Coucou! Ca va?: 2006

By Murali

Hyd 10k run

First time ever, I participated in the Hyd 10k run. Was quiet good. Ran 7. Walked 3. May be next time, I can run all 10 at a stretch.

Apparently, there were a lot of people (arnd 10k, I guess) who had registered; but Sunday morning at 7, their beds attracted them more than the run. So, the papers estimated the 'runners' to be arnd 2-3k. Not a huge number - most of the crowd being corporates with their huge banners.

Well, we had the star glitz cheering us and kick starting the event. The run was arnd the lake - never realised that the lake was so big. I am never used to running for 10k at stretch, so obviously had to take breaks after 3 kms or so. I play squash for hours together - there never is a problem, but running is definitely not my cup of tea. Two of my colleagues had to slow down because of me; finally asked them not to wait for me !I think that even most of the half marathon runners(21k run) finished much ahead of me :-)

Of course, threw up my usual tantrums of pains in the joints (visible signs of 'aging' out). That would last for a while !

Watched the much hyped D:2 later in the evening. Digusting is my verdict and fictional farce is the buzzword.

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By Murali

Size does matter!

For people who are letting their thoughts run wild, I am talking about the size of books here ! I am not really the 'novel' guy - don't read too many novels. Probably reading novels was never really my cup of tea. Used to read Enid Blyton as a child - but thats about it.

So, just a couple of years back - my ex-roomate promised me that I would start loving reading if I read a few books that he suggested. Will - start I did with a few 'tiny' (or should I say minute) ones - Love Story, Animal Farm, Chronicles of a Death Foretold to mention a few. All these were good.

I guess am scared by the sight of a 'big' novel. The sheer volume repels me. Of course, like any one else - read Da Vinci Code - though it was big. Didn't like this book so much but for the pace and the data. Moved on to 'Angels and Demons' - this was easily my favourite. So, that kindled me to read the remaining two Dan Brown thrillers - both of them were really bad!

So, I thought I was getting over this phobia for big novels - not to be so. I am stuck up with a copy of Kate Mosse's Labyrinth. Apparently - this book is also a nerve gripping Grail thriller set in ancient locations betn France, Andorra and Spain. I read the first 50 pages just to re-read the same 50 pages after 2 months. Now, I guess I have to search for the book in my attic.

I guess I prefer watching 'movies'(of novels/epics) to reading them. Book fanatics would scourge me for that blasphemous statement, but I guess, I could put in two hours and watch it 'thru' rather than read thru' the same pages time and again. One of my friends told me that I should read 'Lord of the Rings' rather than watch it. The movie, inclusive of all parts, was 9 hours. I guess I would have to read the book my entire life to finish it :-)

Talk about 'To Kill a mocking bird' (considered the best book of the century by many) - One of my good friends gifted it to me on my last b'day - Last I remember was reading the the 100th page 200 days back :-). So, if someone has a DVD copy of the movie - please let me know!

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By Murali

Ashray Akruti

I've always wanted to associate with an NGO and do some kinda service. Well, my workplace opened the doors to such an opportunity. Last year, I was a part of a group that arranged a sports day in a school for special children rescued from child labour. This year, it was a different experience.

Ashray Akruti(http://ashrayakruti.org/) is a school for the specially challenged. Here, hearing impaired children are taught by experienced teachers and they get into mainstream after spending a few years in this school.

So, we (about 25 of us volunteers from work) had a day out with these wonderful kids. 80 of them. We took them to the science museum, the planetarium and finally to the botanical garden where we arranged some fun games for them and gave prizes away. Thanks to the weather gods, it rained the day-before and the day-after but not on the D-DAY.Arranging an event of such a magnitude(125 of us in all) was no easy thing. But none of the volunteers sulked and we all pitched in with high enthusiasm.

End of the day - what did we get? - well, the priceless smiles on the children's faces. Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear - I guess we succeeded in that!

Ofcourse, such activities don't stop after a day. Continued association with NGOs would serve the actual cause and really help us transforming ideas into action.

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By Murali

House-warming or was it ?

