It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more. ~J.K. Rowling

My first reaction on picking up the latest "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" book was :"It’s so small". The difference between the 5th book (The Order of Phoenix) and the 6th is like 300 pages. The 0.5 Hairy Puttar was a good read especially the last 3 chapters where the action heats up. People who have read the book might be interested in some of my thoughts : 1. Dumbledore and Snape. Something is fishy here. Just take a look at this line : "Please...Severus" Dumbledore was not pleading for his life but for Snape to gather the courage to do it. Then Snape explodes when Harry calls him a coward. He was not being a coward. Grrr. what's going on?? 2.The last book will certainly have Hairy boy and his friends searching and destroying the Horcruxes. 3. I thought the 0.5 Prince would be Dumbledore or Voldemort but it turned out to be Prof Snape. And trying out things written on a second hand book. Hah!! Haven't we all done that? 4. I was disappointed that Rowling aunty never explained what happened to Dumbledore's hand."It is a thrilling tale and I wish to do it justice " that's what Dumbledore says when asked by Harry. 5. Maybe we'll have Pre-Quels that will throw more light on Harry’s parents and Sirius Black... Did you catch these words: Nagini and Mantra. Nagini ofcourse being Voldemort's pet snake. Loved this curse: Sectumsempra: A Dark Arts spell invented by the Half-Blood Prince that cuts a person and drains him or her of blood. Cool magic potion: Felix Felicis is a potion that grants temporary good luck to the drinker. Some cool quotes: Dumbledore to Harry: "I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being — forgive me — rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger." "Is the prophecy objectively true because it's objectively true or is it true because someone chose to believe it, and if, when they chose to believe it, did it not do just as much as if the prophecy had been objectively true in the starting case " >> Reminds me of SP's posts.

Story Time

Garuda is the son of the sage Kasyapa and Vinata, the sister of Parvati. According to the Vishnu Puana, Garuda�s mother Vinata was held captive by her sister Kadru, the mother of the Naga�s or serpents. The only way to secure her release was to give the snakes Amrit (Nectar of the gods) which was guarded by Lord Indra. Garuda stole the amrit and assured lord Indra that he would steal it back from the Nagas as soon as he procured the release of his mother. The story goes, before the snakes evan had a taste, Lord Indra snatched the Amrit leaving the snakes to lick the drops off a sharp edged grass which lacerated their tongues which have remained forked ever since.

As the doctor says..

Poll.. Do you think I have no taste ? (Music, literature, movies,...)

Time is making fools of us again. ~J.K. Rowling

For the next few posts you will find me being a bit childish, wizardish and Potterish ... Yep I just got my hands on the Half-Blood Prince. uahhaaaaaaaaahaha... Vc casts the Confundus charm. (Charm “Confundo” is Latin for “to confuse”. Used to confuse an object or person, to make them believe what the spell caster wants them to.) Bowling: Saw a couple of Professional Bowlers (is that the right word?), a dude and a hmm hmm aunty. I believe they actually represent our state in the National Championships. An old Chinku guy was coaching them. The aunty had this weird looking bowling glove. Must go bowling more often... Saturday Night: H and V invited me to a Hindi film.night show.. a film called" No Entry". At first I was skeptical. I thought the theatre would be half empty. Surprise. It was packed with aunties, uncles, grannies, chintu, moti, Pinky and her doll, Rahul and his packet of Lays, thank god pets were not allowed. The film was funny ... and the audience just couldn't stop laughing. Went home at 1 am ...completely drenched. Its fun to drive in the rain. Sunday : Lazed around reading HP . I think the HP series is a hit because JK Rowling knows how to keep the narration simple,fast and interesting. After a 3 day weekend.. Monday is so......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Overheard....

I happened to overhear a snippet of an interesting conversation.This dude who looked really frustrated is talking to his colleague, obiviously complaining about his manager : ...... and you know what my manager says " Don't give me reasons , just tell me why you are late !". I was ROTFLMAO .

The lonely tree . No .. the lonely bench.. wait a minute.. if they are together how can they be lonely ?

Advance planning.

