Tuesday, June 28, 2005

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

Final Goodbyes




This week i did a lot of things for probably the last time in Chennai.

I jogged down the Marina for one last time. I thought about the number of times i had come here and though it never was my favourtie beach i had been here the most number of times. I thought about my first memories of Marina. Wading into those huge crowds there trying to buy something on the sand. I remember the Gus Logie
hat i bought there. I was in the fourth std then. That hat was indeed a lucky charm! How many runs i scored in garage and street cricket wearing that hat!!

Now the other big memory of Marina is my jogging bouts there lasting 3-6 months at a stretch. Its a nice place to jog in the evenings though the mornings are too crowded for jogging in the outer walking track though the inner service road is always good. The sad turn was the tsunami. I stopped going to the beach a month before the tsunami hit and at that time i used to jog 15 m from the waters. I used to stay back and watch some of those kids play cricket on sundays in the inner road...trust me cricket was never more fun! And they redefined sledging!!!
I felt very bad when i heard that a lot of these kids died in the tsunami. ..Shit happens...C'est la vie.

A very peculiar thing happened to me this week. I learnt that two people i knew were pregnant. And one of them actually told me that directly. I was so surprised that only after an embarassing 10 secs that i realised i was to say congratulations!!! I guess i will have to hear more of this now....These are the moments you realise you aint a kid no more and that your friends are becoming mummies and daddies!!

I had a real piece of good news today. One of my friends got into TISS. We had prepared for TISS together and now he got in through the waiting list. Great news for the day and I'm really happy for him!

Batman Begins



Before I walked into the theatre I knew that this was not a typical run of the mill hi-tech superhero flick. There was a different element to it. So I did take my brain along!


There are two different caricatures of Batman that have been painted in the comics, cartoon and the movies. One is the fantasy superhero, the kind that can do everything, has all the answers to the villains and has fantastic gizmos. The other Batman, a human being fighting his fears and the dark tale of his struggle to fight crime in Gotham’s underworld.

This second version I dig!

And this is what this movie is about, more about Bruce Wayne than Batman. Batman has less than 20 mins in this 2hr 20 min movie. A good hour or so is dedicated to how Bruce Wayne confronts his fears and overcomes them. They should have called this movie Bruce Wayne begins!


But that is what makes this movie special. Its more about the man. Its more about reality. You can see this movie and come out of the theatre feeling you can make a difference to yourself and those around you.[Diff matter that the feeling evaporates by the time ur reach the parking lot!!]. This Batman movie is rooted in reality and hence more believable.

Christian Bale does a good job as Bruce Wayne…and as Batman….it doesn’t matter really coz even I wud look great in a suit like that!! Michael Caine as Alfred has the best one-liners in the movie! And as for Morgan Freeman…too small a role for an actor of his caliber yet the great actor that he is…he is brilliant! Katie Holmes…you almost miss her but for the fact that she is Tom Cruise’s gf. Cute girl but nothing remarkable in the film.


The villains in the movie get very little screen time compared to the almost 50% they used to get in the cartoons. The gizmos are there but not a big focus of attention. The Batmobile is truly atrocious…please bring back the old one! And it couldn’t even shake off the police cars with true speed. It moves as fast as a battle tank alright!!

All in all a good movie. I’ll rate it 7.5/10. Would have got a higher rating with some better action scenes. Because I thought it wasn’t as good as Spiderman 2 on the action front. Go watch it if you are a person who thinks about what you can do better in life…you wont regret it.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Mr and Mrs Smith


Ahem... let me make one thing clear before this review...Im an unabashed Angelina Jolie fan...so if you think im biased....Blame her eyes, lips, cheekbones....etc etc...u get the idea!

The movie starts off with the smith couple visiting their marriage counsellor and u get introduced to this humour in banter style of delivery which is reminiscent of Oceans Eleven. Then starts the action sequences which are more truly Hollywoodesque!! In fact, you see most of the gadgets that you might possibly see in a hollywood movie in the Smith household. [Batman and James Bond franchisees excluded ofcourse!]

Angelina Jolie comes off as surprisingly subdued except in the fight scenes of course!! The memorable one being the battle in the house. That has to be seen to be believed and its hilarious too!! My fave scene in the movie is when Mrs Smith tries to frisk Mr John Smith while doin a tango and while she feels his crotch and looks at him wondering if there was a weapon, Mr Smith says, "Its all JOHN babe!!"

