Thursday, December 30, 2010

New Year 2011


2011 is about to come and I hope it will bring lots of happiness in everybody's life. The year 2010 that has gone by or about to leave was great. There are lots of ups and very few down moments. This year brought too many changes in my life. I have become totally independent and have more serious responsibilities. Career wise its not been that good but thank God that I have survived recession. Many of us who have lost their jobs during this time period, I hope that they have got better jobs somewhere.

I have written 37 posts this year on my blog, 20 less than previous year. This means that I had less free time in 2010. I hope I get more time to write more posts in 2011. I also want to travel more in the coming year. In 2010, I went to only two places. One needs to get away from the daily routine to recharge the soul.

Wish you all the very very happy 2011. Hope you get everything what you desire.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Trend in Indian couples - after wedding

There is one trend these days in the Indian couples after they get married:

1. They will choose one South Asian country for their honeymoon.
2. The girl will wear skirt all the time during honeymoon, and there will be lot of pictures of it.
3. The girl will post the picture on social networking site in which the couples are together.
4. The boy is still going to display his single picture.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

US scared of wikileaks


One thing which is now confirmed is that US has always employed double standards against the countries for its own use. Till now I was very confident that America is now a changed nation. It doesn't mean only business and its there to build and help the society and other nations. But now after hearing what Hillary Clinton has said, it is very difficult to believe. She mocks India's UNSC (United Nations Security Council) bid and defined India as a “self-appointed front runner” for UNSC seat. Barack Obama, on his recent historical trip to India said that America supports India's bid for UNSC seat. This clearly states that America is using nations for his own use.

On other occasions, America is always yelling that they are against terrorism but giving monetary aids to nations who supports Jihad. What kind of policy is this Mr. Obama?

Now that Wikileaks has exposed this nation's diplomatic and national policies, they are scared of it and trying very hard to prosecute Wikileaks founders in any way.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Why is Barack Obama in India

Many of us who are watching TV channels mainly seeing that Obama is with school kids, some charitable organizations, colleges, etc. He didn't come here to do charity or to dance with school kids. This he can do from America also. The main purpose behind him coming to India is to regain the lost confidence back in the US from Wall Street. Corporates there in US are not happy with Obama's policies. Obama is trying to bring back jobs in US, which he couldn't succeed so far and I am sure will not be able to succeed in future also. Wall Street knows setting their operations in India will help them in long term whereas Obama is just playing politics by promising to US people what he cannot do.

Obama is just here for his political games. He is hoping that corporates in India and Asia will support him. Whereas his actual policies are against these countries. That's why he has increased the Visa fees and limited the number of people applying Visa for US. This will not help him.

After recession people were hoping that he will bring the change, he always talk about the change but he cannot change the economic rules. He need to change his economic policies to support development and growth of countries.

And please stop giving importance.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Dilemma

Its just been those days where I cannot concentrate at one place. There are lot of thoughts running in my mind and I don't know which path to choose. Life sometimes become so complicated that you don't know what is right for you. People around me moving on but my life came to an standstill. Its like a one big full stop which is not letting me to move.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Things will not be the same - Farewell to Kamlesh

I am very sad today as one of my best friend has left the office in which I am working. The definition of friendship is not complete without him. I am very fortunate to have a friend like him. He is always there to help me. When he is present in office, I knew no problem is big. He always had a solution. He is the person I can always rely upon.

Now the things will not be the same at work. I will always feel lonely. His workstation would always remind me of him. I will really miss him and I hope that wherever he goes, he gets the best out of life.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Kalmaadi ki Aarti (Taken from Chai ki Dukaan)

जय बाबा कलमाड़ी बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी अद्भुत अनोखे ढंग से तुमने commonwealth की मारी ||
बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

सारे सम्बन्धी करोडपतिचाहे देश हो जाये भिखारी |सबका ख्याल तुम्हे है दोस्ती हो या रिश्तेदारी ||
बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

इतना पैसा खाया और आधी भी डकार न मारी|तुमको जेल में डाले अब किसकी ये ज़िम्मेदारी?
बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

ऐसा हाल किया के शर्म से डूब मरे नर नारी|यमुना में भी बाड़ आ गई धोने को तुम्हारी बीमारी|
बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

CWG तो होंगे भारत की है तय्यारी|तुम जाने कहाँ जाओगे कहाँ डूबेगी नैय्या तुम्हारी?????
बोलो जय बाबा कलमाड़ी!!!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Commonwealth Games 2010 - India's real test

(Please let them come out and play)

I have read so many negative blogs, articles, etc. on the subject that even if, we are ready to host the event, people from all over the world after reading them will surely gonna not come to see the mega event. I don't know how much negative energy we have in our soul by degrading our country in front of others. This is nothing new that India is a country with lots of corruption in every field. Despite of this, India hosting such a event is miracle.

I know there are so many difficulties Delhi people are currently facing due to this commonwealth games. But can't we support government on this. I know they are not 100% efficient not even 50% but can't you just give 1 year of your life to support this event and face whatever difficulties comes. Are we habitual of so luxurious living that we have forgotten how Gandhiji and other great legends lived their life. It is you who have selected this government. Oh hell yeah, I know every government is like this, why don't you try leading a city or a country (Ho gayi tai tai fis....).

