The Mirandastics

Song for the mood: Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey - Yeh Dosti ham nahin todenge

Once upon a time there were a bunch of guys, friends for a long long time, who went to Tirupati and keeping in mind the temple traditions got their heads 'tonsured' (this is for Vijay). They always ate, played and moved together so they were quite a sight - 4 or 5 clean shaven heads walking together in a single file ... just fantastic! If you remember the old Mirinda ads you can guess by now why they were named the 'Mirandastics'.

Ok, before I proceed further, let me set the mood for this post. The Mirandastics are great friends of mine. They are quite a bunch; there is a lot of camaraderie amongst them. They are all very warm and helpful by nature. Although they speak in Telugu all the time, one of them speaks Telugu even with me (if you know them you can easily guess who it might be), and I don't understand a single word of it ... I never feel like an outsider whenever I am with them. In fact just a couple days days back I was out for a treat hosted by a Mirandastic, it was great ... :-)

Now lets get down to the bashing :-D

The Mirandastics are the most feared gang in college, yes like a true gang they always move together. They all stay on the top floor of my hostel building and you should see how scared people, especially juniors, are to go to that floor. Heck, I was scared to go to their part of the hostel before I got friendly with them.

As I said, the Mirandastics are very warm and friendly ... you can always feel their friendship. In their punches when they say 'HI'. In the punches again, when they say 'See You'. As I said, you can feel it. On these cold winter days when a Mirandastic greets me, my first reaction is a defensive stance that protects my face and stomach followed by a foot long back leap. I do say Hi, of course I do! But that's after the slight Muhammad Ali impression. Not that it helps, I still get punched. Their love especially pours out on birthdays. Birthdays bumps are served lavishly. I get kicked for just about anything. I once got kicked for getting good grades in the exam ... I was ambushed by a Mirandastic in the canteen and he along with Pranav twisted me around like merry-go-round while kicking me, at the end of which I was too dazed to realize that I had gotten close to 50 kicks! Yes, they counted. Another recent kicking was when my internship was confirmed. Very touching indeed ... :-)

The Mirandastics, apart from being a gang, are great individuals. There's Ravindra, the self-proclaimed "busiest lazy guy in the world". You always know when Ravindra is around, trust me. Plus he is a good photographer. Shashank is the quiet guy, as cool as ice. Always calm and collected no matter what the situation. Ravikanth is known as the 'Director'. He can make great videos, he has already made a few for the college. Nareen, and I have told him this, is the most mischievious guy ... and he does it so discreetly you'll never know. Rakesh looks quiet, but then he'll pull a joke on you when you least expect it. Rajashekar sleeps the whole day, wakes up at strange hours and goes to work when everyone's in neverland ... I meet him for breakfast in the morning many times ... difference being it is breakfast for me and for him it is a bedtime snack. Vikrant is the foodie. Plus he has a bike that no one except he can drive ... in fact only he can start it.

Whew! I can't write enough about these guys. The innumerable occasions playing marathon 12+ hour sessions of Call Of Duty multiplayer in the college lab would've been very dull without them. Here's a piece of advice, never put more than 3 Mirandastics in a single team when playing COD ... you'll lose. Forget the game for a bit ... the amount of antics and the edge-of-a-cliff rush that they bring to the game is fun! You can't stand in the room if you're not playing. I am not saying someone will chase you away. You'll go mad with the amount of noise! The celebrations that follow after a victory are nothing short of a battle march...

Do you know any such Mirandastics? If you don't then you are losing out on something. College life is fun when you have such folks around. They are a big part of whatever memories I carry with me when leaving this place ... if you ever get kicked so much, you won't forget either :-)

Terror Tuesdays

Song for the mood: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Tuesday's gone

Posting after a long time... actually the exams are over. The semester has ended, and with it most of what is known as college :-). Many have left for the winter to sunnier abodes (home) while some like me are still trundling to reach the exit ... translation, I got some project work left, so I can't leave for another week at the least! Woe is me...

Well, today is Tuesday. Which is one day before Wednesday - the day we live for. Okay okay, cutting out the crap, Wednesday happens to be our project meeting day ... the project for which I am staying back. Being the engineers that we are, Tuesday hence becomes the proverbial trial-by-fire, you see.

