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Olympics, Washington DC - Baltimore trip, Beverly Hills, Movies and more

Time to say Hi! Those who are visiting this space, and still don't find anything new, Thanks, and do hop in at least once in a month. You might find something new in store! With that said, I am making a conscious effort to keep the blog space going, at least with these one or two posts a month.

Its been a totally totally amazing time and lots of events since my last post. True to its spirit, the 2008 Olympics in China kept the promise of being the greatest show in the planet and no doubt, astounding and outstanding with its scale of magnificence, glamor, participation, logistics. It kept me 'wowed' for a long time. There are two important people, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. Phelps, made records of all sorts by winning a cool 8 gold medals, the most by anyone in a single Olympics, and totalling his career gold medals to 14, the most by any participant so far. Bolt, landed up becoming the faster runner in the earth, by breaking the 100m, 200m and 4x100 m relay records. On an improvement note, India ended with 3 medals in the Olympics.Credits to Susheel and Vijendar after Abhinav's gold.

And my long weekend was really cool and went really long - began on Aug 28 and ended on Sept 2, took an extra 2 days off from work. I made my first trip to the east coast of the US. It took a 6 hour flight journey to get over there.I visited my sister's family Baltimore, and visited Washington DC and Virginia. Most important attractions I visited include:
Washington DC - Capitol Building, White House, Eternal flame of Kennedy in Arlington National Cementary, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Memorial and its reflecting pool that is close by. Also various other buildings and Smithsonian museums, from the top of our hop on- hop off bus, if seeing them from outside, is counted in. Most importantly, the best part was the Spy Museum is Washington. Its one of its kind, with a really unique experience that a conventional museum wouldn't offer you. If you visit DC, I'd say, don' t miss it, and don't forget to thank me, once you did :-) Also we just took a drive in and around Baltimore and inner harbor area.

Following the long weekend, on the next Saturday, one of my friends had come down to LA from Orange county, a close by (=30 miles) area. We took a crazy drive all around and finally we decided to roam around Beverly Hills. It was a great place, with awesome houses and roads. We then came to Rodeo Drive, the shopping hub of Beverly Hills. This was a revelation to me, I never visited this area in the last 3 months and the designer shops, the crowd and the wow factor just captivated me. Porsche, Ferrari, Benteley, and whatever brands you name it, chances are that you find in and around the streets of Rodeo drive.

On the Movies front, I watched some really cool movies, My Cousin Winnie, being one of them. Its an early 90s comedy movie. If you haven't, I recommend you watch it. On a family/ drama genre, there's another movie August Rush, which you may not want to miss. It's a 2006 release, did fairly well at the Box Office, nevertheless, a movie that will put you in tears towards the end. Its about a 12 year old boy on his quest to find his parents through music - the story is fairy tale ish, but trust me, once you are into, it captivates you till the end.

Coming to Bollywood, I saw these: Singh is Kingg (My Rating: Okay), Rock on (My Rating:Good), A Wednesday (My Rating:Excellent), Aamir (My Rating:Very Good) and in Tamil, these: Jeyamkondan (My Rating:Very Good), Dhaam Dhoom (My Rating:Okay). Out of all these, I'd say don't miss watching "A Wednesday", its simply brilliant. Outstanding. One of the finest ones I've seen in recent days, with its screen pace, razor sharp play and the best of all - A Wednesday has two of the finest theatre actors in India, Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher, as its protagonists.

Where are our other Abhinavs?

There is an interesting up, close and personal article about Abhinav Bindra in rediff; check that out! Okay, by now, you would have read the numerous articles about Abhinav, his parents, his accolades, his back problem and commando training, his commitment, 0.5 mm 10 m range rifle sport, rewards etc.