This is a lesson that our government has learn from this event. They will think thrice before hosting any such event in future. As a citizen of India, try to support the cause rather than ranting or complaining about people who are trying to organize the event.

Google and Skype - Internet Telephony Competition

I am writing this post from the user experience point of view. Currently Skype is used worldwide to talk to people on their phones through internet. Now few days back Google announced its entry into the internet telephony market by integrating this feature on its google mail. Though this is a big step but I am unsure whether they will provide good service or not. I have not tested it as I am sitting in India and it is not possible from here. But I am positive that it will be a good service. However, there are some doubts in my mind about google service as compared to skype.

1. Skype has its team fully working on only this product and always trying to make it better whereas google by integrating this feature in google mail has always have to keep in mind that the mail service do not get affected by this. So there lies a focus problem.

2. I am using both skype and google mail and chat. I have noticed that skype keeps me login even in very low bandwidth whereas I see google chat disabled due to low bandwidth. In India, this problem arises very frequently.

The only feature where google is ahead of skype is that by integrating this feature in google mail, people does not need to go anywhere other than google. They will be having access to their mails, chats and now internet telephony in only one window.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Nokia N8 Vs Iphone 4

The mobile phone industry will going to see the tough competition in the time to come in the smartphone market. The two great devices which are coming up by two great companies are Nokia N8 by Nokia and Iphone 4 by Apple. I totally respect these companies for their technology and innovation. Both these companies are great in their respective field. Nokia, though loosing its giant status to other mobile phone companies but still managing the top position in many countries. So lets compare these two devices:

Screen wise: Both have similar screen length though Apple has done some advancement in its display. Nokia N8 has 360 x 640 pixels 3.5 touch-screen whereas Apple's new Iphone 4 has 640 x 960 pixel display. Also Apple has Retina Display Technology which is very impressive.

Camera wise: Nokia should now also include digital cameras in their product list. This N8 has a 10.2 mega pixel Carl Zeiss camera  and  xenon flash whereas Apple's Iphone only offer 5 mega pixels camera. Surely, N8 is a mobile cum digital camera and this is the strongest feature of Nokia's N8 and it beats everybody here.

Operating System: Nokia has launched a new operating system in N8- the Symbian^3 which is yet to be tested by common people. Nokia claims that it is a very advance version of all the previous operating systems but still people will tell the verdict. Apple is using iOS4 which Mr. Steve Jobs has told all of us in his Speech on June 7 and it is impressive. The Apple Iphone 4 is really fast, but we still have to test Nokia N8.

Features: The Nokia N8 has features like HDMI port and Dolby Digital Plus surround stereo, Xenon Flash, 12 megapixel camera, Ovi Services, 48GB of storage with a micro SD card, 720p video and it comes in multiple colours whereas Iphone 4 has Retina Display technology, applications, glass casing, three-axis gyro sensor, 326ppi display, games, apps folders, 64GB of storage and the impressive, power-saving, Apple A4 Processor, which has more than proved its worth in the iPad.

Applications: Nokia's Ovi Store is impressive and have some great applications which they are showing on Nokia World 2010 but comparing with Iphone applications which is currently best in the market does not have match. The applications in Iphone are far superior.

Price: This is the main comparison which all the common user will gonna compare first. Nokia's N8 is far cheaper then Apple's Iphone 4. Though the price in India for both the devices are not available but still Nokia does have an edge here.

Lookwise: I find Nokia N8 far better than Apple's Iphone 4.

So if you are looking for a phone's quality then go for Apple's Iphone 4 but still my heart says Nokia's N8 will give a tough competition to Iphone. Nokia has recently changed its management and it will take some time when Nokia will again regain its market.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

An Inrospection

I am the one who observes a lot about things happening around me. I observe people including myself. This post is a introspection of me that I recently found in my behavior. Life is going easy and I take it as it comes. But this easy attitude is making me lazy and feel that I am drifting towards the path which I should not be going. I am the guy who always want to be into things. I don't like sitting idle doing nothing. But I have become so lazy that even if I want to do something, my mind and body doesn't allow me to do it. I want to take care of each and every member of my family but I am so busy with myself that I am not able to give enough time to them. I try to avoid work and transfer it to next day and that next day never comes.

I don't know how to improve myself. I feel guilty of not doing well. I expect a lot from me and want to fly in life. I always want to see my family happy and somehow feel that I am not doing enough to them. I have so many pending tasks to do. I spend 15 hours of my day in front of the computer screen either in office or at home. I know I have things to do but lying on bed and surfing net is more important to me.

