Takin a small break

Hello everyone, it's time for my well-earned vacation to India after a gap of 7 months. It's a bit sad that the duration is just for 16 days but anyways, a vacation is a vacation. I may take a break from our blog world during these days. I will not post anything on my blog but will keep on monitoring all of your blogs as usual. Wish me a happy vacation.....

Halla Bol

Saw this one last weekend. The movie is ok but there was a dialogue in this which I liked very much. It goes something like this: "Even an animal cries when it gets hurt but it is only humans who can feel for others pains too". Is this true? I was seeing many contradictions now for this these days. But the dialogue was good overall.

Eragon

Saw this movie a couple nights back. I didn't like the movie but I liked the following line from the movie
which Saffira says to Eragon: "It's good to be brave but sometimes, it pays to be wise".

Republic Day

India is celebrating its 59th Republic Day today. The celebrations which were aired on DD were awesome as usual. But the significance of this year’s celebration lies in the fact that this event is hosted by the first female President of India, Mrs Pratibha Patel. But it’s a pity that most of us doesn’t know why is this day called as Republic Day. As far as I know, the story goes like this. India, even though it got independence on 15th August 1947, didn’t have its own constitution for some years. The British used to assist the rulers with most of the governing. It was only on this day in 1950 that India had its own constitution and it became a Republic.



But I remember this date for some forgettable reasons. The date was 26th Jan, 1991. I was with hide-n-seek with some of friends. While running away from others, I turned back to see if anybody’s closing on me and the moment I turned to face the front, I saw was a huge water-tank with a iron-pipe(used to facilitate the outflow of surplus water) looming just in-front of my forehead. The next scene I saw was a lot of anxious faces looking at me in the hospital. I was told that I hit the iron-pipe and it bore into my forehead stopping just before some crucial bone. I think they stitched 6 stitches on the wound and I still have the mark on my forehead like a bindi on a woman’s forehead. All I can saw now is that the Republic Day left its mark on me.

Chess

Last week, I helped the Telugu Kala Samithi people to conduct a Bahrain Open Chess tournament. I did just the registration work for the participants. I don’t know anything about chess except some basic rules and moves. In fact, I never tried my hand in it. But after the registration process, I went in to see how the tourney is going on. I was astounded by the way small kids (most of them below 10 yrs) are playing. They are playing with the some kind of zeal (which I never felt in me) and expertise. For the first time in my life, I cursed myself for not learning the game. I hope to learn at least the basics of the game soon.

Rocky

As you know, most of the movies are a bit boring these days. So I started watching some old movies which I missed. This weekend, I saw Rocky I and II starring Sylvester Stallone. The movies are ok even in today’s scenario. But there were some dialogues in the second part which I liked too much. In one scene, Rocky’s wife asks him just after their marriage: “I hope… I hope you’ll never get tired of me”. Then Rocky answers in a convincing tone: “Oh no, you’ll never get rid of me”. You have to see the scene to believe the romantic moments. That is why they say “Old is Gold”.

కొవ్వు

ఎవరైనా కొంచెం పొగరుగా మాట్లాడితే వీడికి కొవ్వెక్కువరా అని అనడం మనకి బాగా తెలుసు. ఆ కొవ్వునే ఇంగ్లీషులో కొలెస్ట్రాల్ అంటామని కూడా చాలామందికి తెలిసే ఉంటుంది. పుట్టినప్పటి నుండి బక్కగా ఉండే నేను బహరైన్ వచ్చిన తరువాత బాగా బరువు పెరిగా. ఎంత అంటే దాదాపు 15 కేజీలు. తరువాత ఒక సారి ఇండియా వెళ్ళినప్పుడు మా పేరెంట్స్ నన్ను చూసి వాళ్ళు భయపడి నన్ను భయపెట్టేసరికి అదేదో కొలెస్ట్రాల్ టెస్ట్ చేయించుకున్నా. అప్పుడు వచ్చిన రిజల్ట్ చూసి మా మమ్మీకి ఒకటే బెంగ పట్టుకుంది. ఎందుకంటే నార్మల్ గా 125 నుండి 200 వరకు ఈ కొలెస్ట్రాల్ అనబడే కొవ్వు ఉంటే మంచిదంట. మనకి అది కాస్తా 245 ఉంది. ఎవరికి మాత్రం భయమెయ్యదు?
అప్పుడు మా వాళ్ళకి ఏదోలా నచ్చజెప్పి మళ్ళీ వెనక్కి వచ్చేసా. అప్పటి నుండి వీలైనంత తక్కువ తింటూ కొంచెం డైట్ పాటిస్తుంటూ, బాగా కసరత్తులు చేస్తూ చివరికి ఈ రోజు మళ్ళీ ఆ టెస్ట్ ఏదో చేయించుకున్నా. ఆ రిజల్ట్ వచ్చేవరకూ పడిన టెన్షన్ నా ఏంసెట్ రిజల్ట్ కోసం కూడా పడుండను. ఎట్టకేలకు ఒక రెండు గంటల తరువాత అది వచ్చింది. చూడగానే ఒక్క సారి యాహూ అని అరవాలనిపించింది. కాకపోతే అది ఆఫీస్ అని ఆగిపోయా. ఇంతకీ అది ఎంత వచ్చిందో తెలుసా? 172. కేక కదా? మరి కాదేంటి? 245 నుండి 172 కి తగ్గిందంటే గొ్ప్పే కదా. అదే మరి. ఒప్పుకోండి. ప్లీజ్……….

