First Day @ Work

Today was my first day at work. First ever jobless day. Orey the prayers, coconut breakings, feet fallings and all before leaving Chennai. Then in Bangalore, wearing new shirt with kungumam, god prayings and right leg keeping to get on Volvo Bus to office. So many auspicious things doing before joining job.

I reach office and am told that me just formalities completing today and given a bunch of forms to fill. And this is what I filled . . .

1) I, Praveen Krishnamurthy, hereby nominate X to get my Gratuity benefits in case of my death during service.

2) I, Praveen Krishnamurthy, hereby nominate Y to get my Provident Fund in case of my death during service and this nomination overrides my previous nominations.

3) I, Praveen Krishnamurthy, hereby nominate X to get my Life Insurance benefits in case of my death during service.

4) I, Praveen Krishnamurthy, hereby nominate Y to get my Widow Pension benefits in case of my death during service.

Aiyyo! Why does everyone have to start work on such a morbid note? Join panna annikkae naan seththa enna nadakkum-nu ezhuthi vaangikkanuma?! Yezhavu!

Update: It seems they lost one of the above forms and I need to die again! Hmph!

Taking off

Warning : To all those who read the title and were all excited thinking this is a matter post, please spend some time on debonairblog before you get back to read this informative post.

Air travel has become excessively popular these days. There are perhaps more number of airlines in operation today than the number of backward castes in the country, which give us a lot of choice to confuse ourselves and mess it all up. Taking my valuable time off from Orkut, I am trying to throw some light on all these matters in this blog. Throwing light on matters may sound ironical to some, but all like angelic souls would understand my commitment. So let's take off!

Until about 2 years ago, I had no idea as to how it looked inside an aircraft. Although my first travel in an Airbus was in 2002, it did not give any clear picture because it was an SRM college bus, not the one made by Boeing. My first flight was to Bangkok on Thai Airways. Understandably I was keen to look at the airhostess since they were expected to be gumeel figures in international airlines. They were dressed in traditional Thai costume, which consisted of an ulpaavadai, blouse and a kaasi thundu on top. In the dinner they served, only bun and butter were edible, but they were also unlimited, so koocha padaama kaettu mukkinaen :D. And yeah, Thai naatin thaai kulam are not bad :D

One thing I understood during my first flight journey itself is that all of them begin on a note of yezhavu. Immediately after you sit and make yourself comfortable, you hear a voice which says, "Here is what you have to do in case of any unfortunate happenings during the journey". As soon as you see the live demo going on, demonstrating the use of life jackets just in case the aircraft were to land on the sea, you feel like telling them a lot of things including "Un vaai-la phenyl oothi kazhuva", "Un vaai-la dharbai-a poattu posukka" and "Un moonji-la en peechangai-a veikka". Then they serve sweets which no one feels like eating after hearing all the yezhavu talk. Imagine that you are going to the beach on your bike and somebody stops you to say "Just in case accident aagi nee mandai-a podara nilamai vandha bayappadaatha, indha number-ku call panna mortuary van varum. And yeah, indha paal paayasam kudichuttu po, idhukku appuram kudikka nee iruppiyo maatiyo".

I travelled by Indian on my first trip to Mumbai. The name of the aircraft, Indian, was apt - the crew on board consists solely of Indian thathas and paattis. This is actually a smart move by the Indian government to cut costs - since they have to accomodate the crew on board free of cost, they were actually losing out a lot of money. So they decided to recruit only senior citizens - which means they lose less fare. (I am not sure about the authenticity of this, but I am sure our government is capable of such reasoning) Paattis are dressed in saffron to make them look like kollu paattis. The entire flight is lit by a dull light normally used in kattana kazhipparai (pay toilets). They give pretty decent food, but the quantity is so much that they make sure you waste it. Only sincere people like me who treat food wastage as a crime do justice :D

Air Deccan had to be on my list since Mumbai-Chennai takes 24 hrs by train and I am incapable of ignoring mother nature's calls for such a long duration. Luckily they fly an airbus between Chennai and Mumbai, not the ATR which I've always suspected to use a discarded engine from KPN Travels' busses. The aircraft would have cost a couple of lakhs of rupees, and hence the tag 'low cost airline'. The boarding pass is printed on recycled toilet paper and does not contain any useful detail which you might look for; like say, seat numbers. It's free seating. So if you are a pakki looking for a window seat, like me, or a pattikaadu who pronounces aisle as Isil, you need not be embarassed any more. Just carry a turkey towel and throw it on the nearest seat you want and it is reserved for you. For a better flight, make sure your towel lands just behind the emergency exit coz that's approximately where the air hostess figure would demonstrate the yezhavu awareness lessons. Kodutha kaasukku atleast sight adichuttu pogalaam. Not that the airhostess are pretty and all, the consolation is that they are not double your age. So manasaatchi uruthaama you can sight. The Air Deccan flights have a weird air conditioning system - you see a lot of smoke like in Kailasam behind Lord Siva. This I guess is to make the passengers aware that the AC is switched on. Further, if you have no other velai masuru, you can even bid for something on-board (not the hostess). Importantyly - No food. No sweets. No cotton. No water. The hostesses are actually trained to say a stereotypical "Sorry sir, we do not have it on-board". You might probably get the same reply if you ask for the captain. Kodukkara 1000 rupees-ku vada payasathoda saapada poda mudiyum? Ambuttu dhaan.