My sis found a 'new-place' in b'lore, so the consequence was me being invited to the 'house-warming'. Well, lil' did I realise that she had planned things before-hand for me even before I was there. I reach b'lore on a Saturday morning after a tiring 8 hour bus journey. As soon as reach my sisters', 'Ah! we've been waiting for u! we've got work to do'

She did add b'lore traffic to her planning, but still forgot the 'rains'. So, that compounded the equation pretty badly. A 6 km travel from the old house to the new-house always took an hour, one way :-) Even worse, there were diversions here and there.

We had to purchase a lot of things for the ceremony. We then go back home only for my BIL to say that their new car was getting delivered in 30 mins time. Well well! 18h30 evening traffic. We go there only for the guy to tell us that certain docs are missing. Thank you, Mr.Murphy!

Its 21h00 in the evening. We are all dead hungry. The purohit calls to say that he has to arrange a few things in the house for the early morning pooja. So, two of us to pick him up (15 kms from there) while my BIL stays back to get the vehicle delivered. By the time, we reach the new place, its 21h00!. Dead hungry!

The purohit then says that we cannot eat until the pooja is over. What pooja? He never told us about one the day before the actual pooja. Well, we then learnt that this is the way it happens in Kannadiga customs. As we had to wait for the head of the family (my BIL) to start the pooja, our hunger got the better of us.

Well.. the pooja started at 23h00 and ended at 24h00. As my sis and BIL were made to repeat the slokas by the purohit, I just couldn't stop laughing - honestly, we were absolutely not in any position to do anything at all - tired, sleepy and hungry!

At 24h00 they leave only to ask us to be back at 02h30 for the actual pooja!!!!! Well well.. the rest is history! House warming is normally a 'warm' ceremony to drive out the evil-spirts out of the house, but lil' did we know that we had to have such a 'fighting' spirit to overcome this event :-)

So, the next time someone calls me for 'house-warming' in b'lore - I'll have to think twice, I suppose :p :p

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By Murali

Age ++

Yet another passes by. More strands of grey hair, more wrinkles on the face, more frequent questions in the mind such as 'Why me?' should all point to just one thing - age++. When we were young, we were 'growing up'. Now, we are 'growing old' (yes, the not-to-be-use three letter word).

As is always turns out, you do not receive the expected calls from dear ones (plainly becoz' they've forgotten it) and the bulk of the others do call/mail rejoicing the fact that I am getting old :p :p (what saddists :p :p ?). Well, thanks to all of them for remembering the 'aging' man! :-)

Was in a train on my b'day eve. So, luckily no b'day cake and bumps ! :-) Missed all the calls too - thanks to the 'hutch'(we'll-go-wherever-u-go) network!

For the 'unforgivable' few who forgot my b'day, you still have a day or two for penitence! After that, you fall into the 'completely-forgotten' category :-)

Spent my b'day and Diwali at my sisters. Was a lot of fun. Was pampered as usual and came back 'all-round' in shape.

Tried playing baddy after a long time. Bad idea. Result was a bad pull on my thigh that troubled me for almost 5 full days!

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By Murali

After a long hiatus

May be it was pure lethargy that has stood between me and blogging or may be it was just that I was disconcerted by a hiatus in my thinking process. I am still 'thinking' about which one to pick ! In either case, my contribution to the ozone depletion- equivalent in blogosphere has been zero for the past two months.

After I imposed self-imprisonment on myself after an overdose of travel, I finally managed to get out of the cage and went home after almost 4 months. Was a good break. Went with my sis to all the crowded streets in Chennai. Well, she was looking more for knicknacks and baubles; so no wonder, we had to do a lot of searching in all the narrow lanes. Diwali is in the air and it always feels good to smell it. First time ever that we shopped for almost 6 hours and I didn't get anything for myself. Guess something is 'really' abnormal with myself :-)

Lotsa travelling to be done this month and this was good 'kick-start'. People have already started commenting about the 'changed-me' in terms of size. So, have made strong resolutions to start 'squashing' again. Hopefully, this time, I transform my ideas into action.

Due to very-much avoidable circumstances, I've not been cooking as well for the past two months. Its time to turn the tide now. Accidents do happen in the kitchen; but still, we have no choice but to eat them. Eventuality has to be accepted, ain't it :-)

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By Murali

Weather and wither

The whole of AP has been experiencing intense rain in the past few weeks. Not so good news. Consequences - one too many. First sickness and then bad roads.

