This blog of first women tourist in space, Anousheh Ansari is a must read http://spaceblog.Xprize.Org/.
I am sure you will be jealous of her just like I was when you read about her exploits in space. Well a millionairess can afford such expensive getaways. Sigh...There are some things which money can't buy and for everything else there's wishful thinking! (p.s: Did you note it's my parody on the master card punchline? I might have some blog coming up over my own master card).
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Bad Writing? Naaahhhh
Dear A asked me few days back why I tend to write long and complex sentences in blogs or emails in general which she feels average people may not understand. I took that as a compliment because I dont think I am that good a writer! Thanks to a link on Sidins blog I found a article on "awards for worlds most badly written sentences" which I showed to her in my defense. You can read about the awards here-> http://www.aldaily.com/bwc.htm. Some of these very serious and scholarly writings are actually nonsensical to the point of being hilarious. So if I compare my writings to worlds worst writings I feel good about my blogs! Gives me a tad bit more vigour to keep it alive and ticking!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Suicidal Instincts?
How much ever I hate to reduce this blog to just a compilation of travelogues of little interest to others, of late this "trend" seems to be ruling the roost on this space. I would like this space to be used more for current topics which are my favorite. But alas...there's something called lazyness...
So, coming back to the title. Suicidal instinct is about an inherent trait which every human has though in different levels. Ability to kill yourself; one form of which is taking your adrenalin and testosterone levels to himalayan peaks so much so that your heart stops beating for some excruciatingly never ending seconds. What can motivate you to hurl yourself at 300Mph vertically up into the sky to a height of 420 ft and at 90 dgree incline saddled in a open chair on a train going up on metal rails with just a tight harness around you? Or what can motivate you to sit in worlds 3rd biggest and scariest roller coaster which takes you to some 250 ft high and drops at mind numbing speeds into a loop of roller coasters which swirl you around at death defying speeds? And to top it off you are also willing to stand in a serpentine queue moving at snails pace which takes at least 1.5 hours of wait only to experience these 30 sec ride and torture. Ofcourse it is your suicidal instict showing its signs of life!!
That very much sums up my and Dear A's trip to Cedar Point (www.cedarpoint.com) in Sandusky, Ohio yesterday. (Dear A also shares my penchant for thrill). Cedar Point boasts to be worlds best and biggest amusement park for 8 years in succession. It has 4 of the top ten roller coasters in the world, each scarier than the other. I was talking about "Top Thrill Dragster" and Magnum XL 200 roller coasters respectively in the description above which rank as worlds number 7 and 3 respectively. Unfortunately we could not do the worlds biggest and number one ride the "Mellinneum Force" due to lack of time and long waiting queues. But we also experienced "Raptor" which literally stretches your face skin back as it hurls you around in impossible twists and turns. But magnum is scariest of them all though Top Thrill Dragster simply scares the sh*t out of you just by looking at it. I had been to this place two years back as well and then I had chickened out of riding Top Thrill Dragstor, but this time I did it! We could not do Reverse Bungee jump due to lack of time and a small dis-agreement on its moneys worth :-(
Our day started bad, first we both and two other friends got up late and reached very late to the park only to find these long queues for each ride and could manage just one ride on Raptor by late evening. We were about to step into Top Thrill Dragstor when it was shut down due to mechanical failure (I though it was not in my destiny 2nd time in a row!) but just one hour before park closes at 10 PM we got to do both Magnum and Dragster! That rounded off the day well and happy for all of us. We had the fun and rides of our life. On the way back we had to drive 6 hours with sleepy eyes in the witching hours and finally reached safety of the home at 5 AM. On hitting the bed I just went into baby sleep but not before this thought - "How the hell I managed to do such suicidal things" I believe I have a lions heart and am game for such thrill, but still these death defying rides in one single day was stretching luck too far. But then what the heck, I enjoyed and then with a smile of achievement retired for the day. Been there and done that. Peace!
So, coming back to the title. Suicidal instinct is about an inherent trait which every human has though in different levels. Ability to kill yourself; one form of which is taking your adrenalin and testosterone levels to himalayan peaks so much so that your heart stops beating for some excruciatingly never ending seconds. What can motivate you to hurl yourself at 300Mph vertically up into the sky to a height of 420 ft and at 90 dgree incline saddled in a open chair on a train going up on metal rails with just a tight harness around you? Or what can motivate you to sit in worlds 3rd biggest and scariest roller coaster which takes you to some 250 ft high and drops at mind numbing speeds into a loop of roller coasters which swirl you around at death defying speeds? And to top it off you are also willing to stand in a serpentine queue moving at snails pace which takes at least 1.5 hours of wait only to experience these 30 sec ride and torture. Ofcourse it is your suicidal instict showing its signs of life!!
