I am not a blogger

Fine Urdu Poetry | Find Urdu Poetry ...

2008-02-10T19:48:00.000+08:00

A great site for urdu peotry..

Aligarians.com

well well...

2008-02-04T22:41:00.000+08:00

i am going to write in all small letters mode.. so no shift+ (). ofcourse i didnt do this at work today, guess you have to reach a certain level (whatever !) when you get to write abrupt single word emails, write with no comma, of fullstop and ofcourse no caps..

coming to the blog, this time i refrain from saying those words i said sometime ago, and jay said he can say the same too and a year down the line, thats all both of us have said !

i am in that mood again today where i question my raison d'etre.. not so much the "etre" but what is that i have done last year (achieved is a big word and kind of scares me, so wont say "what i achie..") or even this last month.. did you notice that the month of jan slipped away, its already the 4th and with cny just aroundthe corner.. i see feb slipping away too.. and then its q1 that slips away.. and the question again, have i done anything worth while in the last one month...

before the blog gets more negative and i make it more difficult for myself to get up and go to work tomm, let me share a good book i read last week and sign-off with that.

My Father's Notebook by Kader Abdolah

Do read this..

2007-04-11T21:40:00.000+08:00

Wild Swans THREE DAUGHTERS OF CHINA

A riveting tale of three generation, Wild Swans traces the lives of the author, her mother and grandmother through the chaotic decade of the end of old China, the Japanese Occupation, Liberation following the World War II, the Koumintang, the rise of Communism under Mao, Mao's China, the Cultural Revolution

More info on wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Swans

- J

e-food !!!

2007-04-10T21:12:00.000+08:00

Ahh...we do a lot of things on the virtual world, listing all those would be boring and too lengthy..you know how lazy I am. Coming to the point have you ever had e-food? Well am not talking about ordering food online and it arriving at your doorstep in 29 minutes 56 seconds, but virtually e-food ! If you haven't, try this:

Mahanandi

I am not crazy about food, but I just love reading whats on this site. Most of the recipes take me home to my mom. This is one of those sites I visit often to check for updates even when I know I can't cook for a month.

I thank the host of such wholesome site :)

J

Yahooooooo

2007-03-04T20:58:00.000+08:00

I am a proud owner of

Thanks K !

Am back... am I?

2007-03-04T14:36:00.000+08:00

Well, Well.. been a while since I blogged, since I visited any blog (apart from the random ones which become in/famous). Jay I know you don't need me telling you that. But I thought I will make your day when you visit my blog next time (oh yeah?) and make you read a few words. Pl note the word "few".

7-8-9-whatever months and what has happened in the meanwhile? Back in the corporate world, weeks go by in a swirl, weekends too, added another year to my age (only one mind you :D), made a few trips to India (Pune, Hyd, Blore)....seen a few (understatement of the year) friends settling down - whatever ! would rather say, leaving my side of the world, with innumerable advises that I should do the same, but then how can I leave "my" side of the world? - took a (very) short holiday in Sibu ( Sea gypsy, Sibu Island, Malaysia ), read a load of books (promise will come back to that), watched a bunch of movies, drifted from a few (not sure if its just a few) friends.....and life seems to go on..

..........
J

Paradise now

2006-06-17T22:39:00.000+08:00

The tagline reads "From the most unexpected place, comes a bold new call for peace."

Watched this movie over the weekend and was pretty touched by it. A story about two friends Said and Khaled who are chosen for the mission of suicide-bombing Tel-Aviv. The final few hours in their lives, the emotions they go through, the questions that arise and the answers that arent there...

A well made movie which brings out the stark contrast of the lives on either side. The lives of the oppressers, occupiers, settlers vs the oppressed.

Suha, daughter of a martyr, when reminded of her herioc father says "I would rather he be alive than be proud of him" brings the pathos in the lives of those left behind..

Khaled in his argument with Suha says "Under the occupation, we are already dead".

Said is torn between God's will, and the urge to remove his father's "collaborator" stigma that stays with the family.

A sensitive portrayal of the reality, the movie does not take sides, glorify, exemplify or argue for anything. Watch it if you get a chance.

J

Poetry International Web

2006-06-11T00:36:00.000+08:00

http://www.poetryinternational.org

Indian poetry..
http://india.poetryinternational.org

Prayer..

2006-05-29T06:15:00.000+08:00

Prayer is a poetic relationship with existence. It has nothing to do with your so-called religion.
- Osho

see this..