Tuesdays are sleepless ... Monday morning blues are nothing compared to Tuesday midnight terrors! Wednesday afternoon happens to be the project demo time, which naturally implies that 12 hours before the bell sounds we will be sitting in the lab integrating a piece of code into the huge software spaghetti.And as Murphy's Laws suggest, nothing will work at such a time.

Tuesdays are a test of language, personal and programming ... When a piece of code doesn't work, our nice language becomes even nicer. By the time the code (finally) starts working, like a car on bad oil, we would have exhausted the entire vocabulary. I think it is the constant shouting that makes us more tired than the code ... sleeping at 3:00 or 4:00am is a lot more satisfying than a normal sleep, I can vouch for that now...

By the time the Wednesday demos are done (worth a blog by itself) we are pissed enough to NOT work for the rest of the week. So, by the time the fire turns to a blazing inferno by Tuesday midnight the following week, the fire-fighting is ready to begin ... again ... we never manage to "go down in a blaze of glory" ... translation ... we always save our asses in the end ... :-)

As the late Ronnie Van Zandt wrote it, perfectly well ... "Tuesday's gone ... with the wind" ... see you around!

Not such a bad day after all...

Song for the mood: Dido – Thank You

The most enjoyable moments in life are impulsive. A moment is, after all, an impulse.

I’m not a big fan of Sundays, here at IIIT-B. Today was different though. We - me, Pranav and Seema - left to have dinner at Andhra Mess, at around 7:45pm. We were finished with dinner by around 8:50pm. As always we decided to walk back by the longer route to college, to have juice or milkshakes near the Infosys campus which is along the way. When we turned the corner near Andhra Mess we saw the 356C Volvo bus which goes from Electronics City to Majestic Bus Station here in Bangalore.

Pranav, and I must thank him for this, had a sudden though … “lets get on this bus and go to Forum to have ice-cream”. I said yes … so basically Seema had no choice but to come along :-D. Now, this being a Sunday, we were dressed in our best clothes; pyjamas and loose fit T-Shirts, unshaved, ruffled hair … Seema was the female equivalent of all that … top of it she was wearing rubber chappals which she felt ashamed about. I wonder why she felt people will stare at her footwear. Anyways, so we got on the bus and in 15 minutes time we were at Forum mall (on a weekdays the same route takes over one hour. I guess today was meant to be this way). We walked into this big mall, wearing something that resembles a night dress at best … so we did the right thing; we went and got a picture clicked!

It was one of those auto picture taking machines, which clicks three pictures back to back, you select the one you like best and then you can get special effects like pencil shading or charcoal shading done on it. I liked the first one, where all three of us were looking ‘not’ at the camera; but it couldn’t be captured on paper coz the machine trims the borders and that would’ve erased our faces half. So we reluctantly took the next one.

Next, was Corner House ice-cream. Then we walked back to the bus-stop, got a bus immediately, and were back in college by 11:00pm. All the while on this small escapade, Seema kept seeing at the picture every 5 minutes. Well, actually we all did … it is a special picture, that captured a special moment … the outcome of an impulse on an otherwise ordinary day.

We keep searching for moments of joy. We go to great extents to do something that will make us feel good. It is these small moments that we miss out on. A mad lil’ idea, a bunch of friends and some time on your hands … all in all a perfect end to the day … with a lot of smiles, a great picture for the record … and a sweet memory … good night!

A tale of two Diwalis

Song for the mood: Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hain - Mohd. Rafi Saahab

Yesterday, November 9 was Diwali. Big festival. Yippee.

When I was in school, diwali used to be fun! I would get up bright and early, without mum or dad having to force me out of bed. That would be followed by morning puja (I just stood quietly for the sweets), new clothes and crackers! It was also on the day of diwali, me and my pals would bunch up and visit all the houses in the society to wish them all "Happy Diwali". The motive behind doing so was to get chocolates ... yes of course. Why else would we? You see, all the folks new that kids would be coming on this particular day, so most of them would be kind and considerate enough to greet the gang with a plate of chocolates. Yes, we never really thanked anyone for the chocolates afterwards. We were always too busy trying to grab as many chocolates from the plate as we could and stuff them in our pockets. Some folks were smart, they would hand us one chocolate, individually. Some were innovative - they got sweets instead of chocolates - which we hated - becozz the whole point of this strenuous wishing exercise was to collect enough chocolates to fill up a jar atleast! What were we going to do with, sweets! Some folks would get a whole plate of snacks and wonder why none of us would even touch it ... god! Couldn't they understand the difference between chocolates and snacks? I remember the one house we would all visit the last in line, coz the lady of the house would give us bananas. Not chocolates. Not sweets. Bananas. What was she expecting us to do? Jump in the air, scratch our armpits and ape our ancestors? Whew! Anyways, I always managed to gather atleast 45-50 pieces of candy by the end of it all. Needless to say, it would last only 5 days at the most after that ... :-P

Well, this year, I, for one had the most uneventful diwali possible.