Angelina Jolie showed enough skin, for me to be reminded of why im so much in love with her .....hmmm!! Brad Pitt on the other hand comes of with a more even performance. And the chemistry between the two of them is good enough to justify Jennifer Anistion's decision to quit on Brad Pitt!!

And Im not gonna spoil the climax for you by tellin you what happens but that last shoot out wud put even a tyoical Vijaykant movie to shame but hell i rather see Vijaykant gored by a bull in a climax rather than a scratch on Angelina !! And most women wud say the same for Brad Pitt!!

Well if you see the review and think that all ive done is give a mindless statement of how i was star struck and watched a typical hollywood movie with a pinch of humour and a dash of action and served by possibly the best looking couple in the world, well your dead right.

This movie would win an Oscar but they dont have Oscars for Star Gazing Leave your brains at home and go have some typical hollywood timepass. You wont regret it.

Bunty Aur Babli


I saw this movie in mumbai and as is the norm with any hindi movie i did leave my brains at the door before goin in! Bunty aur Bubly is a laugh riot ppl!! Maybe not in a way the director intended it but hell its funny... The movie so full of cliches, sometimes you wonder if they think the audience are fools...hell i paid 50 bucks for it so they might be right after all!!

The story is about Abhishek and Rani from two rural backgrounds who want to break conformity with society and carve their own paths in life [ my heart goes out to that idea ]...so they run away from home!! For two ppl from small towns they have a surprising array of english words in their vocabulary with immaculate pronounciations! very good con artists i guess!!

As the movie went through i thought Rani Mukherjee was looking good till they started that song Aaja udiye!! u see abhishek bachchan's dancing abilities was not something the director was too confident about so he decided to get rani dressed in attire that gave maximum exposure to her navel and there began the fun!! Now how do i put this?....Rani doesnt exactly have a toned midriff there is a bit of baby fat that jiggles around as she gyrates!! do i need to say more???!

By far the best acting in the movie is from Big B but at times it seemed he was wasted doling out trivial lines...but i tell you if it was someone else in that role he wudve been portrayed as a bungling buffoon. Big B doesnt change his costume once during the 4-5 year time period of the movie kinda like superman??

The climax seemed to go like a typical hindi movie and but they retrieved it well i thought....all in all total timepass!!

If your gonna go to a PVR and dole out 150 bucks...either someone else is paying for the ticket or ur dad is real rich or ur gettin an expensive lesson in life that your a moron [thank you kumarjit!]

On the other hand if u have money to spend and the ticket cost is reasonable...leave ur brains at home...and go ahead. Its funny how many movies they make for ppl to leave their brains at home!! Or is it that i watch only such movies!!

Friday, June 24, 2005

A Farewell To Chennai [ i prefer madras though!]

Ive lived my life like a frog in a well. Most of my life has revolved within a 5 km radius of where I sit now…home. I was born in a hospital 3 kms from here. Lived earlier in a house 2 kms from here. Went to school 4 kms from here and college 5 kms from here. I worked in an office in the same building. Ive live the past 17 years in this same house, old friends and great times... A typical frog in a well experience. But today the time has come for me to move on in life. While I move to Delhi I cannot but help going through all the memories have of this city.

The first thing that comes to mind when one mentions Chennai is the weather. One season called summer with three variations during the year – mild, normal and hot. And the humidity is a constant throughout the year…Chennai prepares you for the worst this earth has got to throw at you. And for precisely that reason I’m thankful for this weather!


And yes the Cooum!! This is something only Chennaivasis will now! I used to be pretty ashamed of it till I went to Delhi and discovered that the holy Yamuna was worse!! At least our river of filth is our dirty little secret while the Yamuna is nationally splashed and glorified in history and geography text books!!

And the beaches of Chennai….the pride of the city….i thought the marina was dirty and then saw the beaches of Kochi, Calicut and Mumbai and discovered that I was better off. Besides Marina is only the big one! The real places to take in the fresh air are outside the city, Nothing soothes one better than the
music of the Beatles as one drives down the ECR parallel to the coastline. And another spectacular moment was when we were sitting on the rocks of the Mahabalipuram beach and watched as IAF trainer planes make maneouvres overhead less than 150m up!! Hmmm so much fun on the beaches….Thats something im really gonna miss. Sometimes if one had the petrol and the time one cud stretch that drive to Pondicherry which is a nice lil place in itself. It was a very sad day for me when I realized how vulnerable these beaches were. I saw the destruction there within hours of the Tsunami.