I was making plans to sneak of to Mangalore this weekend, of course without telling mom. And WHAM mom has alternate " you-can't-escape " plans. Its Krishna Janmastami this Friday/sat... a festival marking the birth of Lord Krishna.All I can think of when someone mentions this festival is lots of sweets, our 55+-year-old Mantapa being decorated with garlands and my mom waking me at midnight for "pooja". No not the neighbour's daughter "Pooja". This weekend Mom has invited a lot of people for lunch and she expects me to stay home. For the love of Lord Krishna and his 16,008 wives, it’s a Saturday! I think I'll do all the " loafing around" on Friday. Che I even refused Anand's offer to go on a 3 day-trek with his colleagues. (Psst Anand's a bit too addicted to DVD's and CD's and so his family doctor has advised him to get out of town. Hence the sudden trek.) Last year's Krishna Janmastami was so eeeeeeeeew.... I wrote some weird stuff. ( Vc shakes his head ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Bangalore like all major cities in India is famous for its Chinese cuisine. Yeah you read it right the first time.” Indians make Chinese food better than the Chinese”, so says my friend Pc, who stayed in Shanghai for more than a year. We were talking about "Aromas of China “, a local restaurant, where they serve authentic Chinese dishes.Hah!! Imagine the scene: A Punjabi ordering fried chicken noodles, the Malayali waiter rushing to the kitchen to find the Iyengari chef, busy in front of a grill. Chinese food Hah!!!

An ear for music?

I have been receiving a lot of flak on the kind of "music" and "film reviews" that I post on my blog. Uhahahaha. Back in the early 80's , I used to sit on my grandpa's lap and listen to Carnatic music on the radio. It was right after lunch, a boring zzzz afternoon. Grandpa would switch on the radio, and we would sit by the window and fall asleep within minutes. Such is the power of Carnatic music. As you grow older you kind of understand and get the grasp of the ragas and talas, the divine veena, the violin, the tambura, the flute and the rhythmic beat of the mridangam. Did you know that only a few artists tell out the name, tala and raga of the song they are performing. When not told it is up to the listener to identify the raga and tala.Hmm….

All in a days work.

I saw Mangal and Pandey - The Handy cam version. What !!You have never heard of it? Ok ok I'll explain. Wednesday night: I went to my local CD store and asked if Mangal Pandey was available for rent. (Couldn't watch it last weekend on big screen). The owner said" Yes but the print is a bit…"and his voice trailed off. I thought lets give it a try and I rented it. We sat down to watch the most awaited film of the Month (Yeah, I’m sure next month, something new will come up). The CD shop owner was joking. The print was *$%$% .The VCD print looked like it was recorded by some bloke with a handy-cam. I wonder how much they paid him for the service. It was fun and irritating. When the scene had 2 or more actors, the camera would zoom from one face to another. Obviously without synchronization. The General was talking in Hindi and Aamir Khan was ordering the soldiers with an English accent...eeeW. The constant clapping and swearing by the audience, the whistles when Rani danced wah wah just too good...I fell asleep before the interval (read first CD). Do you guys remember " Bharath ek Khoj" ? Nehru’s -Discovery of India. With Om Puri's narration in the background, this film reminded me of that documentary.. Sorry no review of Mangal Pandey because for the next half of the film the *$&%@#$ cameraman was