My mood turned to a real contemplative mode when I read in his blog a really mature and humble post, titled The day after!!!!!!!!!!! Boy, what a simplicity! His way of looking things at a broader perspective, at this euphoric moment when people stopped worrying about other sports and events in olympics,,Just am excerpt from that below:

I would like to reiterate that everyone who represents India at the Olympic
Games has put in years of toil and sweat. I ask the Indian people to support our
athletes more. It is fine to celebrate our achievements but it is just as
important to keep up the backing when we are not on top of our game.It is
important for India to do better at Olympic sport as these are the true measure
of a nation's sporting depth. I wish more private initiatives come up with
corporate support apart from the backing of the government. The joy that the
nation feels at my win is humbling. I just wish that this is repeated more and
more often.With our depth of talent and expanse of people I firmly believe India
can be a world-class sporting power. What we need are precise systems. I will
try to do my bit at grooming the next generation. I would like to appeal to each
Indian to also do their bit in prodding us out of sporting complacency.

On a separate note, read this. This is an old article by Rohit Brijnath, or rather I would say, an appeal for a coach, after assessing his potential to make big in his chosen field at a nascent stage. And in response, an article hosted by a Singapore Indian, to meet the hefty sum of coaching, and infrastructure. Just few months back, in this article

Still, till a couple of months back Bindra Sr would crib about the lukewarm
response from the government agencies for his son. The family organised on its
own the funds required for his training, in addition to support from the LN
Mittal Champion Trust.

And now, see what. . Scores of CMs have annouced rewards, summing to 17 million plus Indian rupees, BCCI rewarding 25 Lakhs, a lifetime free rail pass in AC First class by apna Lalu jee, life time free air travel by a domestic airliner in India - the doling out of huge incentives, all this at a time when he really, doesn't need them the most...This can be best said, in one single word in English language - irony - that precisely and aptly brings the essence of the moment...

But lo behold, its the time to publicity - individuals and corporates alike are 'capitalizing' the opportunity - sharing one is associated how, some with nostalgic accounts, in a bid to tantrum oneselves. Indian Inc., but you didn't have resources to spare a mere $500 for a coach for the same person few years back.

The team's Hungarian coach Laszlo Szucsak, it is said, has gone to coach Japan
because India couldn't afford to pay him US$500 or whatever more a month. But
they can spend Rs 50 crore on hospitality for foreign athletes at the Afro-Asian
Games!!!!

And also read this. Okay, Abhinav hails from an affluent family, and his family has invested in him and nurtured his never say die spirit. Thats good, not all rich families do that, in the sense, investing crores in an outcome that one never knows. Hadn't there been any support at all, many others would rather shattered their determined kids to bring them into their family businesses. .And think about those other Abhinavs who are just unnoticed and left as stones unturned...In Abhinav's own words, a billion people deserve not one but 40 gold medals. India Inc. , are you listening?

India's first ever Olympic Gold Medal by an individual

Olympics has started!!! I missed watching the inaugural ceremony on August 8 as I went on a weekend outing to Orange County, and the weekend went awesome. More on that later to give priority to what you are going to read next.

The day this day - August 10, 2008, is a golden day, bringing a golden news for India - a Gold medal by Abhinav Bindra in the 10 m Air Rifle shooting.

This is a historic moment for us, Indians, for winning the first ever ever individual Gold medal in Olympics. (The last time India won a gold medal was at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 in men's field hockey) I am happy today, more happy than I would have been during India's victory of 1983 cricket World cup, a time when I wasn't born. For a country with the population of a billion, winning a first ever gold medal calls for a billion celebration. If you are kind who asks whats the big deal, see coutries like USA, Russia, and China; or isn't it embarrasing to call (y)our first ever gold medal, sorry I am in no position to agree or argue and reason out our factilities, infrastructure, coaching, how we should improve etc. I am in khushi mode now, so lets/ let me celebrate :-)

And don't forget to watch the video in youtube or in any one of the scores of news videos.

