A Tag

Found it on some blog

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.

I added Mc Donald's, so technically, I ahd three jobs at the same time.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & catch air?

Okay. 

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

Big Boss - 4

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?

10:30 AM

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?

10:41 AM

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Colleagues discussing an issue :P

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

I am already out. In office

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at?

Official Mails

9. What are you wearing?

Casuals. Its Friday after all!

10. When did you last laugh?

In the morning

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?

Balloons and decorative stuff for New Year celebrations

12. Seen anything weird lately?

Not really

13. What do you think of this quiz?

No idea where it originated from.

14. What is the last film you saw?

In a movie hall – Khelein Hum Jee Jaan se

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?

Air tickets for world tour

16. Tell me something about you that I dunno!

I am an open book :P

Well cant think of anything else

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

I’d invent a crystal ball (a real one) which can show any one’s past, present and future

18. Do you like to Dance?

Not really. Mainly because I am a very bad dancer L

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

My lit’l princess.

20. Imagine your first child is a boy , what do you call him?

My angel.

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Surely

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?

Umm… You lived a good life!

Big B

I generally don't read celebrity blog, unless they have something better to say apart from publicizing their stardom. However, just for fun and to kill time, I bumped to Mr. Amitabh Bachhan’s blog. Here is a man, who is so busy, yet never misses to update his blog at the end of the day, no matter how late it is. And here am I, I always tell myself that I am too busy to post a blog right now :( The major reason I feel is the lack of motivation. I started my blog with the hope that it will get instant recognition, which fell flat! I have got only 5 people as my followers, all of them are my friends and  I have coaxed and convinced them to be my followers (yes I have done that). I was astounded to see the number of comments he gets. Each of his blog posts generally get 300+ responses. I wonder if the total count of comments for all my posts will ever reach 300. Of course there is no comparison with me and Mr. Bachhan’s fame, but can’t help thinking.

Anyways coming back to the topic, I read the comments he got (yes, I was really free that day :P). People compete to be the first commenter of the day. No matter how late it is, people stay awake. I found that there are 1-2 people who are always the first ones to comment. Mr.Bachhan even called one of them to meet him. People address him as “Prabhu”, “Pitamah”, “Drona” , "Gurudev", “Darling” and what not!  They keep track of how much he slept last night. All of them think so highly of him that they draw sketches of him, dedicate their poems to him everyday and think of him as God.  I was wondering if I am out of this world! Not that I disregard him in any way, but I felt that there is no limit to people’s deewanapan!

There were the usual “I love the way you write”, “I am a great fan of yours”, “I love your movies”, until I saw some unusual ones.

Hello Amitji,

I am also like other fans of yous requestinmg for your personal email id, if you can please send me at

xxxxxi@yyyyy.com, it would be real good.
Once you send me ur id, and you come to know my problem I am assured you will definitely help me out and this is something which I cant reveal in open it is just for that.
My requests are not like I need to meet you or something neither any financial help , it is something related to consulting for me.
PLEASE HELP.
Bahut asha ke sath maine yeh lika hai aapko….please mujhe niraash mat kariyega :). I am in really DEEP DEEP trouble…aap bhi sunege to sochenge Bhagwan aisa kar sakte hai kya…trust me all is truth nothing fake.
Thanks

I wonder what the problem is, for which only Mr. Bachhan has the solution and is expected to give an agony aunt reply! Or imagine Mr. Bachhan leaving all his work and telling his director to pack up and writing a reply to this person!

Another one from the same person:

Hello Amitji,
Still waiting for your id, I can assure you the id will not be made public and its a genuine reason soomething like my wish, if you can mail me your id you will definitely be helping someone.
Thanks.

Something else from someone else:

hi sir

badi der lagadi post likh ne me ok no problem.

Sir muje aap se milna he,ab ye duri bardast nahi hoti he.

App ne atul ohjal ko milne k liye bulaya tha par muje kab bulaoge me atul se b bada aap ka fan hu me aap ki scetching to nahi bana sakta par aap ki photo mere dil me bana rakhi he,sir aap ko pata nahi he me aap k liye kya kar sakta hu me aap k liye jan b de sakta hu MANG LO SIR.