constantly checking out chicks in the 4th row. Sigh* Sorry had to vent out my anger at someone, it has been one of those days… Thursday: Took a day off. Had to assemble a desktop PC for my cousin. I was astonished at the low prices of the accessories. And then as usual all hell broke loose. I had parked my bike on SP road; of course I thought it was legal to park in front of the shop. The police thought otherwise and towed it away. This conversation says it all; it’s from the serial Becker. Dr. John Becker: Just when I think God couldn't screw me any further, he gets out the old Black & Decker and twists a little harder! Margaret: Interesting; you're being persecuted by a God you don't believe in. Dr. John Becker: That's why he's after me, Margaret. Why can’t the police leave a calling card saying something in the lines of: “Aapki bike hamare kabze main hai. Come to so and so station, pay the fine and collect it“. I had no idea which Police guys had towed my bike. The local shopkeepers were not helpful .I then had to walk to the KR Market Police station. Thursday being the day before the Varamahalakshmi festival, was overcrowded. Crowded is not the right word. It was a virtual stampede. I was cursing all the way as I didn't know where the &*^%$* Police Station was. Almost all of Bangalore’s Police stations are being rebuilt or being modernized, so they have been temporarily shifted.I asked the vendors for directions but they were not helpful as they themselves did not know where the **&*(@*** PS was .*sigh. The Police Station was on the first floor of an old building bang in the middle of the market. I could hear someone shouting on the loudspeaker " Happy V lakshmi festival. Please be careful, there are lot of mobile thieves, pickpocketers and Chain snatchers. blah blah ... " .Why do these guys have such irritating voices.. hmm maybe I was grr grr .Even you would be (@#%@% if you were stepped on by 5 not so thin women and poked in the eye, by an old lady carrying a bunch of lotus flowers, not to mention pushed around . At last I managed to find the Police station, it was easy I followed the irritating voice. Alas I was informed that I was required to go to a different police station,the Kalasipalayam Police Station. So I had to cross the market again. I was lucky this time as I kept away from the frantic shoppers but still that 2 wheeler managed to find my feet. *ouch. Do you know to which simple question people are afraid and hesitant to answer, " Where's the Police Station?” After walking for 2 kms I found the Kalasipalayam Police Station. Here I was informed that SP road was not under their jurisdiction.I should Have guessed.. but you see my spidy sense was overwhelmed by the smells in the market. I was asked to check at High gate Police Station which is near the Corporation Offices...(2 minutes walk from where my bike was originally parked). I was so #$%#$^* mad. Not one auto was ready to drop me off at High gate Police Station. I was exhausted, hungry , cross and grrrr. Walked another kilometer and this tobacco chewing Muslim driver agreed to drop me off at the police station. Allah ka lakh lakh shukar hai. Found my bike chained to 10 other vehicles. The guy who was supposed to give the receipt had conveniently taken a "DUM" break. $%^$^* Cops. After 20 mins, the traffic inspector with his chamchas arrived with another load of vehicles. You should see them handle the vehicles.. uff...Never in my short life was I so eager to pay the fine. Rs 200 for parking in the "No Parking zone" and Rs 100 towards towing charges. @#!$#$ Rules.. * Sigh. I swear no more bunking office on weekdays.