I woke up at 10:00am. Had a fever the whole previous night, couldn't sleep a wink. Got up, went out for breakfast with Pranav. By the time we got back from breakfast it was almost 12:00pm. Hardly the time to have breakfast! By 1:30pm we again headed out, this time for lunch. We had to go out, since the college caterer was on leave ... and our food-committee didn't bother informing us ... so we had to go out. You can imagine what I am about to write ... yes, every restaurant, every joint was closed. Luckily for us one small joint was open where I ate some tomato-rice, with nariyal chatni. Trust me, not a good combo. We walked back to the college, then decided to go to the nearest bakery to purchase some biscuits - for the fear that joints might be closed again. There we realized that the food-joint atop the bakery, is open. So we had lunch again ... courtesy our very good friends, the 'mirandastics'. I came back to my hostel room at around 3:00pm ... and slept. I slept like a log! Must have been the lack of sleep in the past 2-3 days. Anyways, I got up around 7:00 or 7:30pm ... and then headed for dinner ... to the trusty food joint open on a diwali day. Back to room ... watched a movie ... 'Legend of Drunken Master' - Jackie Chan special. It was pretty good. And that was how diwali ended.

Maybe next year, diwali will be ... diwali. If not then I'll get something more to blog about ... either ways ... Happy Diwali!

You've got Mail ... Hate Mail...

Song for the mood: Carl Douglas - KungFu Fighting

No I can't do any kungfu. I can't even make the right kind of noise, you know the kind of, ''eeyaaaah!" or "whuaaan" sound that kungfu fighters make. I think it is the sound that confuses the opponent ... as soon as the guy makes that noise the opponent goes, "...where is that sound coming from... maan, u must have an upset tummy!" :-P The next thing he knows, *BAM*, he has a fist in his face... off to la la land... seeing stars am seeing stars!

Well, I actually want to share an extremely funny incident that happened with me about 2 months back. I had promised myself I would not make fun of this one ... but it is too damn freakin' funny! Plus I was kind of pushed to do this... ;-D I am in the senior year of the MTech course, at IIIT Bangalore. As a senior I could've opted for a teaching assistantship, but chose not to having seen the plight of my own seniors... he he. But, being an 'enthusiastic' chap (sheesh), I would generally help out the other TAs in their work. So one fine day I ended up assessing a certain Database Design assignment for a few of the groups from my junior batch.

In one of those groups was this certain Mr. A (A for ass, though I would prefer to call him R for retarded or D for dumb), the protagonist of this story. I'll be honest, Mr. A and his group did not such a great job of their assignment - and after spending more than an hour explaining them the little mistakes and faults in their analysis, design, approach, assumptions etc etc, Mr. A said, "This can't be wrong! I can't be wrong!" Ahem, buddy, it wasn't the time to be the king ... I asked him for his objections, and I'll be honest here, I answered every single one of his questions ... but ... Mr. A was kinda pissed off, I don't know at what though! Was he mad at me or was it the fact that he hadn't taken a piss for over 3-4 hours ... not kiddin', whenever I spot him in college he has the same retarded, piss-urgent look on his face! I was sure he wasn't gonna let this one go, but what he did after the next 2-3 days, was ... legendary!!

I gave him a borderline 4.0 outta 10.0 for his work; he had scored only 2.5; I kinda upped it. Some other groups that I assessed did pretty well: 4.5, 5.5 and 7.5 ... pretty good scores, considering many of them were from non computing backgrounds in their under grad engineering. After the TA revealed the grades in class ... I got a hate-mail the very next day ... The following are the contents of the 'great' mail ... and though I was kinda taken aback and sort of confused when I read it ... the first time I fell of my chair ... the reason being the splendid english. Read it yourself :-)

hi ....