That very much sums up my and Dear A's trip to Cedar Point (www.cedarpoint.com) in Sandusky, Ohio yesterday. (Dear A also shares my penchant for thrill). Cedar Point boasts to be worlds best and biggest amusement park for 8 years in succession. It has 4 of the top ten roller coasters in the world, each scarier than the other. I was talking about "Top Thrill Dragster" and Magnum XL 200 roller coasters respectively in the description above which rank as worlds number 7 and 3 respectively. Unfortunately we could not do the worlds biggest and number one ride the "Mellinneum Force" due to lack of time and long waiting queues. But we also experienced "Raptor" which literally stretches your face skin back as it hurls you around in impossible twists and turns. But magnum is scariest of them all though Top Thrill Dragster simply scares the sh*t out of you just by looking at it. I had been to this place two years back as well and then I had chickened out of riding Top Thrill Dragstor, but this time I did it! We could not do Reverse Bungee jump due to lack of time and a small dis-agreement on its moneys worth :-(
Our day started bad, first we both and two other friends got up late and reached very late to the park only to find these long queues for each ride and could manage just one ride on Raptor by late evening. We were about to step into Top Thrill Dragstor when it was shut down due to mechanical failure (I though it was not in my destiny 2nd time in a row!) but just one hour before park closes at 10 PM we got to do both Magnum and Dragster! That rounded off the day well and happy for all of us. We had the fun and rides of our life. On the way back we had to drive 6 hours with sleepy eyes in the witching hours and finally reached safety of the home at 5 AM. On hitting the bed I just went into baby sleep but not before this thought - "How the hell I managed to do such suicidal things" I believe I have a lions heart and am game for such thrill, but still these death defying rides in one single day was stretching luck too far. But then what the heck, I enjoyed and then with a smile of achievement retired for the day. Been there and done that. Peace!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Amsterdam!
Yet another vacation and yet another Travelogue. Its little long and self-indulging.
We are just back from a 3 day trip to Amsterdam (27 to 30 Apr), the city of canals and known as the most tolerant country in the world. Sex, drugs, gays and lesbians are all perfectly legal here. You can just walk into any authorized coffee shop and order your spacewalk Hashis, Weed or Marijuana cake or jut smoke it the old style. Then there is the famed red light district complete with its exotic escorts sitting in shopping window. Interested in Window shopping anyone? Well, ofcourse I did not indulge in any of it thanks to the "you know what I mean" angry glare from Dear A! You know, there is some cross between me and this city, I passed it thrice before, planned a trip 3 times as a bachelor but still it evaded me. Fate wanted me to visit this city for bachelors only as a married man! So be it. I still made a perfect vacation out of it!
On Day-1 we visited Madam Tussauds Wax Museum, Amsterdam Dungeon (which depicts the atrocities and torture inflicted by raiders on the dutchland in 16th century, its enacted byy live dummies, its horrible, not meant for weak hearted.) Then we visited the Anne Frank house belonging to Anne Frank and her family. This Jewish girl is famous for her immaculate daily diary she wrote when she and her family were in hiding for 2 years in that house in a secret Annexe. Even the neighbors did not know for 2 years about their existance in that house! I am currently reading her diary which was later published as a book. Later in eve we vistited the Teaser club, the disco and pub chain famous for its topless waitresses and beer. Its works on the lines of Cayote Ugly. Later we had leisure walks on sides of many canals and also the red light district.
On Day-2 we started with a 3D movie showing all Holland attractions. It was a dream come true because we took the early morning show and theatre was empty with just two of us!! Then we visited Rembrandt (16th century dutch master painter) museum, Van Gogh museum (over 200 of original Van Gogh masterpeices) and the National museum showing the prime time of Dutch royality of 17th century. Later in eve we visited the Holland casino and tried our (rotten luck) on some tables. Then we had a romantic canal city tour by on a cruise. It must be heaven for those living in house boats in those Amsterdam canals. In late night we saw a live show meant for couples at one of the joints in the famed red light districts. Been there and done that! You cant miss the red light district in Amsterdam and say that you visited it!
On Day-3 we visited our prime attraction and reason to visit Amsterdam- The Tulip Gardens. The Tulips are in full glory in this season and we had a fortune to have a bright sunny day. Its the most romantic place and has to be experienced first hand to belive it. All photos are like picture postcards...perfect! Yash chopra made the Tulip feilds immortal in his romantic classic - Silsila. Though the tulip feilds (not the gardens! in Holland they farm variety of Tulips on miles and miles of land, its a sight to behold forever) were already cut to a large extent but we still saw a major part of it. Next we visited Madurodam, the minitaure to-scale model of all attractions of Amsterdam. Its amazing, you feel like King Kong in a toy city. Wonder why India cant have something like that. Its such a hit with the tourists!
Apart from this I must mention the lively ness of the city itself which manifests in the numerous coffe shops, bars, pubs and discos which can be found in every nook and corner of this city. Its always full of young party animals and the city itself never sleeps, its like one big party day and night. We also had the fortune to visit the city during the time when Queens day is celebrated in Amsterdam, its their yearly showpiece event celebrated this time on 29th Apr when whole city traffic comes to a halt as party animals, road side stalls, live music bands swarm the city which bears a look of one bug 24 hour carnival. It was simply amazing, not a inch of space to walk. It was full of revelers. The city smacks of beer smell for next 3 days! Amsterdam is one hell of a city to enjoy, married or bachelor. It has something for everyone. I wouldnt mind visiting it every year!
We are just back from a 3 day trip to Amsterdam (27 to 30 Apr), the city of canals and known as the most tolerant country in the world. Sex, drugs, gays and lesbians are all perfectly legal here. You can just walk into any authorized coffee shop and order your spacewalk Hashis, Weed or Marijuana cake or jut smoke it the old style. Then there is the famed red light district complete with its exotic escorts sitting in shopping window. Interested in Window shopping anyone? Well, ofcourse I did not indulge in any of it thanks to the "you know what I mean" angry glare from Dear A! You know, there is some cross between me and this city, I passed it thrice before, planned a trip 3 times as a bachelor but still it evaded me. Fate wanted me to visit this city for bachelors only as a married man! So be it. I still made a perfect vacation out of it!
