Before Sunrise

This is how Bangalore morning's look for the last 1 week - starting from Tuesday 29/05/2007

P.S: Just in case you did not notice i have used the movie title 'Before Sunrise' as the caption for the post. From what i hear the movie has a great storyline in which 2 people meet in a city before sunrise away from their homes and spend the whole day, like each other, fall in love but decide to part ways and meet after 9 months at the same place. The second part is titled 'Before Sunset' which takes the movie ahead.

Shootout At IndiaGate

TV = Total Vaste

25/05/2007
I think the best thing to do on a Friday is to be down a few beers and get wasted because i happened to think otherwise and decided to stay at home and watch some TV. In return i ended up alternating between 3 news channels, 2 reality shows and eating up junks of food and WTF !! i so despised it. The best part was a reality show called 'Biggest Loser' where they get fat people from around the country and divide them into groups and the person who looses the maximum pounds wins and you got to trust me that show is going to kill someone very soon. The show makes a person who is weighing close to 200 Kg's do a month's workout in a week. God save those fat souls.

Anyway the week in Delhi has been great and highly entertaining as my mother spent all the time asking me stuff about the marriage. Trust me being able to pull a North Indian Punjabi Wedding is more difficult then being able to deliver a software project and to top it all up I'm right now on the way to both.

Bangalore Evenings

It all happened on a lazy Sunday evening

Presenting Viral Videos

Not sure how many of you know what 'Viral Videos' are all about - but according to wiki 'The term viral video refers to video clip content which gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites.'

So this is what me and a college friend of mine(he's has a knack for making amateur home videos - who knows he might be the next big porn director in the making) are planning to do. Try to go around the city and make some video's on my camera and post them online for you all punters.

We already have some stupid ideas in place :-
1) Go and do some random interviews in our companies about some serious topics like 'Gay Marriage in India' or 'Do u like your project manager?' or 'Did you test your code today?'
2) Real stupid idea - Strap the freaking camera to my friend's bike mud guard and go around for a ride - I stand to loose my camera for sure in this one.
3) Go around Bangalore and video some cool stuff like the 'meter long coffee'
4) Start the video mode and play ball with the camera between him and me

In case any of you have suggestions of what you would want to see then please feel free to give your suggestions.

Should have something for you soon. Have already found a way to add videos on to my blog - i intend to use you tube for the same. If anyone of you know of other ways to do the same then do tell me.

Domestic Violence

Lil did i know that i would also be a victim someday. Got the bridge of my nose smashed leaving behind a cut right over the point where the bridge of the spectacles come. Rendering me blind for a day as i cannot now wear my visibility aid for a day.

Went straight to Jaideva Hospital holding a swab of cotton to stop the bleeding the ward boy applied iodine tincture and gave me a swab of gauze to wipe the blood if required. Bum could not see that the cut was still bleeding but he like a great consultant suggested that i go and see a plastic surgeon in Apollo Hospital and I'm like i ain't Britney Spears or anything that i need a plastic surgeon.

Ne ways took an auto again to Apollo Hospital where the ward boy was stupid enough to pick up a stethoscope and blood pressure machine and i'm looking at his face and he's like what happened and i pointed to my nose and he's like - 'that's it !!' - i mean what did you expect?? that i poke an eye for you or shoot myself in the arm. Stupid Ass !

Anyway the attending docter came and she's like How did it happen? i casually turned around and looked at my tormentor. she did'nt ask anything more nor did i say anything. Neways i asked her if the wound requires some sutures and she's like even if you get plastic surgery done it would leave a scar and again i wondered Am i really Britney's lookalike ! So i said no i'll take it like a man and save the scar. It makes for a good story over beer. What say??

Came back 2 hrs back and the stupid bleeding is still not stopping. Yeah i bleed as i write but i want the people to know the truth. The hurt.

Thanks to Aastha for everything.

