Can it be about nothing ?

A blog about nothing ?? Well, these are clearly signs of blogging desperation ! Iv been meaning to post a blog for the longest time now. I went to Brussels, drank the world-famous Belgian beer which was OK (Quite frankly, I don't know what all the fuss is about, especially when you empty formidable amounts of money from your bank account just to buy one pint of beer !), ate Belgian chocolate. Aaah, Belgian chocolate.. Now that is good. I'm sorry. Yet again my wandering mind has made me digress from the topic at hand.. A blog about nothing..

What does a blog about nothing comprise of ?

Football to my right (Holland vs Japan. Don't know why Japan isn't being pulverized yet), on another window in front of me, obviously, India are playing Pakistan. I wonder how Mr. Sania Mirza is post-marriage (Number 1 or 2, Only he knows). To my left is the Blackberry. Well, its just lying there.

My closest friends now.. Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. Two of them go by the name 'Badavarascal'. So many have asked me, 'Why Badavarascal' ?

Well, as I child I was that. Extremely mischievous, not to mention rebellious, though my mom still swears by the fact that I was a good kid, and still am, for some weird reason. Then came school. Class 12. My school principle decides to reprimand me and 'accuse' me of running a Krishna Leela in school, the meaning of which I did not understand initially. Her explanation only led to me chuckling on the outside and LMAO on the inside, at her face !

That was one of many random thoughts running though my head when I was thinking of a name. And the name stuck.

Now for England. What the hell has happened to this country ? Where is the etiquette, the politeness and all that jazz ? Did they leave all that back in India a few decades ago ? I have a faint feeling they did ! But then, the older ones are a lot nicer. Quintessentially English.

English football. Watched the England vs Algeria game last night with a pint of a beer at an English Pub in a city suburb, in England. How much more authentic can it get ! Does Rooney play football or marbles these days ? Absolutely lackadaisical effort by England. Heskey #fail#. Ashley Cole, epic #fail#. Mr. Goal Keeper, David James. I suspect he was coached by Evander Holyfield ! Stop punching the ball, will you ? Catch. C.A.T.C.H !

Now, Madras. Iv spoken about Madras in all my recent blogs. I shall break the Monotony and talk about Chennai this time around. Chennai is the New South Indian Restaurant that has opened here. My Mumbaikar friend tells me the Dosas are crisp, the Sambar is good and the Hostess (yes, Hostess) is extremely polite and courteous. When has Madras ever had a South Indian cuisine restaurant with a Hostess working in it ? I NEED to check this place out !

My personal life now. Well, its now like Rita, the roller coaster ride I went on yesterday at Alton Towers, a theme park. Except my life should now be called Nemesis, which strangely is the name of another ride at the same theme park ! I have been sharing a love-hate relationship with my life off late.

My sarcasm has reached new heights. Note to self: Not Good.

I just realized that my blog is akin to that of my friend's, FartingPen (on wordpress) He recently wrote a blog about how he has nothing really to say. (Except his is funny and mine is insanely boring, and I vouch for both those facts).

Now I'm bored. Bored of writing. Back to reading 'The End of Poverty'. And do let me know how boring this post was..

Adios..

what is it...

friendship........
what is it....
is it when two people understand each other ?
is it when people embrace one another ?
is it when people say goodbye ?
is it that which one makes the other feel miserable ?
is it that which people argue ?
is it when one is always there for another, come hell or high water ?
is it when one's presence is worth something to someone else ?
is it when one feels solitude thinking about someone else that one cares about ?
is it when one misses a friend dearly ?
is it the pain associated with the loss of someone near and dear ?
is it the good feeling when time is spent with one you care about ?
is it listening to a song incessantly and feeling miserable just thinking about someone ?
is it the tearing when one is hurt by someone one loves ?
is it all this ?
is it love...............

Confessions of a lonely heart

Less than 24 hours to go before I leave this city. The last 3 weeks here have been great. This is more of a serious post; written in a lugubrious mood if I may say so. The next 3 lines are random and unnecessary, but here goes..
Im listening to this song 'Enthan Vaanamum' from the movie 'Vazhtukkal'. Beautiful song.. For all those who don't know tamil, these are what the lyrics of the first two lines translate into..
" You are my sky, you are my earth, I live thanks to the look in your eyes".. Feelings ;-)
So the last 3 weeks in Madras..
Perfect. People haven't changed.. Same old nice folks.. Simple, yet fun to hang out with.. Met old friends from school, friends not from school.
Can't believe Im not going to be able to attend a good friend's wedding, which btw I suspect will also be a summit congregation of photographers !!
Dint watch 'Avatar' or 'Sherlock Holmes'. I did watch 'Vettaikaran'. Need I say more !
Surgeons have gotten busier,
dentists have found other dentists,
economists are trying hard to solve math equations,
the media man is on his way to becoming the next bigwig in the advertising industry,
IT and Business have found their true love.. food.. delicious food..
One of Chennai's prodigal sons has left to the US of A to become a trendsetter there as well,
United Breweries now has a new face.. A smart n funny face,
TCS is trying too hard to hold one to one of its most industrious employees,
photowalkers have now become more loquacious than ever before,
video games are on the verge of pervading the IT industry,
infants now hate good looking men, and finally..
Kalamathy is waiting to hear from Kellogg...

