitting up there, listen carefully - the jelly hands You have blessed me with - first of all, thank you very much for that. And be informed that there is nothing in this world that I have touched and not slipped from my hands. And You better have an answer for every single slip, when I meet you! Alright?"?

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Joining Hands...

One, with fervor seeks for the right company in life. After all, the beleif in getting the right partner might change the lifestyle is emphasised all of a sudden. After so much of search in the web, one finally finds the right match. The whole life seems promising. And one's otherwise mundane life becomes so exciting in just a day's time. Or atleast the commute.

Thanks to her!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

No point...

One is so tempted to believe "Other than free-sex-with-liberty, there is no good reason for a man to get hitched with, for everything else is easily available elsewhere!"

Monday, July 21, 2008

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

Entertaining. Illogical. Yet Irresistible.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Journey to the center of earth

In the name of entertainment, science and physics are partially defied. 'Who cares?' as long as the poor kids with 3D glasses believe all that, is what one might think.

But if not for 3D, Kabali would recommend the readers to take the journey to the 'Exit' of the theater. Straight.

WALL-E!

As much as one fears that it might sound a tad gay and as much as one hates the same, it is difficult to refrain from exclaiming(softly though) 'So cuuttee!", looking at WALL-E.

The one between WALL-E and EVA is the cutest robo-romance can ever get. And one steps out of the movie hall with smile.

WALL-E = Must-see!

The Dark Knight

Villain is the hero. Length of the movie is the villain. Action pack is the heroine. Technical cinematography is the backbone. If one is a fan of action, this movie is indeed a treat!

(And this is the first movie in my history where I stood in a queue in the NY streets for over half an hour before I could get into the movie theatre. That was a 'Thu'!)

Friday, July 11, 2008

Thinking hard...

...to find an alternative to 'flying' when one needs to travel across continents is what one should be doing full time.

Flights are absolutely boring, irrespective of the crew or the airline or the equipment.

Where the heck is the 'Vittalacharya' technique, when one needs it?!

Monday, June 30, 2008

Tirupati...

...is totally f*cked up.

People are too civilised to be part of crowds. It may not be too long before Lord Balaji moves His hands from 'blessing' pose to His forehead, unable to witness the commotion.

Purpose of the visit gets defeated, when one gives the heaviest sigh of the lifetime on exiting the temple!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Chennai...

...is HOT!!

It is so cool!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Me, the Sleep and the Kaapi...

I, belonging to the cult with the motto "Do nothing if it affects sleep even remotely", find it surprisingly weird that I'm attending the work-conference calls at 6.30 in the morning for the past 2 weeks consistently. Very much unlike me. And I have this habit of doing 99% of activities involuntarily in the first 20 minutes after I wake up in the morning. I call it the ’20-min-zone’. Most of the times I would wonder if I brushed that day, but I'd console myself with the assumption that I should have done that in the '20-min-zone'. At times when I brush in the nights, I'd say to myself 'Oh this is how brushing might feel like in the mornings too!' Aamir khan stole the idea and used it in TZP when Ishanth does a sleep-walk to the bathroom and brush. But that’s not the point. The point is the conference call. And most of the days, I attend the meeting in the cozy confines of the comforter. Half-asleep.

Having found that talking impedes sleep, I try to remain as silent a spectator as possible in the call, but folks offshore are smart bums. In the midst of conversations that might put one to sleep even after a strong filter kaapi (let alone half-asleep guy inside the comforter), one of the smarty-pants would suddenly say "Let's hear what Arun has to say!" The dude would make it seem a casual sentence, as if he didn’t sense that I'm dozing off. Me, being the sleepy head would wait for a second or two and see if somebody repeats the question. If not, I'd slightly recompose, clear the throat and ask slowly "What??" If no luck there, I pause and then continue "The phone line is a little noisy. Can somebody repeat the question please?!" The warriors there would feel triumphant that they succeeded in their mission. This has become a daily happening. Almost.

One dull morning, I was woken up earlier than usual by such an offshore call and the '20-min' zone prolonged longer than anticipated. I reach work at 8am and somehow I have this doubt whether the '20-min' is accompanying me at work that day. Or maybe it changed to '200-min' zone. I resort to a large kaapi, for it’s the only fight I can give against these zones. I go to the cafeteria, grab a large kaapi and walk back to my desk. With random thoughts, I open my draw and before I could realize what I did, I saw hot kaapi flowing like a river all over my desk. I actually should appreciate my dumb presence of mind. I kept looking at the flow and wondering at how it started dripping to the floor from the edges. The iPhone, which I had kept at the desk minutes ago, looked at me glowingly. "Shit!" I cursed. The iPhone swiftly went into my trouser pocket. Then I see the Kaapi River moving north. One more "shit" and I lift the laptop and carry it to the other end of the table.