Roads in Hyderabad are back to 'normalcy' (read as concave craters in the middle of the roads). This is how I saw Hyd when I first visited the city. A few roads have disappeared and guess even a google search would not help us find them. I guess we all know the answer - Conduct a Congress Plenary and invite Sonia again. Should this be done, the 'matter' would be 'laid' to rest in a coupla days !!

My roomate and I were the first victims to the vagaries on the monsoon. Both of us fell sick the same day and were ill for about 4-5 days. House arrest for so many days was not an easy thing. Frequent medications made drowsiness our third roomate. Now that we are outta sickness, the-then-gloomy weather seems very 'pleasant' now :))

Weekend - watched the most spectacular F1 races in recent times. All new podium finishers - can it get any better? Schumi going out with three laps to go was a sad sight to watch; nonetheless, I would always vouch for such eventful races where you have a new leader every five mins !!

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By Murali

'Weak'-end

Started off on a bad note. Was in a meeting Friday afternoon; came out of the slumber (what else do you do in meetings, huh?), back to my desk and my colleague says "We've got bad news for u". Was wondering if someone had captured me 'napping' in the meeting.

"We are going for a telugu movie today evening and we've booked for you as well". You expect something bad and get something even worse.

If a theorem states that "u are going to a telugu movie", the corollary has to be "u went to a telugu movie? how could u????". May be I have this compulsive need to please people ?? :p :p So was a mournful Friday evening.

Sat and Sun, had planned to do a lot of things; one of the most trivial tasks being 'putting my clothes for wash'. Thanks to Mr. Parkinson for his wonderful law 'Works expands to fill the time available', I am always used to procastinating tasks. After all, its a law and we HAVE to abide by it, ain't it ??? So, that should sum up how many things I actually did this weekend !!!

Have not been playing squash for a while now; was determined to go for it this weekend. Lethargy and I are opposite poles, so its strongly attracts me :p :p. No wonder my paunch is getting the better of me.

One 'accomplishment' was a long due rendez-vous with a fellow BITSian. We hogged heavily and walked down to his house only to be greeted with few more rounds of sweets as it was his sibling's b'day. So, couldn't say NO. After sometime, the very thought of food caused nausea.

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By Murali

At 'bay'

Well, guess when people realised the what the first four letters in 'Bombay' was , they soon wanted to change the name to 'Mumbai' after the '93 blasts. That really doesn't seem to have had an impact at all! From being 'one' of the dangerous cities, Mumbai is probably becoming 'the' most dangerous city for dwelling. Apparently, some statisticians have said that Mumbai has had more blasts than any major city (in the world) in the last decade. From the rains to the shivsena bandh (one of their yet another dastardly acts) to the blasts, dear ol' Mumbai has had it all - Good lord!

I guess soon this ever-active metropolis will have to change its epithet from 'the financial hub of India' to 'the most scary place in India'. Sad but may well be true :((

Oh yeah! And how well do most of the news channels dramatize any 'catastrophe'. One too many hyperboles used these days. Talks about 'figthing spirit', etc etc are always endless. Well, CNN-IBN had a diff view. Went arnd talking to the denizens the next day where all of them had to say that they had NO choice but to get back to the trains or else they would be thrown out of their jobs. People probably are getting stoic to such things, no doubt! Nonetheless, the newsworthiness of these rather romanticized content provided by these new channels is open to moot.

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By Murali

Au Revoir, Les Bleus

So was indeed 'Bye, Bye' to a French victory. Think the Italians deserved it for all their consistent work. After all, the two goals they conceded (one a self goal, the other one a zizou penalty) never really 'broke' the 'China wall' of Italian defense.

Was reading a few french newspapers after the defeat. None of the newspapers actally sullied the French teams image. Rather they were made heroes, nevermind the Zidane ghastly incident. Same was with Germany who came in third. And look at us, we curse the Indians after they loose a match. Something for us to learn, I suppose. How much have we bad-mouthed Zaheer Khan after his first over in the finals ? :p :p

World cup is over; so means I can sleep early. Met up with a friend and her hubby yesterday. Meeting her just for the second time in the last five years, I suppose and meeting her hubby for the second time (after the two mins I spoke to him at the wedding ). No wonder we spent a LOT of time reminiscing the past.

Was 'trying' to cook this weekend. Bad experience. Had a 'fight' with a knife; end result was inevitable - a deep cut in my finger.