సంక్రాంతి

ఆంధ్రులకీ పండుగలకీ ఏదో అవినాభావ సంబంధం ఉంది. ఏ పండుగైనా మన తెలుగువాళ్ళు జరుపుకునట్టు ఎవరూ జరుపుకోరేమో అని ఒక్కోసారి అనిపిస్తుంది. అందులో సంక్రాంతి ఒకటి. అసలు ఈ పండుగ పుట్టిందే తెలుగువాళ్ళ కోసం అనటంలో అతిసయొక్తి లేదు. కాని గత రెండు రోజులుగా నేను వింటున్నవి చూస్తుంటే ఇది నిజమేనా అనిపిస్తుంది. భోగి రోజు టీవిలో సంక్రాంతి గురించి ఏదో స్పెషల్ ప్రోగ్రాం వేసాడు. దాంట్లో క్షీణించి పోతున్న మన సాంప్రదాయాల గురించి చెబుతూ ఎవరైనా పోటీ పెట్టి బహుమతులు ఇస్తామంటే తప్ప అసలు ముగ్గులే కనపడటంలేదు అన్నాడు. వింటుంటేనే గుండె తరుక్కుపొయింది. దానికి తగ్గట్టు ఆ రోజు సాయంత్రం మా ఇంటికి ఫోన్ చేసి మా చెల్లిని పండుగ ఎలా జరుపుకున్నారు అని అడిగితే టీవిలో భోగి మంట చూసి జరుపుకున్నా అని చెప్పింది. ఇది చాలు మన పండుగలు మనవాళ్ళు ఎలా జరుపుకుంటున్నారో అర్ధం అవుతుంది.

ఇవన్నీ చూస్తుంటే నా చిన్నప్పుడు ఈ పండుగ ఎలా చేసుకునేవాళ్ళమో ఒక్కసారి అందరికీ చెప్పాలనిపిస్తుంది. సంక్రాంతి మూడు రోజులూ మా అమ్మమ్మవాళ్ళ ఇంటిలోనే గడిపేవాడిని. అసలు సంక్రాంతి అంటేనే చుట్టాలు కలుసుకునే పండుగ అనుకునేవాడిని చిన్నప్పుడు. అంతమంది కలిసేవారు. అమ్మమ్మవాళ్ళ ఇల్లంతా సందడి సందడిగా ఉండేది. భోగి పండుగ ముందురోజు మరునాటి మంటకోసం చెక్కలు గట్రా పోగేసేవాళ్ళం. ఇంక భోగి పండుగ నాడు పొద్దుటే లేచి ఆ చలిలో వణుకుతూ భోగి మంట ముందు చేరేవాళ్ళం. తరువాతా ఏ వీధిలో పెద్ద మంట వేసారో అని బయల్దేరేవాళ్ళం. పెద్దవాళ్ళు భోగి మంటలో కాల్చమని వంకాయలు ఇచ్చేవాళ్ళు. కొంతసేపటికి స్నానపానాదులు కానిచ్చి ఊరి మీద పడేవాళ్ళం. ఎవరింటిలో భోగిపళ్ళు పోస్తున్నారో కనుక్కుని వాళ్ళింటిలో ప్రత్యక్షం అయ్యేవాళ్ళం. ఇంక ఆ రోజు స్పెషల్ వంటలు వంకాయ పచ్చడి, పచ్చి పులుసు. సాయంత్రాలు ఎలాగూ అరిసెలు, పాకుండలు ఉండనే ఉన్నాయ్. ఇంక ఆరోజు రాత్రి అయితే ఆడవాళ్ళ హడవుడి అంతా ఇంతా కాదు. పక్క వీధిలో ఎవరో రధం ముగ్గేస్తున్నారంట, పాతూర్లో ఎవరి ముగ్గులోనో రంగులు అదిరిపొయాయంట - ఇవి కబుర్లు. అప్పుడు వాళ్ళు వేసే పధకాలు జార్జ్ బుష్ వేసుంటే బిన్ లాడెన్ని ఎప్పుడో పట్టుకునుండేవాడు.