I look back and I saw beautiful kaapi dot patterns. I admire them for a second and I suddenly realize the dots were formed by the kaapi droplets from the laptop. I lift the laptop and see liquid smudges of kaapi. A third loud "Shit!" followed and I ran to the pantry for paper towels. For the first time, the laptop must have wished it had diapers. In less than 15 seconds, I switched the power off, cleaned the laptop and heaved a sigh. Before I could complete the sigh, the landline phone inundated with kaapi caught my attention. Looking at the sight, I truly wished all the electronics of mine had diapers. It took over 10 minutes and 4 trips to the pantry to clean the mess in my desk. The large cup with no kaapi still stood in my desk like an achiever, conveying its power.

Did not need caffeine that day. I was automatically thrown out of sleep zone. And anything in my desk had this sweet aroma of kaapi. The phone, cables, pen, mug - it all smelled caffeine. After a while, I got used to it, but I was able to hear people sniffing their nose hard while passing my cube. In the evening, I waited till the cleaning lady came and I told her the kaapi episode. She assured it'll all be clean the next day. Day 2, I stepped in and I almost turned into a sniffer. After all, it wasn't that bad. I bend down the desk to plug my laptop cable to the power outlet. There you go. A stinker of 2-day old stale kaapi hit me hard. Real hard. I jerked from under the desk blowing my nose like a rocket. Decided I would never bend under the desk for some days now.

And today, I surpass one week after this kaapi episode. I tell my mom and she smilingly says "You always do that!! When you were a kid, you never missed to trip and pour the chutney or the water-glass in restaurants. And no wonder it continues !!"

From the collective experience, though I initially thought to blame it all on the sleep, I understand it is an inherent quality one is born with.

And by the way, did anyone know that kaapi is like wine? It actually gets stronger with time. If any of you have doubts in that, I'd invite you for a quick tour of "Journey under the desk" here at my workplace. Introductory offer. First 10 lucky customers get a ride absolutely free!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Dasavatharam...

...So-So.

A 15-minute skit would suffice to showcase Kamal's talent. Not a 3-hour movie with blatant Idiotism. Maybe there is an untold notion that a movie will become successful if there is a great guy who is cast in 10 different roles. And that too, just for heck of it. And with some stupid storyline.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Happening...

Except for a few horrifying scenes which were funny and a few funny scenes which were horrifying, the movie was good.

Definitely better than the reviews in the dailies! And by the way, who said 'Night Shyamalan' has gone bad?!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Dasavatharam...

...somebody write a review soon. I want to hear how good it is.

Or how bad.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Kabali's research..

Kabali wonders what would be the terminal velocity of one's piddle. Considering the fact that the pee in itself has got no velocity, it obviously lacks self-driving-momentum and falls to the ground solely due to gravity. And for the same reason, one's pee doesn't have a horizontal trajectory, but a half-parabolic one(mostly), aimed towards the ground. It's only the pressure that one gives that drives the pee. When pee'd with control, a drop of pee would reach the ground slower than the flow. It's like opening a tap faster or slower to let water into a kitchen sink.

Calculating the velocity may not be the toughest process, but the experiment itself might be. For eg., We can have X pee from the top of a 10-storied building and calculate the time taken for the first droplet to hit the ground. But not that straight forward. We should also consider the stock X is left with, X's urge to pee, the pressure X exerts and ofcourse, the environmental influence.

Complicated calculation, kabali reckons!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

A Simple Tale - contd!

Continued from here.

The evening quickly passes. Party ends. Everybody leaves. It is just the two of us now.

My jubilance is unfathomable even to describe in words. I look at the epitome of beauty in her. I wonder if I would need anything else at all from this world. I float in the happiness I have never rejoiced before. A satisfaction I have never felt before. A feel of fulfillment that I have never beleived in. I was going to say something and she starts. She looks a little serious though. I couldn’t make anything out of that look of hers. I get a weird feeling and I ask her if everything’s ok. She suddenly spurts out with all seriousness “What the hell did you think you did today?” With all shock and dismay I ask “what?” I was totally flabbergasted for a moment at her display of anger and her raging countenance. I thought I did something that’s the best I have ever done in my entire life. She continues “You were so confident that I’d agree if you propose in front of everybody, didn’t you?” That left me totally confounded. I thought it all had a happy ending. I pitch in, “Hey, no Priya. It’s not what you think. I have been thinking about this for long and thought I couldn’t find a better day for this than your birthday”. She retaliates, “Don’t be stupid. Do you even have any idea of how embarrassing it was for me? Had it not been you, I’d have said something harsh that the guy would never forget in his life”. She wasn’t aware she told something harsh right then that I can never forget in my life.

I try to keep my heart-rate under control that was already pacing alarmingly for the second time in the day. I compose myself and take my time. I conceive and try to accept the fact as-is. Gaining equanimity, I slowly tell her “Ok Priya. I’m sorry. Maybe I should have discussed with you once in private before doing such a thing” She fires back “What are you sorry for? No point in saying sorry. I cannot believe you did such a thing to me. I thought we were the best friends God has ever created in this planet” I should say it is all too much to hear for me. I don’t have the brain-power to ask her any questions or to agree to what she says. All said and done, she is definitely not happy with what I did. I screwed up big time. That pains. I say “Sorry again Priya” I turn around and walk towards the door.