Yeah right !!

Jis tarah heere ko heera kaat'tha hai... sone ko sona kaat'tha hai.... lohe ko loha kaat'tha hai.... theek usi tarah dekh lena ek din tumhe kutta katega....

Aashiq banaya aapne

HELLO IF YOU THINK I HAVE BAD TASTE IN MUSIC .. hmm.. you should listen to Amjad Al Khan and his sons : Tigalbandi in RagKhamaj ... ( psst its too good . ask me where you can download it.. later.. ) Right now the Top or almost top song has to be Aashiq banaya aapne . You can download it here. Hum along with Himesh Reshammiya, Shreya Ghoshal. aashiq banaya aashiq banayaaashiq banaya aapne tere bin suni suni hain baahein teri bin pyaasi pyaasi nigaahein tere bin bin asar meri aahein tere bin tere bin lamha lamha sataye tere bin bekarari jalaaye tere bin chain mujhko naa aaye tere bin

If this doesn't rock you ....nothing else will..

When the lights go down Right click and download a snippet . "When the lights go down in your town and the band begins to play, you can feel the energy coming from the people, as they say."

See....even she's praying that I get a Sony cyberShot......... the earrings .........haiiiiiiiii

Could crop circles be the work of a cereal killer?

Saw an owl being attacked by crows.This was on the main road :) Awesome sight !! the owl didn't give a damn about the crows. The crows had a simple strategy. One would stand in front of the owl trying to distract it while the other pulled at its wings. . I just wished I had a cool digicam, I could have posted pics of the owl turning its head at an impossible 280 degrees. *sigh My office colleague says its bad luck to see an owl Hah!!. Well my friends call me "the wise old owl ". Owls are so beautiful and are hardly seen during daytime. Yesterday when it was raining heavily I was stuck in the bus-stop . Suddenly I had this feeling something was not right.. the crowd had successfully pushed me outside the shelter and I was slowly but steadily being drenched. But what made me smile was this aunty standing right in the middle of the shelter, with an open umbrella over her head .. grrr.. Its Raksha Bandhan next week ... The chaste bond of love between a brother and a sister is one of the deepest and noblest of human emotions. 'Raksha Bandhan' or 'Rakhi' is a special occasion to celebrate this emotional bonding by tying a holy thread around the wrist. This thread, which pulsates with sisterly love and sublime sentiments, is rightly called the ‘Rakhi’. It means 'a bond of protection', and Raksha Bandhan signifies that the strong must protect the weak from all that’s evil. The previous 3 years my sis used to order Rakhi's online and some dot com company in Chennai (No not Bangalore) would then send a greeting, a silk thread and a box of sweets. The sweets were of course STALE. So this time she's kind of being .. hmm how do I put it....read on .. Here's a partial chat transcript : Sis : Hey want me to send those stale sweets again ? Vc: Naaaaaaaaaahi.. Sis : Why don't u take some money from my account and freak out instead ?? Need I say more ? I was worried ... Vc: Vidya what have you been drinking ? Sis :I am drinking papaya juice with a bit of sodium monoglutamate added for flavor and lots of milk and ice.. Sigh*Yep that's my sis ............ But Rakhi ... I mean they tie a small piece of silk thread.. and smile..We bro's,then have to fork out currency notes... This is what Kk had to say : "Hah that's the fun of being the sister... they say "hum rakhi bandke bhagwan se bhai ke liye dua mangenge toh bhai humein keemtee gifts dega". I was thinking hmmm..... Vidya .. how about you tie this to my wrist ?

Everybody is just figments of my imagination.

Working on a cruise ship, I was demonstrating to a group of young passengers how the ship manages to stay level at sea. "Do you know what level means?" I asked my six- to eight-year-old charges. One boy replied immediately. "A level is something you need to pass in a video game to get to a harder screen." --Christina L. Amos, Montreal (from All in a Day's Work, 2001)

Seth Dharam Prashad, aapki beti hamare kabze mein hai.

Released in the year 1975... wow that's 30 years ago. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore,Sajeev Kumar .. The story : girl > villain > girl murdered > villain smile > girl bro AB grr grr.. > AB kill villain > AB run and becomes Faraar > Hides in Police Inspector Sanjeev Kumar's house>Bobby is held hostage >bobby's mom Sharmila aunty >kahani main twist>Sharmila aunty is AB's old crush> what happens next? Will have to watch the second half of the film today.. my mom wanted to watch Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 ... sigh* I wonder if anyone has heard this song, from Faraar. Kishore Kumar ki dard bari awaaz main.... Its supposed to be romantic . Main Pyaasa Tum Saawan Main Dil Tum Meri Dhadkan Ho Naa, Hoon To, Ho Ho Naa, Hoon To Aankhon Ko Jab Band Karoon Main Sapne Tumhare Aaye Pyar Bina Ye Jeevan Phika Sapne Ye Samjhaaye Man Se Man Ki Dori Kaa Tum Hi To Ho BandhanHo Naa, Hoon To, Ho Ho Naa, Hoon To

If you love something, turn it loose. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

I've seen you stalking the shops, walking the ailes, searching for that extra-special gift.Stashing away a few rupees a month to buy him a woodlands shoe: staring at a thousand rings to find her that best diamond;Staying up all night on Christmas Eve, assembling the new bicycle. Why did you do it ? So the eyes will pop, the jaws will drop. To hear those words of disbelief: " You did this for me ? " Well in my case : " Are you nuts ?" *sigh * PS : No not you SP .. To that anony dude/dudette.. check this pic.... amazing. . haiiiiiii

Vc proves he's a sweet guy...