2006-05-19T17:40:00.000+08:00

even if you have already seen it :)

http://www.epica-awards.com/assets/epica/2004/winners/film/flv/11071.htm

J

raison d'être

2006-05-18T17:42:00.000+08:00

long time no post..

didn't have a good enough reason to write (what bullshit), so whats the "raison" now?

i woke in the morning thinking about whats my raison d'être? what am i here for? not going around a philosophical bend, but just wondering whats the meaning of everything (and nothing) that i do in life? sometimes i think i know what it is all about, most days i just seem to be doing things, without thinking about "why"

thats enough pondering, let me get back to doing nothing :D

J

ps: do let me know what you think it is all about?

Happy Sankranti

2006-01-13T17:01:00.000+08:00

Some pics from the harvest festival celebrated in India.

We put this in front our house. Some talent eh?

Jyothi

Front door..

2005-11-30T09:09:00.000+08:00

From a book of poems - I speak for the devil by imtiaz dharker

Front door

Whereever I have lived,
walking out of the front door
every morning
means crossing over
to a foreign country.

One language inside the house,
another out.
The food and clothes
and customs change.
The fingers on my hand turn
into forks.

I call it adaptation
when my tongue switches
from one grammar to another,
but the truth is I’m addicted now,
high on the rush
of daily displacement,
speeding to a different time zone,
heading into altered weather,
landing as another person.

Don’t think I haven’t noticed
you’re on the same trip too.

Jeeves takes charge..

2005-11-22T19:40:00.000+08:00

Read a Wodehouse after a long time, guess after almost a year. God, why did I do this to myself and missed the fun :)

Was reading Carry On, Jeeves (have read it before, lost count of how many times) and was laughing to myself much to the amusement of my co-passengers in the train. I know, some people find PGW silly, but they just dont know what they are missing. A prolific writer Wodehouse wrote over 100 books, musicals. More the merrier for us, isnt it? He is a genius of a writer, you get addicted to his books and his humour. I have come to love all the formidable aunts (Agatha, Dahlia..), the rich uncles, the Lords, Psmith, Empress of Blandings, Bertie and Jeeves ofcourse.

Bertie taking about Jeeves and his brains.

"Lots of people think I’m much too dependent on him. My Aunt Agatha, in fact, has even gone so far as to call him my keeper. Well, what I say is: Why not? The man’s a genius. From the collar upward he stands alone. I gave up trying to run my own affairs within a week of his coming to me."

In the first episode when Jeeves comes into Bertie's employment.. he gives him "rummy" concoction to get over a late evening. Bertie swallows the drink and tells us..

"..I felt as if somebody had touched off a bomb inside the old bean and was strolling down my throat with a lighted torch, and then everything seemed suddenly to get all right. The sun shone in through the window; birds twittered in the tree-tops; and, generally speaking, hope dawned once more."

Bertie after some thought and ofcourse some life saving by Jeeves tells him to get rid of the suit that Jeeves isn't happy about.

"Thank you, sir. I gave it to the under-gardener last night. A little more tea, sir?"

Thats Jeeves for you :)

Get yourself a Wodehouse and enjoy.

J

221b, Baker Street, London

2005-11-22T01:59:00.000+08:00

Had gone to meet the great man a couple of weeks ago. Stays just outside of Baker street tube station.

Was funny to see the house in place as we have read in the stories. Was waiting for him to come out of the house with his pipe to catch a hansom to take him to paddington station :)

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

2005-10-09T19:21:00.000+08:00

The tagline reads "Its all about loving your parents". K3G is definetely more than that.

K3G as we 'desis' call it was just a movie for me until sometime ago I realised its the reason for Bollywood calling the world. When my Indonesian flatmate a year ago said she liked Kareena Kapur and had seen Asoka, I was a little surprised that she had seen a hindi movie. The I read about the Japs loving Rajnikanth's movies, Oh yeah our very own Padayappa. I thought ok, its like the Russian and Chinese being able to sing RajKapoor's "mera joota hain japani". But I have lately realised that Bollywoods reach is much greater and farther. Its not just the NRIs wanting to keep up with their roots but non-indians who watch more hindi movies.

And Kabhi khushi kabhie gham (now why does the second kabhie in the title have an extra 'e', ofcourse numerology yaar) is the movie that "changed" lives ;) For an Indian brought up in Chicago to an Egyptian/French who got hooked onto Hindi movies in UK, to all the french who have seen the movie to the latest fans from Poland K3G is the movie, a fab/top movie. If you still haven't seen it.. come on should be your next one.

What makes people watch a hindi movie, in a language they don't understand. Youseff, the egyptian/french who has a larger hindi movie collection than me says - its the happy ending, its the feel good factor, the cheerfullness, hope..