Go Air, another low cost airline, is similar to Air Deccan. The hostess and stewards are all dressed in dubai pink/green/blue/orange which if you wear on the road, street dogs would chase you to death. The figures are slightly better on this one, but I cannot comment much since the only time I flew Go Air, I slept through the entire journey, refusing even the free water bottle which they give! (Muzhicha appuram romba feel pannaen oasi item miss pannitaen-nu) The flight landed in Mumbai at 2.30 am and there was this terribly long journey of 20 mins to the airport in the bus! I do not know why we travelled for such a long time, but I was wondering if we were thiruttu thanama entering the airport. Enga Mumbai secoority aapeesar kitta "I am Gaja ka dhosth"-nu solla solluvaangalo-nu nenachaen. But appadi endha asambaavithamum nadakkala.

I have not flown on Jet Airways or Kingfisher. If I tell my dad I've booked my tickets on those he'd say, "Onnum vara thevai illa, angaye kada". Pretty expensive, but I've heard the service and all is excellent. Irukkara 1.5 hrs-ku service enjoy panna thripthi irukkathu in any case, so why waste money! But am determined to fly back by Kingfisher once I get placed! I've seen some samples of air hostesses in the airport and I've concluded that Vijay Mallya is one kalaa rasigan. Bloody bugger. All gummel figures only. I'd keep calling the hostess to ask the time when am on-board. Window seat vaenaam, Isil dhaan bestu :D

A few learnings from my kutti experience flying between Chennai and Mumbai.
1) Never sit on the emergency exit or in the last row. The guy in front of you would definitely push his seat back and all you can do is abuse him quietly in a language he does not know.
2) If you are really despo, do something which you are not supposed to do and the hostess will automatically come to you.
3) Do not read the magazine in front of you especially if you are in Air Deccan. It will be filled with recipes and will remind you to be hungry, and on the next page you see that water costs 10 rupees.

Ippo ellam I am and all only the flight flying. Helps me stay in Chennai as long as possible and I can't even think of wasting the time in a train journey. Back in Mumbai after a 17 day stay in Chennai and already planning the next visit! Seekiram padichu mudichu kalyanatha pannikkanum :D

Last blog panna date paatha July 25th. Almost 100 days aachu bledy! Not that I was extremely busy and all, just that I did not know what was happening around to make fun of. So oru starting point-a irukkattum wrote some crap now. Saw Dharmapuri while in Chennai, thalaivar kalakittaru! :D Many good souls mailed/scrapped/smsed me asking me to blog. Very happy-a poodchu. Thanks to all of you. Adjust with this blog for the time being :)

Here is wishing Vidya a happy married life! She's a good friend I earned through blogs. Vidya, un kalyaana saapadu was super di! I doubt if she'd still be reading my blogs after marriage, but still :D

I guess I have polambified enough about what all has been happening. Nextu meet pannaraen :)

I've begun quizzing

Things in a B-School are so different. People here are kinda intellectual and do wanna lotsa stuff other than academics. They conduct e-mail quizzes and have all quizzer of the month fundas which they believe will improve their general knowledge. But enakku general-a knowledge-ey kadayaathu! Still, I decided to attend one of these quizzes since googling was permitted But since, even googling was not of much help, this is what happened . . .


Name the 1st ISI certified product.
Bihar Telephones, certified by Institute of Statewide Ignorance as early as the birth year of Lalu.

Sania Mirza and Sunil Gavaskar were signed up as brand ambassadors by which company?
Sania for Pepsi, Yeh Dil Maange More.
Gavaskar, I don care!

In "TIPS Cassettes Industries", what does TIPS stand for?
Maybe the chairman’s initials. But then which chairman wud have initials that when read the other way reads SPIT? Whatever! Pass!

Name the biscuit brand which has the highest sales in the world.
Tiger biscuits (before Ganguly endorsed)

Name the 94 year old product created by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed which translates into English as 'Soul Enlightenment".
One of them may be Lalu Prasad Yadav, which literally translates into “Sole Entertainment”. Not sure about the other.

A soap's name which reads the same backward as well?
Seriously, Liril. *claps*
The product had been positioned so well that it still remains etched in my mind. By product, I obviously mean the girl who came in it and not the soap.

