Metatransitions

Baccha Party, August 11, 2011

2011-08-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

I am very very please to return with pictures for Baccha Party. This Sunday I joined a group of photographers at the Janglee Maharaj Road, Pune, for a photo shoot. The theme was "ambition" we moved around and asked kids what they want to be when they grow up.

First stop at Mc Donalds, while waiting for the rest of the group I spotted six kids, playing outside, so I went to them and started chatting. The first thing they did was put their demand that they want to eat burgers…I said, talk to me for a while and let me click some pictures. Finally after some bargaining they agreed….

So here it goes,

Ketan, he wants to sell books when he grows up, right now he roams around and begs, during the festivals he dresses like beheroopiya and entertains people trying to make some money…

From baccha party

I did not catch her real name because every time I asked her name Ketan shouted Durga Mata J so I will call her Durga Mata, when I asked what she wants to do when she grows-up…… there was a unsure silence… so I did not push it.

From baccha party

Deepak… he was pretty chirpy…and played a little politics…by implying only those who get their pictures clicked will get burgers to eat. This was because the eldest of them a girl… was getting very skeptic of getting their pictures clicked. When he grows up he would like to do business of his own.

From baccha party

Sunil, in action with his spinning top…he was busy playing and was not interested in what he becomes when he grows up.

From baccha party

Lakshmi, She was the eldest, shy, skeptic, silent and not in favor of getting her pictures clicked, because she thought I would just click their pictures and not buy them burgers at the end. Which is not unusual, because this might have happened to them more than often…

From baccha party

So finally…I bought them some snacks from Mc Donalds and I am happy they had something to eat… and enjoyed.

From baccha party

I figured they all were related to each other and live near by Janglee Maharaj Road. They were not from pune but have moved from some near by place with their parents in search of livelihood and none of them goes to school.

Next we moved ahead after we were all assembled and briefed about the theme for the shoot. So I got a few more pictures…I spoke to some of the kids and clicked some from distant

Lala, is a vada pao vendor… and was cleaning green chilies.. he wants to grow his business as he grows up.

From baccha party

Boy selling munchies..

From baccha party

Pintoo, he goes to school and also sells munchies to support himself… he is in fifth standard and believes he will be what fates wants him to be when he grows up.

From baccha party

This kid was trying to cross the road with her mother... she was shy ..silent and probably thinking I was crazy J

From baccha party

Hope you enjoyed…. because I did.. and came back with a lots of stories but unfortunately I do not have pictures to map to them J may be next time.

and cheers for the Baccha Party!!!!

"Rock Star" in a cage

2011-06-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the Katraj snake park pune.

From Katraj-Pune

A lonely Iguana, sits quietly staring at people, who visit the zoo.

From Katraj-Pune

Caged but no less then a rock star...

From Katraj-Pune

I am awestruck with its beauty as I have seen an Iguana for the first time

From Katraj-Pune

And he was generous enough to pose for me ...

From Katraj-Pune

Padicured

From Katraj-Pune

I feel sad...."so much beauty destined to spend life time caged..."

Angry Thoughts

2011-05-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a teaser… from Katraj snake park in pune…. Which has recently been extended to a full zoological park white tigers and all….

From Katraj-Pune

I am awe struck every time I see a photograph with nature as a subject…if only humans can make things that are half as beautiful as the nature.

From Katraj-Pune

A scar on the face of the earth is what we actually are …..with our fashion statements and Gucci bags….with politics and nuclear bombs…. super powers and their so called need to save the third world country…..the scams and money in swiss bank….with our overrated spirituality and religion…..our dwood ibrahim…osama bin laden….saddam hussain….with our munnis and sheilas …and what not….I can go on and on and get pissed about every thing ….Like I was pissed with people visiting the zoological park.

Humans …..oohhhh these moron humans……we are no good ….not even to our own species…let alone be any other….

I really sound pissed off ..dont I?

Let me paint a picture for you…. Imagine

- Your most active sense is sense of sound…the vibrations that is generated around you leads you to ur food.

- Now you are hungry…. But you are grounded in the basement of ur house…. And some nasty kids are running around all over the ground floor….making noises and vibrations that make you go haywire

- Now Imagine the basement converts in to a shallow well….and the kids are running around making these unbelievable noises… and the vibrations make you go crazy…..

- Now imagine the well converts in to a jail cell…..and you are with three other prisoners …..there are kids all around ..running …screaming…..hissing.. making noises….Poking you with sticks ….and their parents are no less.

- Remember you are still hungry….and ur primary sense is sound and vibration

If I were you….. I would like to either die or stab some one…may be choke one of the noise makers…

I stood there for a while and I was pissed and then I tried to imagine the poor creatures have to put up with this day in and day out…every day for the rest of their lives.

“It is like being stoned with pot and restless at the same time with feeling of extreme hunger and giddiness …listening to heavy metal rock with no air conditioning of course” ….if you don’t believe me try it ….

Any way….in other thought….we buy movie ticket(150..200 INR) and the money goes to make people richer…pays actors for crappy performance and pamper them with limelight and stardom status….BUT …why is that…. when we go to the zoo we pay so less (10 – 25 INR)…it is entertainment?? Right?? And we are making someone’s life miserable for that …keeping them in a cage ….pointing at them all the time…misbehaving and teasing…depriving them of their natural life course….

I think the whole concept of zoo should be the other way round ….the humans should be caged and sent on a trolley to see the animals and they should pay some insane amount of money for this exotic service…

Some of you might have started hating me..for expressing these angry thoughts so bluntly ….It dose not matter….I hate the whole human race….for not respecting life in its own form…may be Mother Nature should wipe us all out …or may be apes should take over the planet and teach humans a lesson.

What do u care??….go watch some SAAS BAHU serial….

Stumbled upon a Eddi Reader

2011-05-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Right in the middle of the night when I am suppose to be fast asleep, I can't sleep and no new movies in my hard disk to watch :)

So I thought that I will browse through TED and find out some new amazing stuff and guess what??.... I DID!! well she sure did made a very good first impression as far as I am concerned.