Yeah has to be.... after all India has the fourth happiest population in the world.

Ithaka

2005-10-07T04:15:00.000+08:00

I keep going back to this poem once in a while.

Ithaka
By Constantin Cavafy

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon-don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon-you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind-
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you're old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you've gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Do I know where my Ithaka is?

Life goes on..

2005-10-04T23:18:00.000+08:00

Robert Frost said "In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on."

Taking a philosophical view of this we can say life does go on, no matter what happens. We change, move ahead and as Frost said it goes on. But what makes it go on? Our dreams, ambitions, goals, or the little things in life? A good laugh, a shared joy, a memory, a book, friends, the joy of being, doing things. A friend of mine once said "all i am asking is one decent conversation a day to keep me going". I am just rambling and wondering what makes it go on.. hope? hope that the next moment, tomorrow will be different and better, may be.

Mona Lisa smile

2005-10-04T05:58:00.000+08:00

La Jaconde's alluring smile brings in millions of visitors to the Louvre every year. I paid my visit this sunday. I have seen photographs, copies of the most famous painting in the world a million times. When you see it in person the smile does make you wonder "why is she smiling?" is it a little cynical? all knowing, pitying smile? I dont know. We will never know..

I'm in love..

2005-09-25T07:30:00.000+08:00

with Paris :)

yesterday my chat messengers screamed "Stop the world, I want to get off", I was bugged with life ;) and showed my angst. But things do change pretty fast. Today, I am in love with Paris.

Forget the language problems, forget surviving the "not so veggie" food, being in Paris gives me so much pleasure. The place is steeped in history, every building, every road scream centuries of history and culture.

A dull day to go sight seeing, coz it was cloudy and as my friend said "oh no.. bad day to take photos". At the end of the day we are just happy to have seen the places. We went to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Built in the 12th century, completed in the 13th this lies in the heart of the city by the side of river Siene. The view from the top is great, Though I like it better from the top of Arc de Triomphe. And then we went to Sacre-Coeur. I wanted to go to Champs-Elysee and go up the Arc de Triomphe again.. but we ended up going to Tracadero and watched Eiffel go up in lights. It was a magnificient sight and I fell in love with Paris ;)

The frist time I saw Eiffel Tower, I thought "ok, its a massive iron structure, and is good, must be great to go up the tower and see Paris". No.. you should see Eiffel from Trocadero. From the terrace, from across the Siene, you can see the beauty of Eiffel. The "sparkling" Eiffel is just awesome to look at..

I will run out of adjectives ... and will end with a joke ;) heard it near Trocadero.
A bunch of tourists getting themselves photographed with Eiffel in the backgound. The guy taking the pix said "say cheese".. one of the guys getting photographed said "fromage"... (thats french for cheese)

Sorry about that. Let me get a good picture of Eiffel and sign off..

J

Back in Hyderabad..

2005-09-21T15:10:00.000+08:00

A little late. Its a month since I left Hyderabad, but I cant skip and jump to where I am now. And then I am catching up on my blogging. KP, I know this is long due, but you know I am just lazy.

I took a good, nice long break in India. Won't call it a vacation, I just went back home. Had a good time in Hyderabad meeting up with friends, eating chat on the road, drinking coffee at Coffee day (though it is getting a little expensive..), reading novels, catching up on movies - telugu, hindi, english, doing nothing.... Was too lazy to even check my emails in India. Didnt know I could live without switching on my laptop early in the morning everyday. Was good to hold "The Hindu", rather than read the headlines on the net. Before I went back I thought I am going to watch a lot of TV, but got bored of it in a couple of days. But I did watch a lot of cricket. Watched the first 3 Ashes test matches. It was a pretty exciting series. Not just because Aussies got beaten after a long, long time, but it was good intense cricket with the matches going into the last day, last hour. And ofcourse compared to India loosing again in the finals in SL...

Has Hyderabad (wont say India, coz i didnt travel at all) changed? Ofcourse it has changed. For good or for bad? :( Roads are very bad, dont know if I should attribute that to the monsoons or just sheer deteriotion in the infrastructure in the last one year. Wont talk about the traffic. You think it cannot get worse, but you are proved wrong everytime. In other ways, Hyderabad has been changing in the last 5-7 years and is still changing. What do I mean by other ways? There are more shopping malls, peoples' dressing has changed, more places to hang out - go to Eat street on Necklace road good food and a nice sit out on the banks of Hussain Sagar, more people eating out - means do reserve a table before you land up.. and ..