I would accept if it was anybody else. But not my Priya, I tell myself. I thought I knew and understood her totally. 5 years is still not enough to understand women, I cursed. I honestly thought she liked me too. I never expected her to hit me back this way. Thoughts were raping me mercilessly. Trying hard to keep myself composed, I walk towards my car. I open the car door. And there was a heavy roar of laughter from behind the car. Completely confused, I look beyond the car. There were 5 of Priya’s friends totally laughing out of control. They walk towards me and say almost in unison “Sorry again Priya!” in the tone I just talked to Priya and continue their laughter. As confused as I was, I turn back and I see Priya standing there near the door. She smiles and slowly walks towards me. And she says, ‘Sorry da. You gave me the biggest surprise of my life time during the party. I have never been so happy in my life and I would cherish that moment like a treasure. But then, I wanted to give you a similar unforgettable feeling too. I was discussing with my friends and they gave me this stupid idea. Initially, I wasn’t ok with making you feel bad, but later I thought if I don’t play with you, who else would?!” And she stops. Maybe she expects me to say something.

I take a deep breathe. I see myself being in a state where beleiving anything anymore is a little hard. I for sure know that I can’t take any more emotional roller-coaster ride in a single day. So I slowly start to speak and she immediately interjects “And I love you a lot!”. That apparently brings a blushing smile on to my face. Posing a false anger, I say “Naotanki Saali”(Drama queen) as I usually do and walk inside together with smile on both our faces. As we walk in, I also tell her "And you better get rid of such friends!" And she laughs out. I felt the best moments in my life, twice in a single day.

Not many are as luck as I am!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

A Simple Tale!

6pm. It is a little late. I know I should be there by then. Damn these signal lights. I hate being late. Everybody would have come. Priya would be expecting me. The light turned green. I press the pedal a little hard. In exactly 5 minutes, I pull over her driveway. I carefully carry the big gift box and walk towards the door. I casually straighten the tucked shirt in. I normally don't tuck shirts for birthday parties, but she likes me this way. I press the door bell. A cute little girl comes and opens the door. I smile at her and step in. I see a decent crowd of people, most of them happy and with glasses in their hands. My eyes casually scan the room for Priya. I see her with her friends on the other side of the room. The room dazzles with her beauty. A nice large cake poses itself right in front of her.

She looks at me and lifts her hands with heavy, yet controlled enthusiasm. I reciprocate and wink. She offers an inviting smile. I slowly walk towards her. I near her and greet with genuine happiness “Happy Birthday Priya!” The most impatient and a naughty creature she is, she immediately asks me what present did I get her. I smile, extend a handshake, a pound hug and give her the present. Opening the gift wrap with bright eyes, she curiously asks “Should I guess?” I say “You may…” And she goes mixed with laughter “Is it the iPod touch I have been asking for long?” I smile. And I casually deny. She continues opening the box. Then she asks “Is it a book or something?” I said “Hmmmm…No”. She then suddenly exclaims “Oh my God! I got it! It should be the Kindle!” I said with a smile, “Nope. Not even close!” She is out of options already. She thoughtfully opens the box and finds a smaller box inside. She takes the box in her hands and looks at me doubtfully. As she examines the box, I swiftly grab it from her hands. By now, almost every eye in the party is on us. I slowly make my move. I open the box, kneel and say “I love you Priya. I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?!”

The room is drop-dead silent. She keeps looking at me. I try to keep my cool in spite of my heart thumping like a thousand drums. Everything freezes for those few seconds. I look at her with all the love in this world. She takes her time. A moment later, she slowly smiles, nods and extends her arms towards mine. She keeps looking at my eyes. I can never forget that wonderful moment. Everything else in this world seemed nothing. After 5 years of friendship, I never thought I’ll do this to her. Her parents have been talking about her wedding for 6 months now. I was not ok with that. Involuntarily, my mind started praying her parents shouldn’t find the right guy for her. Strangely enough, I later found something telling me that maybe I was the guy. After swallowing such thoughts for long enough now and having reached a point where I could no longer handle, I wanted to make it clear this day. And that’s why this whole proposal episode; that too, on her birthday. And as surprising as it was for me, she agrees. By nodding her head, in one second, she made the whole universe seem miniscule.

The evening quickly passes. Party ends. Everybody leaves. It is just the two of us now....

Continued here

Monday, June 2, 2008

Enticement!

One finds it agonizingly distressing to refrain from willingly yielding to the worldly enticement. In spite of all the topical luxury, one incessantly languishes for the deficient. Then tardily tries to distract the desire and the mind, attempting to convince oneself that the current content exceeds the need. Nevertheless, one expectedly fails. And yields to the enticement. And gets the iPhone.

Life is just beautiful!

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Sex and the City!

"Its no logic. Just love" says Carrie Bradshaw in the climax and takes her love back.