Pls sir pls sir pls sir
muje aap se milna he pls aap ko mile biger chain nahi aaye ga.

AGER AAP MUJSE NAHI MILE TO MERI AATMA AAP K BLOG PAR BHATKTI RAHEGI SIR. (HUH???)

Mera ek hi sapna he aap se milne ka or aap k sath ek bar filme me kam karne ka.

PLS PLS PLS PLS SIR MUJE AAP SE MILNA HE PLS SIR PLS.

AAP KO APNE SARE FAN KI KASAM MUJE EK BAR MILNE KA MOKA TO DO SIR.

From

abcd.
sometown, KHUSHBU
GUJRAT KI,
MO:xxxxxxxxxxx
yyyyyyyyyyaaaaa@bbbb.com

 

I mean what was he thinking before writing all this rubbish and I think he writes everyday. Poor Mr. Bachhan! 

Another one from Gujarat ki Khusbu:

HI SIR.

AAP JAB BLOG LIKH KAR POST KARTE HO TO MUJ 1-2 GAHANTE BAD MOBILE ME DIKHATA HE, MERE PAS NATO PC,NATO LAPTOP HE. ISLIYE ME AAP K POST PAR MOBILE SE COMENTS DETA HU.

SIR JESE AAP ATUJ OHJAL SE MILE HO VESE HI MUJE AAP SE MILNA HE AGER AAP NAHI MILOGE TO MERE DIL K ARMAN TUT JAYENGE PLS SIR PLS SIR MUJE AAP SE MILNA HE.

KEHTE HENA MUSADI LAKH CHAHE KYA HOTA HE,WAHI HOTA HE JO MANJUR E KHUDA HOTA HE.

EVERGREEN SONG 4 YOU MY GURUDEV

“Tu tu he wahi dil ne jise aapna kaha,tu he waha ab to he jina tere bin he saja”

From

abcd.
sometown, KHUSHBU
GUJRAT KI,
MO:xxxxxxxxxxx
yyyyyyyyyyaaaaa@bbbb.com

All I wish to say about them is “What a Loser!”

Summary of 2010

1. What did you do in 2010 that you had never done before?

Traveled abroad

Started using an iPhone (and stopped eventually :P)

Didn’t visit my native for 10 months :(

Tried to master cooking

2. Did you keep your new years resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t make New Year resolutions these days, reason being I almost definitely never keep them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My bhabhi did!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully, no.

5. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

My first anniversary :)

6. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Started my blog! :)

7. What was your biggest failure?

I have been unable to change certain things in my life.

8. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I suffered from usual cough, cold and viral fever a few times

9. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Yukta’s. She became a toddler from an infant. :)

10. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Let’s not get there.

11. Where did most of your money go?

Shopping I think.

Shopping for me is associated with an amazing sense of well being. It lifts up my spirits whenever I am low or depressed. The price of the thing doesn’t matter. What’s important is I keep buying something.
:) So that's where most of my money went!

12. What did you get really, really excited about?

My sister moving down to Bangalore

13. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Ainvain from Band Baaja Baraat.

Pee loon from Once Upon a Time in Mumbai

14. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?

Of course happier (Refer here)

15. What do you wish you had done more of?

I wish I had worked harder toward getting back in shape. I wish I had started this blog earlier, but, better late than never!

16. What do you wish you had done less of?

Facebooking. :P

17. Did you fall in love in 2010?

Yes. With places. With my life.

18. What was the best book you read?

Hakunamatata

Of course I love You

Some from Ceclia Aherns’ collection

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?

None I can think of.

20. What did you want and get?

A job

21. What did you want and not get?

A trip to some places in southern India. But I am not complaining

22. What was your favorite film of this year?

None actually. I think it was a pretty bad year for Bollywood

23. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Nothing more than what I already have. I cannot possibly ask for anything else!

24. What kept you sane?

J*’s support

25. Who was the worst new person you met?

No one.