Actually last night i have got my marks of DBMS test, when i saw my marks that was not "unusual"....but it becomes unusual when i saw other groups marked by you ...specially when i saw the highest marks given by you. You have just given them apprx 2 times that my group is having....which makes me below the average.

If u are a intellectual person ..then i think i m having freedom to ask that WHETHER THAT GROUP WORK WAS SO GOOD THAT YOU JUST GIVE THEM DOUBLE THE MARKS THAT U HAVE GIVEN TO MY GROUP.

There are no groups which is having this much of variance as group assesed by you are having..between the heighest and lowest marks.

As i m the looser one (as i m below the average) so now i m requesting u to send me a ER-DIAGRAM of library management system...so that i can make me satisfy that i have been judged in right way. Bcoz i have taken reference to a standarad book for making that ER...ofcourse this was not satisfying your view

Again for some minutes i do not think to mail you ....but thinking if marks has been disclosed ..that is for the reson that if u are having complain u can put with your assesmenter...thats why i m mailing you.

One more thing this mail be annoying for you ...but thinking this also, i m sending this mail to you simply to give me satisfaction whether i was really that much WORST on that day.

I m in wait for ur ER Diagram of library management system.....to assess this time to myself by of my own. One thing i m saying u very frankely that i will see to which % it satifies my view and practical view and how far was my ER Diagram

thks
- Mr. A

Wow ... finally I had a hate mail! I replied to this, indecipherable mail, assuming that he was pissed off about his marks. I told him to get his assignment, the 'reference' book (he kept talking about some unnamed reference book the whole time during his assessment, as if it was some Database Bhagvad Gita) and we'll solve the whole sum again. Then he can compare for himself. Ok, for the benifit of all, this is the mail I wrote to him, in reply ...

Can you come and meet me? I am in room 133 in college.

If you want some help, or you have some doubts, you can come and ask face to face. Mailing doesn't solve anything. Get the reference book and whatever else you want to ... and get your own ER diagram also.

I can understand your concern, it was not such an easy test. I was only trying to help, but I guess you don't think so. Plus, your comment about the grades that other groups have gotten is being unfair to them, most of them put in a lot of effort and got in a lot of functionality.

PS: Your mail has not really pissed me off, even with all the underlines and bold letterings so you'll have to try harder than that

But, Mr. A chose to mail back! This is the reply I got ... again ... an example of excellent english ... read on!

ok...

I got the thing of which i was in need of.

Now i m having no doubt ..and as per the matter of your help is concerned ... ....all sentence told by you and all suggetions given by u are totally in my mind ....so...i do not think on my side there is anything like that........

I will meet you..but not at this time ....if u do not have any problem... you just give me a time when i can find you on your room.

Now i m thinking i do not have to write those all.....nd i m assuring you ....i will not be having need to try harder than that......because there are very few situations when any things happens unexpected for me.......b'coz...I know my limits nd weakness and i do not expect any thing beyond my limit.

Though i was not mean to make u off...but if it makes u so...sry for that ....just plz give me the time when i can meet u at your room.........i am not meeting you in college again as i know my limits ..nd weakness..

I swear, I still haven't understood a single word of what he really wanted to say! Mr. A didn't stop at this ... he came over to my room in the evening and ... fought again. For the sake of communicating, I was speaking to him in Hindi, but, being the scholarly English orator that he is, he was replying all the while in English ... and I was trying my level best not to laugh in his face while he was talking. C'mon! I'm not a sicko!

By later that night, Mr. A had already spread some rumors about me, and the possible reasons as to why I gave 'more' marks to another group. I had a terrible time in college the next few days, with obscure looks from people and all sorts of weird questions. I don't give a damn about all that, but it was pretty irritating at the time ... of course it was!

Well, Mr. A got a warning of sorts from the TAs ... of every subject ... I must thank my classmates and friends for this ... they rallied behind me and got the mess cleared. The mails that he sent me very nearly made it to the principal, but I didn't do that. Didn't want to spoil the entire class' image for one dickhead.

Mr. A (lets make that A for asshole now) is pissed even now... and his face has gone from piss-urgent to constipated in the past two months... :-D He and his equally dumbass pals smile and mutter under their breath every time they spot me in college. It happened a couple hours back when I was coming back from lunch. Whew ... some never learn ...