Beasant Nagar…Elliots beach and the eat out joints I shall miss. Not to forget the matchless peanuts on the beach. Hmm though I suspect that I will find better luck at ornithology in Delhi, if I find the time !! The good old pre-teetotaller days at the erstwhile Park Wines behind Taj Coromandel!! Some Beer and Sidees!! [side dish]. Ah also the old days when we used to park behind the Seeranai Arangam on the Marina and sit on the boats there till the cops came to chase us out!

Seeing Amma pass by in her Sierra [now Pajero] every now and then while I seethed stuck in blocked roads. Chatting for hours on end at the Barista on KNK Road till closing time else at the CCD at Ispahani Centre. The 55 buck buffet at the Dhaba Express. And when we were really broke going for our fill of bread omlette either in front of Alsa Mall [the middle stall] or the one near the Nike showroom on Nungambakkam High Road!!

And then used to come the odd day when we would be loaded with cash and our tastes got refined as we headed to Gallopin Gooseberries for our sandwiches, Cascade for the Oriental food or to the many gourmet joints around TTK Road when we were plain confused! And back to Movenpick for some expensive dessert! Then was that day when we rented a beach house on ECR for 3000 bucks for a party….total fun!

I went to school here…I met my closest friends here. We had the best years of our life here.
www.unionchristianworldwide.com

And now for the sports culture of Chennai. That is probably what I’ll miss the most. I used to make sure that I had some money on me when any cricket match or the ATP Chennai open was around. Just going and watching these matches was fun. The crowd and the spirit of it was always amazing.. I was there when we beat the aussies 2-1 at Chepauk. Man was that a match!!! I was there through the highs and lows of the Paes-Bhupathi era at the Chennai Open. And the crowd which lived through it.

I never visited the harbour too much but one unfulfilled wish would be that I didn’t try my hand at sailing at the harbour. Though the fun I had at Alliance Francaise de Madras instead of goin sailing was worth it!!

Alas the time has come to move on. New city. Newer routes to learn Shortcuts to master and Gaallis to perfect!! ….Hell….Ladies and gentlemen, This frog is out of this well.

My Mumbai Trip

I had made a trip to Mumbai earlier this month and had posted my experiences on www.pagalguy.com also referred to in my posts as PG.

I had gone there for the TISS group discussion and personal interview. TISS being Tata Institute of Social Sciences and i had gone for the PMIR programme [Personnel Management and Industrial Relations].

Day one on the TISS PMIR trip / 05 June 2005
hey my GD date is the 6th of june...landed this morning at DADAR railway station. There were three of us who endured the worst weather that can be thrown at you on a 2nd class Indian Railway coach travelling across AP and Maharasthra in the peak summer heat!

At 6.05 am the train landed on the dot at Dadar and all i could think of was a nice shower! We split with two of us taking a taxi to TISS and ramkrv going to his relatives' house. TISS is pretty close to the RK Film Studio...about 300m. but remember to take the 2nd left and not the first like we did! And avoid a 2 km detour!!

Looks like they're pretty used to straddlers like us turning up every June hoping to try our luck at TISS admits! The security guards didnt even bat an eyelid as they told us where to go. Once we went in were given our tokens after we paid for 2 days stay and told to go to the New Men's Hostel. Which was another climb! TISS is situated on the side of a hill so u either walk up or down to places...the only even ground is inside the buildings.

This is one of the better men's hostel you will come across! The bathrooms were clean [maybe coz we were the first few to arrive 10th i guess] But they had a geyser there!! AND IT WORKED!! That was a major surprise. Now for the shock!

On the bulletin Board at the men's hostel there was this warning about poisonous snakes on campus...cobras, vipers etc!! and they even listed whom to contact for an anti-dote! Im hoping this is a practical joke!! There was a warning about not walking on the grass and to wear shoes and not sandals after dark!! I'm supposed to meet a friend and be back only after dark tonight! If i do not post after this .... i demand to be declared a PG martyr!!

The campus itself is really really beautiful. Both the seniors and the website understated how beautiful this place is. Its real greeney man! That explains the snakes!! But be advised to move around with an umbrella or a cap else u might be a target for aerial manure bombing like urs truly!! Though you might look like an idiot with an umbrella in a campus where u barely see the sun!!