Which is the largest traded e-commerce site in India?
www.indiagov.org
That’s the biggest trade thing in the world! That explains the .org extension instead of a customary .gov

Name the bank endorsed by Hema Malini. (a sitter)
State Bank of India. If not, this is not a sitter!

A mega hit advertisement, 1st of its kind, created by Mudra`s high post guy who got the idea while watching a cricket match. Name the Ad.
The DHL Jumbo ad which said however big it is, we carry it or something like that. The idea might have occured during the 2003 World Cup Extra Innings 'show'.

Name the production companies floated by Shahrukh Khan.
The latest float was by the man himself, in a bath tub with rose petals. Shux...I mean, Lux!

Cheers!

Note 1 : This educative and informative post is dedicated to this pullankuzhal illa krishnan and and this playboy and this silent romeo for all getting placed in Infy. Congrats!! Continue working for CAT!!

Note 2 : Girls are requested not to attend Infy interviews henceforth in their own interest.

P.S. : Inga me the speak orey the inglipis and hindi . So en thamizh veena pogaama irukka naan nextu blog-u tanglish-la ezhuthalamnu irukkaen. Maramando-3 poatta yaaravathu padipeengala illa puthu movie-a launch pannanuma?

Away From Home

Being away from home is one of the most bugging things in life, barring the case of honeymoon ofcourse. It gives you so many things to take care of; responsibilities you'd be proud if your child had, but really not interested in having them yourself. It is said that it transforms a boy into a man. But for people like me, who've already been through this transformation and all geared up even for a honeymoon, it doesn't really matter

Language is a small barrier, not because I do not know Hindi. I infact know Hindi very well, the only problem being that the people here do not know the Hindi that I know! I know numbers from Ek to Therah (thanks to the song from Tehzab), then I know Bhaiyya, then I know the all important Thoda Thoda Maalum and Mujhe Hindi Nahi Maalum which I use based on the Hindi proficiency of the person I am talkin to, and I also know a bunch of expletives which play a vital role while interacting with my friends here. Honestly, I can understand Hindi very well provided it is spoken at the speed of Ooty toy train. Whether I learn to speak Hindi fluently or not I've started teaching them Tamil! They find Tamil funny. Chumma means kiss-aam. Idhula avungalukku enna avalo sandhoshamo therila. Namma oorla kooda dhaan Hotha (H silent)-ku vaera meaning. Idhellam jagajam dhaaney?!

Bachelors hostel rooms are generally pathetic, giving the picture of a slum dwelling (minus the colour TV if you were thinking of a slum area from Tamil Nadu). But here, they are super well maintained. Though the bathrooms are common, we generally do not face a problem since Arjun Singh has not yet introduced reservations in this segment. If that happens, I'll have to keep one leg outside while taking bath I believe. And then one washing machine per floor, which 25 of us use till the coil burns

It is supposed to be rainy season here in Mumbai. It was infact raining heavily when I landed here (nallavanga irukkara edathula ellam mazhai peyyumaam, so no wonder) and continued to do so for a week, after which the meteorological department played spolisport. They predicted extremely heavy rainfall here from the 6th of June. The rains stopped on the night of 5th June. Since then, the sun has been shining brightly as if the heads of thousands of Deve Gowdas are being used as reflectors here. I strongly recommend the Government to stop investing the money in Met Dept and instead start a matchmaking (not sivakasi theepetti match) forum which would be a lot more profitable. Or it can even be used for other useful purposes like teaching Arjun Singh simple mathematics - percentages in particular. I mean, the forecasting is so bad that it stops raining even during monsoon! Namma sattelites ellam what doing? Seriya dhaan irukka? Or Baakistan Deeviravathigal hack pannitaangala?? I am going to try scribbling INSAT 1A, INSAT 1B etc on Saneeswaran kovil sevuru to help them function properly. Edho nammaala mudinjathu.

Food here is terribly monotnous! Though we get chapathi with different side dishes everyday, for rice its always one pichakaara dhaal! For morning breakfast I have a technologically advanced Idly which reverses the irreversible process of steaming and becomes dough again. Colour plays a vital role in helping me distinguish between Sambhar and Payasam. The left over Sambhar can be used as Manja Thanni for aththai ponnus to pour on mama payyans, without requiring any dilution. Diabetic patients are generally requested to avoid eating Dosa in Andheri area. Even milagu appalam tastes like our ulunthu appalam! I guess chilli powders are used only on the eve teasers here. My tonugue thus has RIP embossed on it, and I have resorted to the only possible alternative of asking mom to send parppu podi

Girls are one of the main reasons people do not wish to leave Mumbai! Being from down south, I was under the impression that girls always prefer to wear churidhaars. But there seems to be a blanket ban on such costumes in Mumbai. So far I have seen girls only in T-Shirts, that too ones which are a couple of sizes smaller! Also, "sleeveless" here means "nearly topless" for most, which is nothing but our Sudermani banian in Tamilnadu. Theatres like Jothi and Pilot are thus of no necessity here. Since we have a B-School, Engineering College, Arts College and School in the same campus, I get to see people from all age groups and all walks of life . Edho naan nallavana irukkarthaala naan undu en velai undu-nu irukkaen....!