Aamir Khan's blog

Celebrities' blogs are catching up in the blogosphere. And so are Indian celebrities too.
Certainly Aamir Khan raises your eyesbrows with his regular footprints in the blogosphere. He actually claims to write all the post himself, and yes, they do appear from his own. Also he reads his comments and replies them (some, of course!). Want to see his blog? His writing is nice, fresh and lively. You get to see other facets of Aamir. Do visit once, if you get a chance.
BTW I read most of his posts, and believe me, they kept giving me a Wah wah experience. He expresses his frank opinion in his writing, in posts like "Olympic Torch Relay" (dated 01-april-08), where he supports the spirit of sportsmanship that is beyond the realms of borders and conflicts. I truly appreciate his style of writing and the reasoning that showcases his innate streaks of intellectuality.
Way to go, Aamir. But do act in more and more movies. We want to see you more!
PS: BTW I watched Jaane Tu..Ya Jaane Na..; it was one helluva nice movie. I totally totally loved the lead characters - Imran Khan (Rats) and Genelia (Meow).. Both of them did a fantastic job!

Naga Naresh Karuturi

Inspiring, I must say..Naga Naresh Karuturi is a star in my eyes - Hats off to you!
Want to know More? Read this and this.

In Los Angeles now!

Yes, the blog is alive, or I hope so. Or take this as my feeble attempt to revive with this post. There are too too many things from the past 4 months to update on the blog:

Work wise, I am on a relocation spree. I am now here in Los Angeles in the US of A! Came here a month and a half back. My UK deputation is over - so no more it is London or Oxford. After a year long stay in London, I went to Oxford on work. My Oxford deputation was quick, for 2 months and after a very memorable stay, I returned to India during April looking work deliverables from my Chennai office. Offy gave me a comfy accomodation in one of their guest houses in the Besant Nagar area of Chennai; a furnished air conditoned room with Tata Sky TV, in the hot summer of Chennai - I couldn't have asked for more.! It was fun to meet friends after a long time and spent almost every other weekend hanging out with them. And then there was this Besant Nagar beach that used to be my regular night walk post the Kulfi sessions at a beachside shop near there. To add more spice, there was a project outing to Kodaikanal with 25 people! That was a real blast with some awesome pictures for a memorable album. After about a month's stay in Chennai I went to my hometown in Karaikudi for a quick 3 weeks vacation. And then after a client call and a quickie interview, I was chosen to be a Business Analyst with a media research client of TCS, based out of Hollywood. I had to pack my bags (& suitcases) - which have been my constant travel companions since my London days.. I started in the 3rd week of June to Los Angeles via Singapore and Tokyo. [Singapore's Changi airport is amazing, totally picturesque and really admirable.] Finally I arrived LAX (LA's international airport) after a long and tiresome journey.

Got into one of my colleagues house. Its an apartment in a nice housing community. Has got what all one [I] would need - 3 swimming pools, spa, sauna, gym, community room! Looks like outside the house, I am into a holiday resort (at least by desi standards).

On the leisure part during weekends, it's been really cool all these days. First weekend flied away with my jet lag blues and the following weekend (the Independence day long wknd), I went with my cousin, who is in LA, to a camping site near SFO. It was a 8 hour drive and in the camp, it was all fun with around 35 odd adults and kids (most of them my relatives) and with no electicity and amenities. The third weekend, I visited the Universal studios and Santa Monica beach. Universal city and the studios were a revealation - you must really visit it once to truly appreciate its one of its kind Unversal Tour in their signature tram. The weekend next went on a sight-seeing tour in and around LA - downtown, Hollywood, Sunset etc. Only the last weekend I was totally free - sitting in home and watching movies - absolute bliss!