I want to change myself and I don't know how to start.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Amritsar and Wagha Border

Recently went to Amritsar and Wagha border and had a great time over there. This was one of the most amazing trip that I have gone. I hope there are more to come. I saw golden temple at night and it was looking most beautiful (below is the picture). Also at Wagha Border, I got the VIP seat to see the ceremony. I also got the chance to see the Indian pillar at the border.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Couch Surfing

Now you don't need to spend huge amount of money in hotels while traveling to new places/cities. The new idea that is catching up fast these days is "Couch Surfing". It means people can visit each others city and can share his/her apartments with the guests. Let's take an example, suppose you want to visit a state say, Kerela and you don't want to spend money on costly hotels. All you need to do is find a person (which I will tell you below how) who is interested in sharing his/her apartment/house with you during your visit. The person can also guide you to roam around in the city. The best thing about this is that person will not charge you any money. And the same applies to you when this person visits your place/city.

Now the main thing is how to find such person. The solution is here - http://www.couchsurfing.org/

I am not advertising this website. I just liked the idea and found out this website, so sharing it with you all.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Root causes of marriage/relationship failures



I found these causes from somewhere but these are not my findings and I do not endorse them at all. I just wanted to know what do you guys/girls think about it. I think these points are yielded by some males. What if boys do the same? Please read the findings then you will know:

1. Girls being over-ambitious,putting career ahead of husband.

2. Girls wear clothes that would attract unwanted attention all sorts of public on the street.All these they do under the cover of ""freedom and economic independence"". People objecting to it are branded as “mean” and “narrow-minded”.

3. Girls already in marriage/committed relationships talk to any guy on trains, buses, in office..roam around with any guy saying ""He is my pal !""......go to pubs with guys/colleagues and drink, smoke, clap together, laugh out loud shamelessly. And if the bf/hubby dislikes it, he is ""old fashioned, controlling, possessive"" and what not !! The poor guy thanks himself for not being branded as the ""worst possible human being"" !

4. The “male friends” then start touching the gal in the name of ""friendly hug"" or ""friendly touch"" or ""applying colours during Holi"". And today's loose-character gals just enjoy it in the name of friendship. Why can they not think that these things may be objectionable to their partners ?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

CTC- Cost To Country

Many of you still believe CTC is Cost To Company? Think big. Its Cost To Country. I am saying this because I just read the news that Members of Parliament are going to get the 100% hike in their salary. These people will now earn more whereas common man earn less by giving taxes to this inefficient government. According to latest data, each MP's CTC (Cost To Country) is currently Rs. 19 lakhs annually. This is going to be increased to Rs. 25 lakhs with some additional benefits. These politicians are now burden on India. I know prices are rising but what about common man Sir?

We are paying salaries to these politicians who in turn loot us double by increasing the prices everywhere.

In other news Karunanidhi (South Indian Politician) in Tamil Nadu is wasting Rs. 380 crores on some World Classical Tamil conference in Coimbatore. This is also an common man's hard earned money which they are wasting in some meaningless conference.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day



I want to thank my Father for giving me everything in my life which I needed. I know, sometimes I insist him to buy something, he never said no for it, even when it is costly. I remember He brought us (me and my brother) TV video game and that day we were the happiest. How he had saved money from His salary for this to make us happy, I can never pay Him back. Even though I never get chance to tell Him directly that how much I love Him, I want to dedicate this post to Him. To me, He is God.

I remember the instance when me and my brother put water in His scooter's petrol tank. Next day we went to school without bothering, when He returned from office, He gave us smile and said "Did you guys put water in the petrol tank". I know how much He had suffered that day by pulling the scooter to the petrol station and then had to flip the scooter so that tank gets empty. Dad, I am so sorry for that day.

When He brought the first car Maruti 800, He took us for ride in the night and we were so happy. One day in the night I have to do my homework and there was no pencil in the house, all the shops were closed by then because it was late. He went out and somehow got me the pencil, I don't know from where. He is a hero for me. Dad, I know it's been a hard and tough life for You, but I promise that I will do everything and anything for You to keep You happy forever. You have always supported me, helped me and it's time for me to pay back. I know, I can never do that but I will try everything to keep You safe. You are a true Hero for me. Love You Dad.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Indian foodie

I have listed down 10 most yummiest snacks from India. I am sure you will be tempted to eat any of them right away.

1 Deep fried crispy pakodas- People love these during monsoons.



Gram flour pasted on vegetables served with ketchup or chutney.

2 Paani Puri or Gol Gappas- Cant resist them, ask ladies.



Puffed bread balls filled with tamarind paste, potato or lentils and spices mixed in water

3 Aloo chaat- This you can find in any local market place.



Spiced potatoes

4 Pav bhaji or Pao bhaji- It is very popular in Mumbai.



Spiced, mashed vegetables eaten with toasted buns

5 Jhal Muri- Its common at bus stations.



Puffed rice mixed with spices

6 Wada Pav or Vada Pav- I have eaten it once at the outskirts of Pune and still love the taste.



Potato cutlet between two slices of bun

7 Samosa- Father of all snacks. No party without them.



Fried triangular shells stuffed with spiced potatoes

8 Aloo Tikkis- Roadside tikkiwaalas knows best how to make them.



Deep fried, stuffed potatoes cutlets

9 Roasted Ground Nuts- Come winters and you will see a packet full of these in every bus or train. But please don't throw them here and there.