The only sitcom where I used to enjoy the feminine gossips, mature humor and of course the discussions on the first word of the sitcom's name, which when pictured as a movie which in turn was thought might be a 'chick-flick' turned to be a pure fun watch.

Sex and the city!

Yup. I like both!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Tennis!

Watching Tennis is experiencing heaven on earth. Just like how kaapi is the only known elixir for humans. I wake up in the middle of the night or be up all night, just to watch some skillful back-hand returns or adept half-volleys or aesthetic aces. Tennis is the only sport which never leaves me bored. Thank God, I don't get to see this rat fight IPL. Roland Garros enthuses.

One wouldn't mind to indulge oneself in tennis 24x7, even if it means half the current remuneration and a career cul de sac!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Kabali's Language Conservation Programme...

As a language, English has contributed a lot to the people of this planet. And as creatures who can think, people have contributed equally to the language in return. In the first place, the offer from the language was a medium for us to communicate. Once the language was completely formalized and spread to almost all corners of the world, people started jumping from 'Need to communicate' to 'Easy to communicate'. Circa 1992, a group of people met on the very objective of simplifying the language. And simplifying invariably meant shortening the words. Or in other words, screwing the language. They arrived at a chart similar to the periodic elements table found in a chemistry text book, listing all those alphabets which with their phonetics pertain to a word. For e.g., 'c' can be used in lieu of 'see' or 'y' in lieu of 'why', ‘s’ in lieu of ‘yes’, 'b' in lieu of 'be' and hundreds of different such combos.


Fortunately or unfortunately, voluntarily or involuntarily, most of us belong to the consortium established back then. But just that some of us have not completely soaked ourselves in it, while the rest are totally imbibed where I see no chance of retrieval. And this 'shortened' English became widely popular with the advent of mobile phone SMS and web-messenger-chats. People could no longer talk using normal words let alone writing. One would say 'wassup?' instead of 'what’s up?' which was already coined instead of ‘What is up?". Similarly, 'Lemme do dis' or 'Gimme dat' instead of 'Let me do this' or 'Give me that'. And coming to the worst part, some people use the word 'ma' instead of 'my'. That's the crappiest. They would say/write 'ma friend' instead of 'my friend'. While using such 'shortened' words, one truly wonders how much time such Einsteins save. And that too there is not even a shortening. Just a spelling change. Ridiculous, is what one can say, laughing at such idiocy. Maybe they think its making them cool or something. For those of you, who have the habit of using such stupid replacements, please be informed that it’s no more than a torment to read.


I'm sure there will be some 'ultra-intelligent-souls' who might come back and argue that language is used for communication and who cares as to how the words are spelt. Very smart. But then, before using such English, that too in public medium, please make sure the reader/recipient is comfortable deciphering such super-smart-code words. And one of my colleagues so used to this kind of writing, while drafting an official e-mail to the customer includes a sentence which said something like 'I wud b done wid dis tsk in 3 hrs. U ok wid dat?' I was copied in that e-mail. If I were the customer, I'd have simply replied saying 'Please resend this e-mail in English. I don't know Tulu and such languages'. I see many such instances in blog posts too. And I get totally busted by the time I complete reading most of such posts/comments. Maybe the attempt is to ease up the writer's work, but many a time, it leaves a bemused reader behind. And such usage of language, as common as it gets in today's world might totally change the written language one day. Who knows? We might end up with just 17 or 18 alphabets because of those ‘super-lazy-smart-brains’.


So, unable to bear the smear on the language, Kabali proposes a 'Language conservation Programme'. People who belong to this group and who respect this group shall try to communicate in one pure language - be it English or Tamil or whatever. On and off, it's ok for people to jump to other languages for effective communication (after all communication is the goal!), but they are definitely not encouraged to coin their own words and form a new language, whatsoever. Abbreviations such as 'lol' or 'rotfl' are fine, as long as one does not think of doing a whole communication with just such abbreviations. Kabali also considers everyone who has read this post a part of the programme, thereby mandating folks to abide by the rules. If somebody is found violating any of the aforementioned rules, they'd be sentenced to severe punishments as per Kabali's federal law. 


Don’t dare! And now join me in saving the language!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

"You Never Quit" keeps saying Lance Armstrong more than a few times in his autobiography. Undoubtedly, his is one of the most inspiring and poignant autobiographies I have read in the recent times. Not because of the lamentable chronicle that he was diagnosed with cancer and just had a meagre 3 percentage of survival chances. Or not because of how he fought the disease with the attitude of a sportsman, dealing with it head-on than succumbing. Or not even because of how he went on to win Tour De France a mind-blowing seven consecutive times after the cure. Its just the simple way he has delineated the most challenging fight any human can endure. And he has done this in a not-so-heroic-fashion, but in a lucid practical manner, as he went thru the ordeals and successes in his life!

Simply an awesome read! Kabali is impressed!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull...

...SuperExcellelinglyEntertainmentoFantastic!