One thing which I miss majorly is being out of touch with whats happening around!! Reading news online is kinda irritating but I gotta get used to it I guess Inga TV nahi. TV-ey irundhaalum Gabtun movies arumai eppadi puriya veppaen ivangalukkellam?! Those of you who are still around checking this blogspace, HELP!! How do you guys stay up to date with clowns like Arjun Singh and periya thalais like Gabtun? This info me definitely need to continue blogging

Anyways amidst all these matters I do get time to study. Four years aachu padichu! I am infact known to be studious here, always in my room with my laptop it seems! Test vecha how much u getting-nu enna paathu ppl asking!! Periya insult!! In my four years of college life nobody has dared to ask me the portions even!

***

Those in Chennai, I hereby invite you people to THIS bloggers meet on 24th June, which I will obviously not be attending . Somebody go and eat something on my behalf and pay for it without fail! From my past experiences at bloggers meet, I advise you guys to carry some cotton with you to stuff them in your eyes coz Sandhya is expected to grace the occasion. Ava flight maadhiri. Take off-aana kaathu gaali. So you shall the take care. I don want people complaining here tommorow and suing me in case of ear bleeding

***

One important matter. I am the Praveen B.E. officially! Arrear vekkama 4 years. Aatha I am the pass!!

Note : Before I officially put up a "I am back" board out here, I need some vetti websites. Till then ippadi mokkai blog-a poattu bore adippaen

Me the escape!

In the airport.

Pic taken using Integrated Webcam of Lenovo 3000 N100.

Blogged using wi-fi.

Vetti scene.

Its all in the game.

Tata Chennai. See you in Mumbai :)

Death

My wish to post something serious this year has come true in the most cruel possible form. It caused me great pain to digest the news that my junior in college, Krithika, died in a train accident. Too saturated with grief to even shed tears.

She is one person I'd be grateful to all my life. One of the very few saintly souls that I happened to know in my life. A person who regarded me as her elder brother and made me feel important on numerous occasions. She has left a lasting impression despite me knowing her for a really short period in my life. Such feelings wouldn change no matter what. I just wish I had the chance to know her longer.

It's the second time in my life I am going through this phase of losing a real gem. Such people just don't deserve to die so young in their life.

May her soul rest in peace. I pray to god to give strength to her family members to face the loss of their only child.

***

2006 has been really hard for me. First, the CAT fiasco that made me lose interest in everything. After having finally put that behind me, I am faced with this loss. I know this would pass too, but at the moment I really dunno when. 2 days or 2 weeks, I don't know. Bye for now. See you guys soon.

No Kya?

That's the verdict spelt out by Anna University, a big no to mobile phones being used inside the campus of all its affiliated colleges. In addition, a formal dress code is also being stressed. Next on line might be an emphasis on students wearing Sudarmani undergarments alone inside the campus to have a sense of uniformity.

Mobile phones have made everything quicker. You could be talking on your phone and at the same time cook, taste your food, find it bad, thow it and order for pizzas instead. You could practically do anything walking around in circles except probably take a leak. Such things have made the use of mobiles indispensable, particularly so in college life. Having a bulge in the pants has become a status symbol for guys. Ofcourse, as you rightly thought, I was referring to mobile phones being thrusted into tight fitting jean pockets. Guys and gals have had to put on huge dramas at home in front of their parents convincing them that mobile phones are highly useful in case of emergencies to get hold of a Nokia 3315, which is more a sengal than a cell. It's thus a cherished possession. Gals take especially good care of their cell phones. They keep it in a fancy jigina cell phone pouch, place it in the second zip of their handbag which inturn goes into the front compartment of their bags. So by the time they pick up the emergency phone call, the emergency itself would be history. If mom calls up her gal to tell her dad is ill, dad would be hale and healthy by the time the girl picks up her mobile. But nonetheless, as students we oppose the rules imposed and thus do not welcome this move by the university.

Mobile phones are accused of distracting the students during class hours. After having had 14 odd years of schooling, the only person who would be attentive in class is the guy in the last bench who has turned his face away from the board to face the girls of his class. That's the only task carried out with full concentration. So if mobile phones are going to distract them isn't it good for the women community? Why such considerations have been taken of the picture remains hazy. The officials probably did not have anybody to ogle in their class I believe. They might have studied in Andipatti or Arasampatti but ithu singaara Chennai and figures sighting in our birth right!