I loved her performance and voice...and the lyrics are amazing. Check out....Enjoy the good words.....

The comments in TED portal mentions that she overdid with her hand gestures...Well they have not seen Indian classical singers yet....

Any how...."It's not how big is ur share ....It's how much u can share"

What to do...Policy is a policy....

2011-04-29T00:43:00.000-07:00

Policy....... what do u understand by this?

Policy is a boon at the giving end and curse at the receiving end. (I won't lie....I have been on both ends).

Whenever I have encountered this word I have potentially found myself in difficult situation where typically I would like to get some help...but the person who can help is either lazy or defending themselves because (you know) of the policy.

There is a very famous saying in companies.... specially IT companies ... we have an 'Open Door Policy'...whenever I hear this ....The little devil inside me with her "red pointed horn hair band" and "one dirty golden tooth" looks at me and gives an "evil smile"....and that smile reflects on my face at that very moment....because I know and we all know....what "Open Door Policy" actually means....

Policies are also made when you don't want to answer uncomfortable questions....Usually people are intimidated and they don't ask questions(apparently because of the policy jargon..)....But there are some like me who are infamous for asking questions, and funny things happen when at the receiving end of the question there is a person who can be a perfect dumb blond.

You get really creative answers like "I am surprised that you did know know about this policy.....everybody knows about it....But we cannot tell you because its a confidential policy"....At this point of time the devil inside me is ready to charge the dumb blond with her red horned hair band ...but I end up staring with rage.....what to do ...a policy is a policy... weather its confidential or not.

Any way....Scott Adams have beautifully said this in a three block strip....

Enjoy.....

Pearls of "Wise Dumb" - Most of the time you can avoid unpleasant situations with three things .. Timely Information...Acknowledgement...and Acceptance...

Let the Policies take care of the rest...

Mera Bharat Mahaan

2011-02-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

"मेरा भारत महान" (My India is Great) was a slogan given by Late Rajiv Gandhi it was popularly improvised to "सौ मैं से निन्यानबे बेईमान फिर भी मेरा भारत महान "

Anyway!!!

This post is a little late...But I have to say what's on my mind...so..here it goes.

When it comes to the state of India ..with politics...poverty....people....education.....equality...I am big crib and it makes me angry inside that everyone has an attitude of 'I and My".....very less almost no-one thinks collectively about the country, the motherland....

But on 29th after beating retreat ceremony post republic day celebrations in India ...when I walked down the ceremonial boulevard for the Republic of India (Rajpath) I felt proud..to walk down the history....to capture the beauty and the magnificent-ness of My Great India....

Land of rich and poor...land of extravagance and modesty....land of unity in diversity........land where meanness is as popular as its hospitality.....the land of extremes ......

Here is a compilation of the beauty despite all the madness...

bottom line is "मेरा भारत महान" period..

P.S - If you view the video in full screen you will see a better view

Day 365...

2011-01-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Day 365..Pictures clicked 10000+...pictures that made to my project 245...

Now this might sound like an Oscar award acceptance speech....But I need to thank all who have made this possible.....

Aananda sir (Mentor.)...

Daksh(supporter and promoter...he has encouraged me by occasionally using my pictures in his research and articles).....

Sunny(My best buddy....who has always encouraged me...it does not matter whether what I want to do is possible or not.... sensible or not...but if I want assurance...I know I can go to him)

Suchita (Partner in crime....fellow 365er..photographer..dancer...we followed a mutual encouragement policy and experimented a lot.....and i just love her for all her enthusiasm)

Shanky(My kid bro...who brought a healthy competition ...during my project...and had managed to make me jealous with his raw talent)

Kuldeep(Who has endured my constant yapping about photography...almost dragged me to the shop to buy SLR... reminded me to go back and start clicking when I almost gave up......for being a calming factor in my life )

Roni(My Nephew....who has been my muse...)

Pankaj(For all his awesome knowledge and photographs that he shares with me)

Santosh (For introducing me too awesome photography groups and guided me when I was going to buy my first SLR, sharing his knowledge and insights in photography...sharing tips and tricks)

I am so humbled ...to see where I am today.........The way I have opened up to people through photography...the change in my personality....the hopes....the disappointments....the ups ....the downs....365 has been the constant factor during this year and helped me overcome in various tough situations...where despite many frustrations I have learned to look forward and follow my heart.. pursue my passion...made me a POSITIVE person...

Whatever I have learned...The lovely people who came across... friends who have constantly shown appreciation and support (I just love all of them).....the friends that I have made....All my subjects.....the whole of 365 community..I take a minute and thank them....for being there..making my life comfortable and beautiful.....

The occasional appearances in the popular page...that made me happy and I felt like I am on top of the world....

Everyone !!...the whole universe!!!....I am deeply humbled and I am looking forward to another year of adventure...be with me for as long as I shall live....

New Visitor..

2011-01-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

From Metatransitions

I thought it was a sparrow when I first saw it..but its is a different bird....Will get the name from my sources

Baccha Party.. 11.1.2011

2011-01-11T01:47:00.000-08:00

Here is my first update for “BacchaParty”

This morning when I started for office, what should be my update for “Baccha Party” was clearly on my mind…

While I was passing the Atta peer crossing I saw several homeless kids…. I was in a dilemma of whether to pull out my camera and click some pictures or get an auto and be on my way to office ASAP..

I stood near the Peer building and waited for an auto... Three kids passed by…. two kept walking and one stood behind me asking for alms…I told her I won’t give alms …. She insisted.

I started speaking to her …… finally I shed my inhibition and pulled out my camera and clicked a few pictures …here are a few pictures...

From baccha party

This girl has amazing eyes…she is pretty and she refuses to smile for the camera… she does not go to school.

From baccha party

Her name is “phaltu” as told to me by her (I hope she was joking ...because no one should be named that)… she lives in Atta Chowk where several kids and their families stay… beg during the day and stay there during the night.

While writing this post somewhere at the back of my mind I was deciding this

I will roam around my city and try to find stories of homeless kids in my area… click their picture... Speak to them… share a smile with them … give them a candy... buy a meal for them…. and on 11^th of every month I will share the stories I have found… there may be many or one or none…But whatever it is...You will get an update ….