Steven Spielberg gets younger by every movie. And so does Harrison Ford.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Celesta - Earth's Cousin!

Yesterday I was on my evening walk in the neighboring park. It was 8pm and the Sun was still shining brightly. I was thinking as to how the sun-set time increases as summer approaches and how it slowly decreases as winter approaches. And this phenomenon has been happening for eons. And it also stuck me that this movement of the time is a perfect sine wave. Every year it gradually increases as summer beckons and decreases at almost the same gradient as winter arrives. Other than possibly small deviations, this pattern has been the same for ages. A clean parabolic up and down curve along time. And all this with no planned design. My thoughts then strolled across the other fundamental constants in the universe. The acceleration due to gravity being approximately constant across the globe. The escape velocity being constant. The seasons being constant. The temperatures showing constant patterns. The distance of moon from earth is constant. The distance of earth from Sun is constant. The speed of earth's rotation is constant. Its revolution is constant. So many constant values in this universe which does not change in random.

One might say, all these fundamental values being constant are the only reasons life thrives in this planet. And I said to myself it’s gotta be too coincidental for all of this to have happened naturally. To the extent that humans know, there can't be a more-conducive place in this whole universe than our own earth. But yet again, universe is too big to be scaled by our technology or by our knowledge. For all we know, we might have another galaxy with similar planets like ours and there might still be life. Or even humans. And they may have formed later than us. Or earlier than us. What if that happens?

Let’s say, for a moment there is a galaxy called 'Coffee Way' like our own Milky Way. And let’s say there is a planet called 'Celesta' in the galaxy. And if 'Coffee Way' has a solar system and if that planet was formed precisely around the same time as ours (around 4.5 billion years ago) there is every possibility that life exist in 'Celest'a today. And life might mean humans too. And that leads to the fact that those humans might have grown scientifically and technologically just about the same level as ours. That being said, if 'Coffee Way' is more than few trillion light years away from our own galaxy, it is too far to be seen by any of our most powerful telescopes. And we would be too far for them to track us. This very fact only supports the concept that 'Celesta' might exist and we are totally unaware yet. But, day after day or in fact minute after minute, our technology/knowledge is consistently growing. One day, we'll reach farther than we can today and we may find that 'Celesta' does exist. And sooner or later, 'Celesta' might find us too. And for all we know, 'Celesta' might have people who communicate just like we do. I mean, using languages.

Initially we'd appear to be aliens for them. And they would for us. But once we understand, it’s gonna be non-stop fun. There can't be a better break-through for our space research than this. We can explore that part of the universe which would be completely new. Though one can never tell how far the universe goes beyond that, it'd be like having a watch-tower farther than we can reach. Collectively, Earth and Celesta can be a powerful combination because of their celestial positions. We can have nice knowledge-exchange programs, vacations, visits, onsite-offshore models across planets. That'd be the coolest thing! And my imagination says there might be a few other such planets, where life exists. Though it all sounds too hypothetical, this can’t be denied totally. Maybe it’s too improbable to have humans exist elsewhere, but it is highly likely that life exist. Just that we can’t see them yet.

The park by then had almost grown dark. The sun had sunk. I knew its time for me to go home. And continue my mundane lifestyle - browse, eat, call and sleep. As I walk back, I silently keep my fingers crossed, for one day we might hear about 'Celesta' in the news. Or maybe 'Zest'. Or maybe 'Yoquest'. Whatever. We'd know only as time and our knowledge advances.

Till then, imagination is ecstacy, I say!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Showcase...

A blast of a weekend. Visit Philadelphia. Drive to NYC. Get to know new people. Dinner. Movie. Meet old friends. A new hi-zoom lens. A new tripod. A photo venture. Sleep drive back home. A blast of a weekend.

The intent of doing something is graduated to fulfillment only when sharing!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

NEWS!

Why was it not called SWEN, SEWN, WENS, EWNS for these can be pronounced too?

Even by folk etymology, North always has to come before South.

One Sighs!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Rejuvenation...

An impromptu getaway day churned out of a simple-thought lie leads one to a serene life. 9am - brush, 11am - bath, 2pm - lunch, 3pm - nap,  8pm - dinner, interim timeframes thru'out - couch potato infront of the LCD TV. Bliss.

Kabali demands a quick one day-weekend right in the middle of a work week. No work-phone calls, no e-mails, no commute. Just HBO, Sitcoms and being. 

Rejuvenation!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Mundane excitement!

To kill the afternoon boredom and to prolong the weekend feeling, one tries to enthusiastically attempt extempore-planned-long-drives after a dose of sumptuous self-made dosa. And the resultant would be arriving home late on sunday night, a confused feeling of vain-endeavor to forefend the weekday blues, a despairing hope to still procrastinate monday mornings and some self-satiating pictures. Kaapi keeps one awake at work the following day.

One totally wonders at the affairs that single people seek to move their mundane life on. Funny!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Kabali poetry services...