The funny thing is.....

Well, u tell me....
Iv been dying to blog for days and have finally got myself to doing so ! whew.. its been.. well... nevermind how long its been... Iv now been in India for a little over 2 weeks (was in England for the last 3 months pursuing a masters course.. like every 4th Indian my age.. (no clue where I pulled that number from ! ) My first 2 days in Madras (Yes Madras and not Chennai !) I felt like Ian Wright :-).. The funny thing is.. Iv been living in Madras for the past 24 years and 3 months in Nottingham and it leads to this feeling ! Blasphemous ! Iv developed a new found love for this city.. Btw, is it just me or is this city also turning into another city that never sleeps ? !! View of the city through the window of the 23c. One gets to see a million things at the same time. The ragamuffin lying stewed on the pavement right outside the thousand lights mosque at one in the afternoon, completely oblivious to his surroundings, the family of 4 ( or was it 5) balancing themselves on a two wheeler, the auto drivers driving like they are possessed, a pakka south indian payyan selling paani puris (lol !) and and... ok the list goes on.. This is the scene day in and day out. I miss this 'organized chaos' ( oxymoronic I agree). Travel 5000 miles west now.. Hmmm, Nottingham.. I call it the Salem of England. Small city, traffic is very organized. A gazillion pubs in this small city. Fresh air, nice people, studio apartment. I always refer to this as the place I stay at and not the cliched 'back home' or 'back where I came from' phrase that many a pretentious person might use having been abroad for just a couple of months.. Whats worse.. seeing a future destination on the map and referring to that place as home ! ludicrous ! :-) The booze is good there, but then its just water.. Now kingfisher brewed at balaji distillaries ( thats where we Madrasis get our supply of KF from, FYI) is a completely different story.. Iv save the finer details for another post.. Final word on that.. Brilliant. One more thing.. No English 'bloke' can emulate the isshtyle of our Madras 'maaplai' a.k.a 'mama', 'macha' 'maams'.. The dude who wears bell bottoms even in 2010, with his 'seepu' sticking out of his back pocket, sight aduchifying the 'semma figures' at the marina or elliot's beach, or the 'malli poo babes' outside the kabaleeshwarar temple, humming tunes such as 'kangal irandal' or even 'puli urumurudu' !! Madras is Madras.. Its not even Chennai..
Its just "good old South Indian Filter Kaapi in a tumbler and 'davara' in on hand and a fresh and crisp copy of 'The Hindu' in the other hand" Madras...

The King of Pop.. MIchael Jackson

The world thought MJ would moonwalk again..

I wake up on a friday morning, switch on my laptop and what do I see?.. News of the demise of the One n only Michael Joseph Jackson. My heart skipped a beat. A sense of emptiness crept into me. I still can't come to terms with this news.. I think it all makes sense now. I was wondering why I got a call from an unkown number at 4:55 this morning. I guess the person on the other line wanted to convey the sad news to someone else.

A bit about the Moonwalker..

Born on August 29th, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, USA, he was the the 7th child of the Jackson family. His childhood wasnt one of the best. Continually ill-treated by his father, the effect clung on to him throughout his life.He started his professional music career at the age of 11 as a member of thr Jackson 5. He started his solo career in 1971. His album 'Thriller' which released in 1982 sold a world record 65 million copies. March 25th, 1983; Motown 25, Yesterday,Today, Forever. The television special. The world witnessed the most famous dance move of all time.. 'The Moonwalk' ! A very eccentric person, he underwent a couple of plastic surgeries and his association with a chimpanzee 'Bubbles' just went all out to prove his oddities and eccentric behaviour. His sense of dressing also reflected his character. ..Eccentric.

Sucked into controversies time and again, MJ always managed to wiggle his way out of such dicy situations. He married Lisa Marie Presley(daughter of Elvis Presley) in 1993, after he went through the child molestation episode which shook his world. The marriage lasted less than 2 years. He had 2 children with her. His second marriage was in 1996, with a dermatologist nurse, Deborah Jeanne Row, who he met during his World History Tour. He fathered two children with her Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. (also known as "Prince"), and a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (also known as Blanket) was born in 2002. This child was said to be a result of artificial insemination using his own sperm cells and a surrogate mother. MJ died yesterday..25th June 2009, 2;26 pm local time, a Thursday afternoon at his rented home in L.A, California U.S.A. He was 50. Survived by his children, his parents and his siblings. The end of an era. The beginning of a new one in heaven.