Hmmm ... thats it ... :-)

The Big Journey...

Song for the mood: Musafir Hoon Yaaron - Kishore Da

The third semester of MTech, here at IIIT Bangalore, is nearing its end with less than a month to go. The way the curriculum goes, this is the unofficial end of MTech college life; next semester most of us 125 will head for 6 month internships in companies, some of us will choose to undergo a short 6 month thesis in the college itself. So no more lectures, no assignments, no boring classrooms etc etc although that's not what I want to write about at this time.

I am opting for a thesis ... seems the better option of the two ... experimental, crazier whatever more you could call it :-) Jokes apart, a master's course, I feel, is a complete course only when you attempt some work of your own. Given all the skepticism that goes along with this option - well the final outcome of it is not the point of contention. It's about making a choice and living up to your word, stickin' with it! Over the past semester, I have spent a lot of time, thinking about, what next? ... where is life going? ... What is it that I really want to do in life? And the answer has always been different, a different 'no answer'. Is it because I don't really know, or is it because I want to do too many things ... I have no clue. I have never felt at home doing anything, even the few things that I am good at ... I wonder if there is a way to find out, what am I made for?

Yes, I want to do a lot of things, different things. I am scared of the feeling of getting stuck at a place in my life doing a single thing over and over. A couple of friends with whom I have shared this, back in undergrad engg days, felt I was being paranoid. Maybe paranoia is what I am good at then! Sheesh!

I really do want to do many things; c'mon! there is so much to know, so much that we don't understand, so much that affects us but we hardly acknowledge it so. There is so much to see in this world - different things, distant places, diverse cultures - the melting pot, that is this world, with its million flavors and the great big cook in the sky churning it slowly - seems so appetizing ... ermmm ... ok, exciting :-D How can we afford to miss out?

And then there are my own dreams. A big set! And I keep adding to it everyday. Just yesterday, I felt that no matter what, I should study music. I really like music, so why not? Some other want-to-do things are like:

1. An expedition to mount everest - the top of the world!
2. One cross country cycling escapade, through forests, streams, hills, valleys
3. A rock show - not attending - performing!
4. Write a book - god knows what about - just want to...
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. Get six-pack abs ... given my laziness that seems a bit of a problem ... but will see what can be done ;-D

Can't say where life is taking me. Sometimes feel I think too much. Sometimes feel I think none at all; I should be more decisive. Sometimes feel I should stop thinking. Maybe I'll always remain this confused - maybe someday life will sort itself out and I'll find the one thing that I am made for; but maybe then life will become very boring. If the traveler finds the destination, the journey's gonna halt. I don't know if I'm ready to stop ... hell, I haven't even started.

From the song I believe, by Joe Satriani:

I've been out walking for hours. I've got something on my mind.
How did we get here? where are we going? And why is life so hard?

I read the stories, see the photographs. Worlds in a crazy space.
I've got to hold on to my dreams; Theres just no other place.

I believe We can change anything.
I believe We can rise above this.
I believe Theres a reason for everything.
I believe In my dreams...

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Song for the mood: Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2

Ya, I know this politically charged, rebel song by the best band in the world (although that's not the topic here) is not the message or topic of discussion here, but it conveys what I want to say in one line - why oh why, do we have Sundays???

My condition on a typical weekday is like a train-wreck. I get out of bed on Monday mornings thinking, "How should I avoid getting screwed in college this week?" I'm serious! It is like a single day from Monday morning 8:00am to Saturday evening 5:00pm - and then comes along Sunday to gimme false hopes of peace and serenity.

Take the example of last week; I was on the top of the world on Tuesday morning when I could complete an assigned coding job in perfect time! But come Wednesday the first question prof asked was, "Have you finished integrating it with the script of the other group?" Waaaaaaaah? I didn't even know they were writing a script! And this happens every single day! I, spent 2 days, 2 damn freakin days, trying to understand a non-documented piece of software, wrote an extension to it (ya, I admit, it wasn't really a big deal, but gimme some space) and what do I get in exchange? ...

The entire week is a civil war - remnants of a bombed city ... broken buildings, blood-stained streets, a stench of gunpowder in the air ... an eerie silence runs across the landscape. In a corner, near a wreckage of a house that once was, under broken concrete and steel hides a person, fear in his eyes, praying for his mortal life to last one more day ... just one more day he pushes his hopes ahead ... soon the war would end. But he is about to be disappointed ... for he has been spotted! They've found him ... no no no!!! The powers that be shall put another one to the trial ... a trial by fire! There is no escape! It is a Sunday again, today, and I am making all the efforts in the world ... to not feel too good. The battle begins tomorrow ... so as they say ...