So please.....

Spare a thought...give a suggestion..post a picture...On every 11 th of every month for "Baccha Party" join us here http://www.facebook.com/bachaparty to support the cause

Photofair 2011

2011-01-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

So today…. after a little poking form Pankaj..I went to the Photofair 2011… as I was hoping to be accompanied by a friend… but she was soooooooo… late from the anticipated time of her arrival that she missed the entry cutoff time of the fair (Suchita…..sudhar jaa…ab bhi waqt hai…dekh main sudhar gayi hoon :D :D)

Anyway I roamed around ….and It was Alice(Mita) in wonder land….I am happy that I went there and for wannabe photographers and amateurs it’s a must visit place… Here are a few shots from the fair….

From Metatransitions

[I reached there at 3:00 and it was cold.. entry and registration were quite well organized… when I went in there was not much crowd…but later the crowd increased…and some of the people looked like they came there to do some time pass….well I guess that comes with the package…in case of public events like this…]

From Metatransitions

[did not find any international brand like Pentax… ]

From Metatransitions

[If u are interested in photography and want to know what possible equipments exists then this is the place to be .. printing technologies….Lights…backgrounds….etc ..etc..etc and all that jazz related to photography…all is there]

From Metatransitions

[Tried the Tamron 60mm macro lens…they let me use it with my camera body….and they also had reduced prices with 10 percent Off …they almost lured me in to buying the lens …. But I did listen to my brain and controlled my materialistic LUST]

From Metatransitions

[Nikkon and Cannon No doubt had the best stalls. One can go there and try as many cameras as they want ...I tried Mark 1 I was scared to hold it :D :D (Future object of desire)…Nikkon actually had there huge zoom lenses mounted on elevated platforms so that u can click pictures and see the output..But Cannon on the other hand …just displayed them on the window (sad..)]

The Fair is until the 9^th opens at 10am and closes at 6pm at pragati maidan hall no 7…Don’t Miss….

Here are some more pictures

From Metatransitions

Testing 1..2..3.. Check...Check..

2011-01-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys!!!

A very very happy new year to you all..... So the first day of the year I had not much to do ...so I relaxed and relaxed and spent it peacefully without stressing out or trying to over achieve ....Untill the mid night when I suddenly thought why not play around with the widgets...

I found a cool one which is a new addition from blogger...find it on the right hand side of this page... a feel good widget for me to pump up my enthusiasm by tracking the visitors.... here is a screenshot :) .... BTW thanks for visiting and keep coming back

Another one that I found was an "RSS feed reader Image slide show box" from widgetbox...its cool and its free....try it! I used it to display my 365 projects pictures...but I guess there is a limit to the number of pictures it picks up (Thats my observation as of now!)

Here is the link if you are interested in trying
http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/my-widget-takeslidescom

And now I was thinking how can I automate the intimation of my new posts with twitter and facebook.... and poooffff....came up google with http://dlvr.it/

dlvr.it connects your blog to a lot of other social media sites here is the list

I must say that the website has a very clean and clutter free user interface...very straight forward and easy to use.....I am absolutely happy with the user experience and Interaction with the interface...

So I configured it and now to test I am writing this blog post.....Lets see if it works...

P.S.
And before I post this....here is today's fun accidental discovery...when u type BP in gtalk it becomes bold and blue like this BP.... do u know why?? because it is a smiley with sunglasses sticking his tongue out. he he he he I am not kidding try it...

Its the matter of principles...

2010-12-30T22:51:00.000-08:00

This morning when I gestured this auto rickshaw to stop…. I was mentally prepared for an aggressive negotiations that we usually have do with the auto rickshaw drivers on the streets of Delhi and Noida

But something unusual happened. I asked the guy

Me: Bhaiya Gol chakkar se hote hue Okhla Phase 1 jana hai

Auto wala: Chalenge madam

Me: Kitna lenge

Auto wala: Kitna lenge ka kya matlab hai …aap meter se nahi jate kya?

Now that was surprising!!! I hopped in quickly before I thought he can change his mind. I explained to him that usually no one agrees to go by the meter from where I catch auto and it was a surprise for me.

He then started driving the auto and we started chatting and more to my surprise he was emoting my emotions as a consumer then the one as a service provider.

From Meta-transitions

According to him:

The auto walas usually ask for two times of the actual cost and they will sit around looking for someone who will actually pay that much. On the other hand he says, I drive by meter and usually I make more money from the ones that are sitting and waiting for the one or two travelers who agree to pay more.

From Meta-transitions

Then I started taking a few pictures and we chatted a little more, he told me about his previous job where he use to be a DTC driver and use to drive school bus. He shared two stories about the time when he was working with the school kids.

From Meta-transitions

I asked for how many days you have been driving DTC school buses and pat came the reply 25 years and 4 months. I said to myself Boyhhhh… that’s a log time to keep on driving..

From Meta-transitions

Then I asked him to look back so that I can get a picture of him with his auto and he said… "meri photo leke kya karo ge beta"

From Meta-transitions

And a cute little smile came after the picture was clicked: D

From Meta-transitions

So meet Mr. Shakti Singh, Rtd DTC employee, currently drives auto and lives in Rohini… An honest man….. Whom I have come to respect during this short interaction….

I wish his lot grows so that we have more and more socially responsible citizens, consumers and service providers.

From Meta-transitions

And for you I wish you get a chance to ride with him and have a pleasant conversation as I had.

Little guy & the crazy lady!!!!!

2010-12-21T00:23:00.000-08:00

This young lad keeps his dad company through out the day and plays around the tea stall his dad runs for a living…he is the cutest thing running around and mind you has a lot of attitude….this morning I managed to get some picture of him …..[Glimpses]

He is playing...

From Meta-transitions

He notices me

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Intensifies his expression

From Meta-transitions

Thinks to himself

From Meta-transitions

Would u mind ur own business??

From Meta-transitions

Meanwhile his dad is making tea for us

From Meta-transitions

Starts playing with the mud again

From Meta-transitions

He is playing ..