Sujatha

Sujatha (pen name of S. Rangarajan), one of the icons of contemporary Tamil Literature, has passed away. He was 72, and is survived by his wife and two sons. A Multifaceted personality, with engagements to name a few: Scientist, Engineer, Science Fiction Writer, Novelist, Columnist in weekly and daily publications and movie script writer, all in diverse fields. He is most popularly accredited as the man behind the Electronic Voting machines (EVMs) during his tenure with BEL (Bharat Electronics Ltd) when he headed the team that designed it. Sujatha is a rare gem from the science fraternity who is known for communicating complex and hard to understand science behind things through simple and lucid writing to the audience. Also he has penned about 100 novels and hundreds of short stories. Personally I liked his book, an Ananda Vikatan publication, 'yaen ? yedarkku? yeppidi?' (translates to what? why? how?). Interestingly, he is equally an authority in the kollywood (Tamil movie Industry) too with a number of projects. As far as I remember he wrote scripts from Indian (one of Kamalhassan's biggest hits) to Mudhalvan and Sivaji, to name the latest. His last creative venture was with Shankar's mega project, Robo. Sadly, he passed away before its completion.

Sujatha shall stay alive in the minds of readers with his writing and works. May his soul rest in peace.

Blah, blah and Blah.......

So I've got to update this.. I've been on a long sojourn..and a lot laziness + boredom + lack of enthu didn't really kind make me open this. But anyways here are the updates: Workwise okay okay and I've moved to a new place - Oxford for my next assignment. After a week long [passive] house hunting, I just got one. So that calls for a celebration here and so this post :-)
More to follow at its own pace. So watch this space...!!!
p.s: A new mobile phone purchase is on the hold. Updates to follow

HAPPY NEW YEAR

If you are reading this and if this still is the month of January (irrespective of the year!), accept my New Year/Pongal/ Sankranti/ whatever applicable wishes.

I've made a trip to Chennai after 11 long months - Chennai is very much the same, only that traffic (both human and automobile) has gone denser than ever. The first sight that pleasantly welcomed me outside Anna International Airport were Chennai's swarming queue of adorable Taxi drivers and Autokaarars. One look at the Ambassador cars - both White ones and Black-(top)yellow ones realised me how dearly I missed them in the UK. And also our affectionate and welcoming mosquitoes.

My vacation was originally for 2 weeks and now its been extended. I've planned to take some rest and am glad that I'd be here for some more time...So far my holidays went okay okay. Lots of interim alachal (for the Tamil challenged, this translates to 'wandering locally') and two trips to Chennai within 2 weeks. Did nothing productive though. Fell sick with cold and coughh in my native place and almost back to form now. Didn't check Internet for a long while (= 2 weeks) - hence the delay in blogging or orkutting and or facebooking.

There are lots to do - need to learn few chettinad and quickie dishes that might come handy, have to see Taare Zameen Par and I am Legend. Regd Tamil movies, I am upto date - Billa, Kalluri et al have been covered while in London itself. Billa is okay - stylish, chic and racy, but lacks in substance. Same story and not even a minor change in the plot. Billa - the earlier, was class and the new one falls down vis a vis the old Billa. However, Billa the new is trendsetter in kollywooed in terms of camera, action and stunts..

Running out of time in the browsing cafe. So........See you soon in my next post!

Facebook

I've been in Facebook for quite sometime, but mostly as an inactive member. Just recently I started exploring and playing around and importantly building network...The motivation started with my some of my facebook colleagues prompting me to check this often..And that its cool! It looks quite different than orkut (where I am quite active).. but the only hands-down in facebook is adverts, little font and too many [default] feeds that are annoying.. I know one can change the preferences - but still I wonder if it is REALLY necessary to display a feed if someone has updated an alphabet somewhere in the profile!
Anyways, I've taken few cool quizzes there - one of them is a friends character quiz. You answer 10 odd questions and it maps you to a character or characters in the friends tv show. I got mapped to Joey! BTW did I tell you? I just bought the DVD for all the 24 episodes of friends season 1..I haven't seen the first season and it was good catching up the first series..

2nd Anniversary

Hey..Hey..Hey!!!

Just realised that it's a significant milestone for my not-so-significant-blog - MY SCRIBBLING. The blog has stood the test of time with its passive author and it has [un] successfully completed 2 YEARS!!!