Your not allowed to lock your room doors when you go out so i suggest you leave all fancy paraphrenelia at home. There was this poor soul from Delhi who had come to our room pantin heavily to take rest. He had taken a bus to TISS from the Station and having lost his way eventually turned up and had to lug his baggage all way up initially to get his token and then to the Mens hostel. MY advise ppl...take a taxi...might cost u 200 bucks but if ur a first timer in this city. Just take the taxi and get as far into the campus as u can and just save the hassle! You can save money on other things

The weather they say is hot and humid. I'm coming from Chennai and i find this cool!! But guys not used to humidity might wanna rethink your blazers or suits!

Only crib so far...Though there is an STD booth in campus, i had to walk 1 km to find this net cafe...and this is supposed to be india's commercial capital!!

Thats all for now
Cheers

EDIT: that snake warning was in the new mens hostel campus which is about 100 m from the TISS campus. Its a separate annexure campus which is close though not in the same campus as TISS. So I dunno if the snake warning applies to the main campus! Though im gettin some vicarious pleasure out of relating this msg to ppl who are scared of snakes!! ... Truth be told i am too!!

Day two on the TISS PMIR trip / 06 June 2005 as posted on www.pagalguy.com

After bloggin my experiences on PG yesterday i decided to proceed to Colaba. But not before changin into some shoes! I counted the lamp posts on the way from the gate to the room and thought...dude do you really wanna risk it with a King Cobra, Russell's Viper and a Krait?? [ these were the names listed on the notice board!] And thats when i decided to call their bluff coz u see there are no kraits in india!!

off i went to colaba, which if u see a mumbai map, is at the south end of the city!! crazy man !! and after meeting my friend i waited about an hour for a bus but to no avail....These damn Mumbai buses have nos written in hindi... and i boarded the wrong bus once and was chucked out!! Eventually i decided it was getting too late and they might not lemme back in teh campus!! So Taxi it was and Rs.215/-!! on my post i said take a taxi to TISS from the rly station and save the money elsewhere!! Well this is something you can save on!! Dont Go To Colaba and Stay Late!! ...IDIOT!!

And to compound my feelings of stupidity i came back to realise that there wasnt exactly any curfew time as there were guys who came back even an hour after me and wud refuse to keep their mouth shut in the corridors!!...Dude ppl are trying to sleep u moron!! This a boys hostel who the hell are u trying to show off to??

I caught only 4 hours of sleep last night...Woke up early at 5.30 am and had a jog...It felt really good running up those slopes and no fear of snakes! Got ready and was at the dining hall by 7.45 am and met a few friends. Assembled at the main porch at about 8-45 am. Thats when it hit me...the nos flocking to TISS. The conference hall to which we were directed was overflowing with ppl....i was thinking gosh...10 more days of so many ppl for 30 seats!! all because of overpopulation...and i was cursing all our forefathers while the seniors were giving some gyaan on TISS...Nothing which has not already been said here...so if u follow this thread chill...Take a look at the gals and vice versa!!

From there to the Essay test and apparently only about half the students in most halls had turned up! in my room of 40 ppl there were 25 absentees so only 15!! This was a pattern in most halls with about 50% abstaining!

My topics were
1. Nation States are becoming irrelevant in a global economy.
2. Decentralisation and democracy in India.
3. Can Eco-tourism contribute to Regional Development?

I chose the first topic and wrote only 2 sides in their ruled four side booklet. People wrote a lot more. I dont really know what to make of it, Some of my friends have finished their GD. The choice given was

1.Knowledge generation or practise which is more important to managers?
2. How possible is people participation in development

They had time to interact with their group for 5 mins before the GD and they decided not to make it fish market...so theyve done ok

Ive just come out to post this and have lunch,,,as i said the same net cafe 1 km to your left after u come out of the TISS main gate ...
My GD is at 2.30 pm. I dont know what to make of it. Ive seen the crowd that turned up and not many were very impressive but thats the point. You just need 15 good ppl to come every day to make your life miserable and thats why TISS is so tough.

I'm due for my GD in an hour...adios amigos and wish me luck! I would love to stay for the PI...who wudnt!!

TISS GD/PI exp as posted on www.pagalguy.com on 6th June 2005

What a diff 3 hrs make to a person's mood! I really dont know what to do now. Between now and the next 4-5 hrs when the results come out im left in limbo to brood over whats left now.They dont seem to be repeating GD topics...so whatever you get from me is only worth for practise, at any time there are 4-5 GDs running with the same topic.