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He is playing ....

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Still Playing

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Playing some more

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Look Maaaaaa dirty hands

From Meta-transitions

In a while his pet dog comes in to grab some attention and get a picture clicked, She is "basanti" By the way

From Meta-transitions

The tea stall

From Meta-transitions

The little guy comes to find something on the stall....turns out its a plastic ball that went missing in the morning and since then he is playing with the dirt..

From Meta-transitions

Do you know where it is ??/

From Meta-transitions

Ohh No... The crazy lady took it

From Meta-transitions

"Basanti" asking the same question

From Meta-transitions

I want my ball

From Meta-transitions

I will tell Mommy........

From Meta-transitions

Thats it Lady!!!!.... Give me my ball or I take ur stupid camera

From Meta-transitions

Streeps!!!

2010-12-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

I am enjoying a Maryl Streep movie marathon today….apart from all the daily chores etc etc that usually I keep for the Sundays….

Anyway I watched Julie and Julia in the afternoon and got inspired with all the cooking…Not sure what I would like to cook for dinner I went to the grocery store and bought random things….then I went to the vegetable market and bought random vegetables…as a matter of fact I was quite shocked with the prices of onion….mumbling to myself I came back home and started watching the next movie Sophie’s choice…..

I must say Maryl Streep is such a beautiful women…absolutely mesmerizing….and beautiful in classic sense as was Marylin Monroe….I watched her in Devil wears prada and thought she was an arrogant woman…but I guess thats how beautifully she played the character……I also have watched Bridges of Madison County and that’s when I started liking her…but in Sophie’s choice I became her fan….

So…back to my cooking…I decided to do some improvisation…..here it is….

If u have garlic bread then good. If not use some ready made garlic paste on plain bread….if you don’t have the paste then peel some garlic and mix it with the filling.

Next I prepared the filling…I use 3 medium size carrots, 4 pieces of baby corn, Some sweet corn, some peas, two tomatoes, and one onion. (This is what I had so I improvised with it…but if u have more choices of vegetables go ahead and use it. I think some spinach and capsicum would add more green)

I also used some cheese.

For preparation of the filling cut the vegetables and either grate them thick or grind them….but don’t make a paste.. Grind it light so that it looks like the vegetables are grated. You can add some green chilies if u like..

In a pan use some oil and add chopped onion and tomatoes.. add the vegetables to it and cook until the consistency of the filling is a little wet and the vegetables are soft.. now start stirring to dry the filling

Now spread the filling on bread and put some cheese on it… you can microwave this until the cheese is melted. I used a pan instead….keep the pan on simmer and keep the bread with filling and cheese on it until the cheese is melted and the back of the bread is slightly crisp and brown.

I went easy on the cheese in order to respect my intensions of dieting…..but u can be as generous as u want….:)

Just to add to my improvisation delight I would like to call this recipe “Streeps” after Maryl Streep.

So here is some Hot Streeps coming my way.....

mmmmmmm Tummy Says Yummyyy

Stumbled upon a soulful experience.....

2010-12-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

I went to watch Social Network this Sunday…What an awesome movie ….nevertheless thats not what I want to say today.

While I was searching for OST of Social Network on youtube I stumbled upon a cover of “Hall of Mountain king” which was used in Social network but a different version.

But wait..what just happened…..I stumbled upon an enormous soulful experience which I never expected

This band “Apocalyptica” was a band that paid their tribute to metallica….If you are not in to heavy metal then this music is not for you.

But boy…..they have taken metallica to a whole different level….and from there it was no looking back….revelations after revelations…These guys rock.

After listening to Quutamo…..I have been just saying to my self “Why God Why” ……why am I not one of them ……why don't I have that talent……

It’s a mesmerizing experience listen to it to feel…..let me know if you were hit by the same “Why God Why” syndrome as me J

Until my next post I leave you with the music that has moved my soul.......

Regular visitor

2010-09-03T03:03:00.000-07:00

Goddess in making

2010-08-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

Every year we have Durga pooja... and all we see is the decorated finished idols and never think how they come in to existence. if you go to C.R Park in Delhi you will find two places where the artists work tirelessly to bring in to existence the mighty....the mother...the goddess.

From durgaprotima

Lets hope and pray this year brings prosperity for all

Trying My hand on Street Shots....

2010-08-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write a long post and there are several things going on in my head that it feels like a field where electrons are moving very fast :). So there is a long pause before the long post. But hey! let me share some shots I clicked with the new found obsession of mine Cannon 1000d.

From ChandniChowk-StreetShots

Hope U like it. Comments and Suggestions are most welcome.

I am not my hair..

2010-08-06T00:18:00.000-07:00

We all look for acceptence and approval....no matter how acomplished we are....from parents, friends, collegues, strange people on road. I do... and its not wrong!! Because that acceptence and approval gives us security...... But what if we are constantly modifiying ourselves against our likes to get to that approval and acceptence.

And if we dont change for the approval then what?? Do we disappear?? Do we become less loveable?? Less talented?? Less approved of?? Unpleasent to be around??

All of us think about this concously or unconcously... and all of them are affected by this.... I am not saying that this should change...or this is good or bad.....

I am just saying may be I should stop caring about the approval and the acceptance....stop waiting for it.....Its not worth....

Like India.Arie said in the lyrics of this beautiful song.
"I am not my hair ....I am not this skin ......I am a soul that lives within"

Its not impossible..is it??

2010-07-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today on my way back from office when I got down from the auto at Kalkaji Mandir bus stop there was a small boy sitting on the pavement alone. Must be 6 or 7 years old.

For quite a while I was waiting for the bus... he was waiting too and was kind of talking to himself. I was watching him thinking is he lost.

Suddenly he looked me in the eye and ...I did not know what to do so I looked away...this looking and not looking went on for a while and at last I smiled and I got a precious little smile back.

I mustered some courage and went to talk to him. I asked why are u waiting here are u lost? He said I am waiting for the bus I want to go to Okhla Tank.I asked again are u sure u are not lost, he was quite confident and said yes.