At a personal level too, its a change from my JNTU days, we no longer think of ok, how do we get to the place where we are going to meet? What bus to take? Who gets a ride on whos bike? But.. how many cars do we need?

July 2005 was a "Decade - Reunion" for us JNTUECE99 ers. It isnt a decade since we graduated, but a decade since we joined, rather since we met. It was just great to back to college (ofcourse wont say school) and sit in the classrooms, the drawing (exam) halls. Talk about who is doing what now or did what in college, who used to sit where, which lecturer is still in and who has left, who got kicked out of the class because of whom.... talk about kids, spouses. We (the hyderabadis, I mean the ones in hyderabad, I am true, blue hyderabadi too) had planned and coordinated for 3 weeks, but the number dropped from 18-19 to 10-12. It was loads of fun. Talking about old days is enough right? Then we took a boat cruise around Hussain Sagar. I have stayed most of my life in Hyderabad and never done that. We saw "Budhudu" too, not from the banks, but we went there. The largest monolithic statue of Buddha in the world :)

Need more catching up. But will do it soon.

Jyothi

there you go

2005-09-21T15:09:00.000+08:00

Been trying to upload this picture, but just couldnt do it. That isnt a great picture of Buddha standing in the middle of lake Hussain Sagar, but we can do with it

Change... Adaptation, Improvisation

2005-07-07T10:10:00.000+08:00

..your weakness is not your technique. Familiar words to Matrix fans. But these the words that come to my mind as I go on, still without a phone. A couple of days after the loss, I am not missing it anymore. I have found other ways to communicate. I like the fact that I am unreachable after I switch off the computer. Man's, rather Human's to be politically correct ability to adapt to new conditions and make the most of the resources (S)he has, has made survival unquestionable.

Just a few random thoughts early in the morning, as I take a break from work. BTW, I should be back in the world of mobile phones by tomorrow :)

J

Lost but not found

2005-07-04T21:35:00.000+08:00

I lost my hand phone in the afternoon today. I hate two things about losing anything like this. First I hate it, that I have been careless, then I hate the "dealing" part of it (what else is left ha?). I have to call the service providers to cancel/block the phone. Now do I get them to cancel the card or do I ask them to just bar the outgoing calls, so that I can keep trying the number and see if I can reach the person who has found (flicked?!?!??) it. I chose the second one, giving it sometime in the hope that I might get it back. (I got back my wallet after losing it, not once but twice without the dough though and after going through the rigour of cancelling my cards etc). So am keeping fingers crossed...

Its a funny feeling to be without the phone. Suddenly there are no smses, there is no ringing. I think of all the people I should have called today. I get the feeling that lots of people are going to call me ;) but wont get a response. Who will wake me in the morning, will i get to office in time. Good, will get to sleep the extra half hour which I do anyways everyday but without having to hear the alarm ringing every 10 minutes.

But I also have the feeling that I am free (mr. cruise screaming to tom petty's song "and am freeeeeeeeee..." in jerry maguire ) suddenly, though only for a day. You cant reach me on my phone for a day!!

But yes, I cant imagine life without a phone either (evil holddaaa ;) )

J

Consistency..

2005-06-27T23:44:00.000+08:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do ... Speak what you think today in words as hard as cannon-balls, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradicts every thing you said today."

Steve Jobs' Commencement speech at Stanford

2005-06-23T18:46:00.000+08:00

Please do read.

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

Jyothi

work ha?

2005-06-22T14:48:00.000+08:00

What do you do when you just dont feel like working?

I have read the news a million times, read the players profiles on wimbledon, did some no-brainers in a hope that i might feel like going back to work, have reserched and read on everything under the sun (obviously I am exaggerating) but how do I motivate myself and may be force myself to do "work". I go back to reading the sunday magazine of the hindu, a newspaper i have read since i was a child and one that i read regularly on the web. I look out of the window and look at the sea, at the activity in the port, took a coffee break, took a walk break.... but still dont feel like working....

Will I work after i finish the blog? anybody's guess.

J

i jump in too

2005-06-17T23:17:00.000+08:00

into the world of blogging.

well, I don't know if it is the urge to write and not care about it, or sheer peer pressure. After having read blogs of friends over the years, blogs fwded "good read" "enjoy this".. and blogs of friends of friends, blogs stumbled upon during random mindless browsing.. after reading about bloggers' meets, bloggers park and ... i take a plunge too.

I started with a lot of enthu a couple of days ago and as it happens to most of you (just to assure myself that I am not the only one it happens to), it didnt save what I wrote, and being who I am, I gave up immediately.

for now. hopefully I will follow this up with something sensible and something beyond "here i am"...

Jyothi