All you readers (ok, most of you readers) am sure would have found the secret of falling in love and winning it. At least the falling part of it. And for some, the highly prestigious attempt of "proposing" to the opposite sex might seem like its a little delicate endeavor. Coz that's more of a decider of one's life. Though one can be optimistic and keep trying, it would be nothing like getting it right the first time. Imagine a guy proposing a girl by giving something like a diamond ring that she has been wishing for. Or a girl proposing to the guy gifting him an iphone. Such things can call for 70-30 possibility. But how many times would one encounter such easy-go-win scenario? So, let me reiterate an already known fact. Winning somebody, devoid of some 'insults or assaults or slippers' is a little complicated process than it sounds. But ensuring one gets one of these Insults or Assaults or Slippers for sure is fairly easy though.

I have an idea. One should write poetry. Yup. Pure, unadulterated poetry. If written and communicated in the right notch, it'd be a sure hit. By hit, I meant one of these : insults or assaults or slippers. After all, an attempted failure in deliberation sounds like fun too! And, at times depending on the ‘quality’ of the poetry, it might result in some heavy calamity too. Or for that matter, such poetries are powerful enough to even screw an already good relationship. So, one should write poetry. Or if one can’t, they should lease a poem from Kabali. Kabali has an enriched database of lot of such poems and the charge would be nominal, based on a case-to-case basis. But I know as customers, one wouldn't really want to lease a poem, without sampling. So, here we go for all of you, a sample from 'Kabali Poetry Services'. The below is considering a guy proposing to a girl:

"I'm lean, not lanky
Moody, but not cranky

I'm smart, not cupid
Graceful, but not stupid

I'm tech-inclined, not tech-savvy
Interesting, but not that-weary

I'm selective, not choosy
Energetic, but not boozy

I'm pretty much this, not too complicated
Lets look at you, the most coveted

You are cute, not too hot
sweet, but not too soft

You talk, not maunder
I admire, its no wonder

Your angel-smile, not fake
I fall, its no sudden brake

You pass a single-look, not a stare
I heat up, completely in a flare

Alongside me, you casually jive
Inside myself, I jump and sky-dive

Enough of us, not worth it
Boring, if I dont stop it

Don't tell me this is funny
Really, I love you so much honey!"

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Rebel XTi...

...is God!

And my recently-found love:




Click here for some of the first few photos taken in my neighbourhood.

One only wonders how such temporal bliss interposes exuberance into one's life otherwise overwhelmed in modus operandi!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Indian population minus one!

Ramesh wanted to adopt and make Swathi an elder sister
Meera concorded and elders in the family agreed
A baby boy was adopted and Ramesh/Meera were extremely happy
For they contributed to one less number in the Indian population!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

What's in the title?!

This afternoon amidst one of those lazy-after-lunch-TV-sessions, boredom resulted in thinking. I casually began to wonder what if one day somebody comes and asks me why this blog is titled "Arun Sundar thinks" and not 'Arun Sundar writes". I might think for a while and answer (read blabber) that thinking is very closely synonymous to writing and since I write in this blog, which is the direct outcome of my 'thinking' process, I decided that this blog would be named 'Arun Sundar thinks' and not 'Arun Sundar writes'. It is very normal that the other person might look a little perplexed. And he/she must have already got how much can I piffle when confronted with such intelligent questions. Somehow, I would get out of the situation by inducing the usual 'Oh he gibbers like a loser and we would also turn like him if we continue' feeling on the person who posed this question. Good that people know that such imbecile handling of situations is highly contiguous. But I got to accept that the blog's title does sound a little debatable. And it reminded of why Amar calls it 'Arun Sundar stinks' in his blog roll. I laugh and shrug it off!

After all, the title of this blog spot can be ridiculed. That, if looked with the rightly skewed perspective. I did so and it made me think maybe this blog should be named as 'Arun Sundar writes'. But still some intelligent soul somewhere might come and ask 'You actually type. You don't write in the blog spots. And it indeed is a little stupid to name your blog so'. I might take one good look at the title. And I might agree. So, I go ahead and change the title to 'Arun Sundar types'. Now, one more Einstein might come and ask 'You are really silly! Why do you have your blog title so? A blog is not a medium to keep typing as if you are practicing your typing skills. The emphasis should be on the thought process and not how you do it!" And as lame as it sounds, I might accept and tell myself 'Yaa this guy makes sense. How could I have titled the blog so? I should come up with something better’ and I think of a nice title. I come up with 'Arun Sundar scribbles'. And for all we know, the reaction might be 'Who in the hell's bathroom scribbles in their blog? You write stupid'. I'm no different than what you expect. I come back and think again to promptly change the title.

After little thinking, the following occur to me, not necessarily in that order: Arun Sundar babbles, Arun Sundar stumbles, Arun Sundar bumbles, Arun Sundar feels, Arun Sundar cries and Arun Sundar is lost! Wait - if I keep thinking like this to name the blog (and end up nowhere), I need to do same amount of thinking (or make people believe so) to come up with blog posts too. And since every other option for title looks a little inept, I might as well name the title 'Arun Sundar thinks'.