Students don't listen to the lecture and keep messaging their friends is another charge against the usage of mobile phones. Lecture is derived from the Latin word 'lacktia' which means "causing sleep". A lecturer, according to Oxford's latest release is "a person who has the bad habit of talking while the others are sleeping". Such etymological evidence suggests undeniably that students don't, and are not supposed to listen to lectures failing which they might be asked to hang themselves with arana kayiru. So, here again, mobile phones make the students more active in class and encourages them to involve in worldly talk with their friends to gain infos about the Shakeela movie being played that weekend and advising him that Blue Lagoon on AXN would be a better choice, thereby establishing a medium for students from different colleges to share their knowledge.

"The productivity of a student is lost since he/she wastes time in class", said a press release by the university. This just shows the ignorance of the university officials. It is highly difficult for a guy to put kadalai from his house with his girlfriend(s) due to external disturbances viz. father and mother who insist that the same guy who studied three consecutive years in LKG, study and get the gold medal in college. Thus fulfilling such an important task can be done during class hours only. According to Euler's theorem, the probability of getting a girl friend increases exponentially with the number of figures the guy knows. So whatever talk goes on is only in the best interest of the guys future - for him to settle in life with a good gujili. Losing productivty is a lot better than losing reproductivity, right?!

Camera phones are being viewed sacrilegiously especially after the DPS MMS case. We, as mature engineering students, solemnly urge that we shall not video tape our matter experiences, if any, for it not only spoils the image of the girl, but also nullifies the chances of us staying with our parents. What those kids did was a big mistake. We have learnt from it. We shall keep matter moments within the four walls. We will just keep it for party photographing - clicking a girl when she is dancing nicely in a non-existant dress!

Finally, the formal dress code also seems out of place. The dress one wears is definitely not going to reflect his mental capabilities. Formals poataalum seri, jeans poataalum seri, illa Archimedes style-la thirinjaalum seri, loosu loosa dhaan irukkum. Technical people should be formally dressed nu endha madayan sonnathu? This decision is believed to affect the girls a lot more than the guys since they have given up the habit of wearing dresses long long ago. They were thinking about body painting when this announcement came as a shock.

All these decisions just adds an extra page to the rulebook that's being torn day in and day out by the students. Oru rule poattu, adhu break aaratha paakarthula appadi what sandhosham? Loosa avanga? Please discuss! :-D

Mummy, Daddy, Help me . . .

There are certain things in life that leave you in a dilemma. Things that you don't know whether to smile at or be upset about. Things that are not in a definitive sense good or bad. Things that you wish you'd never confront. Things that leave you with complex reactions and disarrayed emotions, making all that's around you look alien. None of this happened to me

My literary prowess does not permit me to exaggerate any further, you guys are lucky in that aspect :-)

Coming to the point before you guys hit Alt+F4, I have a really really serious problem on my hands. Something as serious as what actress Namitha did to celebrate her doggie's birthday or how Mandira Bedi managed to keep her blouse intact during Extra Innings. "Where was the blouse?", you may ask. But close investigations by the CBI revealed its presence, unfortunately. I envy the CBI jobs, gotta be lotsa fun!!

I've still haven't come to the point, have I? Yeah so it's about my blogs being forwarded. I've got a copy of the Mock Interview as an email forward in my college Yahoo Groups. I remember Anti saying once that he got the Saniyan series as a forward. Another friend of mine said this was being circulated in his office. Today, it was Nirenjan who said he recieved this.

That does make me happy a great deal. I'd just be happier if due credit is given. A link to this blog, is all that I ask for. Illaena Google Ads-a amukittu ponga punyama pogum

This blog is ofcourse copyrighted and guarded by strict federal laws that are non-existant in India :-)

So those of you who forward, please do provide a link back to this space.

DO NOT IGNORE THIS. Last week my friend ignored what I said and in five mins he had a crow shit on his head. So save your heads now!! Forward this to everybody you know and enjoy the following benefits . . . .

30+ forwards : You will no longer get caught by your boss while reading blogs or while kadalai poattufying with the figure/AanSingam in the next cubicle.

25+ forwards : Guys, your best friend will bring home matter CDs from France. Girls, the guy who u love will stop watching matter movies.

20+ forwards : You will meet the love of your life in the next one hour. Please stay away from IITs and roam near Satyam Theater/Beasant Nagar beach for blissful results.

15+ forwards : You will get married in exactly one year from today. If not, please send this mail again to more people next time around.

10+ forwards : You will go on a dream date!! (remember to sleep well)

1-10 forwards : Guys, you will get a chance to take a figure for a ride on your bike. Girls, face the other side when the guy takes you on his bike.