ఇంక అసలు పండుగ అనగా మకర సంక్రాంతి గురించి ఎంత చెప్పుకున్నా తక్కువే. పొద్దుటే లేచి గుడికి వెళ్ళటం, కొత్త బట్టలు వేసుకుని మురిసిపోవటం, డూడూబసవన్నలని చూసి బయపడి పోవటం, చుట్టాలతో కలిసి సరదా సరదా ఆటలు ఆడుకోవటం - ఇవన్నీ ఎప్పటికీ మరిచిపోలేనివి.

ఆఖరున వచ్చే కనుమ పండుగకి స్పెషల్ గారెలు,కోడి కూర. ఆ రోజు ఖచ్చితంగా మాంసం తినాలని ఎవరు నియమం పెట్టారో గాని ఇప్పటికీ చాలామంది బుద్ధిగా పాటిస్తారు.

ఈ మూడు పండుగలు అయిపోగానే మా నాన్నమ్మగారింటికి ప్రయాణం. ఎందుకంటే కనుమ పండుగ అయిపోయిన రెండో రోజున అక్కడ ప్రభల తీర్ధం పెడతారు. చుట్టుపక్కల ప్రతి ఊరినుండి ఒక్కో ప్రభ వచ్చేది. బాగా అలంకరించిన ప్రభకి, అన్నిటికన్నా పెద్ద ప్రభకి బహుమతులు ఉండేవి. ఆ తీర్ధానికి జట్లుజట్లుగా వెళ్ళేవాళ్ళం. అక్కడ బోల్డన్ని బొమ్మలు కొనుక్కుని, కోది పకోడి, పుల్లైసు గట్రా తినేసి చీకటి పడేవేళకు ఇంటికి చేరేవాళ్ళం.

ఇవన్నీ తల్చుకుంటే మనసులో ఒక తీయటి భావన....
నేటి పరిస్థితి చూస్తుంటే గుండెలో ఒక అరణ్య రోదన..........

Dhoka

Last evening, I saw this movie on Sahara One. It was a slow movie but not so bad. But there was a dialogue in the movie which mesmerized me. Anupam Kher tells the following to the protagonist(some new guy): "Aadmi woh nahin hote jo dikta hain. Aadmi woh hote hain jo woh chupata hain. You are what you hide". How true!!!!

A Different Night

Last night, I wasn't able to sleep. I tried to indulge in various activities like reading "Outlook" magazine, playing games on mobile etc. but with no luck. So I thought of going for a late night walk. It was around 12 15AM and it's chilling cold outside(around 7 degrees). I thought something like "Let's be a li'l bit different" and went out only in a bermuda and a tee. Everyone around me were wearing sweaters, wind cheaters etc and the whole crowd was watching me like a mad-man. Then I stepped into my favorite ice-cream joint and had a bigggggg ice-cream. Even the sales-guy is looking at me as if he saw a ghost!!!!! Maybe because of staying out for too long or maybe because it's already late, I felt sleepy and slept. There goes my small adventure.

Love

I’ve grown up hearing the phrase “Man is a social being”, a lot of times. This just means (as far as I interpreted over all these years) man cannot live alone without mingling with the society. Forget about the society, I started believing that we cannot live for long without a soul mate. I’m 25 and still single (at least physically). I don’t know why I am thinking like this after all these years. But now, I started recognizing the need for a partner. I need someone whom I can share my sorrows and joys. Don’t misinterpret that I’ve more sorrows than joys. It was just on the flow. I was just thinking about the reasons for my strange feelings which suddenly erupted in me during the last month. Let me list the most important of them:
1. The numero uno reason might be because am living away from most of my dear ones: be it my family or my closest friends.
2. Second reason might be because I’m running out of friends (both male and females) who are still single.
3. Maybe the age is catching up.
4. Last but not the least, might be because of all those stupid movies which I was watching these days.
Everything seems to be fine as far as it is written. But the reality shocks me. Still, I am not able to get over the hangover of my previous love. And I feel that I’m not yet well settled in life as far as financial security is concerned. There is equal priority for these negative points along with the positive ones.
But you never know. We can never predict when love or death comes on us.