I am waiting for the DTC bus to come because the private bus takes money......So I asked him......well DTC takes money too ........then he said well DTC sometimes let the small kids pass...... So we waited again and a private bus came along.

Me and my friend decided to board that bus not waiting for the DTC to come and suddenly I asked the boy would u like to ride this bus with us I will pay ur fair. He agreed and happily boarded on the bus with us.

On the bus he took a seat and I was sitting one row ahead of him. After buying the ticket I gestured him to sit besides me. In a shy mode he came and sat besides me.

Me: What is ur name?
Him: Manish

Head down

Me: What do u do?
Him:   nothing

Me: Do u know ur way back home?
Him: yes.. my brother will come to pick me up at Okhla Tank Bus stand.

Me: Why did u came to Kalkaji?
Him: To earn money.

Me:   Do u go to school?
Him:   no we are poor.

Me: Did you get any work today?
Him:   No

Me:   What kind of work do u do?
Him:   I don't work to earn...I beg

I was in little shock by this time although children begging is a common sight here..

Me:   well how many brothers and sisters are u?
Him:   We and two brothers and one sister. We live with our mother and our father has left us. My Sister and mother goes to work ...but my sister broke her hand so she has to sit at home. We need to get food and we have borrowed money. So I came at the Mandir to beg and make some money.

Me: So were u able to make some money today?
Him: Shows me the two rupee coin in his hand and says no..there were no people at mandir today so I don't have any money

By this time we were nearing his bus stop and I being an anti begging person, who does not melts down very easily no matter how miserable the beggar looks, was in a dilemma. I was thinking should I help him with some money.

At the end I took out the twenty rupees change that I had after buying the tickets and gave it to him. I asked him to keep it in his pocket and give it only to his mom. I don't know how much of the advice will he take.

While climbing down the bus he looked back smiled and said bye didi.

I am still speechless and thinking..the twenty rupees I gave him will not be sufficient for buying a one time meal for him or his family.

But can we do something that the 6 year old do not have to travel 5km to beg and get some money for his lively hood. So that he can go to school study and one day have a respectable livelihood.

Its not impossible..is it??

So the predictions finally goes right......

2010-07-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

I started my day tired and sleepy and I never imagined it would end in such high energy. My friends called suddenly to join them to watch the game Argentina Vs Germany.

Well I am not a very avid football fan but always ready for some hooting and high energy cheering..so I landed at Sports Bar. Noida...

When I reached Germany had already scored 1 against Argentina....Quickly taking our places...in our group there was one strong supporter of Germany who has been predicting that Argentina will be out of the world cup from past one week....One strong supporter of Argentina and two neutrals...one of them was me.

The most interesting part for me was the action that was going on in between the opposite team supporters here are some of the glimpses.

From sports_bar_ArgvsGer

Here is Germany supporter after the first second goal.

From sports_bar_ArgvsGer

Thats agrentinan supporter after the second goal

From sports_bar_ArgvsGer

Thats in between the goals special note to the faces of the wining and the losing team supporters.

From sports_bar_ArgvsGer

And here are quick glance after the third and the fourth goal.

From sports_bar_ArgvsGer

And thats me shying away from the camera

From sports_bar_ArgvsGer

All in all good energy and good fun...for rest of the clicks visit here

Operation Thunderbolt

2010-06-15T03:13:00.000-07:00

This morning I read a news on Mohd Afzal Guru of the "Parliament Attack" fame and some how the conversation with a colleague turned to the Kandahar Hostage Situation where the Air India Flight was hijacked...the trigger of the conversation was a program telecast in the National Geographic Channel...Half way through the conversation I remembered that there was a hostage rescue situation that my dad once explained to me and he described it as a very swift and brave one....and according to him there was no further rescue operation carried out till date that can match this one....

Of-course this conversation between me and my dad was way way long back.. But some things do stick to my memory like photographs.His animated description of how the rescue team went to the company who constructed the airport terminal (Where the hostages were held) and got the blue print and how they landed with big airplanes and concluded the rescue mission in 30 mins was imprinted in my head... But I did not remember the details like which plane was hijacked... which countries were effected and who wanted to rescue whom.

So I Googled.. the phrase "airplane hijack rescue" and the first link that google throws up is Operation Entebbe...Any way more googling and then youtubing I found a documentary that's quite interesting to watch.

While watching this I had many questions popping in my head...which again as usual I don't have the answer to .. But I will find out...The first and foremost is my incapability to understand that why is there so much prejudice regarding/against Jews? I simply cannot find a logical answer to this situation...

Indeed there is no match on a scale at which the operation was carried out and for a small country like Israel..

Some of it reminds me of the movie "The Last King Of Scotland" scenes when the doctor who had an affair with Idi Amin's wife runs off on a plane that was sent to take back some hostages.... and now I can relate it to this incidence...

BTW.. Last King of Scotland is a must watch...although the story line is not entirely true .. But incidences that are portrayed in it will make one realise that we are far better off living in democratically elected goverment.

Dictators like Idi Amin are always characters ... Specially when they say something like "I am His Excellency.. Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada...Appointed By God Almighty.. to be your Saviour".....Ha ha ha ha #EvilLaugh Appointed By God Al mighty???... Almighty must have fainted where ever he would have been in case if he ever heard that.

The precision, planning and secrecy of the operation that the world came to know only when they woke up to the BBC announcements the next morning...

The camouflage that they choose for their commandos to travel in limousine from the C-130 Hercules to the airport terminal....was simply amazing.... So at the end 3 Hercules C-130 2 Boeing and some 100 commandos flew 7 hours... 25 hundred miles away from their homeland...Landed..in a non hospitable land...performed their operation and left ....without even creating a sound..as well as even destroyed the fighter planes that were parked in the same air port.

No amount of negotiation could have achieved this without releasing some deadly terrorists...

May be a question to ask: When we are in a situation like Mumbai seidge or Kandhar Hostage situation ... or many others that happens every once in a while ... are we ready to defend ourselves.. or are we going to look towards the UN and the US to come to our rescue....??

In need of closure!!