I remember the first MJ song I heard... 'Black or White'. I was then in the 5th grade I think. Horripilations even to this day when I listen to this song. A very influential song was ' Heal The World'.A man who changed form. Black to white. Poor to rich. No one to 'The One'. Pauper to 'King'. Michael Jack was, is and will be the quintessential music legend.

Here is a list of his album and singles discography;

Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music and Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory (1995)
Invincible (2001)

It is a hackneyed expression or saying that goes like this.. "we realise the value of something only when its gone, when we miss it". In this case it is very true. MJ will be missed by all and sundry. I am sure he will sell more copies now that when he was alive. Strange..Actually not. Some of my favourite MJ songs..

Billie Jean..

Bad..

Thriller..

Heal The World..

You Rock My World..

Black or White..

In MJ's case History...... Cannot repeat itself..

Here's a link to my favourite music video by MJ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI9OYMRwN1Q&feature=fvst

quit the dum

Well, a friend of mine called me yesterday and asked me if i dint mind writing an article on how I quit smoking and I said "why not" ! I wrote the article and then decided to blog it as well. So all you smokers out there, all I can say is watch out ! This post may end up being your nemesis; Or your incentive to quit ! So here goes..
Hailing from a family of tobacco smokers it was inevitable that I would smoke too, someday or the other. That day came when i was in the second year of college. I would, like every other smoker, blame it on peer pressure. In comparison to chronic smokers though, my smoking era can only be considered a stint. That phase of my life, as fugacious as it was, did manage to play a detrimental effect on my health. Smoking became an addiction. My exercise endurance levels took a declivous turn. Being a healthcare professional I knew that what iwas doing was rather dopey. Knowing fully well ill-effects of smoking,I knew I was trudging down the wrong path. I then slowly realised the need to quit. Like most smokers who try to quit I went through the times when I would quit for a few days only to start once again. I was once told that my uncle who was once a smoker woke up one morning and kicked the habit. I realised that was the only way to do it.I quit one fine day, and have never looked back ever since then. My smoking days(about 5 yrs) were over ! Its all in the mind. The urge to smoke surfaces very rarely these days. But my mind fights that urge,supresses it and the urge is gone. I feel so much more healthier thesedays. I would like to thank 2 people for helping me kick the habit; my girlfriend and a professor of mine. They have been my pillars of strength with regard to quitting smoking.
When one gives excuses such as "I am trying", "I have reduced the number of cigarettes I smoke", "I will quit smoking in a few days".. it only reflects the person's obstinacy to not let go of the habit. One more thing I would like to mention is that smoking is the provenance of all other drug intake and addiction. It is just not worth it ! Smoking by all means is a pestilential habit. Stub your cigarette today ! Thats the only way you can quit smoking.

life as seen through a 50mm lens

My new found fascination for photography is the foundation for this post.

Life as seen through a 50 mm lens . The 50 mm lens is, as I have realised, considered to be a boon in the realm of photography. The randomness of the mind, as enigmatic as it is, goaded me to compare life with this lens !

Using a wide aperture, for instance f2 or f3 one can get a vivid image of only the object in focus while the rest of the picture is a blur. A very shallow DOF - Depth Of Field. The 'bokeh' effect in photographic parlance. This wide aperture is much like the characteristics of every 'normal' homosapien. Man is very perseverant in achieving his goals that everything else around him gradually becomes an insidious blur. f2 !

Now using a narrow aperture (f16 maybe) we not only get the object in focus but the rest of the background as well in all its lifelike sharpness. Very few of us are comparable to this narrow aperture. We seldom take the world around us into consideration. This world of assumed oblivion is more welcomed by us.

The 50 mm lens is apparently used for street photography. Everyday life. This is one of the main reasons i decided to compare it with our lives. Did you know that the 50 mm lens is a.k.a the 'normal lens' as its field of vision is akin to that of the human eye. Another reason !

The lugubrious phases of our lives pose a challenge to fight against all odds and emerge victorious. Like these dark phases is low light. Our victory is similar to the ability of this lens to shoot very good pictures in extremely low light using wider apertures(f2 again !). Our grit makes us focus better on one thing and one thing only thus rendering the world around us a 'bokeh'.

The absence of a zoom in the 50 mm lens requires us to be mobile to get a good picture. Move back and forth! A lot of hard work ! To get this perfect life (a perfect picture in every sense of the word) we need to be dynamic. Hard work again !

The coruscation of the 50 mm lens ! Cant wait to get my hands on one.

And no, I haven't lost it. Not yet !