Self Help

Some people think that you are good and some people think that you’re bad. But what do you think of yourself? Did you ever try to recall your entire past and rate yourself accordingly? Did you ever think of all the misdeeds and the good things you did and come to a conclusion about yourself? I was trying to do this for quite sometime but was not able to reach a proper conclusion.
Let me note down some points which may help me reaching a proper conclusion about myself:
1. I just can’t tolerate the sight of an aged person begging. I end up giving them whatever I can give maximum as alms. I think that I’m helping them but sometimes, I feel that I’m spoiling them instead of helping. Same is the case of child beggars, I’ll be moved but in most of the cases, I end up shouting at them.
2. I can’t tolerate people’s negligence and scold them until they give their proper attention to the neglected things/work. But I, myself, neglect most of the things. Am I rude to others?
3. I drink and smoke occasionally.
4. I’m very very lazy.
5. I love to be poetic.
6. I’m addicted to the idiot box and love to get lost in the dream world of movies.
7. Sometimes, I give importance to negligible things but tend to neglect the more important issues.
8. I love to break the rules and neglect the orders.
9. I want to grab others’ attention all the time.
10. I love to share others’ sorrows but I expect them to share their joys too with me.
11. I love to sleep late hours but hate to get up early.
I know that all the above points are irrelevant and don’t mean anything to others around me but these are only some of the things I can recollect. And even after spending a lot of time trying to recollect and write them here, I’m back to square one. I just can’t come to a decision about myself. But I believe that spending some time think about your pro’s and con’s every now-n-then, you can end up learning more about yourself and try to mend up your ways. For example, I just read this article completely and found that I’m wasting too much time writing silly things. So this is what I call ”Self-Help”!!!!!!!!!!

13 Keys to a Perfect First Date

I read this article somewhere on the Internet just now and thought of sharing this with you all as some look funny and some seems to be worthy enough to try. This was written by some David Wygant who’s said to be a Dating Coach, Blogger and Author who has been featured on more than 2,000 radio and television shows including Dateline, CBS Good Morning, and MTV. Don’t blame me if you get a vague glimpse of Will Smith a.k.a Hitch. And one more thing, this is purely a copy-paste article. I don’t mean to offend anyone.

1. It's OK to suggest a drink instead of dinner for a first date. She dreads a potentially boring, four-course ordeal, too!
2. Always call her by early evening on Tuesday to confirm a Wednesday get-together -- it's the polite thing to do and it lets her know you're already thinking about her.
3. Be sure to leave both your home and work phone numbers. If you don't leave your home number, she might assume you have a wife or girlfriend. If you don't leave any number, she'll wonder what game you're playing.
4. If you want to keep the plans a surprise, at least clue her in as to what to wear. You do not want an overdressed, overstressed woman navigating in high heels on a sunset beach walk.
5. Always listen to what she has to say, and make sure you wait until she's done talking before responding.
6. Don't assume that just because you're out with a beautiful woman, she knows how pretty she looks -- she wants to hear it from you. Don't go overboard, though, or she might think you're insincere.
7. Men judge women according to whether they can picture having sex with them; women judge men by whether they can imagine kissing them. White teeth, fresh breath, great shoes, cell phone turned off, and unchapped lips make her more apt to lock lips with you that night.
8. Do not ask her, "So, what kind of music do you like?" The last 10 guys asked that. Be original and instead fill your iPod with a great mix of music that expresses your style.
9. Tip well. Believe me, she'll be watching.
10. Reading body language is simple: If she touches your arm, she's interested. If she touches your leg, she's interested tonight. If she leans away from you the whole night, she is not interested at all.
11. Very small gestures go a long way and show her you're a gentleman. When you drop her off at her house, be sure to wait the extra 30 seconds while she gets inside (and next time you might be going in with her!).
12. Women need momentum. Without it, they lose interest or wonder if you have lost it, too. Follow up with a phone call the next night. Even more important, ask her out at the end of the date. Don't play games or wait.
13. Never look at another woman when you are on a date. If she catches your wandering eye, you are done.