Common munchies served in paper cones

10 Chuski or Gola- Ultimate refresher during summers



Crushed ice soaked in flavored syrups

So tell me how's it. Come on lets have it together.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

I hate Arundhati Roy



I don't know what is happening to Indian people when they support lunatics like Arundhati Roy. She is supporting maoists for no reason at all. Why she is concerned about them when they are killing innocent people like anything. How can she explain and support terrorist activities. She must understand that a Criminal is a criminal and killing innocents is worst kind of crime. Sometimes I think democracy sucks when people like her just blabber anything without any sense.

No doubt she is a great writer, getting booker prize. But talking like this will only get her pooker prize. She is talking about the human rights for Maoists. Don't civilians have a right to live. Maoists have lost all rights of sympathy by killing people in Dantewada and then derailing the train, killing innocent people.

All I can say that she is immature.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Shopping Malls killing Marketplaces



I read one interesting article today which talks about mall culture and how its killing local marketplaces. Not so long ago, we have seen places like South Ex, PVR Saket complex and PVR Priya complex (Basant Lok) is fully crowded during weekends.These were considered as posh markets with lots of international brands setting their stores in these markets. Rents of these shops went skyrocket in the early phases.

But now in the last year or so, these places are empty. Nobody wants to shop here. These markets are now fighting for their identity crisis. The main reason of this is probably the opening up of 4-6 new shopping malls in South Delhi. These new malls are fully equipped with all the modern facilities. Moreover, people don't want to go to these congested places anymore, where parking is the biggest problem. There is no proper parking facilities whereas in shopping malls there are 2-3 underground floors for parking. The shops in markets were blowing hot air from gen-sets and air-conditioners. On the other hand shopping malls provide fully air-conditioned shopping experience.

The government should do something to renovate these markets, maintenance is required in these shopping complexes. MCD should pitch in to provide cleanliness and good parking facilities. Otherwise these markets will only be the thing of past.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Caste based census 2010

There is lot of debate going on whether caste based census is necessary or viable in a democratic country like India. The census process has once again been started and the expected time of completion is about at the end of the year. But the real topic of discussion is the advantages and disadvantages of caste based census.

I have seen many people saying that it should not be done and its a caste based. I don't know whether these guys have any sense that why caste based census is important at this time. Guys..you must have seen seats being reserved for SC, ST and OBCs at various organizations and institutions. According to government study these people are in minority but no exact numbers are available. To validate whether these people are in minority and do they really need reservation at all in the organizations, this caste based census is necessary. People think that these people are in minority but so many castes are now being fighting for SC, ST and OBC status, it is absolutely necessary to know whether these people are in minority or majority.

I am not against SCs, STs and OBCs but I am against reservation. No one in India needs reservation and if people are capable and good enough, they can get jobs and admissions easily by themselves.

There is no reason at all cursing this caste based census rather people should support and cooperate with the government officials who will come to their houses and ask for any information. This will also help in deciding future government policies. Please support this and don't think that this census is caste based. It is a need of an hour.

Monday, May 10, 2010

When I get older I will be stronger

Soccer world cup fever is running higher day by day. Whole world is waiting for 11th June 2010 to watch the most famous extravaganza. Here is the official anthem of 2010 Soccer World Cup- South Africa by K'Naan and the song is called as "Waivin' Flag". Here is the brief description of K'naan:

K'naan is a Muslim.
Few years ago, he spoke in the UN against Bush's evil polices & evil wars in Afghanistan & the Islamic world. He wrote this song against evil polices. He donated $1,000,000 for Haiti victims.

You can watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYfa0__P_pI&feature=related

Here is the lyrics of the anthem.

Ooooooh Wooooooh, Ooooooh Wooooooh

Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, its around us, every nations, all around us

Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say

When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag

Oooohhh, Oooooooooh wooooohh, Oooooooooh wooooohh

Give you freedom, give you fire, give you reason, take you higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, its around us, every nations, all around us

Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say

When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag (4x)

Oohhoooohh Woooh Ohohooooh Wooohoooh

We all say
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag (4x)

Oooooh woowoo ooh Wooo ooohh ooohoh
And everybody will be singing it
Oooooh woowoo ooh Wooo ooohh ooohoh
And we all will be singing it

Saturday, May 8, 2010

ni woofer tu meri, mei tera amplifier

This song making me crazy these days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuCFRaFWjwY

And here is one of the coolest lyrics of this song I have ever heard of.

Kaaliyan baariyan we gaddiyaan nu mein lawaan
speed mein 220 di chalaan, POLICE de samne mein nai rukhda
i am a knight rider

breakaan maar maar tardi mein chiekh kad da
sari loki takde we ki hogeya, lagda we injh mera dil rukda
unu mein puchda

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier

gaddi meri tenu wi awaaz mardi,
black leather seetaan uttey aah bendhi
tenu weh main ser karawanga ni
puri dunya di

Kendi, garmi we lagdi weh seene ni
pijh gai weh kurti paseene di
challi digrees di tooph pendi
on kar AC
(my favorite lines)

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier

ni gaddi sadi bedhja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier


jaandi eh club das tere ki erade
Dj nu puch ki lewa main tere gaane
lehja mein lehja tenu jithe we tu chaawain
ekh waari aawe moodh banawe


ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiya
ni door tenu lehjja we arriye
ni woofer tu meri, meri
mein tera amplifier fier

Thursday, May 6, 2010

You Know You Grew Up in India in the 90s When...