On Day-1 we visited Madam Tussauds Wax Museum, Amsterdam Dungeon (which depicts the atrocities and torture inflicted by raiders on the dutchland in 16th century, its enacted byy live dummies, its horrible, not meant for weak hearted.) Then we visited the Anne Frank house belonging to Anne Frank and her family. This Jewish girl is famous for her immaculate daily diary she wrote when she and her family were in hiding for 2 years in that house in a secret Annexe. Even the neighbors did not know for 2 years about their existance in that house! I am currently reading her diary which was later published as a book. Later in eve we vistited the Teaser club, the disco and pub chain famous for its topless waitresses and beer. Its works on the lines of Cayote Ugly. Later we had leisure walks on sides of many canals and also the red light district.
On Day-2 we started with a 3D movie showing all Holland attractions. It was a dream come true because we took the early morning show and theatre was empty with just two of us!! Then we visited Rembrandt (16th century dutch master painter) museum, Van Gogh museum (over 200 of original Van Gogh masterpeices) and the National museum showing the prime time of Dutch royality of 17th century. Later in eve we visited the Holland casino and tried our (rotten luck) on some tables. Then we had a romantic canal city tour by on a cruise. It must be heaven for those living in house boats in those Amsterdam canals. In late night we saw a live show meant for couples at one of the joints in the famed red light districts. Been there and done that! You cant miss the red light district in Amsterdam and say that you visited it!
On Day-3 we visited our prime attraction and reason to visit Amsterdam- The Tulip Gardens. The Tulips are in full glory in this season and we had a fortune to have a bright sunny day. Its the most romantic place and has to be experienced first hand to belive it. All photos are like picture postcards...perfect! Yash chopra made the Tulip feilds immortal in his romantic classic - Silsila. Though the tulip feilds (not the gardens! in Holland they farm variety of Tulips on miles and miles of land, its a sight to behold forever) were already cut to a large extent but we still saw a major part of it. Next we visited Madurodam, the minitaure to-scale model of all attractions of Amsterdam. Its amazing, you feel like King Kong in a toy city. Wonder why India cant have something like that. Its such a hit with the tourists!
Apart from this I must mention the lively ness of the city itself which manifests in the numerous coffe shops, bars, pubs and discos which can be found in every nook and corner of this city. Its always full of young party animals and the city itself never sleeps, its like one big party day and night. We also had the fortune to visit the city during the time when Queens day is celebrated in Amsterdam, its their yearly showpiece event celebrated this time on 29th Apr when whole city traffic comes to a halt as party animals, road side stalls, live music bands swarm the city which bears a look of one bug 24 hour carnival. It was simply amazing, not a inch of space to walk. It was full of revelers. The city smacks of beer smell for next 3 days! Amsterdam is one hell of a city to enjoy, married or bachelor. It has something for everyone. I wouldnt mind visiting it every year!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Down With Lido !
The icing on the cake in our trip to Paris was a 'big-dent-in-pocket' but must-see hotspot of the famed nightlife of Paris - The Lido cabret on the Champs Elysees square (akin to the more famed but too crowded Mouline Rouge cabret). It was a formal black tie affair with a sit-down evening complete with champagne served with a flourish while the exotic and elegantly-nude dancers present various spectacular dance and gymnastics sequences on equally elaborate sets.
However after many breathtaking and awe inspiring sets they came up with a "eastern" (read Indian) dance sequence which had some nude dancers dressed like Lord Ganesh and the Deity Nataraja giving the backdrop of the imposing set for that sequence. I can understand their usage of dummy Elephants and may be even Nataraja (which I guess is a godess worshipped by dancers) in designing the sets. I can also understand other dancers dressed in mythological Indian dresses dipicting the Apsaras, because the beautiful Apsaras who used to dance for the Gods are mentioned in Hindu mythology. But neither the nude dancers were any Apsarsas and nor the audience were any Gods. So seeing Lord Ganesha in female form portrayed by boob showing whores was bit of a shock even for a mild atheist like me!! It was out of place and smacks of complete ignorance to cultural sensitivity of the French who boast of their religious tolerance. It was downright disgusting and deplorable and I strongly protest through this humble blog. Though I can try to do it myself, but I leave it to the numerous cadres of the saffron Brigade to book the culprits and bring an end to this sequence in this show (not the show ofcourse because other sequence were really good!!). I hope someone reads this and takes it up in Paris! I am a couch potato for doing all that.
This and all the further acts did not get any applause from us. Period.
However after many breathtaking and awe inspiring sets they came up with a "eastern" (read Indian) dance sequence which had some nude dancers dressed like Lord Ganesh and the Deity Nataraja giving the backdrop of the imposing set for that sequence. I can understand their usage of dummy Elephants and may be even Nataraja (which I guess is a godess worshipped by dancers) in designing the sets. I can also understand other dancers dressed in mythological Indian dresses dipicting the Apsaras, because the beautiful Apsaras who used to dance for the Gods are mentioned in Hindu mythology. But neither the nude dancers were any Apsarsas and nor the audience were any Gods. So seeing Lord Ganesha in female form portrayed by boob showing whores was bit of a shock even for a mild atheist like me!! It was out of place and smacks of complete ignorance to cultural sensitivity of the French who boast of their religious tolerance. It was downright disgusting and deplorable and I strongly protest through this humble blog. Though I can try to do it myself, but I leave it to the numerous cadres of the saffron Brigade to book the culprits and bring an end to this sequence in this show (not the show ofcourse because other sequence were really good!!). I hope someone reads this and takes it up in Paris! I am a couch potato for doing all that.