Moral of the story : Never fight with a 'SHARP' knife; the knife always wins !!!

May be after marriage, I can probably replace 'knife' with 'wife' :p :P !!

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By Murali

Allez, Les Bleus!

Oh well! For once, my 'oracl(e)ular' predictions turned out to be true. Thierry did disprove 'theory' and how well did Zizou complement him !!!!

We were a bunch of 5-6 watching, all but me backing Brazil. No wonder the 'result' had a bad impact on them. So, I had to cut down on the ephiphany as celebrating the victory 'loud' would have only elicited a 'brawl' in my 'hall':)))

All said and done, for me, it was like watching India defeat Australia in a cricket world cup quarter-finals. So, even if India were to lose the next match, it still wouldn't matter. David slaying Goliath is always a treat to watch :)) Heard from a friend in Fonty that there was a wild revelry on the streets after the victory. Hmm.. I missed it !!!

Now they move on to meet Portugal, one of the four semi-finalists who least deserve to be in the last four; thanks to a listless England always 'paying (and not playing) the penalty':)). Germany now play the Rahul Dravid of football (the Italian WALL of defense). Nice set-up this time compared to last time where the two minnows (South Korea and Turkey) made the semis very boring and one-sided.

So, I bet on France/Germany showdown - anybody with me ?? :)
And my slogan for the next few days - 'Allez, Les Bleus'

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By Murali

Being Ch(B)eerful!!!

After the >> shift, ofcourse, comes the 'house warming' and in the 'literal' sense.So, my roomate and I invited our team to our place so that the 'house' could be blessed with 'warm and hot' wishes. Had to leave out the two women in the teamdue to obvious reasons. No discrimination this; we'll soon have a 'softer' get-together as well. Food was never a problem; in India atleast, it so much easier, cheaper and faster to have food ordered and delievered. My roomate took care of the 'spirits'; and everyone, no wonder, appreciated his spirit.

As always, the tee-totaller me had to take a coke as the others, being 'beer-ful' and 'cheer-ful' reached the next dimension ( after all, according to one of my friends: 'Reality is an illusion created by the lack of alcohol'). Unfortunately, I've never liked the taste of any of the CnH2n+1OH (Note to the dude at c'cut - please forgive me if this formula is wrong :p :p). An un-invited guest was a 6 foot long snake. Somehow, the care takers of the house managed to kill it. May be snakes smell alcohol pretty well :p :p

THe next day morning, my aunt was supposed to visit me. God bless her, she didn't.. would have only been shocked with all the beer bottles strewn arnd :))

Lying dormant for less than 4 hours these days - thanks to football. Was so thrilled to watch dear old France destroy the Spanish. Atlast, they have come to life. In 'THEORY', they should be bulldozed by the Brazilians in the quarterfinals; but lets see if "THIERRY" proves it wrong :)

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By Murali

>> Shift

Moved into a new place with a colleague a few days back. So, was the 'RIGHT' shift, I should say. THe new place, though expensive, is very very good and also has pushed me back to the cook-at-home mode as the kitchen is very 'appealing'. Moreover, I've already had an overdose of outside junk.

Since its a 'BIG' place, my roomate and I have started furnishing the appartment to remove the 'voidness'. Took a while to get the cable connections; but well in time before the world cup - clear indication of the 'exponential' rise of the 'laziness' co-efficient in me :))

Too bad this - we have all the 'action' happening at the same time. French Open, Wimbledon, Cricket at Caribbean, Soccer, F1. Mon dieu!! too much to discuss during coffee breaks these days. We are just 'loaded' with information. Too much into soccer and was talking to an Australian customer today more about their 'late resurgence' against Japan yesterday than about work. Was a great match, nonetheless. Well, c'est les bleus aujourd'hui'. Lets see how the French perform !

Had another friend visiting me this weekend. Since I had to show him something arnd, we took a very wrong step and headed to 'Ramoji' film city. Well, catastrophically disastrous is a categorical understatement. This place truly sucks. Add 'afternoon heat' to this and you can imagine the 'experience'. Hunting for the marketing experts who have made this 'sound' all too good.

Taking this Friday off yet again. Would be on a pilgrimage down south. Have long been trying to convince my team-mates that I am a 'full-time' employee, but then, they are always under the assumption that I work only four days a week :))

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By Murali

Whats in a name?