You Know You Grew Up in India in the 90s When…

1) You know the words to ‘In-pin-safety-pin’ and ‘akkad-bakkad’ by heart
2) Cricket is almost a religion for you, and you idolize at least one of Rahul Dravid/Sachin Tendulkar/Saurav Ganguly
3) You have read at least some Chacha Chaudhary or Tinkle comics
4) You’ve watched Shaktimaan on TV at least once in your life. And you can immediately recognize the character when you see him.
5) You have some ‘NRI’ relatives.
6) You couldn’t wait for it to be December so you could have the Toblerone chocolates your NRI relatives brought you
7) You watched Cartoon Network, and then the late night movies on TNT that came after Cartoon Network ended.
8) You watched corny dubbed versions of Small Wonder, Silver Spoon, and I Dream of Jeanie
9) You were THRILLED when McDonald’s opened in your neighborhood (or even eight kilometers away)
10) A visit to Pizza Hut used to mean a special treat
11) You have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at least 5 times each
12) You still remember the theme song of Hum Paanch. (Hum Paanch, Pam Pam Pam Paanch!)
13) You have played hours upon hour of running and catching, chor-police, lagori, saankli, ‘Doctor, doctor, help us!’, ‘Lock and key’
14) You have seen girls play ‘Amina Super Sina’ more times than you can remember. (And you still don’t know what it means!)
15) Dog ‘in’ the bone was your favorite co-ed game.
16) Much of your free time in school was spent playing UNO.
17) You collected trump cards of wrestlers, cricketers, and airplanes, and did not quite understand why your younger siblings were obsessed with Pokemon and the other Japanese trends that followed.
18) Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents or cousins
19) Your parents, at some point, told you ‘Dark Room’ was a bad game to play. But you still loved playing it.
20) Bole mere lips, I love uncle Chips!
21) You know the song ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinai
22) You have seen many many many episodes of ‘Antakshari’ on Zee TV and know the only thing constant in the show is Annu Kapoor.
23) Many evenings have been spent watching little kids gyrate vulgarly on Boogie Woogie on Sony.
24) You were the coolest thing in class if you had a computer in your house while it was still the 90s.
25) You learnt LOGO and BASIC in school!
26) You couldn’t wait to start 4th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!
27) You often used terms and phrases like ‘two-say’, ‘same to you, back to you, with no returns’, and ‘shame shame, puppy shame, all the donkeys know your name.’
28) You most probably saw Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge at the cinema at least once. You also fantasized about singing songs in mustard fields as in the movie.
29) You have seen David Dhawan and Govinda movies and laughed at them.
31) You have said ‘haw’ or ‘yuck’ when you saw people kissing in English movies. (nowadays kids are used to it!)
30) Titanic was your FIRST favourite english movie.
31) You thought seeing English movies and speaking English made you the coolest thing ever.
32) You remember the Gujarat earthquake very clearly and could possibly tell everyone EXACTLY what you were doing when the earthquake occurred (yes, this happened in 2001, January 26, 2001, to be exact — but this group is about the things that Indian kids that GREW UP in the 90s remember and identify with).
33) Barbies for girls, and GI Joes for boys were the ultimate status symbols. You just wanted more more more and more. And how can I forget Hot Wheels, for both boys and girls?
34) You thought ‘imported’ clothes were definitely way better than ‘made in India’ clothes (never mind that a lot of clothes brought from overseas by NRI relatives were actually made in India, before ‘Made in China’ started appearing on EVERY existing thing)
35) "Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai Pata Chala Hai! Chaddi Pehen Ke Phool Khila Hai Phool Khila Hai!" You watched "The Jungle Book" every Sunday morning at 9.a.m" and just loved mowgli, bhalu and bagheera. A few years later, you watched Disney Hour, which had cartoons like Aladdin, Gummy Bears, Tail Spin, Uncle Scrooge!
36) At some point or other, cool was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.
37) Captain Planet was your first introduction to environmental consciousness.
38) You have tried to convince people around you to not burst crackers on Diwali, and then gone straight back home and burst them yourself.