Anyways, yours truly has 3 movies to add for finished-watching-this-movie-list: they are Katradhu Tamil, Azhagiya Tamil Magan and Jab We met. Katradhu Tamil (கற்றது தமிழ்)is an off the beat movie and presents a very different story with actor Jeeva doling out a seasoned performance. No doubt, the role of Prabhakar will elevate him to new heights. Pats to him and the director. The only downside is Katradhu Tamil has gore, violence and a sad climax, that goes against conventional Tamil movie viewers. Nevertheless, as publicised it isn't a feel bad movie either. If you want to see something different from the masala and duet movies, I would say, go for it.

Next, Azhagiya Tamil Magan (அழகிய தமிழ் மகன்) is a regular masala movie, only that Vijay appears in double role is new! But otherwise, the movie is nothing great. If you just want a timepass without caring for logic, yes, you can tolerate ATM. Otherwise, I've had heard many folks with comments such as 'intolerable, 'முடியல' (I can't...), 'நான் அழுதுடுவேன்' (Do you want me to cry?), 'ஏன் இந்த விளையாட்டு' (Why do you want to game?) etc. I already forgot the £'s I used for multiplex ticket and return cab (it was a late show) - sunk cost!

Jab We Met (जब वी मेट ), is a feel-good movie with an amazing on screen chemistry between Shahid and Kareena. You may have the de' javu of Hinidi movies like Kitne Door Kitne Paas ; but overall the movie presents a whiff of freshness. Kareena is cute and with her chatterbox role has given one of her best performances till date. Shahid is good; I did feel for the first time he is good in dancing too. Go for it!

Schindler's List and Shawshank Rdemption

Schindler's List

This is one touching movie which I saw on DVD yesterday. If you are the kind who likes emotion, suffering and pain in the backdrop of a war, you would like it. Schindler's List is a brilliant and heart touching narration of sufferings and execution of the Jews before World War II. There are many occasions in the movie that would break you down. You will witness the numerous sufferings bore by the jews, the helpless victims in the Nazi regime. Man, seeing the pain in the movie itself was terrible. But with all this, there is this one man, the hero Oskar Schindler who saves 1000 odd jews from the inescapable clutches of Nazi execution. It's a real story and towards the end of the movie it is shown there is a now sect called the Schindler Jews, who owe their lives to Oskar Schindler. I went by the reviews, which were laudatory and after watching all I say, true - it is.


Shawshank Redemption

This is another movie that I saw last week. I really regret watching it so late 'coz it belongs to the league of brilliant-ones-one-could-ever-see. The story is about a rich banker, who is mistakenly taken as his wife's murderer and given a life imprisonment by the court. Morgan Freeman is also a prisoner with life imprisonment and the movie leaps forward with his soft and witty narration. The plot revolves around the prisoners, the daily routine, the trauma one suffers inside a prison and few good things like bonding, humour, prison library et. al. But the climax is simply brilliant, true to the spirit of its tagline - "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free." . I recommend strongly you watch it. Note that IMDB has given a rating 9.2 (updated)/10!

Google Transliterate

Yet another innovative product from GoOgLe - Transliterate.
Type any Hindi/Malayalam/Tamil/regional language word in English (same way as we pronounce it) and hit SPACE... It gets translated to that regional language and boy, quite accurate! This works like a dictionary mode on your mobile phone and of course, boon for me folks like me !!!

My first attempt (pasted from the typepad in the link):

हेल्लो वर्ल्ड (Hindi)
ஹலோ வேர்ல்ட் (Tamil)
హలో వరల్డ్ (Telegu)
ಹಲೋ ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ (Kannada)

And my name:
कासी
காசி
కసి
ಕಸಿ

The languages included for now are Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. More languages would be added in near future, me thinks. Please note that this Google Transliteration is a prototype and still is in the early stages of development. No doubt, the product when formally rolled out would be a huge hit!

The return of ME !!!

It’s been a long while away from the blog. So this shall be a very blog-friendly post capturing most what I want to record and dabble here..