No rhetoric this. Having a relatively 'long' name with my first and last names all mixed up, I always have trouble telling people my 'correct identity'. People only end up getting more confused. To compund matters, my passport just all the three names as my first name (no surname specified) leaving the immigrant official with flabbergasted looks.

Having said that, I still enjoy the incongruity in my name. My 'dear ones' faction-out by the way they call me; rather a way for me to secern who the 'caller' is !!!!!!

'Good'
Hello DM : Wow! a sweet old dear school pal.
Hello Murali : Thats from someone in the family! :)
Hello Damak/Damuk/Dhamak : someone from the BITSian fraternity. Will be a LONG call :)

'Bad'
Hello Krishna : Oh nooooo!!!! call from someone at work. do I have to take this call???

'Ugly'
Monsieur Devadas : God damn! should be some tax or insurance bloke from France. No way I am taking this one :p :p

Furthermore, many people assume that I hail from Andhra Pradesh as 'Krishna' (think one of Cheiros books came into play for the 'n' to be removed) is more typically telegu than the more tamilian 'Krishnan'. One of my managers at work was so suprised when he heard me talk in Tamil and even more puzzled when I told him that I was from Chennai :)

Well, read 'Freakonomics' and the 'freakonomisitic' analysis goes on to 'predict' what the possible 'most popular' girl/boy names would be in 2015 !!!Hmm and I was always thinking 'whats in a name'!!!!!!!!!!!!. Gazette - here I come!

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By Murali

A short break..

Headed to Chennai for the weekend due to the Hyd-overdose. Coincidentally, a close friend was coming down from the the US. So, had a chance to meet him after after three years. Suprisingly three years of married life hasn't changed him a bit. He is still a 'happy' man contrary to the fact that a man can either be 'happy' or 'married' :p :p :p. The 'whining' me was boring him with all my stories as the 'jet-lagged' him pretended to patiently listen. Decided that he has to pay it back that he has promised to come to Hyd before heading back to the States.

Finally, managed to drive a car in India. Was Indica Xeta first followed by Alto. That should tell you the reason. Was actually test driving for a friend who is not too comfortable driving cars. Xeta won by a LONG margin. No wonder with a 1400 cc engine it would fare any day better than the 800 cc Alto; cost being the same. (hats off to the TATAs for pricing it aggressively) For comparison, even the latest 'sensation' Maruti Swift has just a 1300 cc engine. Please - I am not marketing anything here :)

Went to this new mall in Chennai (Chennai citi center). Pretty good, I should say and more importantly, very spacious. Also, very close to dear Marina. I would any day join the race to support new malls in the city to 'dethrone' the 'where-I-feel-ONLY-claustrophobic' Spencers. Weather in Chennai was suprisingly good with the occasional showers !

Hats off to the Indian team - made me sit all thru' the nite to watch them loose pathetically to Windies. We are just becoming too consistent in creating stars in the opponent teams !!! :)

Waiting for a friend to pick me up and 'break-into' my own house as I've lost the keys. (typical me :p ) No wonder I am writing this blog !!

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By Murali

MAY, I...

Had a friend visiting me from S'pore. She was on her way to France and stopped by in Hyd for a coupla days. So, we had a chance to roam and roam albeit in the centralised superheated environments in Hyd. Was late to pick her up. Ofcourse, reason was that I had 'overslept'.

She was like 'Oh, so you sleep at home as well; I thought you sleep only at work'.. Good god! Dunno how people find out all these 'secrets' :p :p

We both along with two friends watched 'Ice Age 2' - I guess anyday these animation movies are better than the so called not-fiction-all-real-with-MATRIX-stunts tamil/hindi/telegu flicks. Atleast, you don't come out of the theatre with a 'why-did-I-waste-my-time-and-money' look:)

Helped my friend with shopping.. Well, normally when such things happen, the roles get reversed with the helper being 'helped'. Luckily not to be so this time. 'Self' was under control and though temptation was trying to lure me, I managed not to fall for it. Infact, even on a second occasion, when I helped another friend 'shop', I was 'under control' and my signature was not wanted on any of the receipts :p :p. To people who are 'shocked', sometimes, these miracles do happen :)

Next was 'house-hunting' - Will move in with a colleague as he has been rendered 'homeless' (read as his roomates are moving out). Rental rates have gone up so much here that you would wonder if you are looking for an apparment in bay-area. After a painfully long search (not to forget the above stated superheated weather conditions) in which we had to look at almost 20 houses, we finally managed to get one. Will move in first week of June.