P.S: if you people need visual then let me know i got pictures too

Creative Photography

Below are some of the pictures which i took over the past few days

The First Road Trip - Prep For the Himalayan Odyssey

Mind you all this is not Fart because during the proceedings on this initiative my gluteus maximus got so absolut numb

Statistics
10 litres of petrol - Rs 500
Parking Fee - Rs 20
Entry Fee to Nandi Hills Fort - Rs 10
Tea - Rs 10
Being able to do my road trip - Priceless

So getting to the RT, Kota and Myself started early in fact we started a night before and went on to have couple of beers and watched pretty woman till 1 in the night finally waking up at 4.30 am to do the first road trip of my life - Bangalore - Nandi Hills - Bangalore. Its a mere 120 Km's back to back so a very small ride but it was my first one and that too on a Bullet.

We were out by 5.15 am with Kota riding and me pillion. We went as par as Yehlanka when we realized that we both have no idea about the directions except the fact thats its on the Bangalore- Hyderabad Highway. So i took over from Kota to ride Rocky II (thats the name of the bike). Now i'll be very open this was my first time i was riding a Bullet and if you notice carefully the Bullet Electra 4G has everything opposite i.e.
- The rear wheel brake is on the left.
- Gears on the right
- Front wheel brake on right top
- Clutch on left top

All in all i did not know how to ride it and to add on to it the highway had no lightning. :-)
But my ability to put myself into pretty stupid challenges was pretty strong so i started driving. I took my own sweet time to get used to the gears and lack of visibility with some near topples and brake mix ups. :-)

After the first 5 Kms i for the first time felt the dust and the grime on my palms and my first reaction was to turn around and ask Kota 'Do u also get this?' and he just nodded.

Ne ways we reached Nandi Hills and this is what it offers

We were back in Bangalore by about 9 am for a good breakfast prepared by Biswajeet. Once back home my i had one of the best hair blown beard (more on this later with pics).

All in all i would proclaim that I'm still in my infancy but I'm here now

Memoirs Of An Underwear

This might end up as a cheap write to many and nostalgia to some who shared my days in engineering times. I write this post as a add on to Sharma's concerns about his underwear. Though i do not intend to talk about my jockey but i shall want to live the memoirs of a Calvin Klein which regularly did the rounds from G2G (Groin to Ground) and back.

It so happens that in my college days my roomie happened to be a pretty meticulous guy, meticulous in terms of the fact that he would put some specific number of CK's to use and those CK's once used would hit the spot on the trunk. In due time the pile of used clothes would grow in size which in accordance to Murphy's law was never manageable and in due time spillage used to drive those CK's to ground.

Now I'm sure we all know how dirty hostel rooms are so floors are going to be pretty messy state of affairs. At one such moment i saw the back trip happening for a CK and it was a pretty horrid site but then if i look at it now - Its life no wonder people say - What goes round comes around!

So to provide some respite to Sharma i shall say that dude its ok if the undie ends up as a mop just pray that the back trip does not happen.

Devil./

This Is What I Want?

I have always been held in awe by travelers. Don't know why but probably its the thing which i have not experienced so far or probably because it runs in the blood

1) My father has spent 40 years of his career on sea and is still continuing to do so. Touch Wood.
2) My maternal grand father covered the whole of Kashmir on a bike.
3) My father along with my mother went all across Punjab on a bike.
4) My elder brother bought about the idea of buying a sail boat and going places. Sadly the idea died right over the beer over which it started but I'm sure he wants to still do it

And now i want to go through the same experience. I Want to travel.
For a major part of my life till now one of the best alternate professions which i would want to get into is wildlife photography or traveler associated with Discovery or National Geographic.

I do not want to do something big like a year of travel or a bike trip from India to some distant lands. I want to a simple 2 week trip from Delhi to Leh Ladakh as part of the Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey.

Some of the challenges which i face are:-
1) Getting a Royal Enfield Bullet
2) Getting my folks comfortable with the idea
3) Practicing enough riding before i face the 2 week ride knowing that its gonna take me to the world's toughest & highest motorable passes - Baralach La (16800ft), Tanglang La (17500ft) & Khardung La (18380ft)
4) Another important factor is the nature of my job which might require me to travel for work

So this is what i want to do and i still do not have a plan for the same but clearly i know that my elder bro and my sister in law do not support my endevour as per now.

Lets hope i'm able to beat the odds at this one.