Left open mouthed :) !!!

Today morning, as I was driving into the town, a bus sped past my car. Though I don't drive like crazy most often, today I was in a mood to. So I caught up behind it soon enough and was about to overtake the bus..when...

I saw something written in white on the lower part of its back side; It wasn't a 'Caution: Air Brake', or 'Keep a Safe Distance' slogan, or a sound horn alert or anything of that sort, that you would expect to see usually...

It was one of the most surprising thing of all, that I saw written on it..It said " No Compromise"; I was like.."Oh...." And the bus sped away !! :)

Cheers

Peace

$ur

Stop to think over this bit

Its been my observation that people who tend to go to extremes of emotions, tend to always be swayed a lot.

Its like saying, the more resistance you offer to change, the greater chance of you getting changed.

This concept applies to everything that happens around you. Why otherwise do you see the aerodynamic design in vehicles ( cos otherwise the performance of the vehicle is compromised due to air resistance).

People who are radical in their viewpoints tend to be pushed down in the long run. People who are pretty smart ( and slightly out of the ordinary ), are always the ones getting the rude stares and rebukes, the reason being in a way, that they are drawing too much unwanted attention to themselves.

Maintaining a low profile therefore, is a way of being a moderate person, at least in the eyes of the onlookers ;)

So, if you are with me till now on this concept of mine, I ll go a little ahead by saying, the lesser resistance you offer to even things you despise, the lesser negative effects those things will have on you.

So if you say while joining college, for example, that it is an infuriatingly damned place and you ll never ever miss it after you have passed out; the more chances that you will dearly and most painfully miss it when you are actually out of it !!!

Peace,

$ur

In the less pensive times ;)

Was really bored at home and thats when I decided to see the Harold & Kumar series of flicks, which I had got few days back. Ha..fellas ! Must say that I had a helluva time seeing those movies..

It is the hilarious adventures of two guys, one Korean and the other Indian, both nationals of US, getting really wild and high. There is lot of unbelievably cool stuff shown in the movie, but thats the fun of it all. The guys get into really tough and irritatingly funny spots and the way they come out of it is really funny. And there is Neil Patrick Harris too, or more commonly known as 'Barney Stinson' from the TV series, How I Met Your Mother, as himself. The first of the two flicks called Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle is a complete entertainer and you ll no doubt be little sad, when the movie ends.

The sequel called, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, is much more grappling !! The plot thickens in this one and it gets really maddening too..in an awesome way !! Well towards the end of the movie, even The President of USA, a George Bush look alike that too, is shown smoking weed !! Ha Ha..well it was simply great watching the movie.

There is another thing about these movies. A lot of wrong doings happening in America like the way rascism is handled, how the law is violated at times, rather common mistaking of Indians and other foreigners as terrorists and all that is shown subtly and in a very hilarious way.

I bet you guys will enjoy these flicks. Remotely on the lines of Euro Trip at some parts, but definitely different and recommended only to people who can have a hearty laugh and forget reality a bit for the sake of fun, for about 90 mins !!

Keep Well

Peace

$ur

Inspiration - A Way Of Life

This thought struck me once when I was lying on my bed looking up the stars in my room..Ahem..I know what you are thinking !!! Supposedly this room was for my sister, until one fine day I invaded and moved my things in :p..Well, however, the point is I was gazing at them :)

Well though a poor imitation of the actual stars in the sky, it does remind me of things which I otherwise don t even stop to think about.

I've lived by inspiration. A lot of people -relatives , family , friends or foe..they ve all inspired me in some way or the other to think beyond the capabilities of my own limited experiences. Sometimes, its something that they have said during conversations, at other times it was by observing their personality, or maybe the way they tackle things, the humility or open mindedness, or at times even the ruthlessness some exhibit, sometimes justified by certain situations.

During my final years at school, a lot many friends of mine, noted a certain deviation from my own identity. They wrote in my autograph books, that I was trying to change for the sake of it..I admit there was an identity crisis I was going through at that time, but everybody has these times ; it was probably an immature imitation I was doing, but with time and experiences of my own, I realized that, I was pretty much influenced by what I admired in people. Rather than imitate, I started to get inspired.

Nobody is perfect and I have no intention to defy that law of nature any day; but when you see something admirable in people, you realize your own shortcomings, at times. These can be in anything trivial too. When you overcome your ego, and accept yourself and others the way they are, you will find that there is something to be admired in every person and in the process , get inspired by it.

Peace

$ur

Something woke me up before September ended ;p

I somehow thought I d be taking a break in September, from blogging..I mean..Well, or rather I thought I d get busy with something...but then I got bugged with boredom, sticking to me quite irritatingly; started to read some blogs, which had somehow found its way into the hearts of lot of readers world wide...realized quite a potential in blogs being a strong medium of expression..

Hmmm...so much to give me a comeback into this business.

Been trying to put into words a certain new thought process since few days now..It shouldn't be long before I do that..

So stay around fellas..

Peace

$ur

Sports vs Cruise !!

Trafsickgnal !

What do you think will happen to Cochin, once the city acquires the Smart City status ? I believe the city will have to work hard to try not to make the name look like a paradox.

OK, people who live or have been to Kerala, and here I really do mean people who have actually seen Kerala in the real sense, will know that its not a cake walk to TRAVEL in Kerala , as often the way it is shown in the media. And it became a strong conviction, when couple of days ago, I was driving my Mom to her office in the morning. Usually she goes by bus, but it was a bus strike on that day. Ha !