39) You have had endless packets of Parle Gluco G biscuits, and of Brittania Little Hearts biscuits.
40) You loved licking off the cream from the centre of Bourbon biscuits.
41) There were no Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma- Bata and Liberty was the way to go for your sports shoes.
42) You have probably consumed more Frooti in your lifetime than there is oil in Iraq.
43) You watched Baywatch on Star World when nobody was home even though (or because) your parents said you shouldn’t watch it.
44) You bought packets of potato chips for the specific purpose of collecting Tazos. And you had Tazos depicting everyone from Confucius to Daffy Duck to Daffy Duck dressed as Confucius.
45) For the longest time, the Maruti 800, the Premier Padmini, THE Fiat, and THE Ambassador were the only cars you saw on the road, and the Contessa was cool because it was bigger.
46) You would literally jump up in excitement if you ever chanced upon an imported car (Oh my gosh, is that really a MERCEDES?)!
47) You spent a good part of 1998 drooling over the Hyundai Santro and the Daewoo Matiz , debating which one was better.
48) You used to Fuzen gum. You also chewed Big (big) Babool and/or Boom Boom Boomer chewing gum. They were bright pink and disgusting tasting, but you loved them for the temporary tattoos.
49) Talking of temporary tattoos, you sometimes had contests with your classmates about who had more tattoos on their arm, leg, knee, hand, forehead, wherever.
50) You thought Mario and Contra were the coolest things ever invented, especially if you were a boy.
51) You knew that having the latest Hero or Atlas bicycle would make you the coolest kid on the block.
52) You can imitate Sushmita Sen’s winning gasp to perfection.
53) You have, at some point of time, worn GAP clothes (real or fake) like SRK in KKHH.
54) Seemingly senseless acronyms like SRK, DDLJ, DTPH, KKHH actually make sense to you..
55) You have at some point debated who was more beautiful- Aishwarya or Sushmita.
56) Baskin Robbins ice-cream was THE thing to have!
57) You know what Campa Cola is. And you also knew that Coca Cola was THE drink.
58) You would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and loved Bret Hart "Hitman"! really thought Undertaker had seven lives and he made an “actual” appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.
59) When all backpacks (or ’schoolbags’) and water bottles and tiffin boxes had strange cartoon characters that were hybrid versions of seven or eight different characters, and you still bought them, because a green man wih a water pistol, boots, a jet-pack, Johnny bravo hair, a rajasthani mustache, gloves, and underwear (long johns) over his pants, called ‘Mr. X’ was OBVIOUSLY a status symbol.
60) You remember the Nirma tikia jingle.
61) You remember the Nirma girl.
62) You remember the ‘doodh doodh piyo glass full doodh’ ad and also the ‘laal kaala peela, gulabi hara neela classic hai badia bristles wala’ and 'roz khao ande' ads.
63) You grew up reading, if you read at all, some or all of Nancy Drews, Enid Blyton books, Hardy Boys, Babysitters Club, Animorphs, Goosebumps, Sweet Valley series, Judy Blumes, and Tintin, or Archie comics. Because naturally, reading foreign authors made you much cooler than reading Tinkle.
64) Towards the late 90s (1998-99) at least some of us started our Harry Potter obsessions!
65) You absolutely HAD to go to Essel World if you were with cousins! “Essel World mein rahoonga main, ghar nahin nahin jaaonga main!” (I never went but always dreamed of going there!)
66) You watched the Bournvita Quiz contest on TV pretty religiously. The smarter ones amongst you actually took part in it and had your entire school and your entire extended families watch you on it!
67) Maggi 2 Minute Noodles = ultimate snack (and tiffin, lunch, dinner)!
68) If you grew up in the early 90s, you recall the nation’s obsession with Mahabharata on TV
69) In the later 90s, you religiously followed Hip Hip Hooray on Zee. Maybe Just Mohabbat on Sony too
70) You remember parzan dastur sayin "JALEBI!!!!" in the Dhara Ad
71) You eagerly awaited Friendship Day, so you could give friendship bands to all your friends, and get bands from them in return. Then, of course, those with the most bands loved to show them off.
72) Backstreet Boys' "Quit Playing Games" was one of the first english songs that you LOVED!
73) Andaz Apna Apna is and most probably will always be your favourite comedy flick!! "Aila Jhakaas!!!"
74) This list made you smile.