Have taken a break from 'travelling' - read as 'have not travelled in three weeks'. May head home just to get pampered a bit. Gets too boring to see too much of Hyd all the time :))

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By Murali

Travelling deeeeeeeeep down!

Travelling down south wasn't as easy as I had thought it to be. Touched all the four southern states in a span on 24 hours ( all in a bus) and realised how tough that could be. From Hyd to B'lore to Mysore to Coimbatore and finally to Palakkad to attend my best pal's wedding. After a tiring 24 journey, I get off the bus in Coimbtore, head to a shop to buy a bottle of water and ask the shop-owner something in (my bad and sad) Hindi.

My wingie : "Dude, wake up, u are in TamilNadu; u may want to speak in Tamil and not confuse the poor bloke". So, that should sum up the journey.

Wedding are always wonderful if you have a gang to bitch, rant and rave about things and thats exactly what we had in store there. Wingies, their spouses, moms, dads and our never ending disucssions - soothing to the ears as always ;). Even a slightly coy wingie's spouse got into our 'wingie talks' and was in full flow:)

Ofcourse, in some corners, you see the old ladies completing their mission - exchanging their kids' horoscopes stealthily with the others while, in a not-so-furtive manner, my wingies (I hope only the bachelor ones) continue their ogling as well. No luck as always :-)

Talk about god's own country and talk about food. The 'ada pradhaman' is something one will ever forget. Mallu food was great. Palakkad is pretty serene, traditional and beautiful. We went to the Malampuzha dam nearby and that was pretty good.

Well, thought return would be peaceful. Not to be so; blame it on lady luck. Our train was stranded in the middle of nowhere due to some god forsaken derailment. So, yet again 'bus journeys' stood betn me and my destinations. Was supposed to reach Chennai at 6 in the morning. Reached at 5 in the evening all in the sweltering heat of 43 deg :-) Started again in a couple of hours (in a bus again). A normally useless telugu flick was screened as usual and thats when I realised - "Oh boy! back to Hyd and back to boredom!!!"

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By Murali

Whats with the sneaker????

In IT firms in India with no formal dress code, I guess you should have seen most of the 'software' pros coming to work with sneakers !!!!!!.. You sneak up a lil' more and there you see the hiding white sock! :-)

Well, whats indeed with the sneaker??? People call it 'fashion' and make it their 'passion'. Probably, most of them have forgotten the fact that sneakers are worn only while you work-out or play. And this 'passion'( I term it disease) is catching up with women as well. Probably, there is a misconception on the difference betn a 'shoe' and a 'sneaker'. A good formal shirt and a great trouser. Oh no! just look below - its a white and shiny 'sneaker' :)). No wonder 'adidas' and 'reebok' have started manufacturing exclusively for corporates :p. A very 'American' and 'cool' thing is what I heard from some people :p :p :p I used to wear it on a few occasions as well. Realised when I was in France how uncouth that could be :p :P.

About the white 'socks', here is an anecdote :
I was attending this executive program taken by an ex-Harvard prof. He was talking about some one and he went

"Guess wot, he was a geek, he was wearing white socks"!!!! .

Need I say more!!! :-) That should tell you something about white socks :-)

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By Murali

Just a quick update !

Yet another long weekend coming up and guess most of us would be travelling. Would be heading to Kerala to attend my friend's wedding. Irony is that I am heading to 'God's own country' and still would be there for just a day :( Nonetheless, should be a lot of fun with my dear pals. Have to endure an almost 20 hr bus journey as the lethargic me procastinated in booking trains tickets. Also, was a bit apprehensive to book air tickets after I read about this 'mid-air' drama in an Air-Deccan flight, which suddenly dropped altitude !!

One of my friends has come back from the US. Being this 'ardent' telugu-flick fan, he goes to any released movie. Ofcourse, since he needs company, books the tickets and then calls me up. So, have no way out :-(Watched 'Pournami' with him. Well, honestly, I would STRONGLY recommend this movie to anyone just to make you realise how bad the south indian film industry is. For a change, even my friend couldn't bear it. We are in 2006 and these movies make you wonder if we are apes in the neolithic era. Please watch it :-)

Had attended the 'Art of Living' basic course. Was exhilarating to say the least and a great discovery. was a slightly 'hectic' 6 day course; but thorougly worth it.