"How long, how long must we sing this song... how long, how long .... "

Rock ain't dead

Song for the mood: For those about to rock (We salute you) - AC/DC

I remember my first listen into real rock . It was the song Elevation by U2. Although I must say at the time I was more impressed by the video and by Angelina Jolie … I am still a big fan of both :-)

Yeah, I am all for rock music. The rock n' roll, the edgy hard rock, psychedelic, progressive etc you name it. If it has a groove and it feels good to the ears then I will like it. Rock wasn't always the same to me though.

When I was in school, Backstreet Boys were the biggest stars in the world, as far as I was concerned. They were the only band. It was the time when I held the garbage dished out, by Britney and Christina, in very high regard. Theirs were the only songs on TV. For those few years, even Enrique was a rock-star. I sincerely believe, now, it was destiny's way of telling me, "Here boy, listen carefully. This is the kind of music you shouldn't be hearing".

Then one summer, Summer of 69 fell on ears. Bryan Adams became the man! I still think he is good. But that was a different time, about 8 years back. It was my first taste of music that resembles rock in some form. Bryan Adams' soft rock tunes were a big relief from all the nonsense N Sync with their stupid hair-cuts was dishing out on TV.

The day came, when 'Elevation' finally happened. I saw these 4 guys, with instruments, in a video! Playing instruments? Only one guy singing? Impossible! Plus I could actually feel myself headbanging every time I heard the singer go, "Eh... lah... va… tionn!". Mind blowing! My whole world of music came crashing down that very moment! U2, my gods, finally had come to my rescue.

I heard the album Joshua Tree not too long after that. The first song: Where The Streets Have No Name, the moment The Edge started playing the riff which I personally believe is the greatest riff in rock history… I felt a punch… like somebody put his fist in my stomach. When Bono started singing over Larry's drums it was like getting my face smashed on a brick wall. I couldn't believe there was music of this sort! Rebellious. Chaotic. Powerful. It was an instant connection!

"I wanna run… I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls that hold me inside
I wanna reach out, and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name…"

God! And compare that to the stuff I was listening to! Take the case of a standard video/song; "I wanna do thisssss, I wanna do thaaaaat" every last word was pulled for no reason. The singer would be standing with face in the camera, to show how clean his or her nose is, and then trying to add facial expressions – lowered eyes, slowly nodding neck, curling up the lips etc Every time they didn't know what to sing, they would add a 'Yeah!' or 'Oooh!' as a filler. With all their efforts, the most they managed to look was constipated. And the song would be about nothing most of the time...

And here was this song! I didn't care what the singer looked like. It wasn't their song, it was everybody's song. It didn't matter who you were, you heard the song and you knew this was about you. It was what you wanted to shout out for so long. You could be standing with you hands in your pocket, you could be just nodding your head to the tune, maybe doing a little jig, even throwing your hands wildly in the air every time the song tempo changed, it didn't matter! It didn't matter if anyone was watching you when you were dancing to the powerful beat. In your mind you were running fiercely, chasing the wind, pulling the clouds down, grabbing a storm by its tail, breaking a mountain with your bare feet … it was all that and yet very real.

Soon other rockers followed. Everyone has their own style. Pink Floyd does it with rich big-band music – Gilmour's guitar and Water's lyrics can make you feel nauseas and crazily happy at the same time. Aerosmith is all out wild! AC/DC keep it so simple that you just can't comprehend it. But you'll dance to that music till you drop on the floor, and still be waving your hands and feet. Led Zeppelin is mystical – they aren't playing in a studio or on stage – it is a forest with demons and ghosts, and they are all dancing to Led Zeppelin's songs. Red Hot Chili Peppers are an enigma; you never know what they are trying to tell you in a song. Radiohead and Coldplay make me go dizzy! The Police are the strangest; you listen to the same song three times in a row and you'll understand three different things. Deep Purple, The Who, The Eagles … I can go on and on. There are so many more!