My topics were

1.Entrepreneurship or managers what shud be the emphasis of B School education.
2.Should FDI be allowed in indian media

We Chose topic 1. 20 mins and the process of chosing the topic is also included in this 20 mins. There are times when you wonder and wish you had a great GD. And this was close to that. We almost even came to a conclusion. Of the 10 ppl 8 were very robust speakers and only one kept quiet through out. It was a great group with a bunch of good freshers and guys with good work ex.

We were all very active in putting forth our view points but whenever there was a conflict of many ppl speaking at the same time it was immediately resolved. There was no one person in control of the GD . Total of 4 guys and 6 gals. It was one of the best GDs ive participated in. I dont know how they evaluate GD's in TISS but anywhere else at least 6-7 of us wudve made it.

I dont know how to judge myself today, This is one of the very few occasions ive come off a GD not sure of my own performance, I can only twiddle my thumbs and go back and catch some sleep. Im taking an auto back!! ...im too tired!

TISS GD/PI exp as posted on www.pagalguy.com on 7th june 2005

I did not make it to the PI for PMIR... yes it was very disappointing. The results came out around 6.30 pm yesterday. 46 ppl made it to PMIR. None from my GD group. That was what set me thinking. Why? I have been through enough GD's to know that it was a good one, but that didnt fit the pattern of what they were looking for. It was a good aggressive GD but not a fish market. And I felt good about it. If that did not fit the culture of TISS that they were expecting it was too bad for us. But i have no regrets because I am sure it wasnt a reflection of the wonderful ppl in my GD but more on what the institute was looking for.

However, there were others who didnt have a chance. There was a GD in which our very own Thedragonreborn was involved in which they entire grp was out coz of one gal who went ballistic. This after they decided beforehand that they wud have a quiet GD. It took me about an hour to get my bearings right after the result but it wasnt as bad as it might have been 3 days back before i came into TISS. All of u who read this post wouldve guessed i was keen on it! But i met some great ppl here and greater men from PG who i always wanted to meet!

I had a nice dinner with dragon bhai last night. Good man to man discussions! i got out of TISS early this morning. Didnt want to meet the other guys who might have come along for their GD's! You see i wanted to move on! Went to Colaba and now near Gateway of India! Guess what...there are Tiss rejects roaming around Mumbai all around right now!! Met two of them there! and one standing and smirking reading this post right next to me!!

Life moves on. I have no regrets not getting into TISS. You might start to have an idea why when you begin to see their presentation! If anyone comes here to TISS plz do try to meet vinayshende if he is free. He is a great guy and inspite of how busy he was he really tried to help me out. I owe him one for that! Some great senior you guys who wud get in have there! Too bad i couldnt meet Mystique! But kya pata...its a small world!

TISS GD/PI exp on www.pagalguy.com on 9th june 2005

My Final TISS Post!

The other day after posting my experiences on PG i went to watch "Baunty Aur Baubli" at Regal Cinema!! It was a hilarious movie for Tiss rejects!! My friend and i Totally had fun!! There was so much identification with the main protoganists! Lets face it...not all of you who come to mumbai and go for the GD will get thru to the PI...but go watch this movie...its the best antidote!! This is the first time i watched Amitabh Bachchan in a theatre...wow! His opening scene in the movie is really amazing!

But the tobewatched part of the movie is the song is Aaja Udiye and Rani Mukherjee's costume in that!! My friend and I almost got thrown out of the theatre coz we were laughing so hard!! Ramanathan should thank his lucky stars there werent women dressed like that at TISS!! ...Rani mukherjee has some baby fat on her midriff and she gyrated there were layers on undulating fat moving like unceasing waves! At that moment and time Tiss was a distant memory....After the movie...i broke my vegetarian vows and tried some chicken bhel at a small joint opposite Regal...It was Good!!


Then we went to Marine Drive and to near that spot where that gal got raped in the police booth and my friend decided to do her bit for Women in mumbai and started adam teasing every man who went by!! At that moment and time i realised why she didnt get into TISS!! Another realisation was that she might provoke someone and since i was the guy there...mujhe maar kanne padenge!!