This and all the further acts did not get any applause from us. Period.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Evenings in Paris !!
I am just back from a 3 day vacation to Paris- the numero uno romantic place and the fashion capital of the world!! Me and A had a perfect spring vacation. Memories of the Eiffel, Louvre Museum/Mona Lisa, Champs Elysees square, Notre Dame, Siene river, Arc De Triomphe, Disneyland, Mouline Rouge, Lido, Renault F1 showroom are still fresh in our memorries. And so are the leisure walks on sprawling Parisian boulevards, fashionably dressed french babes and the evenings in Paris in open air bus which are well captured in about 900 odd snaps in my digi cam!!
Paris is a city you will never get tired of, its lively a any time of the day and has got romance in its air. Its fun to just walk hand in hand along the siene river and see the illuminated historic monuments in the evenings. Then there is so much to buy, see, eat and if there is nothing else to do then just travel in the parisian metro during non-peak hours. The metro is fun and it probably ranks the best in the world. I guess after our Italy trip this one would rank next best in our memory! Now we are planning to visit Amsterdam on the coming weekend, hope that turns out even better!
The let downs were the Mona Lisa which seems to be too small a painting for its tall fame and a bit of cultural in-sensitivity of the famous cabret of The Lido. Read the next blog for details.
Paris is a city you will never get tired of, its lively a any time of the day and has got romance in its air. Its fun to just walk hand in hand along the siene river and see the illuminated historic monuments in the evenings. Then there is so much to buy, see, eat and if there is nothing else to do then just travel in the parisian metro during non-peak hours. The metro is fun and it probably ranks the best in the world. I guess after our Italy trip this one would rank next best in our memory! Now we are planning to visit Amsterdam on the coming weekend, hope that turns out even better!
The let downs were the Mona Lisa which seems to be too small a painting for its tall fame and a bit of cultural in-sensitivity of the famous cabret of The Lido. Read the next blog for details.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
The Toy Train
How many of us have an attraction to the coochie cooing train when we were kids? I guess to some extent all. Every little boy (and some girls also) has a collection of toy cars and trains in the kinder days and I was not an exception. I too had my cache of toy cars and amidst them was this toy train which did the job of carrying around the cars and other assortement of toys from one room to other:-) This train was down to earth it had a dummy steam engine with about 3 bogies. It had nothing electronic about it. So I had to push it around while kneeling on the floor and all the time wishing that it somehow worked on remote control. This childhood fantasy never came true, but I did have the fortune to see the spectacle of one man actually using a real life train for real life purposes with remote control as part of his daily work! The train station in the city of my work place has a some manufacturing factory behind it and it requires train to transport its goods to and fro. The factory has its own locomotive shed and a mini railway station. There is this man who doubles up as driver, lineman, shuting man and signal controller all rolled into one. He uses a hand held remote control to shunt wagons and attach or detach them to the engine. He also runs along and changes tracks manually until he gets the sequence of engine and wangons behind it correct. It is such fun to watch this man working that almost every passenger on the railway station enjoys it while waiting for their respective trains. It is my favorite pastime in the mornings. I really wish this stranger of a hard working and lucky man who is living my childhood fantasy all the wishes!
The Baby Boy - 12 Feb 2006, 11.24 PM
This blog is for the latest addition to our family and my brand new nephew, who was born on 12th Feb 2006 at 11.24 PM actually while I was writing a blog (the next one) :-) until named formally he will be known as 'baby' and will be the cynosure of all eyes. He will always have a special place in my heart. Love you baby and wish you all the good things in life!
Yours
Mama (maternal uncle!)
Yours
Mama (maternal uncle!)
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Music and Swear Words!
Sounds like yet another indi-pop remix? No! This blog is about two songs, which seemingly are latest college and hostel anthems across India. One of them originates from Pakistan! After a long time I came across some rustic teenage humour which reminds me of the carefree college days and it was quite refreshing!
The first song "Sutta Na Mila" is by a pakistan based band called "Zeest" and has swear words like BC and MC used liberally:-) The second one, "G***d mein danda" is by XLRI band "Bodhitree". Its interesting to note that XLRI band also has some girls jamming on these words!! They also have other songs which are also ok....
Read more about the songs and download free mp3 from the links:
Sutta Mil Gaya-> http://www.jammag.com/etc/etcshow.php?art_id=21
G***d Mein Danda-> http://www.jammag.com/rock/show_rock.php?article_id=66
Rashmi Bansal too has covered them in detail. See the link to your right. Enjoy the songs, and just dont take them too seriously!
~Amit
The first song "Sutta Na Mila" is by a pakistan based band called "Zeest" and has swear words like BC and MC used liberally:-) The second one, "G***d mein danda" is by XLRI band "Bodhitree". Its interesting to note that XLRI band also has some girls jamming on these words!! They also have other songs which are also ok....
Read more about the songs and download free mp3 from the links:
Sutta Mil Gaya-> http://www.jammag.com/etc/etcshow.php?art_id=21
G***d Mein Danda-> http://www.jammag.com/rock/show_rock.php?article_id=66
Rashmi Bansal too has covered them in detail. See the link to your right. Enjoy the songs, and just dont take them too seriously!
~Amit
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Yuva!