26. Who was the best new person you met?

I was excited to meet many new people this year, but I will not single out anyone.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

One should not lose his/her patience in any situation (Something which I am yet to master)

28. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

None that is coming to my mind now

If you liked it, please feel free to tag yourself!

Have a Happy 2011!! :)

Happy Birthday YUKTA

Yukta is my niece. Difficult to believe, but she completed two years today! It seems like yesterday was the day she was born, but as I am writing this, those two years are floating by my eyes. I was working in Pune when she was born and luckily I was home when our bundle of joy arrived J She is the first member of her generation in my family, so she is pampered like anything! Since Didi-Jiju (My elder sister and BIL) have shifted to Bangalore and are staying with us for a while, me and J* are having a great time with Yukta and of course, with Didi-Jiju as well. We could not be there for her first birthday so we ensured that we didn’t miss anything on her second one.

We went to Aryasamaj temple first thing in the morning. We reached just on time for the completion of the havan. “Varshikotsav” was going on there so the place was buzzing with energy. There were girls invited from Varanasi who are appointed as the “Cultural Ambassadors” of India by the Indian Government and have travelled the world for creating awareness about our rich culture. They are trained in Classical Music, Bow and arrows and the like.  They sang bhajans and different ragas.  

After that we went for shopping for her presents and some decoration stuff for the party in the evening. We bought a colorful tricycle for her. In the evening a few kids from the colony were invited and she had a gala time with them during the cake cutting, photo sessions, dance and games.

Yukta is very smart for her age as she can understand a lot of things and speaks almost everything (not everything is clear though). She is very inquisitive and asks a lot of questions. She wants to know everything as in who is going where, what am I doing on laptop, what is there for dinner and why her favorite thing is not there, why is the comb kept there, and the list is endless. You got the point? She knows how to coax her Ma by being nice (for a while) and hugging her. She is full of life, always talking and when she is not talking she expects us to talk or play with her.  She is an attention seeker and does weird stuff (Read – Forbidden Stuff) when we don’t pay attention to her. Her kiddish talks and queries, her smile just makes my day. No matter how horrible my day was, I always end up smiling when she is around!

The big girl will be joining play school from next week. I hope she enjoys it and the rest of her academics as well.

Happy Birthday again SweetheartJ

May you have a wonderful life ahead!

God Bless You!

Love,

Mausi

PS – Below are some pics.

How Criminals Use Facebook to Commit Crime

Read it somewhere and found it very informative. Do read till the end!

Think giving out basic personal information on Facebook is harmless? You might need to rethink, as a reformed burglar has given details on how a criminal can use your user account as a tool for committing a crime.

"The information people give out on Facebook, when linked up with other information freely available on the internet, is an absolute -goldmine for criminals," the Daily Mail quoted Michael Fraser, a reformed burglar who presents the BBC's 'Beat The Burglar' programme, as saying.

"One year, you might have a party and give out your address. A while later, you might tell everyone that it is your 30th birthday.

"So, if you've accepted me as a friend of a friend, I know your name, your address and your birth date.

"From that, I can go to 192.com and on there I can find out what you do for a living, how much your home is worth - and whether you're likely to be worth burgling.

"I might have already made up my mind because you've posted party -pictures on Facebook and I can see what kind of valuables you have in the house - and which rooms they're in. Then you go and tell your Facebook friends how much you're looking forward to going on holiday next Tuesday.

"I can go on to Google Street View and see actual photographs of your home. I can see if you have a burglar alarm, or whether there are any bushes in the garden to hide in. And I can see all the alleyways I can escape down. And, of course, I know you won't be at home.

"Burglars only burgle homes if they think they can get away with it. All of this information is likely to leave them feeling much more confident that they can," added Fraser.

Co-operative Insurance company revealed that 36 per cent of users regularly make use of them to broadcast their whereabouts when they are away from home.

"Once you accept a stranger into your Facebook account, they can begin what we call social -engineering - -delicately asking questions to build up information about you,' said Jason Hart, -senior vice -president of -CRYPTOCard Network Security.