2010-06-07T02:29:00.000-07:00

Every one needs a closure....every event whether happy or sad...Even when we go to watch a movie we look forward to a closure. So is this the closure day for all who Died, suffered and passed it on genetically in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy that occurred past mid night of 3 Dec 1984??

Here is what I read....25 years after Bhopal gas Tragedy, 8 people are convicted and they are to be imprisoned for two years.What I understand .....is .....WTF.....

Those who died ... are not coming back ....Those who are disabled are disabled.... what about the coming generations that will contain mark of this blunder....

If a person is dead and you cannot find his dead body .. you wait seven years to declared the same person dead...If we can put a limit to declaring a person dead... why cannot we declare a case to be solved in maximum limit. How can u argue that a decision that took 25 years to come to existence is correct??

This is the same "Oh What can we do Syndrome" that I have talked about in my previous post . This Sunday I received a very Sad news from my parents... One of their friend went to Calcutta with whole family (Grandfather, Grandmother, Son, Daughter in law, Grand son) While coming back they could only get three confirmed ticket so the son, his wife and the grandson decided to travel back and the Grandfather and Grandmother decided to come back on a later date.... The ill-fated train that the three family member boarded was the Gayaneshwari express blown off my maoist.....

Politics... common man's demand..Maoists .....Naxals...compensation .....etc ...etc...etc...are all in there to talk about... but what will bring closure to the mother and father who have lost their entire family in the wink of an eye....???

Edit--

Just heard a discussion between a supreme court advocate and a legal adviser...here is what I could make out..The chairman of Union Carbide Warren Anderson was granted bail he was allowed to go back to US..and he never came back for any trial..he was never tried and in this verdict that was announced there was no mention of him.

The company was never tried or convicted for any criminal act or death caused by negligence..In 1985 the govt of India filed a case in the US court and demanded a compensation of 330 million US dollars...The US court said that the case should be tried in India...hence the case was transferred to India...In India the government settled for just 70 million US dollars...God knows how much of it actually reached the victims Union Carbide was given an immunity against the criminal charges (Again WTF)

Both the debater said that there should be changes in the law to prevent all this...get speedy justice..etc...But where is the moral responsibility of a company that deals in a business which could cause mass destruction.

US..Can on suspicion kill thousands of people to bring down Saddam hussain...where is its moral responsibility when they come to our country and make a mess like this and escape....Where is the Govt of India...is it not answerable to the citizens of India..is it no suppose to defend the victims....

If u want to know the shamefully less punishments that were granted read more..

Ohh!!! What can we do??

2010-06-04T01:27:00.000-07:00

This thought comes to us more often than we know or realise.. We see a disaster ..feel sad about it read about it and then we think...what could we have done??.. or we just discuss and lash out with anger on any one whom we understand should be blamed.

It came to me this morning when I saw the saddening pictures of the disaster caused by the now popularly called B.P "Oil spill"

Have u been through a situation when u watch a catastrophe.... hear news watch photographs and u never come to know what exactly happened...happens to me more often then I realise.

Last time it was the clash between the Red army and the army in Bangkok. I heard there is a clash going on ....saw pictures of the streets engulfed in the smoke...dead people.. But I did not really knew what happened.... why were they fighting??

Well same is the case this time when I heard about Oil Spill, may be I lag in keeping up with the news.... But I also think in a quest to sensationalize the new people most often or not forget to report it in a proper manner. Anyway this can be a much much debatable topic. But not today.

What emotions you go through when you see some thing like this "Haunting images of the gulf oil disaster"

Specially the Image of the duck all soaked in oil....I felt suffocated like I cannot breath...I cannot move my hands or legs and they are glued..Imagine actually being like that.....For now just "Imagine"

And yes... who is the US going to attack for this mass murder??

And we continue to sleep!!

2010-06-02T23:00:00.001-07:00

Well Its 3rd June today and no progress what so ever in waking up and going for a jog.. I still continue to sleep and be lazy...I should be (-------) fill in the blank with a convenient word for yourself. Any way Just this morning when I logged in to twitter I saw a tweet from TED about the Glory and horror under the ocean by Brian Slerry.

Here is the video

Well once I was done watching the video there are some very hard hitting things that came to my mind.

One is that we humans are destructive in all manners....we are destroying every thing that we put finger on in the name of progress and comfort and better lifestyle.

The other is ....what we do.... we don't think of the consequences... we just do it for pleasure and money.... To support this statement I have a very long argument which I will share some other day.

-----Cut to thought--------

Well! am a preferred vegetarian which means I do not like meat, chicken fish etc.. I am pretty much happy to eat boiled vegetables and potatoes and pulses and rice.. But the region(West Bengal) from where I belong... eating fish is like eating bread.. its almost a staple food.. I consider my self to be privileged that I was born and brought up in an environment which is far more liberal because my father had a job out side of west Bengal which is the hub of fish eating Bengali's.

I my childhood it was a family thing .. "eating fish", as I grew up I started disliking fish and I realized that I don't want to eat it...In the early days I had to plead and beg to my parents not to make me eat fish and it was a regular routine, that I will have to eat it no matter what ...because I am Bengali ....and Bengali's have to like fish...... and eating fish is in their culture(In my head #WTF)....

Any way as I grew up I realised its not about culture.. Its about personal choice.... If a child do not like Brinjal(egg plant) no one forces him/her to eat that vegetable because its not significant in your culture...But if its chicken or meat or fish then the parent is ready to stand at the dinner table and force the food down the child's throat (#FamilyPressure #WhatWillPeopleSay #HowWillYouGetMarried).. Well and I grew up and made my own decision that no matter what people think about me... or how much they criticize that I do not eat fish.... I will not eat fish.. because..... its simple.... I don't not like eating fish. That's the end of it ...people cant force me now ... but for this lifetime I have had enough torture time logged in my books regarding eating fish.. chicken and meat.

-----Back from thought------

Any how.. after watching this video ..I think...as humans we really need to think what we are consuming and who are getting affected by our consumptions and the life style that we are adopting.

When we go to try a fashionable su-shi ....which fish is getting killed....or when we eat shrimps which other species are loosing their life....