A Dream Vacation

అది ఒక అందమైన పల్లెటూరు. మనం చూస్తున్న పాశ్చ్యాత్త ధోరణికి దూరంగా నిర్మలంగా ఉన్న ఊరు అది. ఒక అందమైన సాయంత్రాన ఎర్ర బస్సులో అక్కడ దిగాను. దిగిన వెంటనే ఏదో తిన్నాను అనిపించి ప్రయాణ బడలికతో నడుం వాల్చాను. అదీ ఆరుబయట. ప్రొద్దుటే సూర్యుణి లేలేత కిరణాలు మొహం మీద పడుతుండగా నిద్ర లేచి కొట్టుడు పంపులో నీళ్ళు కొట్టుకుని స్నానం గట్రా కానిచ్చి అలా పక్కనే ఉన్న హోటల్లో పుల్లట్లు తిన్నాను. తరువాత పల్లె అందాలు చూడటానికి బయలుదేరా. పచ్చని పంటలు, చేలల్లో దుక్కి దున్నుతున్న మగవారు, వారిని ఉత్సాహపరుస్తూ పాటలు పాడుతూ పని చేస్తున్న పడుచులు.... ఇలా ఊరిని చూస్తూ మెల్లగా గోదారి ఒడ్డుని చేరుకున్నా. అప్పటికి సమయం ఉదయం పది గంటలు ఐనా గోదారమ్మ చల్లని గాలి వల్ల అసలు ఎండే తెలియటం లేదు. కొంతసేపు అక్కడే గడిపి అటుగా వెళ్తున్న ఐసుబండి వాడి దగ్గర పుల్ల ఐసు కొనుక్కుని మెల్లగా తింటూ తిరిగి ఊరు చేరుకున్నా.
మధ్యాహ్నం భోజనం ఎక్కడ చేద్దామా అనుకుంటుండగా నాకు ఆతిధ్యం ఇచ్చిన ఇంటి వాళ్ళు నన్ను అక్కడే భోజనం చెయ్యమని మనం మర్చిపోయిన ఉలవచారు మొదలైన వాటితో అద్భుతమైన విందు పెట్టారు. తిన్నాక కొంతసేపు నడుం వాల్చి మెల్లగా ఊరి సెంటర్లోకి బయల్దేరా. పల్లెటూర్లో సెంటర్ అంటే ఏమిటో మీకు అందరికీ తెలిసే ఉంటుందిగా? అక్కడ మర్రి చెట్టు కింద పిచ్చా పాటి మాట్లాడుకునే ఊరి పెద్దలని చూస్తే ఎందుకో పాత సినిమాలు గుర్తొచ్చాయి. కొంత వాళ్ళ మధ్యలో కూర్చుని తరువాత పక్కనే ఉన్న బండినుండి కమ్మని వాసనలు వస్తుంటే అటువైపు వెళ్ళా. ఆ బండివాడు వేస్తున్న మిరపకాయ బజ్జీలు, చల్ల పుణుకులు చూస్తుంటే నోట్లో నీళ్ళు ఊరాయి. వెంటనే వాటి మీద ఎగబడ్డా.
తరువాత కొంచెం సేపు అక్కడి జనాలతో సుత్తి కొట్టి రాత్రి భోజనం మాంచి నాటు కోడి పలావు లాగించా. దాని రుచి తల్చుకుంటేనే నోరూరుతుంది. ఇంక ఈ రోజుకి ఈ సాహసాలు చాలు అనుకుని ఇంక పక్కేసా. పొద్దుటే అలారం మోగగానే మెలుకువ వచ్చి కళ్ళు నులుముకుని చూస్తే ఇంకేముంది....... ఇదంతా ఒక కల మాత్రమే. మనసుని ఆహ్లాదపరిచే తీయని కల.