So out of there back to Navy Nagar to take a bus back to TISS and again no bus...this time i was determined not to pay out 215/- on a taxi! So a bus to VT and train to Dadar then to Kurla and then to Govindi and finally a rick to TISS....total 23.50/-...Thats mumbai for you....you can have fun at 10% of the cost and it took me only 30 mins over the one hour in taxi!!

I heard 61 ppl got selected that day! Ramanathan and Suhail Khan included...Good luck to them and hope they make it! I heard on Day 2 it was the opposite criteria the selected ppl were the more dominant ones in the GD! and i also heard that 61 is the largest number ever for PI's almost unheard off!

Next day morning i was out of TISS at 7 am after saying bye to dragon bhai...You might notice i stayed the extra day at tiss...well i thank tiss for that! But leave as soon as possible guys! I reached NavyNagar and put my Bag at my friends place and we headed to Bandra. Carter Road. Cafe Coffee Day... Great view. They had this bigger than life poster of Bipasha Basu there...i sat staring at it for 2 hrs while my friend was trying to analyse a couple having a fight at the next table! ...That was fot the First time we went somewhere in mumbai and didnt meet any tiss rejects!! Maybe we didnt recognise them! Then went to Crepe Station around the corner for lunch...that is dino morea's restaurant and we did meet morea!

Off to colaba and Barista there...final adieu to mumbai before i headed back to NavyNagar and picked up my bags and left for the station! It was a much better journey back to Chennai as most of south india seemed to be under a cloud cover! Im home now!

Thank you all for your best wishes... Someone said let the force with me...thank you mate but the Force is Always with Me! I head off to Delhi this month end to start my MHROD course in Delhi School of Economics. Good luck to all aspirants. Im sure we will be in touch.This is my last post on this thread. Its been great fun on this TISS thread! Helped me boost my post count on PG and also find some really good friends on PG. Im thankful for that.

God Bless.

The First One

Hey this aint my first ever blog...in fact i used to blog elsewhere but now am transferring it here as my old site wasnt satisfactory. So here we go!

I wud transfer some of my earlier posts on my old blog to here.

My Bangalore Road Trip!
29/05/2005 to 31/05/2005

Well i had my first road trip to Bangalore! With my dad and in my omni!! 345 kms and Bangalore here i come!!

5.20 am 29/05/2005 : Start from home
6.15 am : Sriperambadur, Cross Rajiv Gandhi's memorial...beautiful site in a mad area....road under construction and very much an industrial town if u can call it that
8.00 am: enter the Golden Quadrilateral Route of the NH 46 Chennai Blore highway. For the most part one side of the road was closed for finishing work.
8.15: Begins to rain.Thank God i had replaced the wipers before i left.
8.30: Dad suggests we detour via NH6 from the current road and go via Ranipet and Chitoor
10.00: Well the road was good...coz traffic was light but anyday i wud take NH 46 when it is complete
10.15: Man the Bangalore side of the road had some stretches that went straight as arrow for quite a few kms not a bend nor a porthole
11.00: Reach outskirts of Bangalore. Dad tries to contact his friend unsuccessfully.
11.05: Call Rohit. Tell him where we are he has no clue. He says ask for Manipal hospital
11.08: Call Rohit. We realise we're close to his place.
11.15: Take a wrong turn and a detour of 2kms. First lesson in Bangalore. Lot of one ways if u take a wrong turn be prepared for the extra miles!!
11.30: Reach Rohits place. Drop of luggage.
11.55: Reach Dad's hotel and check him in

Ok here starts my actual experiences in Bangalore. I was supposed to meet up with Rohit for lunch so we decide that he can pick me up from Mallya Hospital. We head to this restaurant called Nandini's Palace. Then we had to go find a florist. That done an ATM...apparently it seems to be quite a hunt to find an ATM that accepts your card in Bangalore! Strange!

Then we split and i hiked back to St.Marks Road where i had to meet a few friends at 4pm. Shravya turned up first and eventually Amit and Shyan! And guess what...Javagal Srinath was at Barista too at that time!! He was constantly approaced for autographs and he kept obliging even though he was meeting up with his friends!

Met up the BJ and Rohit came to pick us both up. Rohit wanted to interview Srinath as he had his recording kit with him. Anything to impress his boss in the first month of his new job!!