One of the most disturbing pictures is the one where they show a man killing a seal....The Ultimate epitome of human cruelty... I remember a similar scene from the "Earth Song" video of MJ.... that scene shoots up some strange feeling above my spine every time I see it... Whats makes us so cruel??

Enough of blabbering for today... Will come back with "In pursuit of Losing weight" theme later....For now "Think".... I will also "Think"

So!! Lets see whats next

2010-06-01T01:07:00.001-07:00

So!! Long time no see..... I have been usually very lazy in posting because .......(I can find out 1000 reasons believe me). But I am looking for a way of being more regular hence this is first try at e-mail blogging. Hope it comes well.

Its 2010 June already and according to the long list of resolutions I made I was suppose to do regular jogging. Which did not happened By The Way... So This is a short try again to revive that resolution. Lets see!!! I will keep posting the progress.

Purple Shirt Day!

2010-03-26T11:36:00.001-07:00

Its Purple shirt day and spread awareness about epilepsy. At 365 projects we decided to do a purple theme. Though I missed it for two reasons I don't have a purple shirt and I was late for office today.

But here is a glimpse of Fellow 365ers contribution to the cause

Lois Parker

Lynda Parker

Catherine Chebil

Louise M

and many more
http://365project.org/search?q=purple

Perspectives...

2009-12-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

Losing My Virginity.............

2009-12-01T10:06:00.001-08:00

Not quite what you are thinking…….this is title of the autobiography of ‘The Richard Branson’ or Sir Richard Branson as most people call him.

I bought this book out of impulse at a small book cum gift shop at Nagpur airport. I never thought I would be able to finish it off looking at its size but today I am game for reading it again and again. A truly inspirational tale of making of the man and his brand, I read it when ever I got time during the past month and not a moment was boring. The writing style is very simple and engrossing. I have found myself completely lost in the book overlooking my surroundings. Towards the end of the book I evens started feeling bad that the book is coming to an end. If I get a chance I wont think twice but be a disciple of him.

A must read for people bitten with entrepreneur bug, the values the vision and the thought expressed are truly amazing. The journey of his life from being a dyslexic kid to the owner of the most widely and respectfully known brands is heart warming. It makes me think I should get up and do something and contribute my share to humanity.

Some of my favorite sections of the book are when he ends up in jail for smuggling records and vows never to do any thing illegal again. When he buys a mansion at an early age of 20 and converts it to a recording studio.

His adventures with hot air balloon and the zeal to win blue rib band back for Britain. The war and tricks to survive with his rivals, his idea of competition. Making traveling to space a reality for anyone and everyone. The initiative that he took during the Kuwait war to bring out hundreds of hostages when government of country was busy with something else. The book is about constant innovation, expansion and survival.

The other good thing is his initiatives for the wildlife and people of Africa. The idea of Global Elders.

The beauty is his capacity and will to turn an idea in to reality. The man can dream and make it real. A true example of living the life to fullest.

I want to recommend this book to everyone who is an enthusiast at heart. Read it for yourself and if you feel inspired share it with me.

I am now eager to read another book from him “Business striped bare”

Whishing a happy diwali

2009-10-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

From diwali2009

May I have your attention....I will pay you 20 bucks...

2009-10-09T09:26:00.001-07:00

Some where in the back of my head I had a curiosity related to MTS, what is it? Because I was seeing these teasers on DND road and was wondering daily, what is it?

Nevertheless I decided to wait and watch for a few days.

Today morning when I was on my way to office chatting with my friend, holding a 20 rupee note in my right arm that was stretched out of the auto rickshaw, I came face to face with the collector in the toll plaza he said “Mam! Aaj free hai”. I immediately frowned “Free hai?” the gentle men standing next to him explained that the toll is free form 8:00 am – 11:00 am and in the evening 5:00 pm – 8:00pm. I said to myself weird but good and then the collector handed me a red pamphlet.

Immediately the auto driver said that it must be the MTS guys who paid for the toll expense during the office hours…..again what is MTS? The curiosity that was at the back of my head came immediately in focus and was blinking in red bold letters in front of my eyes…….. what is MTS?

My friend and I read the whole pamphlet like we were studying for the examination.

Moral of the story!!!

Money may not buy you love. But in can surely buy attention. In general if some one would have handed me the pamphlet I would not have bothered to read it, I also recalled the looks that I give to the sales man who comes to me when I am walking in the market to sell some books or socks.
But this time it was like preparation of an examination and I read everything written on that piece of paper even contemplated buying a new connection. Even the auto driver saved the pamphlet for himself.

What I want to say!!

Bravo!! To whoever thought about the marketing strategy, it was beautiful, made a great first impact and grabbed a great deal of attention.

What I was wondering about!!!!
The amount of money companies can spend on there marketing strategies. It is simply exorbitant.

You still wondering….What is MTS???... I am sure not.

Reporting live from Indian Railways

2009-09-30T00:55:00.000-07:00

I remember reading an article by some famous writer on the Indian railways. How they represent the Indian face and culture and unity in diversity and to top it with there was a very funny nice and cute cartoon.

When I climbed the train today it was another routine thing for me, but the sequence of events one after another intrigued me and I decided to share it.

First when I reach the railway station. I was amazed at the way people were comfortable talking to each other and even interrupting at each others business and how no one minds it. The advantage of big city is that every one minds their own business. But in small town you are under continuous scrutiny which is some time very suffocating. Like the gentlemen sitting next to me thinks its okay to preen in to my computer screen while I am writing. Any ways!!

The next when I climbed the train it was a hostile situation. People who were already sitting were kind of looking at the people who are climbing as though their turf has been invaded. To top that there were two stickers marking the berth numbers that was creating more confusion some how I figured what is the correct seat number. My cameras and all down or I would have shown what the chaos is all about.

Some people sleeping some people sitting and sleeping and some people sitting some people still trying figure out what’s their seat number, the train started and once the commotion was little settled I started observing. The people sitting in the next cabin started discussing about the medical seats and donations. Every one pulled out their cell phones and are constantly either making or receiving calls. The gentlemen who was staring at my screen was then sitting in front of me and was trying doing some strange mantra jap and rituals. The other guy was strangely calling his mom and dad and informing them that he has left the city for Delhi.