My mother came to London last month. So, kind of re-touring London every weekend covering places such as London Eye, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Thames river, Hyde Park, central London et al. This way I got to see Buckingham Palace, which is open only for 2 months a year, from inside for the first time. It was a fabulous experience! Also visited places were one Murugan temple and another Sivan temple in Lewisham. My mother is pleasantly surprised to see this – I have been here for over 9 months and all I visited among temples is one Mahalakshmi temple and Swami Narayan temple - that too each only once. Anyway, she is not at least startled when I discovered recently that there are actually two Indian temples in Wembley, the place where I stay! Okay now pause this ;-)

The festival season has started! With Id and Navaratri on the same day, it was double celebration. Last Saturday evening (till Sunday early hours) yours truly was with Gujju friends Parth & Co. enjoying Garba and Dandiya at a Gujrati Hall nearby. It was damn crowded with over 1000 heads. Needless to say, all girls with their traditional wear were (or least seemed) beautiful!

Over the past two weeks, I watched loads of movies… Scream 1, Scream 2 and Scream 3 in dvd in one sitting whole night – started at 10 pm Saturday and ended at 5.30 am Sunday! And it was certainly worth the time and efforts ;-) Later bought few Tamil DVDs – Chennai 600026, Ammu Aagiya Naan, Arya, Pirappu, Pallikoodam and Sivi. Finshed watching all of them with ‘a- dvd-a-day’ schedule! Of all these I enjoyed watching Chennai 600026 a lot – it was total fun! Ammu Aagiya Naan, slightly off the beat, is also noteworthy with a bold story, and is impressive with its poignant narration and picturization – definitely worth a watch. Arya is a mere waste of time; remember to park your sense of logic outside when you decide to watch this. Pirappu is okay, nothing impressive. Pallikoodam getsyou the de’javu' of Cheran’s Autograph – yet this melodrama is worth watching once. Sivi, the horror flick, which is getting rave reviews is good, but ended abruptly with a climax. May be the team is planning for a sequel? Other than these recently saw The Last Samurai. It was awesome!!! If you haven't watched it, my advice/suggestion/request - go now and watch it. And saw a really old movie - Al Pacino's Scarface, though it is critically acclaimed I find it just palatable.

When I started looking into latest gossips today, one news item caught my attention immediately – Chiranjeevi’s daughter elopes and marries against dad's wishes. Srija Chiranjeevi, 19, second daughter of Chiranjeevi, a recent graduate married Sirish Bharadwaj, 22 an engineering graduate at Arya Samaj, in New Bowenpally Hyderabad yesterday. It was a wedding against both their parent’s wishes and looks like the couple is seeking support from media and police for alleged threat from Chiru’s family. Interested to read more and see pics? Simple. Google ‘Srija’ and amen, you get it.

Talking about blogs, Apna company’s CTO has started a blog linked to our inhouse employee’ web portal. It is a hit – the first entry posted about 4 days ago from our CTO has drawn almost 250+ comments so far. One of the contributors there, Kris Ashok has a sparkling blog. Go thru it – its funducative! Until then, this blog is adjourned till the next post. Adios!

Inspiring..

Just read Apna Company's message board:

"Farzana Haque is the new Head for Retail Vertical. She joined TCS 8 years ago..." (stumped first time - just 8 years and a strategic line head!).... but was more was to follow...and has been featured in the CNBC Young Turks (stumped again).. "

Curiosity killed me and got this video..Check out..Really inspiring

If anything can go wrong, it will...

If anything can go wrong, it will.

Don't want to comment on this. Right now Murphy's Laws are my solace...