"And that can cause havoc. Let's say they got your email address, then they could go to your email account pretending to be you and saying you have -forgotten your password.

"The account will then ask a security question - something like your favourite food or your first pet. Over the following weeks and months, it isn't hard for them to work -conversations round to subjects like that on Facebook.

"Once they have that secret -information, the email account will let them in. And once they are in there, they can find lots of sensitive information, such as your Amazon and eBay account history.

"They can then go to those sites pretending to be you and saying you have lost your passwords, and guess what happens then?

"Those sites send the passwords to your email account - the one that they have already conned their way into.

"Crooks who do this usually use the credit card details you have stored there to buy online gift vouchers that can be traded on the internet. It is a form of instant -currency.

"Even worse, if you have a PayPal account and have credit in it, your so-called friend could clean it out.

"Effectively, they have become an electronic version of you, they can change all your passwords and begin stealing from you.

"The message is simple: you wouldn't invite a perfect stranger into your house simply because they knocked on your door and said they wanted a look around. So why do it on Facebook?," Hart added. 

So next time you post something on Facebook, think TWICE!

My Dil Goes Hmmmmm...

To compensate with this rant, I have come up with the list of things that make my dil go Hmmmm.. again, in no particular order:

1.       I love watching Bollywood movies

2.       Creative advertisements

3.       Watching TV lazily and switching channels

4.       Sleeping on a lazy day, or any day in fact J

5.       Travelling

6.       Weekends (I wait for them since Monday itself :P)

7.       A good book and loads of time

8.       A clean, quiet library with lots of interesting books and loads of time

9.       Newspapers / Magazines

10.   Pleasant weather

11.   Rains

12.   Mitti ki khushbu during rains

13.   Walk or a drive in rains

14.   Walk on a beach with your loved one

15.   Sea/ocean

16.   Sound of waves

17.   Kids playing in a garden

18.   Innocent talks/question of kids

19.   A smile from a kid

20.   Baby’s toothless smile

21.   Babies

22.   Intelligent conversation

23.   A phone call from an old friend just to say “Hi”

24.   Conference calls with friends

25.   Getting teased mercilessly by friends

26.   Shouting at friends

27.   Old torn jeans

28.   Finding money in old torn jeans ;)

29.   Old pajamas

30.   Going through old albums and pictures

31.   Taking a long bath on a Sunday

32.   Talking with family members

33.   Talking with J* (when we both are in a good mood :P)

34.   Smell of petrol on a petrol pump (many find it weird though)

35.   Smell of fresh paint

36.   Bathroom singing

37.   Pleasant smelling, clean and dry toilets

38.   Genuine compliments/praise

39.   Attention

40.   Smiles

41.   Hugs

42.   Honest people

43.   Polite people

44.   Energetic and enthusiastic people

45.   Good music

46.   Flowers

47.   Crockery/linen/jewellery/cosmetics/stationary/gift articles displayed nicely in the shops (I just love looking at them, even if I don’t buy them J)

48.   A nice dress which I love at first sight at an affordable price ;)

49.   Foggy hills and mountains

50.   Sunrise over the hill or sea

51.   Snow clad mountains

52.   A warm blanket on a cold day

53.   A cool breeze on a hot day

54.   A piece of code that works for the first time

55.   Desserts

56.   Good food at a nice place

57.   Eating pani puris

58.   Eating mom’s cooking

59.   Getting a hair massage from mom

60.   Discussing any topic under the Sun with Dad

61.   Gossiping with sis

62.   A thoughtful gift

63.   Thoughtful gestures

64.   A green signal on a busy road

65.   Laughing until I cry

66.   Aquatic animals like fishes, penguins, kiwis, etc. in aquariums

67.   Huge animals like giraffes, zebras, elephants, hippopotamus’,  etc. in zoos

68.   Baby animals again in zoos
69.Watching the sky, stars and moon while lying on the terrace


OMG! I just realized that I have reached 69 and there seems to be no ending J So enough, this is the limit. I will put a stop to my self-indulgence of talking about myself......