I can’t answer better if somebody asks about the title.

Or maybe there are two monkeys in my brain and only one banana. Whatever!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Kuruvi...

Kandraavi!

It would be too much even if 'Thoo' this movie. I should 'uvwaaaack!'

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Philadelphia to Chennai in 42 mins!!

History channel says if a tunnel is drilled through the centre of the Earth to reach the other side of the earth and if I utilize nothing but gravity to travel thru the tunnel, I'd reach the other side in just 42 mins.

I can commute to work from Chennai to Philadelphia daily.

That'd be cool!

[P.S : Just saw this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_train]

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

This is the 100th post...

"But who cares?!", one may ask.

"Nobody", the other answers.

"So why the post?", one may ask.

"Faineance!", the other answers.

Monday, April 28, 2008

I ring thou talk!

Story told by a mobile phone, in its own words:

Being a mobile phone, my life does not get very easy. I remember how I stepped into this world as a baby. I was more like a second brother to Indian brick. And I was considered 'tiny' back then. You all remember the sony Ericcson ad, dont you? And babies are generally supposed to get bigger as they grow. But I grew otherwise. I started becoming smaller and slimmer. People wanted me to be small yet powerful. I grew to a size that a matchbox normally envies. And you being my owner felt pride. I then got colorful. Then I sounded polyphonic. I climbed levels from one to dual sim. I looked at camera. It became part of me. I looked at Television. It became part of me. I looked at computers. I almost became them. Then I provided myself to you in full 'touch' mode. You touched me and I responded. I did not stop there. I wanted to be the 'cool' gadget. I no longer wanted to be an ordinary. I gave myself to you with finger-scrolling and efficient browsing. I did want you to get lost. I provided navigation.

I do have features now. But more than the features, my contribution to this world and the society is what gives me the 'feel good' factor. Makes me take pride in what I do daily. Let’s consider some examples: We have this girl who makes one wonder if she has earned her master's degree in typing using the mobile keypad. Her eyes would be completely affixed on the screen in the movie theatre, but her hands still typing at rocket speed. And there would be no single mistake. I wonder if they type even when they are asleep. Maybe they do. Next, there are these auto drivers and cabbies, who always have a hands-free wire hanging from their ears that travels to somewhere inside their shirt. No matter whether they talk or not. The wire is the key; they just can't get rid of it. If they start talking, they never stop. At times, I even wonder if they work for a BPO, in addition to driving cabs.

And then there are these 'techy' guys who keep browsing using me, no matter whether they are crossing a busy road or smoking or having coffee or even eating dinner. They keep browsing if even somebody is talking to them. They don't browse only when they are bathing and doing three other things (you all know what). And there are these dads, who simply take pride for achieving tasks like adding a new contact or sending an sms successfully. They would simply talk about it for days to come. Or exhibit their skills to uncles of their age-group. They wouldn't stop until the visiting uncles appreciate in awe. And finally there are moms who would use me for nothing more than attending calls. They wouldn't even pick me up and dial a number. They are so used to the landline phones that they find me 'too small' or 'too technically complicated'. They can use a TV remote control with effortless ease, but not me.

In addition, there is this one guy whom I should really talk about: This guy bought his first cell phone while he was in college. When everybody was addressing me as a 'Cell Phone', he called me a 'Mobile'. He after all wanted to differentiate me from the big-old cordless phone he had in his home. I just can't count the number of times he fought thru me with his girl-friends. And he would come straight to me, when he wanted to pacify with them. Poor soul he was. And I was there for him, whenever his parents were around at home, which means he can’t use the landline phone. He would take me to the terrace and make all secret calls. I never told anybody all this.

He grew up. He got a job. He wanted a better me. He bought a smart phone. This is when he used me more than for what I was created. I should say he literally fucked me. He called it 'Customizing me'. There was not a single symbian software that was left out, which did not sit on me. Apart from all this, he used me for calls for at least 5 hrs a day on the average. Thanks to what they call as 'Closed User Group' and those people who were as jobless as him, there was nothing that could stop him. I got a little wild and started heating up. I wanted that idiot's ears burned up one day. I thought that would slow him down. But he switched to a blue tooth headset. My usage did not decrease though.

After two long years, he decided he would say good bye to Symbian and move to Windows mobile. That’s when the 'current me' came to his hands. And if I said that he fucked the previous phone, I should say he rapes me on a daily basis. At times, on an hourly basis. And his usage has increased to the extent that he even types blogposts using me - like this one. He needs me to remind him as to what needs to be done when. He needs me to wake him up in the morning. And promptlly intimate me whenever somebody sends him an e-mail. And I need to remind him when he needs to pay bills, call somebody for their b’day. Simply speaking, he needs to be told what to be done when. And he needs me to tell him directions when he drives.