0 forwards : Guys, you will be slippered by a girl. The effects will be severe since the slippers usually are armed with 1 foot tall wooden pieces. Girls, you will lose the guy whom u put bracket and were karanthufying money.

P.S. : That's a tailor made forward for all you "forwarders" and the "forwardees" who shall become "forwarders"

Yeah, it's me!

That's me ten years ago! Was just going through my poonal pics and found this one which I like a lot. Always end up laughing out loud seeing the thiruttu muzhi (yeah Witchu, I'd agree with you for this pic!), Chandramukhi style kaajal, the real appavi look and the arasa maram ilai in my hands :-)

I believe lotsa ppl are waiting to damage me seeing this pic. For once, let me sit back and laugh :-)

I still am the same old nice kid. Gayathri paeru nalla jabam pannuvaen :-)

Happy Gayathri Jabam!!

UNZIP

Foreign universities are really dumb. I say dumb because their admission procedure doesn't suit me one bit. To get an admit, I should have performed really well in my academics, like topped the class, which is striked off directly since I have a XY chromosome pairing. One is also expected to possess indispensable skills : archery skills good enough to atleast poke the bull's butt if not the eye, adept artistic skills good enough to scribble a modern art which only 2 other people in this world understand, singing good enough to kill the cockroach in your bathroom, to name a few. Research papers also give you an edge . . . but my edge seems really blunt coz I haven't even skimmed through the research sections in newspapers. In short, they look out for a well rounded individual, which I am definintely not unless taken in the literal sense! :-)

Getting back on track...If I've got all these stuff in me, why the hell would I apply to their university? Dumb, right? All these inane criteria inspired me to join the editorial board for my department magazine. I was unanimously selected into the team by all my close friends

For all those who are thinking why such an informative blog has such an ahem title, that's the bloody title for my department magazine! UNZIP!! The name sounds kinda cool, yeah. But guessing how my name was going to published in the magazine did not give me much happiness.

UNZIP

Credits : K. Praveen

You expect me to smile with this picture in my mind?!! Cha...first time magazine-la vara paeru innum konjam decent-a irundha sandhosha pattu iruppaen! Things did not stop here though. The consequences of having such a name were evident later.

The inaugural function for UNZIP was fun as expected. One of the reasons being that girls come in sarees . Guys generally like to see girls in sarees coz we have this strong traditional backing. I assure you that there is no other reason for this ;-)

The function was compered by a girl from my class. "The Chief Guest will begin the proceedings by lighting the kuththuvelakku", she announced on stage.

Friend : It's too weird da.
Me : What?
Friend : Saying Chief Guest will light the Kuththu Velakku. Isn't it odd?
Me : Yeah it is, but what do u expect her to say?
Friend : Isn't there an english word for kuththuvelakku?
Me : Yeah, there is.
Friend : What is it?
Me : Punch Lamp :-)

We then went on to discuss about the girls worth watching in sarees since there was nothing better we could think off. This was when our attention was diverted towards the chief guest. He was talking about the magazine and went on to say the following . . .

"I see you have named your magazine Unzip which is really innovative. I really appreciate it since there is something hidden within everybody, something that is not seen outside. Such things need to be unzipped and let out to realize its full potential"

I was ROTFL! Me thinks the magazine name needs a change first! What say? :-)

Am soooooo happy!!! :-)

Completed the stupid, bloody, nonsensical, naasama pona, yezhavu edutha GRE exam succesfully!

My score may not be one of the top scores but this is all I was praying for...a 600 in verbals with my inglipis knowledge seemed very distant especially I started mugging up the Barrons 3500 word list on June 25, 2005 And now here I am, rejoicing!

*drumrolls*

Quants : 800

Verbal : 590

For the GRE illilterates, the total is out of 1600 divided equally between quants and verbal :-)

And just when I started typing all this out, got another news.....Semester 6..

*drumrolls* (over-a drums adikkarthukku saari!)

82% :-)

Thats the highest in six semesters I have got!

Thanks for all your prayers! Especially the official prayer club and the oththu oothara prayer club :-)

It has been quite a long time since I smiled after I got my results. That was way back in 10th std!! An now.....am soooooooo happy!!! :-)

But, I don't wish to go abroad. This was just a backup. So CAT, here I come!! :-)

P.S. : For English pulavars like Curses and Kiki, GRE is THE exam. Neenga ellam firstu India-va vittu veliya ponga :-)

P.P.S. : All fellow U.S. bloggers and buddies, now starts your bad time. I need your mail ids :-)

Woohoo again!!