And I miss that age, it was sooo awesome!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Indian agricultural minister worried about cricket

Don't be surprise when you find agricultural minister of any country is worried about controversies involved in sports. Welcome to India. Our agricultural minister is by chance also the sports minister of the country. Rather than concentrating on farmers, who are doing suicides, he is worried about IPL controversy. Reporters and journalists surrounded his residence and asked him about the latest updates. He assured that concerned authority will probe the matter.

But seriously, do you guys think that our agricultural minister should focus more on cricket rather than our stricken farming industry?

Friday, April 16, 2010

Maha Kumbh 2010



Few of the interesting pictures from the Mahakumbh held at Haridwar in 2010.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB127139781276278047.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hpp_MIDDLELSMini

(copy paste the above URL on your address bar)

You will find amazing sadhu babas here.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Customer Ecstasy- the next level



We all know the word customer satisfaction and there are many companies who have this feature in their products and services. But this is the thing of the past. Companies are working towards the present buzz word, i.e. customer delight (providing something extra which customer didn't even expected) and I am sure there are companies who have achieved this feature or trying to achieve. But hey, people are not happy with this even. They want something more. So the next level is Customer Ecstasy. I haven't experienced anything like that before in the products and services that I have used. What does it mean?

I am looking out for those companies which provides customer ecstasy to its customers. Do you know any? If yes then please share your experience.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Delhi's autorickshaw drivers



Yesterday, I spend some harrowing time with one auto rickshaw driver. I wanted to go to a nearby shopping market in Vasant Kunj. I thought fortis hospital would be a good choice for getting the auto rickshaw. I asked one auto rickshaw driver who just bought one passenger to that place. He straight away refused to go. To which I replied "Bhaiya strike pe chale jaate nahi chalana to" (Brother go on strike if you don't want to go). He become angry and said "What do you said". I came to him again and repeated the same sentence. Just after that he started abusing me badly. I reached for his collar to grab him but other people stopped me from doing so.

I called the auto helpline number immediately and registered a complaint against him. (Those who do not know the auto complaint number, here it is- 01123010101. Save this number on your mobile and next time when you find any auto driver refusing to go, dial this number). So coming back to my story, after that he become more angry and said some nasty things about my family. I maintained my calm and called police. There were other people gathered and listening to our fight. One elderly man stopped his car and came to me to inquire about the matter. This auto driver was still not in his senses gathering other auto drivers. The elderly man tried to tell him that don't use such language to the customers. Other auto drivers who were also there tried to stopped him from talking nonsense.

When the police came, the auto driver changed his language and told the police that he never used such language. But everybody knows how he was talking. There was this guy who was watching this from the distance came to me and told everything to the police. Police asked me that "Do I want any action against this auto driver". I said no, I just wanted to teach this auto driver a lesson so that he does talk badly to customers. Policemen asked the driver to say sorry to me. There were other auto drivers who said, we will drop you to the place.

I just wanted to share this experience so that people can know what they can do and how to deal with such crooks. They have been given license and auto rickshaw so that they can drop people to their respective destinations whenever required. But these auto rickshaw drivers taking advantage of this charge more money to the commuters and also refuse to go when we don't pay the money they wanted.

If you had similar kind of story to share, do comment or write about it.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Spammers found new way of advertising

I received a spam message which is kind of very different from other spam messages. I find it very unique and feel for those guys who are going to believe in them. It is written very personally and people tend to view it as if somebody who knew them has written it.

Below is the spam which I received:

Hello and meethi see Salaam Namaste from Vidushi

How r u dear.

Did You Know Thousands Of People Makes Lots Of Money Through "abcd.com". If You Have Ever Thought For Making Money From Internet Then You Are At Right Place @ "efgh"

If you don't believe on me just check out yourself by clicking this link "http://www.efgh.com" aur haan beleive nahi karoge to nuksan to tunhara hi hai na hehehehehehehe

ohhhh I am soooo stupid na, tum ko jaruri baat to batana hi bhul gaye regarding this company.... efgh is a training package, which will teach you work with various abcd.com based programs, from the place of your choice, from the time of your choice. efgh teach you the procedure step by step in easy way, you just have to basic knowledge of computer and Internet and above 18+ years of age.

These Program is explained in a very simple worlds and short one, All fields described step by step and to the point. We have concentrate on only actual points, means no lengthy BLAH BLAH !!! We are not using unexplained technical languages. You just have to follow the step by step directions and start earning money from abcd.

Achha haan sach, ek aur baat - if you have any question regarding this you can check out the FAQ page here http://www.efgh.com/faq.html , everything is clear there. Aur agar mere jaise budhu ho to phir support center mein call kar lena http://www.efgh.com/contact.html .....

Uff, I am talking a lot today.... I am going now

Okey bye bye tata

Vidhushi

areee i have forget one thing, you must download your free copy to understand howz this system works

ok now finally bye.... see u later

http://www.efgh.com

So this is how these spammers have found the new way of advertising. They have used certain Hindi words in here so that people who know Hindi find it personal. May be they have used local languages of other countries as well to send these spam messages. I have not used the actual company names or websites.

Beware of Spammers!!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Indian Hockey Sucks!



We gave them all our support, they gave us defeat!

This is the only thing which I can say after the Indian Hockey Team's dismal performance in the World Cup 2010. Once again they have failed to live up to our expectations. There were so many advertisements, efforts to give them all the support they want but they didn't performed. Will they still fight for their salary, will they still protest by not playing matches. Come on man what do you guys want now. You guys have wasted so much time in protesting rather than practicing hockey.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Highlights of Railway Budget

Highlights of Railway Budget (This is a copy paste stuff)


There will be no increase in the passenger fares of any class or category of trains. Freight tariffs will also remain the same for 2010-11. Service charges for e-tickets and freight charges for food-grains will be reduced. This was announced by the Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee in Parliament today (February 24, 2010) while presenting Railway Budget for the new financial year. The highlights of the Railway Budget are:


· No increase in passenger fares and freight tariffs

· Service charges on e-tickets reduced

· E-ticket vans to be extended to Government Medical College Hospitals, Courts, Universities, IT hubs, IITs and IIMs

· SMS updates of reservation status and movement of wagons

· Ticket centres to be opened at district headquarters and village panchayats

· 100% concession for cancer patients alongwith an escort

· Modern luggage trolleys with uniformed attendants to assist senior citizens and women passengers

· Six clean bottling plants to provide cheaper, clean drinking water to passengers