Reading them to recover from a small debacle. Should be better soon :)

Mascarenhas and Orkut Beta

Quickly came in to shout two things:

1. India vs England match ended just now.. During the match, it looked like India would make a comfortable win..But THE man - Dinitri Mascarenhas was obscenely throwing 6 sixes shattering the concrete hopes!!! And one four, all in the last few overs..Spicing it, partner batsman Stuart registered a couple of fours and a six. As expected India won, not with a great margin though, which should have been the case, but by 10 runs. Anyways I am happy for England's Mascarenhas; he made first half century in ODI, under tremendous pressure. He has shown to the world his ability. Pats!!!

2. Just now I opened orkut and within few minutes when I refreshed, the looks and some of its features changed. Then noticed the Orkut Beta Label in the top left... Again I refreshed..It went to the old style..Again refreshed..Beta version appeared.. Finally, its all Beta now.. Looks cool ;) Much like facebook... Catch more news here to know the new cool look!

Indian Idol 3

I've been hooked to this popular TV show for quite sometime. I must admit it has become an integral part of my schedule, all my thursdays, fridays and saturdays dont go with out it. Me and my roomies religiously watch this program without missing even a micro second. Indian Idol 3 - We totally love it baby! Watching the contestants on this reality show gives us the inexplicable vicarious feelings of actually being there. And every week when one gets eliminated, we feel extremely bad for them.


Indian Idol is developed on the same lines of popular US TV show American Idol. For the select few who need gyan about this show, go thru this. Among the top 12 finalists now (this time 13 though, because of a carried over contestant), a series of 'Gala' rounds go where the contestants need to show their versatility, vocal skills and performance. Every week one contestant is voted out based on audience sms voting. There are judges - Anu Malik, Javed Akhtar, Alisha Chinai and Udit Narayanan, who give their comments, which tend influence the audience in sms'ing their votes; nevertheless, it is THE audience which decides the verdict. Again personally I feel the audience voting is certainly not a representative of the skill/talent of the contestant. There are groupisms, favoritism and 'fan' isms, which could be an altered indicative of the voting pattern.


So far, till the end of Gala 7, 6 contestants have managed to sail through - Amit, Ankita, Chang, Puja, Prashant and Emon. The results of gala 7 saw the exit of yet another potential Indian Idol - Deepali. Like many others, I too was totally disappointed to the core after Deepali got eliminated. In fact, we at first were determined like not to watch the show again! Despite her sterling performances (dhol bajne laga.., nimboda nimboda.., mera piya ghar aaya), she was voted out! My respect for her increased multifold, when she boldly accepted without breaking down.And now after Deepali and Charu's exit, the deserving girls are out!


I think Puja and Ankita both didnt do well during gala 7. Moreover Camera guys were wierdly showing Ankita smiling again and again during results round,may be to increase their TRP, which now could hurt her votes! Despite her occasional flat singing , Anky baby is a lively performer, the favorite of all and even Anu - sure a top 3 material!

Prashant: He is good but seldom comes in bottom 3. Favoritism? But one thing to admit, during gala 7, prashant was amazing with the sarfarosh song..Emon and Chang are good, no doubt. Emon has great voice like Sonu Nigam. Personally my choice for Indian Idol is Amit Paul. He is amazing with melliflous voice and versatility. May he deserve it :)

Sony W850i

Athu appo, Idhu ippo (Translation: Thats then, this' now!)

Finally, after months of contemplation, I've migrated my phone connection from Prepay to a Pay monthly with O2 service provider. it was a necessary evil considering the reality that I lost hundreds of £ with Prepay credits so far :(

And now I got to choose a 'free' phone [1] with the new contract. I have taken a cool precious black color Sony W850i walkman series phone, presumably as it would entertain and keep me 'busy' in my commute to office and back home. And it has cool features as well :) Though Camera in W850i isn't that great.

I bought this phone on August 4 and my first attempt to make a call was to my lovely 3-year old niece, Tanya for a special reson. It was her birthday then and I wished her. And yeo, it was cho chweet hearing her voice. Operation Innaugration Call success!!!

Footnote:

[1] A 'free' phone, in real terms, is not a free one! Have you heard of 'Free lunch' in business?

All the costs are absorbed in the monthly bills ;)