Lazy moviestic weekend

As days are passing on in Bahrain, I’m becoming quite lazy and started passing time like never before. One such example was my last weekend. It was dedicated to movies, movies and only movies. It all started with a never-before event. Till last weekend, I never watched a movie other than English, Hindi and Telugu, in theaters. But last weekend, I saw a movie, Billa in theater. I was fooled by the ads and the hype to watch it. The rest of the movies I watched are Nag’s Don, National Treasure 2, The Kingdom and Shooter.
Among the above, “Billa” and “Don” are all style but no substance. It’s a wastage of time to watch those(except for the heroines in both). “National Treasure 2: The book of secrets” is a time-pass flick but sometimes you feel that the movie is fooling you a lot: like the break-in into the Buckingham palace and White House by the lead pair and the so-called kidnap of the U.S president. One starts to wonder whether people are so stupid????? And some settings in the second half seem to be lifted straight from the Tomb Raider game. Nicholas Cage seemed to be older than he is.
“Shooter” is one of those engrossing thrillers of Mark Wahlberg. I never understand why this guy is repeatedly ignored by Hollywood. Well, coming to the movie, it has some awesome dialogues and some good fights. But don’t blame me if you are reminded of Telugu “Athadu” and Hindi “Tum Ko Na Bhool Payengi”. All these films resemble each other a lot.
Coming the final one, it’s the best of the lot. It’s “The Kingdom” starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jennifer Garner. The movie is about a bomb blast in an American compound in Saudi Arabia by some terrorists and its consequences. The first fifteen minutes of the movie is hard-hitting, the next one hour is dramatic and the final twenty or twenty-five minutes makes your heart beat faster with adrenalin. It has some awesome blast sequences worth a watch.
This is how I spent two valuable days. Next weekend, let’s hope for the best.

Year-end

Everyone wants to note down what they did in the first day of the year. Even I’m one of those people. But this year end, I want to be a little different. So I'm penning down what I did on the last day of 2k7.
05 50 AM: Got up late by 10 minutes than usual time. In fact, my roomie woke me up late.
06 35 AM: Waiting for Naidu to pick me up and witnessed an accident where no one’s hurt. A BMW driven by Africans skidded on the wet road (but they were driving pretty recklessly) and hit a parked car.
07 20 AM: Came late to office by 20 minutes. But who cares? Everyone in office seems to be pretty bored (most of them came after a long vacation).
10 00AM: Feeling bored with the work. Mind seems to be blocked. Opened some long standing issue in the Leave Application system. Planning to close it off today.
12 00AM: Found that the above issue cannot be closed until I get the relevant data from SAP. Till now, I was thinking the other way round but now I’m sure that unless the data is available, I can’t get rid of this issue. Alerted the SAP guy about this.
12 15AM: Headed for the last lunch of the year.
01 00PM: Came back from lunch. Mailing users about the pending issues and trying to keep myself busy.
01 48PM: One user reported a small bug in one system and while checking it out, I found a blunder I did in it sometime back. Thank God, if anyone found it before, my yearend might’ve been a nightmare.
03 10PM: Got 1.6GB space on server by deleting one user. Kudos for being alert, Satish. You deserve more than what you get.
03 30PM: Adeos, my office – for the last time in the year. BTW, we were given a blender each on the occasion of the company annual day.
05 00PM: Got struck in the traffic. 30 minutes journey took more than an hour. Seems that the New Year eve rush started too early.
05 30PM: Skipped gym for the day. Feeling a bit lazy. Went for hair-cut instead and started watching the idiot box for info about various New Year festivities in India.
07 40PM: Started playing TombRaider for the last time in the year. I hope to finish it off at least in 2008!!!!!!
08 45PM: Got a call from a colleague to accompany him to TeluguKalaSamithi(TKS) as he had a meeting there. I said I’m sorry but he insisted and assured me that it won’t take much time and we’ll go for the New Year party directly from there.
10 30PM: At last, the so-called meeting finished and I’m eager to see how the party goes.
10 45PM: Went to Ramada Palace hotel and found that the party hall is too much crowded. Felt like grabbing a couple of drinks and kick off to home.
11 00PM: Met many people from TKS and started feeling at home. The unlimited drinks started to ease the pressure off me and felt like I’m ready to rock the dance floor(I’m a very bad dancer).
12 00AM: Happy New Year and end of this post. The festivities went on for some more time but they are all irrelevant in this post.