Please note this post has nothing what-so-ever to do with my eating habits..and yes my mom did serve ice-cream for breakfast ...but that was 2 days ago.. Did you receive a mail titled : 26 things a sweet guy would do ? No ? well then you are not in my spam list: subscribe now. The mail is about all the things a "sweet guy" would do. Here's the proof that I am a Sweet guy ... 1.Know how to make you smile when you are down. >> Of course when she slips and falls .. come-on that’s funny… 2. Try to secretly smell your hair BUT you always notice. >>I hope she uses Pro-V shampoo , its so sweet smelling..haiiii 3. Stick up for you but still be respectful of your independence. >> Ok she can eat “Kashmiri pulav” but she'll have to pay for it. 4. Give you the remote control during the game. >>Easy…I can keep the batteries ,can’t I? 5. Come up behind you, put his arms around you, squeeze you tightly against his chest, and whisper softly into your ear >> I’m hungry, what’s for dinner? 6. Play with your hair. >> Damn, chewing gum got stuck in her hair , again. 7. His hands will always find yours. >>> Everytime. I mean everytime her hands try to grab the remote. 8. Be cute when he really wants something. >> I have mastered this art .. meow meow… 9. Offer you plenty of massages. >>> Airtel to Airtel sms free so its easy.. wait massage ?? thu thu ..I can try ,maybe take a few classes from Phoebe ..haiii 10. Dance with you even if he feels like a dork. >>> I am a dork , so no problems...chaiya chaiya !! 11. Never run out of love. >>>I think you mean, Never run out of money when she's shopping, right? No problem... psst Sajjan can I borrow your credit card. 12. Be funny, but knows when to be serious. >> Yeah yeah , tried that once,no use. 13. Realize he's being funny when he needs to be serious. >>Is this a trick question ? Its so similar to Q 12. 14. Be patient when you take forever to get ready. >> Yeah.. I can read a novel by the time she finishes her makeup.. may be even grow a French beard..you never know. 15. React so cutely when you hit him and it actually hurts. >> She’ll assault me ? Am I ready for this ? 16. Smile a lot. >> hmm.. can we change that to Grin a lot ?? 17. Plan a romantic date full of cheesy things he wouldn't normally do just b/c he knows it means a lot to you. >>I’ll take her to Mac’s .. it seems they have lots of stuff with cheese. 18. Appreciate you. >> Wow nice pair of sandals!! 19. Help others out. >> You mean her relatives ... Oh God!!! 20. Drive 5 hours just to see you for 1. >>> With Bangalore’s traffic and weather.. that’s a breeze… 21. Always give you a peck on the cheek when you depart from each other's company- even when friends are watching.>>”Friends “ you mean the serial right ?? 22. Sing even if he can't >> I can sing .. In school I used to get C for singing , so that’s good na.. 23. Have a creative sense of humor. >>> I’ll paint when I tell her jokes . 24. Stare at you. >>> I can do that …I mean the other day I was staring at this girl and she saw me and ..hmmm..nevermind.. 25. Call for no reason >>> Oh yes .. it so happens that I was trying to dial Anand’s number and accidently dialed hers and she asked why and I said .. No reason .. she said it was cute.. 26. Quit smoking, chewing, drinking, or drugs just b/c he loves you enough to quit!! >> chewing ?? Hello I chew Boomer bubble gum .. actually I buy gum for the free tattoo…but I’ll quit…soon…very soon...

Simple :)

Did you read about the 70 year-old-twin-brothers in Finland. One set out on his bike on a snowy morning and at about 9.30am he was hit and killed by a lorry. Two hours later the other twin unaware of his brother's fate , was cycling along the same road, a kilometer and a half away , when he was also killed by another lorry . What is your reaction to this story ?

Spooky connection or just plain Coincidence .

How many of you even thought of the perfectly logical explanation of double suicide ?

Can you ?

Can you smell water? Yes ? Why can't I ? ( I can smell the chlorine in the water) I have a sensitive nose and yes agreed, I could not smell that Brahma Kamal.. but but.. Are your dreams in color ? Yes ? Damn.Mine are all in black and white . Maybe Freud has a good explanation... *Sigh Right click and download : Alicia Keys "You don't know my name " its a hmm hmm song.. check out the phone conversation .. haiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Phonecrastinate: To put off answering the phone until caller ID identifies the caller.

Its Dee's marriage next week .She called and asked me if I had finished shopping for her wedding gift .... ( $#@$#%@$ % ) ...avalajji … She actually expects a gift !!! Che I was thinking of giving a nosegays .I had everything planned to the last rupee. Rs 65 for the nosegays and the card that said “ Best wishes” and Re 1 for my Boomer Bubble gum. Damn! will have to find a part-time job to make more money... Sigh* Will just have to take more tuition classes… Or will have to deliver newspapers , yep on my bike..vroom vrooom…. Or maybe singing classes... Kajarare kajarare yeah !! That’s it singing classes… Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam So what do you think is the ideal wedding gift ? In the late 70’s and 80’s it was silver and bronze vessels .Go ask your granny or mom and they’ll tell you which cousin/relative gave them which particular kitchen utensil.Just imagine me gifting Dee with a huge bronze item like a kadai .. gift wrapped …uhahhahhaaa. These days I believe its gift vouchers, Life style ... .. hmm... Wait a min... It just occurred to me .. how about this ??

Yep that's how you fly....aaaaaaah..