But there is one thing common to all; they are not singing for you and me, but it is still our song. It's been four or five years since I got pulled into this world or rock. And I am only enjoying it more and more everyday. Rock is not dead. It is still alive in all of us … it is not about the song it never was. It is about the passion … the rebellion … the happiness within you. It just needs a song to make us feel all that…

Rain

Song(s) for the mood: U2 - Electrical Storm / Billie Myers - Kiss the Rain

A lil poem of my own, an ode to the rains...

I stare through the window
At the clear blue sky
A lonely cloud smiles at me
A lonely ranger passing by

My eyes see the shining sun
But my sight is lost in time
The lone traveler of the heavens
Reminds of a forgotten rhyme

The voice of a lonely mind
The words of a different season
The beat of a laughing heart
For a soul asking for a reason

The heavens sensed my feelings
The gods arose with a thunder
The onset of my gospel
Greeted with a drop of wonder

The song had just begun
Nature gave me a stage
Millions more poured in attendance
From the skies now dark with rage

The wind carried my words away
across the fields swaying in glee
to the mountains wrapped in silken mists
wrapped them around every tree

They danced in the rivers
on the song of a lost love
Poured from the eye, of the storm,
of the angel crying above

Her tears fell on my mortal being
Dousing my flaming anger
She flew down from the heavens
To Join me witnessing nature's wonder

As we watched the earth in a rapture
I shivered in her spiritual bliss
She put her arms around me
And held me in an undying kiss

I wished to hold on that moment
I hoped it would stay undone
When the heavens conspired
To give me a reason

The song was over in that moment
Gone were the millions
The storm faded with a silent scream
Left a collage of brilliance

Then I watched the last moments
of nature's artistic splendour
She waved from the top of the rainbow
Then left with the lonely ranger

This is what happens if you talk bad about google...

Song for the mood: Yeh Kya Hua - Kishore Da

Sunday, August 18, the fateful day.

I was chatting with a few friends till about 12:00pm ... on GTalk. After that I went out for lunch. At lunch I was finding faults with google - this and that - some petty things ... :-P

The following are the series of events that took place after that:

• 1:30pm - back from lunch
• 1:45pm - I realize I can't sign into GTalk
• 1:50pm - I can't even sign into my gmail account
• 1:55pm - My friends can't seem to mail anything on my google ID
• 2:00pm - Conclusion - the ID is gone :-O ...
• 2:30pm - I get the feeling I have a cold
• 5:00pm - My nose and throat is blocked completely due to the cold
• 6:00pm - Friend tells me over the phone, "ur voice sounds like a frog is stuck in ur windpipe"
• 9:00pm - High fever

So, if u talk bad about google ... this is what can happen to you too. I dunno how they did it? Ok, maybe they picked up my voice with some freakish new satellite they might have launched in space, secretly, when I was talking bad about google. But ... how did they gimme a cold and a fever ... how?

If you disbelieve this then you'll go bald, a dog will piss on your foot, and you'll have a frog the size of Yokozuna challenge you to a sumo match.

Moral of the story: Don't talk bad about google

(Well, someone deleted my google account. I dunno who and why. The series of events described above is, however, completely true and not imaginary crap ... the reasons, however, well that depends on your perspective ... :-) ...)

Mysterious events... and the first post

Song for the mood: Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Hello,

This wasn't meant to be my first post. But some sad life creature deleted my old google account yesterday when I was away for lunch. Doesn't bother me much ... I made myself a new one :D

So, this is my blog now ... threechordsoflife ... some of the best guitarists ever, could twist just them shitty little three chords around and make magic! Ya, I play a bit of the guitar ... I prefer to think I am a lot better than I really am :P ... and life as of know revolves around these three chords - music, madness and friends ... :)

I am a student, staying away from home. Life is good here in the hostel. I got a group of equally insane friends ... and lotsa lil' things make a great day - jokes, noise, dances (expect Johnny Lever not Michael Jackson), LAN games, drowsy lecture halls, great professors (role models), boring food, overdue assignments, excuses for work (or the lack of it) etc etc ...

I miss Ghar Ka Khaana, my parents and my sis ... something I realized after moving to the hostel more than a year back ... different city too ... so am always eager looking for a trip back home. Another thing: Mumbai rulzz ... Wada Paav rocks! Better not argue with me about this one. Period. :-)

So, this is the first post ... looking forward to posting regularly ... seeya around!!