I never imagined I would be writing a sequel to this. Thanks to my classmate Prashanth, I get another small taste of fame :-)

Mock Interview is perhaps my most blessed blog, as it finds mention again in one of the dailies. Deccan Chronicle this time. What appeared in the paper was however a concise version of the original post due to a constraint on the number of words. So all that was written in my extra vettiness wasn't on the paper :-)

Prashanth took some blogs to the office and convinced the guys out there that this would work. Around six articles were selected to start off this column. So its thanks to him once again. The guys at Deccan Chronicle were pretty worried to mention the blog name, since they feared it would appear ripped off! They felt the author may sue them for using their articles or something. Why would I sue them for publishing my articles with my photo???? Crazy buggers! :-)

The Tuesday paper had one of Sangeeta's blogs and four others are due to come in the following days. Besides, the people at Deccan Chronicle wish to continue this column and have asked for more articles. So any good leisure read you find or any of your own articles which you feel are worthwhile can be mailed to him : prashkrish@gmail.com. Do take care not to exceed 250 words!

That is the pic which appeared in the paper. I term that as an appavi look, but Witchu always says thats a thiruttu muzhi! The halo was captured in the pic and I assure you, is no photoshop work :-D

Face is the index of mind. This is unfortunately the only proverb which suggests that I am a good boy. Bloody proverbs :-)

PS : This came at the right time helping a lazy bum update his blog! :-) Actually been busy preparing for my GRE. Thats on the 25th of July. That explains my absence in many of ur blogs! Sorry!! Will be back soon :-)

Wohoo!!

First, a HUUUUUGE thanks to Sudhish!! :-)

This page in The Hindu talks about young bloggers...and you should know why I am on cloud nine by now! My blog, my fun work, has been mentioned!! Ya, you knew it by the time I put up the link, but what the heck, I wanna say it out! :-)

Dog Lover Curses, Saeppu Sattai Vinod G and Aakashavani Sandhya were also mentioned.

First thing,showed it to my dad and he was like "dei, timepass-a?" coz thats what the stupid me told Sudhish when he called up a couple of days back thanks toCurses too who gave my number to Sudhish.

Boy, doesn't this sound like Miss Universe thingy minus me closing my face and talking about world peace and Mother Teresa?? I'll cut that now!

Only yesterday I was surprised to find my Mock Interview doing its rounds as a forward message (without bloody acknowledgment!) and ironical reaching me from my friend saying "Tips To Prepare For Interview"! I was like dei, enakkeva! Today I find it quoted in The Hindu. Made this already special day even better!!

Bloggers meet coming up today. Oh yeah...let me check my schedule and tell you if I can make it! ;-)

THAAAAAAAAANKKKKKKKKKKKK YOUUUUUUUU ALLLLL FOR YOUR PATIENCE!! :-)

Phew, am back :-)

I am back to my good old furnace. Every year I wish vacations never come to an end, but as always it's gone in a jiffy :-(

Click Here for Pics

Shimla

A good 7 hours travel from Delhi. I had luckily managed not to evaporate during the journey. Don't waste money on A/C vehicles coz unless it is fitted with a 2 tonne A/C, you will know the A/C is on only after seeing the switch! At the same time, don't try for any top-open vechicles like a jeep coz there is a very high probability that you may need to include Kutralam in your itenerary. In short, avoid travel.

The guides here irritate you. They run along with the car, cling on to it and try to get some commision for this monkey act. They don't deserve even a banana.

No idea how this place is popular. Nothing much to see and the climate is just like Kodaikanal, nothing special.

Khufri point is supposed to be the main attraction here. But you have to reach the place only on horses, which I suspect, were last given bath before the assasination of Rajiv Gandhi. Nobody informed us about this and we had not taken any oxygen masks with us.

There is a big zoo in Shimla with lots of trees and around 13 animals, out of which 8 are barking deers which never bark, 2 are black bears, 2 are brown bears and one is a snow leopard. The snow leapord is a very shy. It prefers to stay in its inner cage sipping away milk. Snow leapord illa adhu, periya size poonai.

English is a very funny language, yeah. But it is even funnier in Shimla. "Brown Beer", "Chilled Bear", "Brakefast", "Dineer" are some of the common boards you'll see here. The authorities, I guess, have completed a Vivekananda Rapid English course. Not only is it rapid, it is also revoultionary.

The place outside the zoo has lotsa small shops. Shirts, sweaters, blankets, fruits, handicrafts and what not. Probably a good place to get your friends a small gift.

There is also a big market area here. You reach there by a flight of stairs or by an elevator ride which would cost you 7 bucks. 1000ft market-nu build up vittanga, paartha 4 storeys height dhaan irukkum. Pongada-nu vanthuttom.

That innocent pic of mine was taken in the hotel at Shimla. Idhai paarthaavathu naan evalo nallavan-nu ellarum purinjukittu en pugazhai parappunga :-)

No shortage of beautiful trees and flowers though, the only thing which keeps reassuring you that this is indeed a hill station.