The Indian youth is breaking traditions and daring to explore new avenues, freeing themselves from the rigmarole routine of every average Indian household-> kindtergarten-high school-graduation-engineer-doctor-service-retirement (and a marriage in between)! We are going the Western way and for once, imitating a better trait of "doing-your-own-thing". Two such news I heard recently were Sidin, a fellow and already famous blogger quitting a dream consultant job after going through labour pains of IIM-A and deciding to become full time writer, and the other was about 5 ex-IITians who floated a political party called PARITRANA (www.paritrana.org) with idealogy that was depicted in Mani Ratnams experimental movie - Yuva (sans violence). Rashmi Bansal's - "youth curry" has covered both news in detail, so that spares me from re-writing a stale story. Look to your right for the links. My best wishes to both endeavers!
~Amitk
~Amitk
Sunday, January 15, 2006
VIT Alumni Association Formed!
I am an alumnus of VIT, Pune. I could have easily been an alumni of a much better known (at least then) competitor institute (OK, I will name it- PICT) but for a freak twist of destiny. But within a year of joining VIT all my regrets were gone. VIT raced and arrived neck to neck with PICT in just one year. So, for those unaware, VIT does have a good reputation of its own and I am proud of being an VIT alumni!
The news is that VIT is still doing good and it has also started a brand new initiative - "active alumni association" complete with well defined goals and objectives and a also a new dedicated website! My best wishes for its success! It offers further education programmes, free access to library, meeting point with other alumnus et all. It is really heartening to see your alma matter growing. But I do have some cribs, first, please paint that building and second, make all links on the website working!! While updating my profile on it, I encountered a question whose essence was- "in what way do you think VIT has contributed to you?". Honestly I was at loss of words for this one. It never occured to me to think seriously about it and figure out "exactly how" it has contributed to my career! I always thought that its not the alma matter but it is the "quality" of your peers and the competitive environment that they bring with themselves that shapes your future! Atleast that's my experience with my batch at VIT and even my secondary school. Had I had been an alumni of some big ticket brands like IITs or the IIMs it would have been much easier to say "I owe all it to you". But a lesser sibling like VIT contributing to my career almost as equally as an IIT/IIM could have done is really creditable. So on the hindsight, apart from the peers, the alma matter itself does seem to play a major role which one can't possibly define. I have left that question in the profile un-answered, will think about it and update it later!
Peace be upon you VIT, may your tribe grow!
The news is that VIT is still doing good and it has also started a brand new initiative - "active alumni association" complete with well defined goals and objectives and a also a new dedicated website! My best wishes for its success! It offers further education programmes, free access to library, meeting point with other alumnus et all. It is really heartening to see your alma matter growing. But I do have some cribs, first, please paint that building and second, make all links on the website working!! While updating my profile on it, I encountered a question whose essence was- "in what way do you think VIT has contributed to you?". Honestly I was at loss of words for this one. It never occured to me to think seriously about it and figure out "exactly how" it has contributed to my career! I always thought that its not the alma matter but it is the "quality" of your peers and the competitive environment that they bring with themselves that shapes your future! Atleast that's my experience with my batch at VIT and even my secondary school. Had I had been an alumni of some big ticket brands like IITs or the IIMs it would have been much easier to say "I owe all it to you". But a lesser sibling like VIT contributing to my career almost as equally as an IIT/IIM could have done is really creditable. So on the hindsight, apart from the peers, the alma matter itself does seem to play a major role which one can't possibly define. I have left that question in the profile un-answered, will think about it and update it later!
Peace be upon you VIT, may your tribe grow!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Travelogue - Italy!
We are back after a great tour of Italy. 6 fun filled days from 25 Dec to 30th and revival of some old memories of Italy. I will keep it short with just some highlights!
Day-1 (PISA)
-------------
The leaning tower is still leaning as it has been since the 11th century. We also climbed it to the top and found that one really looses balance while climbing while climbing the 1st and 2nd floors!! What appalled me the most was the lack of security for a wonder of the world. Me and A had the fortune to see the tower at late night while it was raining and from a distance of just about 10 feet and not a single soul was around for miles probably. Quite romatic. Its like seeing Taj Mahal all alone on a moonlit night. But a thought struck me that in this world full of zealots isnt Italy too lax about safety of a monument so important both historically and for its tourism? Same goes with Colloseum in Rome, we saw that too from close quarters late into night with secirity almost non existent!
Day-2 (FLORENCE)
-----------------
This city is meant for people with an artistic bent of mind. Paitings and sculptures by the likes of Michaelangelo,Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci galore city's every nook and corner . But Michaelangelo's world famous "David" (of the David and Goliath fame) stands apart. This sculpture invokes a dumb awe. Its gracious to the core and personifies the perfection in the art of stone sculpting ever done by man. While in Florence I could not help but compare the artwork of Mughals which we see in our own country in places like Taj Mahal, Various Moghul palaces or the Dilwara temple in Rajasthan with the Roman architecture. To my un-trained eye, the biggest difference is that Romans believed in size, each and every Roman monument is huge,enormous and grand, whereas Moghul architecture is about fine art of extremely intricate stone work.
Day-3 & 4 (Rome)
-----------------
"Rome was not built in a day". You need to see Rome to believe this adage. The bloody history of Collosseum, the magnificient Palazzo Victoria Emanuelle-2, the trevi fountain and of course the St Peters Basilica of Vatican are all things worth seeing at least once in lifetime. The grand squares of Rome and ruined palaces scattered all over take you back in time when Roman empire was at its peak. On the flip side, Rome is very much like Delhi. Its full of pick pockets and Mafia. We had a incident of A's rucksack being probed by some pick pocket girl in a subway. Fortunately nothing was lost.