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By Murali

Escaping the heat!

You have a holiday on thursday and so, what do u do ? Well, this is no riddle. C'est facile. On fait le pont :-) After spending 3.5 years in take-vacation-whenever-u-want-France, I took off to b'lore for the Ugadi break. Well, it was more so to escape the heat at Hyd. For people who want to understand heat-exchanges and thermodynamics better, Hyd is the place to be. Lived thru' Pilani heat with no complaints; however after all the so called sophisitcated life of slogging 24/7 in air-conditioned software envs, throwing tantrums about the heat should be no suprise :-)

B'lore people complain about the heat as well. So, have invited all of them to Hyd :p :p

Had a good time getting pampered as usual. Well, don't see too many places where people ask me often (once every hour) if I've replenished my stomach :-). Inventory was never a problem.

Ofcourse, troubled my nephew a lot as well :
My nephew : Mulli maama ?

Me : Niki, do NOT use maama (conscious of my age, u see). Call me Murali.

Niki : Ok mulli maama.. how do u spell 50.

Me : '5' and '0'

Niki ( very confused ) : No no, please spell 50.

Me : Very well.. its 'five' and 'zero'

Niki (flabbergasted).. runs to his mom and complains !!! :-). the rest is history:-)

Met up with a few friends, ofcourse. The other were smart enough, realised that I was coming to b'lore and headed home :-))..

Now, back to heat and work!! :-((((

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By Murali

Minting money!

Recently discovered a new 'business model' to make quick bucks.

You are a top notch prof. from some top notch school in India. Call for an All-India 'some' summit where in you request papers/articles from all the corporates. Well, my sis was contacted for the same and since she had to do it, sent a rough draft of her 'paper' to me. I am definitely no 'paper' evaluator, but definitely someone with a lil' common sense :p :p .. After a read-thru', asked my sis not to publish as the content was definitely not 'paper-worthy'.

Since my sis had put in 6 hours to prepare the slides, she sent it anyways, expecting a reject. Not to be so. She was called in to present the same. Suprise! Suprise! :-)She goes for it and guess wot? - The icing on the cake - She is awarded the 'first' prize.

So, now all the 'papers' go into a book. I am sure if you would look at the book, looking at the cover page with the flashy titles, you would be tempted to buy it. I had a look at few articles. Well well.. If 'celebrating' a person's b'day and having an annual day in a company is an 'innovative management practice', then what is common sense? I fail to understand :p :p :p

Even worse, my sis published a second paper. One of her colleagues had written hers in less than 2 hours and had submmitted the same. One of the sentence made no syntactical sense, but guess wot ? the same grammatical error occurs in the book as well. The editors didin't even have time to go thru' the papers :-)))) Disgusting is the word that comes to my mind.

So, the word of caution is that when you see any book in the store with 'edited by' XYZ (where XYZ may be on the greats) on the cover page, please ensure that you read thru' the content before you make a decision.

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By Murali

Two wedddings and a ...

Had been to Chennai to attend two of my friends weddings (on the same day) last week. One in the morning and one in the evening. So, in essence got to eat 'great' food 'twice' in a single day. Realised that I was actually attending a wedding in India almost after 2.5 years. Since these two that got married were best buddies, both of them managed to attend the other's wedding :-)

Receptions are not to my liking. You wait patiently in a queue for about 30 mins to get to say "hi" to the bride and groom, pose for a snap, walk straight to the dining hall and then walk out. I emphatise with the bride and groom who would have to repeat the "hi" and the "posing" (both mostly superficial) with atleast about 1000 people :(((.May be there could be a change. I don't see it happening though, in near future.

Since I had no vehicle, had to use the autos in Chennai. Actually 4 - 5 Shell gas stations have come up in Chennai. And guess wot? As you enter the gas station, there is a person saying "Vanakkam"(Namaskar) and as you leave, a pleasant "Thank you, bye". Thats good news indeed. Finally, courtesies heading from the West as well :)

Always enjoy these talks with the auto drivers who talk more about inflation than anyone else as their charges never tend to go down :) Got to know about all the flyover projects that are in standstill in Chennai. Ofcourse, every two mins, they go brouhaha about the rising fuel costs and curse the government :-) You befreind these guys and they take you that extramile whithout charging you more. Thats what I did :-)

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By Murali

Trapped twice - plumb in front!