Travelogue -- Hogenakkal Falls

Since Kay Cee was here and we were planning for it for a long time, we finally went to Hogenakkal Falls.
Its a waterfall on the "Kaveri" or "Cauvery" river in the Dharampuri district of Tamil Nadu. It is around 180-200 kms from Bangalore.

We had planned to start at 8 am , but managed to start by 8.30 am!

The route was awesome, almost without any speed breakers :) with two tolls on the way - one at Electronic City (Rs 50) and the other one at Krishnagiri (Forgot the amount).

We reached Dharampuri at around 11.30 am. Hogenakkal Falls are around 48 kms from there. It was an enjoyable ride - driving through the villages with lots of curves.

Then started the collection part. We had to shell out 20 bucks for entering the Hogenakkal, then entry into book of forest range took Rs 10. (He didn't give a receipt, so I think it was bribe), then a parking fee of Rs 20

It was surprisingly hot, even in the supposedly cold month of December! Not worth going in summer for sure. Now I know, why the climate of Tamil Nadu is classified as hot, hotter and hottest. But, during monsoon, it would be a scene to watch :)

There are three major attractions at Hogenakkal:

1. The Falls
2. The Coracle Ride
3. The Crocodile Park

We skipped the third part as it was getting hotter with every passing minute.

A Hanging Bridge needs to be crossed to go to the falls. You have to buy a ticket of Rs 5 per head and Rs 10 for the camera. To cross the falls or for having a bath you have to spend again(forgot the amount). Again Rs 3 per head to climb to a tower like thing to get a broader view. The view was worth it :)

The best part was the coracle(round shaped boat) ride. It was simply amazing, we had to sit in a particular direction, so that we do not fall into the water :)
There was also a 2 hour trip in the coracle, which we avoided as it was getting difficult to bear the scorching heat (especially fir KayCee).

The scenic beauty of the place is definitely breath taking! After all, Mr Maniratnam did not shoot "Raavan" here for nothing :)

However, I found the falls to be ill maintained. People use shampoo and soap to bath in the water. Locals were washing clothes. Trained people were giving oil massages, I believe its of some medicinal value. The surrounding area was also devoid of any good hotels and there was lack of cleanliness.

We started from there at around 2.30 pm. Had late lunch at the Ananda Bhavan on the highway and reached home by 7 pm.

On the whole, it was a wonderful journey and great day! A perfect destination for 1 day trip from Bangalore :)

Below are some pictures:

                                    
                                                         The Hanging Bridge

                                                        The Hanging Bridge Again!

                                                  Various Views of the Falls

                                                               The Coracles

AWAD/AJAD

No, I have not gone mad (not yet) and I am not writing nonsense!

AWAD stands for “A Word A Day”.

Its a great way to improve your vocabulary.

Today’s word is : sesquipedality

PRONUNCIATION:

(ses-kwi-pi-DAL-i-tee) 

MEANING:

noun: The practice of using long words. 

A word a day was started by Anu Garg. Every week he sends five words which fall under a particular category. This week’s theme is : “What to avoid when using words”

At the end of the week, he sends a mail in which the readers comment on the theme or a particular word.

Along with the pronunciation and meaning, it also includes the etymology, notes and the usage of the word.

At the end of the mail, comes the “Thought for the Day”, for which, sometimes I wait more than the word itself 

Similarly, AJAD stands for “A Joke A Day”.

 Today’s Joke is : Computers can never replace humans. They may become capable of artificial intelligence, but they will never master real stupidity.  

And in the end come some very useful and handy tips, thoughts or words of knowledge.

Both these mails come to me in the evening and so I start my day in the office with them the next day. They bring smile on my face in the initial part of the day and I take care that the smile does not leave me for the rest of the day!

You can also submit your jokes in the website and become famous. 

I will strongly recommend both AWAD and AJAD to all.

So all of you who want to improve you vocabulary and learn some new words and want a good laugh, please register here and here. And yes, all you misers, its free! 

Join them and keep learning and smiling! 


PS : I am not getting paid by anyone for publicity , these are my own views!