Day 5 & 6 (VENICE)
-------------------
I believe that Venice is also a wonder of the world and one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is ranked as the worlds second most romantic place after Paris. I celebrated dear "A's" birthday there on 29th Dec! Venice is known for its opulent palaces of 17th century and the opera's. And also for the most romatic "Gondolas", the beautiful San Marco described as worlds best drawing room by Napolean and the Rialto bridge which gives a great view of the Grand Canal. We also visited one of the glass factories of the famed Murano glass works and saw first hand the process of glass artifact making. The Murano glass is damn expensive and meant probably only for the rich and famous.
The trip was one of the best I ever had and we both will cherish its memories for many years to come!
Day-1 (PISA)
-------------
The leaning tower is still leaning as it has been since the 11th century. We also climbed it to the top and found that one really looses balance while climbing while climbing the 1st and 2nd floors!! What appalled me the most was the lack of security for a wonder of the world. Me and A had the fortune to see the tower at late night while it was raining and from a distance of just about 10 feet and not a single soul was around for miles probably. Quite romatic. Its like seeing Taj Mahal all alone on a moonlit night. But a thought struck me that in this world full of zealots isnt Italy too lax about safety of a monument so important both historically and for its tourism? Same goes with Colloseum in Rome, we saw that too from close quarters late into night with secirity almost non existent!
Day-2 (FLORENCE)
-----------------
This city is meant for people with an artistic bent of mind. Paitings and sculptures by the likes of Michaelangelo,Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci galore city's every nook and corner . But Michaelangelo's world famous "David" (of the David and Goliath fame) stands apart. This sculpture invokes a dumb awe. Its gracious to the core and personifies the perfection in the art of stone sculpting ever done by man. While in Florence I could not help but compare the artwork of Mughals which we see in our own country in places like Taj Mahal, Various Moghul palaces or the Dilwara temple in Rajasthan with the Roman architecture. To my un-trained eye, the biggest difference is that Romans believed in size, each and every Roman monument is huge,enormous and grand, whereas Moghul architecture is about fine art of extremely intricate stone work.
Day-3 & 4 (Rome)
-----------------
"Rome was not built in a day". You need to see Rome to believe this adage. The bloody history of Collosseum, the magnificient Palazzo Victoria Emanuelle-2, the trevi fountain and of course the St Peters Basilica of Vatican are all things worth seeing at least once in lifetime. The grand squares of Rome and ruined palaces scattered all over take you back in time when Roman empire was at its peak. On the flip side, Rome is very much like Delhi. Its full of pick pockets and Mafia. We had a incident of A's rucksack being probed by some pick pocket girl in a subway. Fortunately nothing was lost.
Day 5 & 6 (VENICE)
-------------------
I believe that Venice is also a wonder of the world and one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is ranked as the worlds second most romantic place after Paris. I celebrated dear "A's" birthday there on 29th Dec! Venice is known for its opulent palaces of 17th century and the opera's. And also for the most romatic "Gondolas", the beautiful San Marco described as worlds best drawing room by Napolean and the Rialto bridge which gives a great view of the Grand Canal. We also visited one of the glass factories of the famed Murano glass works and saw first hand the process of glass artifact making. The Murano glass is damn expensive and meant probably only for the rich and famous.
The trip was one of the best I ever had and we both will cherish its memories for many years to come!
Million Dollar Page
This idea beats all dot.com ideas. Envy is the only emotion it invokes. Alex Tew, a 21 year old student from England came up with this bright idea just to sponsor his university education and today he posesses a cool one million dollar booty. All he does is to sell a 10X10 pixel area on his website, aptly named http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/ to anyone who wants to advertise their enterprise with a logo! The result is a unreadable collage of logos which looks more like modern art. This sheer stupid idea has earned him millions. Sigh...I will try not to env him. You have a look at it.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
In Quest of Zero !
Yesterday on the train to Amsterdam (before it was cancelled..uggghhh...cant get over it yet) me and A happenned to meet a Portuguese gentleman on the train. He is a professor in Hamburg university and naturally knew a lot more about Goa, India and indian IT success story than a average German. While chatting he "demonstrated" his knowledge about Indian culture by telling me that Sanskrit was the first known langugae in world with advanced structured grammer and he also had read about ancient Indian literary great- Panini. To add to his knowledge and maybe little gloated with his flattery I boasted that Panini gave the world the numeral Zero. I was not sure if Panini or Arybhatta invented it, but knew that he would lap it up as a fact:-) I know Panini had something to do with sanskrit grammer and not math, but its such a old story..who cares...I was not even born then! But today I wanted to really check with Dr Google about invetor of zero and I was amazed to read that it is a debated issue amongst scholars and its NOT conclusive that India gave this world nothing - the zero! Zero was invented independetly thrice, the third time in India, which is debated. After reading many websites, I reached this website and found it really interesting. Read - http://www.mediatinker.com/blog/archives/008821.html I am still trying to search more on Google and will try to post when I find out the real history of Zero. Let me know if you do!
Not been there and not done that!