One of my good friends was supposed to fly to the US. So, we caught up just a week before and planned on going for a movie the foll. day. We converged on '15 Park avenue'. I pulled two other friends of mine. So, the US-borne bloke promised us that he would reserve 4 tickets for this movie.

Next day, we headed to the theatre. I was so kicked as I heard some good reviews about the movie. The lights go down only for us to see movie titles in telugu go up. I thought it was some trailer, so was trying to pull my friend's leg saying we had tricked her into coming to a telugu flick (she doesn't understand a bit of telugu).

Two more mins and I witnessed disaster. "Chukallo Chandrudu" it was. My friend that reserved the tickets then says that this was the 'only' movie that was available. Need I say more about how the movie was ????? Felt sorry for my friend who didn't understand telugu. Though she remained quiet, I could read her mind. Was full of curses :p :p

Next, I had to go to chennai last week. Normally, I take these volvo buses, which are quicker and more comfortable. You always have these guys screen a TELUGU movie with speakers rite above your head. Unless you've just been marauded by a giant dinosaur, you just cannot sleep with the sounds on :-) You just have two choices - close your eyes and hear only the 'noise' or watch the movie. Being an eternal optimist, I preferred getting murdered to committing suicide and so, I watched the movie.

'Bunny' it was. Again, I don't think I have to say more. To claim that the hero resembled 'Bugs bunny' would be a HUGE insult to the cartoon character.

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By Murali

Queen Cong

Hyderbad(for a stretch of say 15kms) is now a diffrerent place, thanks to a lot of political melodrama. All roads clean, neat and wide and all for one reason. Well, if you think serving the public was the 'intent', I beg to differ with you:-) The obvious answer was Queen Cong(Sonia) and the plenary that happened in Hyd.

The pace at which the roads were laid were flabbergasting. Two months back, the roads leading to the "hi-tec" city had all their cracks and potholes and there was no progress.Come Jan 21st and the plenary and the politicians had to stick to their task.

I wonder why this "beautifying" cannot be extended to the whole city. No funds would be the 'prompt' answer. If people had witnessed the number of cutots and the posters for Queen Cong, they would have clearly seen where the 'funds' went (down the drain) :-) Preposterous is the word that comes to my mind.

On the contrary, I wish more and more such political dignitaries visit diff places. Atleast this way, the cities wake up :-)

Whether the roads wither with the weather(rains) remains to be seen:-))

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By Murali

Seekin' Hyd

We all know that gravity is an illusion, its just that work sucks :-)

Tomorrow is a holiday here; still I've been asked to come to work. So, no wonder my blogs have been hibernating for a while now.

Anyways..one of my best pals had visited me for a few days.. He belongs to the unemployed and underpriveleged category (read as he quit his firm and is joining a new one in a few days).

Thanks to him, I understand the geography of Hyd better. We roamed all over Hyd.

And food - the gargantuan appetites that we had, we stopped at every possible food outlet and hogged to our pleasure. This was exemplified when three of us almost managed to finish a HUGE ( really huge) sundae meant for 6 people :-)

This is apart from the dinner we had with other friends in plush restaurants.

To remove all the guilt from my head, I went to the gym today ( yes indeed):-) This way, I've pardoned myself :p

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By Murali

Bonne Annee 2006

Here, wishing all my dear ones a happy new year.

Was on vacation for Christmas at my sister's. My sis' family and I headed to a wild life sanctuary called Barnawapara (this is in the state of Chattisgarh). Was on a safari for the first time in life. Was fun being in the thick jungles. Though we scared away most of the animals as they did not seem to turn up, the drive was lovely thru' the dense forest. Stayed in a resort ( in the midst of the jungle) where electricity was a step function. So, we relied more on the bonfires in the freezing weather.

There was a lot of baby-talk with my lovely lil' 6 month niece. Kids are adorable, as always:-)

Came back all in one peice back to Hyd, but along came the "rhume".

So, new years eve was all under the quilt with a wet nose.

As always, the usual question " What are your new year resolutions? "

Prompt answer " Not to make any " :p :p :P

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