And in spite of all the different forms I have taken and all the physical hurts I have withstood bcoz of his super-rough handling, my relationship with him has lasted for over 5 long happy years now. And today, we have reached a juncture where he would be totally handicapped if I get away from him, even for a day. Like most of you reading this, he has made myself more than a part of his life. I have reached a stage where I have become an inevitable part of most human's life. It does make me proud at times in the movie theatre when they roll courtesy announcements asking people to switch their cell phones off. This is a privilege no other gadgets receive! I sure can spoil the movie-watching experience, can’t I? The same applies to official meetings or at temples or even at hospitals. I do turn to be annoying at times as much as I am a utilitarian. But nevertheless, I'm more than a friend to human.

And you and me, we have a long way to go!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Harold and Kumar - Escape from Guantanamo Bay...

Mirthful. 'Eye-wetting-Hands-spatting-Face-grinning' funny.

Liked it!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Cam'pai(g)n'

Not even a single TV channel is spared from this lady vs gent election campaign.

Tamilnadu Thaatha and Amma are slightly better!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

The Forbidden Kingdom...

...an action movie for kids in the age group 6-15 years.

For others, its The Focussed Boredom!

Friday, April 18, 2008

14-idlis...

...somebody tell me why does it have only 14 idlis?

Thursday, April 17, 2008

25 years of head-banging fun!


One starts a software life totally excited,
Does work and slogs completely satisfied,
Mental fatigue and confusion pitches in uninvited,
Retirement mixed with weariness invites earlier than expected!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Noisy People

People who laugh boisterously at work place should be made to sit comfortably, tied and then slowly spoon fed with simmering lead.

What the hell else can one do about those completely oblivious fatuous jerks?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Extinct...

...are those educated/working youths who do not have atleast one past relationship.

Pity surmounts one's heart!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Title keetle!

Caution: Heavy usage of Tamil words and sentences in this post.

Dont look at the title like that. Thats how some thamizhians speak. They utter a word and closely follow it with another word, which absolutely rhymes with the first word, but never makes any sense. For eg., one might say "Kavidha Gividha ezhudhariyaa??" The second word in this sentence gives no meaning either in the sentence or stand-alone. But people still say it. There are many such examples - "love'vu givv'vu pannida poraa!" and then "phone gheene panna vendiyadhu dhaaney?!" and then "MBA Gim'BA padikkalaam'la?". I wonder if there would be an explanation for such a behaviour.

In English when people speak they might use something called as fillers in the sentences. Words such as "like", "You know" go as right examples. One might say "I was driving last night and there was this....errr....like....you know.....a small robin on the road". Such fillers are used to fill the time-gap between the brain finding out the right word and uttering it. It is something like a "Sorry for the Interruption" message that used to appear in Doordarshan TV channel those days, before "Over to Delhi" message. These fillers in english language can also be thought of as an avenue to buy some time before the brain finds the right word to utter in the right place. I think a similar filler logic would have caused this rhyming-nonsensical words in thamizh too.

On a different note, Thamizhians in those days used to converse using poems and songs. A dude would say "Kanne shaanthaa, Un idai azhagum, kayal vizhiyum ennai kavargirathu. Vaa, ennodu. Selvom veru naadu" And shaantha would reply "Naadha, thangal sitham en bhagyam. Selvom. Velvom". One would obviously notice the rhyming words that props up in the sentences every now and then. As years passed, the dialects slowly changed. People slowly brought in colloquial usage of words. They got rid of "Naadha, Kanne, sitham, bhagyam", etc., They resorted to more of what we are used to these days. Today, a guy would say something like "Hey, sooper'a irukka nee. Odi polaam variyaa?" and Shaantha would reply "Unakku ok'na enakkum ok dhaan. Polaam". This can be considered normal and contemporary. But there are some folks who could not get over those kavidhai-kalandha thamizh. They somehow wanted to sneek rhyming words in between. And such folks would exchange conversations(in the same context as before) like "Hey, azhagaa irukka. Odi Geedi polaama'nu thonudhu!!" and Shaantha would reply "Poi gei sollaliyae nee? Seri polaam vaa". They actually don't care if the rhyming word makes any sense.

Coming back to the title, the rhyming-nonsensical words shuld have originated either from the fillers in other languages or from "kavidhai" usage in our own langauge. Forgetting the root cause(who cares after all!), the idea of this analysis came to me during one of the meetings yesterday. My Delivery Manager was discussing about one of the super-smart client employees and how careful one needs to be with him. As he was talking he said "We have to make sure he doesn't go and say something to Cindy Guindy!". Cindy is the director here, but I dont know who that Guindy was. I later found out that the delivery manager is a thamizhian too and he is so used to rhyming-nonsensical words that he cant refrain from uttering them while speaking in English too. I sort of tried very hard to control myself and not to laugh on his face in the meeting, as the word "Guindy" kept repeating itself in my mind. Funny fellow! He wasn't even aware that he uttered such a non-sense and kept speaking strategy so seriously.

A great philosopher once said,
"Every single person in this world is a joker in themselves. One has to look at them with the right perspective to laugh at!"