We headed bak to Barista at the Leela Palace and bitched about women and relationships while BJ with his new found love preferred silence! Headed back to Rohit's place and then to this pub called Sins where the " Bombay Rocker" was performing...these guys turned up late and had to wait for a couple of hours amidst all the smoke women and booze!! Was interested in the 2nd category and yes bangalore is better than chennai! The concert itself was fun but i wudnt wanna go into detail about their musical abilities!!

Headed off for a late night dinner with Rohit, Saggy and Darius...the latter two being the most famous RJ's in Bangalore! Had great dinner at this place called Paramount...dunno where! But apparently it opens up real late in the night.

There was this really hilarious moment when Saggy called Rohit and Rohit says "Ya Saggy tell me" and BJ gawks at rohit wide-eyed for 10 mins and says "Dude was that Shaggy, the singer?!" ...Hehehehe im sure BJ is never gonna hear the end of this one!!

Day Two:
Got to dads room and we went shopping at National Market. 1 Fake Nike's and one fake Tommy Hilifiger tracks...lets see how many days they last?!! En route managed to have my brush with the Bangalore Police for jumping a traffic signal! Gosh i felt so stupid!Then went back to the hotel and i decided to take the car with me to Rohit's place. I didnt know the route but managed to find his place without trouble! Got there by 2.15 om...Surfed the net a while...slept a long while ...watched TV!! man i got to see cable after a long long time!! I saw Friends!!!

Rohit came back about 7.30 ish and Asha too had come with him! Asha was his classmate in school and my senior! So we talked a while and then headed out for dinner to this Chettinad restaurant and then we moved to this icecream shop called CornerHouse! Good Icecream!! From there for a long drive and back home after dropping Asha!

Here's an anectode! a gal asks me to meet her in bangalore and gives me directions to her house...Cut left at the tree![lady blore is full of trees] then she tells me to take the last right on the road...now how am i supposed to know which is the last right? Go to the end of the damn main road and backtrack??

ok the return trip dad me leave at 10.30 am...we decide to take the hosur route this time. It was a really crowded exit off bangalore and initially we regretted it. I think that set us back by atleast half an hour. But once we were out of the suburbs it was a real good drive. Beautiful scenery and great road. We did about 94kms to the hour between 12pm and 1pm.
Then once we hit Vanniyambadi it all went bad. The road construction wasnt complete and most of the way for the next hour only one side of the road was complete. And to top it all a railway level crossing. All in all 44 kms the next one hour. Though patches of road were good after that for the most part cudnt match the high avg speed of before. However i believe it will all be good once the roads are complete and i wud give them about 5-6 months to do that.

There was rain too for quite a stretch.Good. Coz it cooled down my already worn tyres! and saved me from the afternoon heat! The rain stopped just after we crossed Vellore. About 30 kms from Chennai i had my own Salman Khan moment when i had my lil accident! More on that on the next entry. Reached Chennai at 4.30 pm. 6 hours 370 kms and one dead cow!! not bad for an omni i would say!!

My Salman Khan Days

Now why are cows so stupid? Cant these MooMoos understand that those black stretch of land which has no grass on it is meant for humans to ply themselves on their toys? those are called roads mr.MooMoo and though u might confuse their color with the muck u like to bathe in.. lay off pal...its human territory go shit elsewhere!

You know humans are taught in school to look on both sides of the road before crossing ah but since god realised he made u so stupid he gave u eyes on the two sides of ur head so even if u forget to look both ways u just cant miss the damn vehicles coming towards you.

And inspite of seeing them if u think you can outrun them you stupid moron! You deserve to be eating grass and nothing else! I wish you guys watched TV ! I wudve played you a video of what happens when you cross the damn highway and try to outrun a truck! A lesson for all you stupid cows out there.

Coup De Vache!

Well this is what happened. About 30 kms from Chennai, I was beginning to overtake a truck at about 85 kmph when a stupid cow crossed in front of the truck, and needless to say he hit him. And the cow got thrown onto my path and with a reaction time of less than a second the only thing that slowed down my car was the cow itself stuck under the chasis. After dragging it for another 3-5 metres i finally pulled through clear over it...Stupid Damn cow. Maybe he wanted to commit suicide?! Wasnt getting quality grass i suppose!

But one thing that really stuck me was how much of a dummy he looked like as he got thrown in front of me...I always thought that the cow they showed on Me Myself and Irene looked very fake but this one looked just as fake! It was like a stuffed doll doing a sommersault and the next thing is I see him dead on the rearview mirror.

Thank God that was a stupid cow and not a stupid man.