What is the change? The change is instead of friendliness. I see hostility. All the urban Indians including me should learn to be humble and increase the tolerance level and being sensitive to the people around us.

Other thing that I was really irritated was the way people can continuously talk on phone. No matter what they are talking about, loudly and with expressions as if they were in their bedroom.

So here I will give some name to the people around. The first one is sleeping beauty, wakes up every 15 mins either to check an SMS or attend a phone and then goes back to sleep complete disregard for every around her, all her bags are on the seat instead of under the seat and I pray that she gets down soon because then we will have some room to sit.

The next one is the beauty queen and her mother. She is completely self involved scolds her mother on every move she makes takes her to the loo. I wonder why because her mother is fully functional.

The next one is the Yo guy. Dressed in trendy T shirt and jeans. The most fun I had was trying to read what was written in the shirt. First I read “Week Force” and smiled after a while when It unfolded a little I read “Chweek force” I am still to find out what is it that’s written and its making me curious now.

The other is a couple who is sitting in the train and booking plane tickets for some one on phone. Huh!! His wife is also sleeping continuously.

I think the most pissed off I am is with the phone mannerisms that people have developed now a days.

Last but not the least is the one staring on the screen even after me giving him nasty looks twice. I will try to write quickly because he is sleeping now.

Claims to be in some kind of construction business. Is highly religious and is giving astrological advices …Blah Blah Blah……..

Any ways trains stops at the Nagpur station and I though of completing this and posting. Since the network is good here.

And the Sleeping beauty, beauty queen and family got down a new bunch of South Indians Climbed Huh..I guess I will have some new stories to tell.

Live life more often...

2009-05-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Once upon at time I was passionately in love with violin but some how I ended up buying a guitar because I had a notion that violin is very tough to learn.
It’s almost two years that I bought myself a guitar and all I have learned by myself is to tune it, broke only one string in this period of time and I am not even sure that the tuning I do is actually tuning or not.

Disappointed with myself and thinking that I desperately need professional help but still not doing any thing about it. I suddenly did a random search on the net and thought, let’s get some basic learning.

What I found was a guitar lesson for the novice that said, to start learning guitar you need the following:

-A guitar with six strings. Any type of guitar will work fine. (Check)

-A guitar pick. Medium gauged picks are recommended to start with, but any will work okay in a pinch. (I have two)

-A chair without arms. (Doesn’t matter I have a bed which should work fine )

-A reasonable amount of patience (Now! this is a problem.....)

I realized its not just guitar that requires patience, it’s my life that requires patience I should learn to grow I need to be more persistent and chase my dreams more often instead of just thinking about my duties. I should let things go and not hold on to them.

I should learn to say that I am not fine and I need to take care of myself. Be a little careless, pamper myself, eat an ice-cream when I feel like without thinking that it will get accumulated on my butt and I will have a hard time sweating it out.

Why I am writing all these apart from my learning guitar thing? I don’t really know. But I guess my thoughts are all jumbled up and I am just letting them out and learning to be who I am.

I called up Mom today after work; she said I come in her dream every day in the afternoon during her siesta time. I felt so good after hearing that.
The dreams are most often about going out like friends and shopping or buying road side stuff and eating like school going kids do. In her dreams I am her friend we are not mother and daughter, I teach her how to ride a bicycle and I scold her when she does it wrong.

I was thinking, what these could mean? Does she need a friend; am I not there for her? Should I stop being a daughter and be more friend? Do I need a friend? And she knows that I am in need of her? What ever it is dreams are mystery but this one made me think life is really short to waste it by not giving yourself what you want.

And if you don't do it today....that tomorrow may never come.

Operation - Simulate Right Hand

2009-01-28T09:22:00.001-08:00

I was thinking when humans started writing what made writing with the right hand default?

So until a person is lefty every thing one does is pretty much using his right hand. As far as I know when we were in school we were always guided to write with the right hand and the teacher never said that hold the pencil in your left hand.

So unless you have it in your genes to write with your left hand you never even try or think of doing it.

Is it not analogous to being mechanical and having formats, standards and conventions? Does that make us machines but a more sophisticated one? Or the standards are built after many years of researches and imposed on every one so that we do not have to reinvent that writing with the right hand is the best or is not?

Any ways these crazy things catch some one like me very quickly. So I decided to simulate my right hand using my left hand. I started writing with my left hand a few months ago. At first I was barely able to make the alphabets. But now I can write sentences, of course the speed is compromised.

Here is what it looks like when I write with my right hand ...

And here is what it looks like when I write with my left hand...

I am sure with some practice I will be able to write so well that one cannot tell whether it’s with the right or the left. Let's see how far I go..I will keep posting the progress.

Question:
What is the one thing that you can do with your right hand but cannot do with your left hand and vice versa?

Thought:
If u s can be us then why did we waited till the SMS era to come and some one suddenly realized that u r can be your.
I guess limitations in the number of letters lead to such modification and the acceptance of it other wise it would just have been a horrific spelling mistake or result of dyslexia.

Welcome

2009-01-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

You must be thinking what is that header image all about. I thought the same when I saw the machine, not very big though the machine looked fascinating and more fascinating was the name “ditch witch”.

Apparently the machine is used to dig holes in compact place where big machines cannot go in. So I thought…what can be better that this image. Its powerful, its handy and it dose what it is suppose to do.

Well, those who use to visit http://mita-majumdar.blogspot.com/ for reading Assistant to Super Hero can catch up at http://assistanttosuperhero.blogspot.com/ Some change in perspective and added enthusiasm lead to this restructuring of blogs. I will be posting on not just one but three blogs, check the “I write” section. Reason for multiple blog is I want the topics to be segregated.

In this space I will mainly focus on my understanding of different technology, knowledge, learnings, related wonderings, ideas, fascinations etc.

Another thing that fascinates me is the crane, but I would research more on them before posting.
Here are a few more pictures of ditch witch.