There's some cross between me and Amsterdam. Thrice in last 4 years I went almost through that city but for some or other reason could not see it. This time me and A were prepared, with tickets, hotel reservation, backpacks and we also embarked on the trip but...as fate would have it, could not reach Amsterdam. The first snow of the season here was so heavy and un-expected that it put the entire Deustche Bahn(DB) railyway system out of gear. It was a crazy blizzard going all over north Germany yesteday night and our train got cancelled in Osnabruck. The service point redirected us to Munster and the service point their adviced us to go back home as there was no way rails would run and so we reached a city called Hamm. But their, I was really impressed with DB serivce, they not only arranged a 3 start hotel for our overnight stay and arranged for a return train back home today morning but they also refunded the entire journey tickets !!! Now Laloo, Indian Railways and even the airlines have a long way to go before they catch up with this kind of service...anyway, we returned back safe and sound today afternoon, it was nice free trip to 3 bundesland cities and a free overnight stay at cost of DB:-) "A" was also very happy since this was her first experience of a snowfall and that too so heavy! She is always lucky...I remember my first experience of snowfall in Italy 4 years back was quite a damp squib as compared to this.
But I have not given away the hopes, will keep a watch on weather and will catch the next possible train to visit Amsterdam, the happenning place know for its nightlife (probably next only to Vegas). Could not go there as a bachelor, but so be it:-)
But I have not given away the hopes, will keep a watch on weather and will catch the next possible train to visit Amsterdam, the happenning place know for its nightlife (probably next only to Vegas). Could not go there as a bachelor, but so be it:-)
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Life in Deutschland
For those who do not know, I am in Deutschland/Germany these days along with dear A. Contrary to my expectations,settling down here was not too difficult, thanks to my earlier visit to this same place. Some stark differences as compared to settling here and in US or India are worth noting. Things are REALLY very expensive in Europe, be it clothes, furniture, electronics et all. Only daily and basic needs are maybe affordable. This observation quickly brings my train of thoughts to halt at a discussion which I had with a friend few days back and a article which our sales lead in Europe forwarded to me recently. "Socialist Capitalism" of Germany as I call it, is the exxagerated form of democracy and symbol of protectionist government of this country. In a developed nation with 11% un-employment it is really difficult to belive that people work only for 7 to 8 hours and practically the whole nation is holidaying on Sundays. Its mandated by law. I am sometimes at loggerheads with a German colleague (who works for same company as mine but being German has to work for just 8 hours and has almost 45 paid casual leaves!!) who keeps asking me why I work so hard and for such long hours (10 hours min which btw, is below average by Indian IT standards:-) ) I always end up explaning him that it is competition (read china) and inherently hard working (ass like) attitude of Indians which drives me, but I also do not fail to point out that working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week is a luxury which this country cannot afford for long. Everything here is govt controlled, house rents, working hours, minimum wages and unions meddling with company affairs is very normal. No wonder German workers are known to be most expensive.Slowly but steadily jobs are shifting to cheapers destinations. The US like anti-outsourcing backlash across Europe is just waiting to happen...the only way out for Europeans is to rise and face the realities and work harder, 10 hours minimum and OPEN all shops on Sundays too(thats a personal request)!
Btw, amongst all this talk of capitalism I saw a very cute and appreciable gesture which argues in favour of protectionism. While standing in a queue at the bank I saw a very young kid (hardly 10 yrs old) holding his piggy bank (so small that it cannot hold more than 10 Euro) and bank pass book!! He promptly gave them to the cashier who counted the coins and deposited to his account! Dont know what really drived that kid to save his pocket money in Bank instead of spending it on candy, did he foresee capitalism over shadowing his future?
~Amit
Btw, amongst all this talk of capitalism I saw a very cute and appreciable gesture which argues in favour of protectionism. While standing in a queue at the bank I saw a very young kid (hardly 10 yrs old) holding his piggy bank (so small that it cannot hold more than 10 Euro) and bank pass book!! He promptly gave them to the cashier who counted the coins and deposited to his account! Dont know what really drived that kid to save his pocket money in Bank instead of spending it on candy, did he foresee capitalism over shadowing his future?
~Amit
Friday, October 28, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
The Red Belt !
(17 July 2000 - 17th July 2005)
Yesterday marked a milestone for me. I completed 5 Yrs of service in my company and my first job!! The emotions are mixed: sense of satisfaction and achievement and also of having missed some opportunities:-)
At my company symbolically this milestone means, changing the color of my ID card belt from blue to red and hypothetically it heralds my entry into the trusted and priviliged echelons of old-timers which is an un-written (and hopefully true) rule. Getting red belt is the time to reap fruits of 5 years of toil at this software warehouse. However this red belt has also got other practical significance, we are told that US consulate recognizes significance of my companies' red belt tag, which makes getting those oh-so-hard-to-get US visas a little more simpler. Then you also stand apart amongst the zillions and ever increasing population here. I also get a Long Service Award which means 3 nights and 2 days free stay for me and my wife at one of the 4/5 star resorts in exoctic locations like Kerala, Goa, Ooty, Kodai, Manali etc. I might settle with Ooty. We also get appreciation certificate and a written feedback (which is obviously sugar laced) from peers and seniors...
These 5 years have given me an opportunity to travel across the globe: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, US and ofcourse within India. It has made a professional automotive embedded system 'expert' out of the naive and unpolished fresh-out-of college graduate. I learnt the bits and bytes of micro controllers and micro processors, the design patterns of OO programming, Seeing the subtleties of C, the threads and processes of RTOS internals, the highs and lows of analog and digital systems, and ofcourse the inside out of body electronics and the cutting edge (literally) future of vehicles- Telematics. And the financial independence brought by the job after the poverty stricken student life also deserves a passing mention...