· 12 companies of women RPF personnel, ‘Mahila Vahini’, for the security of women passengers

· No examination fee for women, minority and economically backward class candidates for Railway Recruitment Boards’ exams

· Question papers now will be made available in local state languages besides Hindi, Urdu and English, examinations will be held on the same day in all regions

· 117 new train projects to be flagged off by the end of March 2010

· 52 long distance express trains and 28 passenger trains to be introduced

· Frequency of 12 trains will be increased and 21 trains will be extended

· Special trains to mark Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary, for ladies, for uniformed persons and for tourists

· Double-decker coaches to be introduced in two trains each from Delhi and Kolkata

· 94 stations to be upgraded as Adarsh Stations, 10 more stations to be upgraded as World Class Stations

· Automatic fire and smoke detection system to be introduced in 20 trains

· All the unmanned Level Crossings (LCs) to be manned within five years

· Rs.41,426 crore outlay proposed, allocation for new lines increased to Rs.2,848 crore from Rs.4,411 crore

· More money to improve passenger amenities – Rs.1,302 crore in comparision to Rs.923 crore in 2009-10

· Railway revenue through branding/advertising to go up from Rs.150 crore to Rs.1,000

· Special Task Force to clear investment proposals within 100 days

· Concession in freight charges for food-grains and domestic use kerosene

· Kisan Vision Project for manufacturing refrigerated containers

· Allotment of iron ore rakes would be accessible through the web. RFID technology to be introduced for tracking of wagons

· Multi-level parking complexes through PPP route

· 93 new multi-functional complexes to be developed

· National High Speed Rail Authority proposed to plan high

speed rail corridor

· Houses for all rail employees in next 10 years

· 522 hospitals, 50 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 10 residential schools, model degree colleges, technical and management institutes for railway employees

Friday, February 12, 2010

V for Victory



I am writing this post after a 3rd day of my marriage will post it later. I am sitting on my bed looking back at the things how they unfolded in front of me. It wasn't easy as our parents were against the marriage in the beginning. But then it was like a puzzle for both of us which we together solved and made everybody agreed. One of our common friend called me today and said that loving somebody is easy but marrying that somebody is difficult. I know how correct this statement is as there were so many obstructions. But gradually we fixed all of them one by one and now looking ahead for a wonderful future. I feel like I have won a war.

There are so many gifts in my room which are still to be unpacked:)

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Life in a camp-II

So I am continuing from where I left in the last post. There were so many incidence from that camp, I want to write about but don't want this post to be long.

The last night in the camp was very unusual. We were all told to sleep early, we thought Wow, no hard work tonight. But in the middle of the night as we were all sleeping peacefully, we heard a loud alarm went off. Some people were yelling "Run-Run, Fire", we actually got shocked and ran towards the crowd. Some people hid themselves in bathrooms and locked it from inside. Everywhere its chaos. Our group ran in one direction and found out at the end that it was a prank and the instructors were watching us that how we behave in such conditions. We all got surprised and gathered in a compound, there was a stage and in the middle of the night they have organized a concert in which famous singers were present. We sang and dance with them. Overall, those 10 days were memorable and a nice experience.

PS: I am getting married in 4 days, I don't know why I am writing about this. There are so many other things to think about.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Life in a camp



I don't know why I am writing this, just remembering few events from the past. Long time ago, when I completed my schooling and about to take admission in college, I attended a camp in the outskirts of Delhi. It was a 10 days camp in which I have to spend these 10 days with lots of physical activities like swimming, running, drilling, horse riding, martial arts, games, yoga, etc. and work hard to build personality. We are about 30 guys in a camp including my brother. The camp was organized in a huge farm house owned by one of the leading entrepreneurs of India. It has two football grounds (now u can imagine how big it was). There were different groups, we were the freshers there and therefore treated as juniors. We had to stay in one huge hall which was on the first floor of one of the buildings.

It was in the outskirts of Delhi, so there was lot of greenery around. Though we are juniors there but we are very strong individuals and have beaten many groups in all the activities. In the end, we were chosen as the best group among all the 6 groups.

One incident that I still remember is one of the instructor was very strict (he is a retired army man), and we as a group were having some differences with him. So he doesn't miss a chance to give us punishment and make us work hard in all the physical activities (exercises, swimming, horse riding, martial arts, etc.). Though these activities are fun but he made our life miserable. He did beat one of the guy with hunter from our group and only then we collectively came forward and saved the poor fellow. We all cried like anything in front of him and only then he stopped.

One day, we had a session of horse riding on a football ground. My turn came to control the horse and ride the nasty animal. I somehow managed to control it, but when I tried to ride it, it ran very fast. I again controlled it but then it stopped and doesn't move. It stopped under the goal post. I gave all the instructions, made all the signals to move the horse but it doesn't. I was helpless as nobody was around. Finally I got the idea to get rid of the animal. As it was standing under the goal post, I stand on horse and grabbed the pole. As soon as I gripped the pole and hang from it, horse ran towards its instructor. That was one of the funniest and most embarrassing moment of my life.

(To be continued.....)