Manali

A truly amazing place. The ice cold Biyas river adds to the beauty of the place. The journey from Shimla to Manali was very long but I never felt a thing thanks to the lovely locations I kept staring at.

On the way to Manali

Evening Shadows

Sunset

The hotel we stayed on was on the banks of the Biyas river. We could hear it flowing even from inside our rooms. Caught a decent video of the river flowing, will upload it to some space if possible. Any suggestions?

Guides bother you here too. They try to get you into some hotel and as a result get some commision. But by now, I had enough experience to handle the situation. They ask you stuff even when you sit inside your car.

Guide : Aapko hotel booking chaahiye? (Need hotel booking?)
Me : Booking hai hamaarey paas. (Already booked?)
Guide : Kis hotel mein hai, bathaayiye naa? (Can u tell me which hotel?)
Me : Hotel Subramani mein hain, check kariye na! (Hotel Subramani, check if u wish too)

Snow point was great fun. The last time I had seen something close to snow, on a small scale, was ten years ago before we disposed our Godrej fridge. Played a lot with snow, throwing it at people. It was a great task to walk on snow and reach a lil bit of height. From there we came sliding on snow. No skiing, just sliding on out bottoms! It was great fun minus the fact that there was no blood circulation on our rears. Too much of fun in snow left me shivering that night. I was wearing a jerkin, a sweater, two shawls, a pair of gloves, a pair of socks and two quilts on top of me. But still managed to shiver! Crocin poattu kuppara kavunthu paduthuttaen :-)

Our next stop was at some temple. I still quite don't know which temple that was. Said to be a Shiva temple, but I went in to find out "Bhagwan Vasisht" in it. Two other temples were next to it. One Ram temple and the other Durga I believe. These temples have hot water springs. The water is super hot and people take bath in there. Me no like that much of freedom :-)

A bunch of temples form the main tourist attraction in Manali except for Chennaiites like me for who snow is prohibited even in dreams. Paragliding and horseride are somethings we skipped. Paragliding here is more than twice as expensive as in Bangkok! We did relax ourselves in a Club House which offered TT, Snooker tables, Badminton courts etc.

Kulu was not part of our itenerary. We did not have much time on hands either. So we skipped rafting on the river at Kulu.

Chandigarh

Very less time spent here. It was just a transit from Manali to Delhi. Stayed over one night. A beautifully planned city with superb roads. Just as I was saying Chandigarh is a lot better than Chennai, there was power cut. It seems thats a common problem those people face. Unakku Chennai dhaanda naaye laayakku-nu tellings :-)

The boards in Chandigarh had funnier English than the ones in Shimla.Both capital cities!

We stopped at Pinjore gardens on our way to Chandigarh. The above is a pic of Sivagami computers outside the garden :-)

The gardens were lovely with beautiful flowers and fountains. Would have been more effective at night. We unfortunately did not have enough time on our hands to stay there till night. Rose gardens and Rock gardens are supposedly a must see in Chandigarh, but again as I said Chandigarh was just a stop-by.

Reached Delhi on Friday afternoon and managed a few hours of shopping and sight-seeing. The India Gate offers a spectacular sight at night. The Red Fort, from outside, is just a big red wall like E-2 Police Station. Not possible to be covered by the lens!

Left for Agra early morning. Managed to capture the sunrise from the car. I was unsually brisk inspite of just a few hours of sleep.

Visited Krishna Janma Bhoomi at Mathura on the way. The jail, were Lord Krishna was supposedly born, led to some interesting discussions.

Uncle : Vasudev was imprisoned by Kamsa coz the eigth child of Vasudev and Devaki would kill Kamsa.
Cousin : Devaki was also imprisoned for the same reason.
Me : It is because Vasudev and Devaki were left in the same prison that eight children were born.
Cousin : Yaen different prison-na eight children pirakkatha?
Me : Err..no.
Cousin : Why?
Me : Dei over-a pesaatha, adhu vaasthu shaastram padi appadi dhaan.

The road leading to Taj Mahal is no better than those at Dumil Kuppam. Sewage water and garbage on the already rugged roads did not do justice to a world wonder. People wait with entry tickets under the hot sun and high above their heads, on the entrance is a bulb which is normally seen in public toilets. Inspite of all this, Taj Mahal did not fail to fascinate me. Walking without shoes is next to impossible, but people did not mind that. Inside the Taj Mahal, however, it was very cool as if the A/C had been swicthed on. The carvings on the walls were simply out of the world. Agra MLA kai-la kadaicha seruppala adichiruppaen. Avanum kidaikkala, kai-la seruppum kidaikkala.

Our last stop was at Qutub Minar. Just a dash before we could go and catch the flight.

On the whole, yet another enjoyable tour. Last year it was Singapore, Bangkok and Malaysia. This year, North India. Next year hope to make it to Colombo.