On the flip side, the project pressures, impossible deadlines and sedentry desk job have taken its toll on the health and relations. Hair lines are receding and other lines are bulging. Some Ol' friends were lost on the way and new ones were made...But thats what life of a s/w pro is made of. No regrets.
Now that first milestone is reached, I am free to set my eyes on the next one. I am not sure if it will be in the same company! Lets see what life has in store!
Peace and Content
~Amit
Yesterday marked a milestone for me. I completed 5 Yrs of service in my company and my first job!! The emotions are mixed: sense of satisfaction and achievement and also of having missed some opportunities:-)
At my company symbolically this milestone means, changing the color of my ID card belt from blue to red and hypothetically it heralds my entry into the trusted and priviliged echelons of old-timers which is an un-written (and hopefully true) rule. Getting red belt is the time to reap fruits of 5 years of toil at this software warehouse. However this red belt has also got other practical significance, we are told that US consulate recognizes significance of my companies' red belt tag, which makes getting those oh-so-hard-to-get US visas a little more simpler. Then you also stand apart amongst the zillions and ever increasing population here. I also get a Long Service Award which means 3 nights and 2 days free stay for me and my wife at one of the 4/5 star resorts in exoctic locations like Kerala, Goa, Ooty, Kodai, Manali etc. I might settle with Ooty. We also get appreciation certificate and a written feedback (which is obviously sugar laced) from peers and seniors...
These 5 years have given me an opportunity to travel across the globe: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, US and ofcourse within India. It has made a professional automotive embedded system 'expert' out of the naive and unpolished fresh-out-of college graduate. I learnt the bits and bytes of micro controllers and micro processors, the design patterns of OO programming, Seeing the subtleties of C, the threads and processes of RTOS internals, the highs and lows of analog and digital systems, and ofcourse the inside out of body electronics and the cutting edge (literally) future of vehicles- Telematics. And the financial independence brought by the job after the poverty stricken student life also deserves a passing mention...
On the flip side, the project pressures, impossible deadlines and sedentry desk job have taken its toll on the health and relations. Hair lines are receding and other lines are bulging. Some Ol' friends were lost on the way and new ones were made...But thats what life of a s/w pro is made of. No regrets.
Now that first milestone is reached, I am free to set my eyes on the next one. I am not sure if it will be in the same company! Lets see what life has in store!
Peace and Content
~Amit
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
What Braveheart ?
Its a long time since I have bitched about social issues and its impact on me:-) A few days back TOIlet paper (Times Of India) carried a front page news of a 7 year young Delhi kid driving his injured 5 year young Bro to a hospital for emergency treament in guess what - a car!! The news bite was titled 'Braveheart' and was laced with accolades and praise for the young kid. I have been reading readers-letters in response to that for quite some days after that. Here's my take on it:
The boy does not deserve any accolades, instead he should be placed in juvenile remand home and his parents in Jail. What was ToI journo thinking when he praised the kid? Does he want to project the kid as a role model for other kids? Does he want more 7 year olds to learn car driving and run amock on the roads? Does he want parents to teach driving to their wards and make them wonder kids, for all to admire ? Well, if I had read this news about 15 years back, I would have run with it to my dad and demanded an explanation for not allowing me also to drive the car or even the scooter for that matter. I remember I knew the son of one of dads filthy rich family friend (a marwadi) who used to drive car at age of about 13. He was same age as mine then. And not just that he used to haul cash and made business deals for his dad at that age! His father used to tell stories of his prodigal son to my dad with pride, and I used to hear it sulking all the time. Well we were quite the salaried class for making the business deals but we did have a car and I could have defintely driven it if allowed! And I did defy the rule once and took dads scooter to school while my parents were away, and I still remeber dads stony silence towards me after that for about 2 days!He never scolded but the message was driven home. Well, looking back now, I feel how right he was. I was too young and naive, could have easily harmed anyone including me with reckless driving! Even today I drive reckless sometimes, though I am trying to be a more responsible driver. I never thought I would start thinking like a stereotyped grown up, but I too have grown wisdom teeth, and they are not for nothing. I am determined to be a righteous parent whenever that happens!! I think thats a natural progression in homo sapien growth!
The boy does not deserve any accolades, instead he should be placed in juvenile remand home and his parents in Jail. What was ToI journo thinking when he praised the kid? Does he want to project the kid as a role model for other kids? Does he want more 7 year olds to learn car driving and run amock on the roads? Does he want parents to teach driving to their wards and make them wonder kids, for all to admire ? Well, if I had read this news about 15 years back, I would have run with it to my dad and demanded an explanation for not allowing me also to drive the car or even the scooter for that matter. I remember I knew the son of one of dads filthy rich family friend (a marwadi) who used to drive car at age of about 13. He was same age as mine then. And not just that he used to haul cash and made business deals for his dad at that age! His father used to tell stories of his prodigal son to my dad with pride, and I used to hear it sulking all the time. Well we were quite the salaried class for making the business deals but we did have a car and I could have defintely driven it if allowed! And I did defy the rule once and took dads scooter to school while my parents were away, and I still remeber dads stony silence towards me after that for about 2 days!He never scolded but the message was driven home. Well, looking back now, I feel how right he was. I was too young and naive, could have easily harmed anyone including me with reckless driving! Even today I drive reckless sometimes, though I am trying to be a more responsible driver. I never thought I would start thinking like a stereotyped grown up, but I too have grown wisdom teeth, and they are not for nothing. I am determined to be a righteous parent whenever that happens!! I think thats a natural progression in homo sapien growth!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)