Om Shanti Om

The frequent visitors to my blog might have already known that my habit is to watch a horror movie every Friday night. But last night, I watched a different ghost movie. No no, don’t think that it’s a usual horror flick. This has a ghost in just a cameo appearance. It’s our Bollywood ka Bhadshah Shahrukh Khan’s latest flick, Om Shanti Om(OSO).
There have been many high expectations, as usual, on this movie. First of all, it’s because SRK has not only starred in the movie but also produced it. And it’s directed by SRK’s best buddy, Farah Khan. It has Deepika Padukone, a supermodel, as the female lead. There were guest appearances by, almost, whole Bollywood stars.
Coming to the movie, it’s an out-n-out entertainer packed with a lot of filmish masala It’s the story of Om(a junior artiste), Shanti(a leading actress) and Om(again, but this time a super-star). The movie starts in the 70’s with the shooting of the title song of the 70’s blockbuster, Karz. Our Om Prakash is a junior artist who waits for his lucky break with his junior artiste mother, Kiron Kher and his best buddy, Pappu(Shreyas Thalpade). He’s a great fan of the leading actress of the time, Shantipriya, played convincingly by the lovely Deepika. He gets introduced to her when he saves her from a fire accident in one of her shoots. They become friends soon and just when he waits for a chance to express his love for her, he comes to know of the bitter truth that she’s already married to a foxy producer Mukesh Mehra(played well by Arjun Rampal). Then there was a betrayal( just as you would expect it) and our lead pair dies.
Fast forward the time by 30 years and viola, you are outside the house of a superstar, Om Kapoor or OK, as he fondly calls himself. He’s adamant, he’s stupid who goes by his own terms. The rest of the story is how he finds out about his previous birth, how he meets the people of that birth and how he takes his revenge.
The first-half is pretty good with many lighter moments while the second half drags a little bit. The scene in which SRK plays the Quickgun Murugan is one of the best moments of the movie. He plays the role so convincingly and his “Mind it” surely brings laughs on everyone’s faces. Coming to the performances, SRK has given one of his best performances while Deepika did justice to her role. The others also played well, particularly Arjun Rampal even though he was not given his dutiful share of the pie.
The cameos of the who’s-who of Bollywood was extremely well done. Particularly, Akshay Kumar’s cameo is outstanding in the movie. Even though he stars for a little more than a minute, he steals the show so convincingly. If you don’t think about the logic, you’ll enjoy the movie thoroughly. But if you think about it, as I did, you might find some loop holes like:
1. We were told that Arjun Rampal is a big producer in Hollywood who’s been there for over 25 years. And the scene when SRK threatens him that if he backs off from his movie, he’ll become bankrupt isn’t so convincing. How can a big Hollywood producer go bankrupt if his Bollywood movie fails to kick off?
2. We were shown SRK being brought to hospital with a lot of gashes and cuts. And when we are shown his dead body, he’s as clean as a male model in a shaving cream ad!!!!!!!!!
But movies are meant to be like this. So I advice you to go to the theatre, buy your pop-corn and coke and leave 2 hours and 40 minutes of your time to SRK.

Aanand Bazaar

Even though I’m in Bahrain for quite sometime, I was never away from the Telugu flavor thanks to Telugu Kala Samithi(TKS), a social club found by some Telugu people in Bahrain about 8 years back. Various programs and workshops are conducted by this club for both members and non-members.
Last weekend, there was one such event called Anand Bazaar. This event is conducted by Shakti, the ladies wing of TKS. Women cook various dishes at home and sell them at the TKS premises for reasonable prices. The good thing about this event is the dishes that we get in this are very rare to find in this part of the world. So it seems like we are in our native place enjoying our favorite dishes. This years’ menu included the following items:
1. Pesarattu – Upma
2. Punukulu
3. Pulihora
4. Bobbatlu
5. Perugu Vada
6. Bhel Puri
7. Paani Puri
8. Lassi etc.
And there were some games to entice kids too. But the bad thing is, I was entrusted the tickets sale for this event at the venue. By the time I finished my job, there were very items left for me to taste.

Sonu Nigam

Being an avid listener of music, I’ve heard a lot of tracks in Telugu, Hindi and English. I’ve some favorite tunes, some favorite singers, and some favorite musicians. But I hope you agree with me that the musician who gives your favorite tunes becomes your favorite musician and the singer who sings them becomes the favorite singer, at least in most of the cases. My vote for my favorite tunes goes unanimously for the melodious ones. And one singer who baffles me all the time with his melodious singing is none other than Sonu Nigam.
I still remember the day when I noticed the spark in his singing. It was way back in 1998 or so. One fine day, I was alone in my house. I was watching TV when suddenly all the cable channels went off air and only DD1 was coming (this was frequent in those days). I had no option other than to watch whatever comes in DD1. Then there was this great song which I noticed many times but never heard with interest. It was “Ab mujhe raat din” from the album “Deewana”. I was mesmerized by the lyrics and the singer of that song. It was then that I noticed that the singer was Sonu Nigam whom I had heard of but never bothered to take notice. I started following his songs and got interested more and more with every song I heard.
He just brings life into every song that he sings, be it the perky “Ye dil” from Pardes(if I’m right), the moving “Sandesein aate hain” from Border etc. But the songs which I liked the most are from his private albums: Deewana, Yaad, Jaan etc. However, I feel that his ultimate song was “Tanhaayein” from “Dil Chahta Hai”(this song is sung by my favorite singer for my favorite actor ). This song is like a benchmark for singing capability in every singing competition. Even in the recently concluded “Indian Idol 3” final, the final contestants were asked to sing this song as the ultimate test.
Sonu, as he’s fondly called by fans, is also very choosy about the songs that he sings. I once read that he rejected a song in a Govinda movie as the lyrics were a little bit obscene. I cannot compare him with the all time greats, Mukesh Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi but still I feel that Sonu Nigam can claim his place among them. Long live his singing(if not him).