Now, when you hear about a bus strike in Kerala, early that morning, you really don't know whether its elation of driving around safely in the city or the fear of getting stuck in a traffic jam, thats gonna grapple you more. Well, when I reached few meters away from the Station Kavala Bypass Junction, I couldn't see anything other than a huge traffic block. My first reaction, though not aloud, was to dismiss it as a usual block that would clear away in sometime.

After around 10 minutes of patient waiting, I realized, the thing was more sinister than it looked few meters away from the signal. There at the signal, a school bus and two buses of the Kerala State Transport had blocked vehicles going in all four directions from the junction. Naturally, I cursed the bus drivers who are usually rash around this part of the state. Well, the chaos began to ensue for another 20 minutes. I could see how helpless all the other drivers were.

It was then, reality struck me. Few truck drivers had got out of their vehicles and taken the role of the traffic cop; the whole episode was due to the negligence of the traffic police as they hadn't even bothered to turn up on a rainy Friday morning at the peak hour of traffic !!

I've been to other cities and have even driven around, but one thing different about the traffic jams I've noted there is that, most often it is just because of the sheer number of the vehicles there and the number of unnecessary traffic signals, at each kilometer stop. The negligence from the side of the cops is something more serious and poses a graver threat on the city's capabilities in handling traffic.

You wouldn't want things as these to be clubbed with the Smart City tag in news paper headlines and ruin the whole image of the city. People would start asking, "OK if this is what happens in a "Smart City", what can we expect of the other smaller cities ?"

The shift of focus of the IT industries and BPOs aren't quite enough for a city to be called Smart. I think, we have a long way to go ahead, in maintaining good roads, traffic rules and equipping the city with more facilities, before we say the city is actually Smart. The short future looks bleak; but I don't deny the fact that, if more educated minds can think of a solution to all these minor blemishes, in years to come, the prospect of Cochin becoming an actual Smart City is quite promising.

Peace,

$ur

Err...True Devotion !?

Today morning, while I was praying in the temple; a guy stepped in front of me, rendering me unable to see the deity. I thought of moving a little aside hoping to get a glimpse of my favourite lord...but in vain. I was just thinking of asking the guy who was responsible for this state of my despair, to move a little, when he started to chant loudly some of the longest prayers ever written.

I had, but no choice, than to wait for the person to move after his religious chanting.

On coming back, I pondered on this particular issue. I had seen this happen quite often in my country, at different places, from time to time. I asked myself, was it really devotion to god, by being selfish, not by allowing fellow devotees to chant in peace ? Did chanting long verses of prayers after getting to the front of a long queue, stepping on the toes of people behind, really earn you any godly bliss at all ?

Most often, we ourselves don't realize that by doing such acts of indifference, knowingly or otherwise, we are overstepping that code of conduct, much demanded of us. I don't see how our gods and goddesses will be happy about such people, who even after having sung innumerable number of prayers, pushes and shoves others all the time.

Often, we see people going on pilgrimages, to cleanse themselves of the sins that they quite shamelessly did, in the bygone year. Here, while referring to devotees who go on pilgrimages, I don't mean to offend them in any manner; there are always people who do it with a good heart and also people, who fake devotion, actually fooling none other than themselves. I was referring to those people, who never even near the temple, let alone praying on usual days, even when they can; but speak of going for pilgrimages once every year to compensate for not going daily or weekly.I have always felt that, being a devotee doesn't necessarily mean, going on pilgrimages and often to temples far and famous. Again, you may debate on this saying, its a personal habit; maybe, but all in the good sense is always fine.

True devotion therefore isn't therefore, the number of verses of mantras you have sung or the number of temples, churches, mosques or gurudwaras you have visited; It is being true to oneself and to god, that matters. If you pray with conviction, and be responsible for your actions, and won't try and repeat them again after confessing to your lord, then thats all that will make yourself and the god you pray, happy.

If you find this writeup a thought provoking one, please drop in a comment !

Peace,

$ur

The Retro Touch

:) .. If you have read my post on Change, you wouldn't be surprised by the new choice of colours for my blog !!

Its been a while, that the colour seemed a little dull on my blog...I thought a little play of colours would be refreshing for my readers and for me, of course !!

The colours remind me of a certain Retro touch, a period during which I was never born, but a period which had a distinguishing style by itself, which intrigues people like me even to this day.

Ponder on this bit here...
At this point, I would also like to strike a note on the subject of change. Change as I put it, is a great feeling when you grow tired of the old style in things. If it doesn't hurt to let go, its good to give it a try. But, in life sometimes, a change, when it cannot be helped, is often a change that cannot be resisted; try to see the positive side of it, for life doesn't stop there and you don't want to be held back.

More from the author soon..

Peace,

$ur

Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs

Genre - Pop, Rock

Synopsis - I am calling this latest album of Death Cab For Cutie, both a musical and a literary masterpiece at the same time. Most of the songs are all pretty slow moving; gives you ample time to take in the lyrics and get you to think deep, beyond what is sung. The album eases you into a very relaxing mood. There is a good variety of songs here, which again helps you sit back and forget the hassle of changing the genre with some other albums. Moreover, I think this is an album for everyone, so don t go by it by the genre alone, try hearing to them, I am sure you ll like it !!

Ambience - Listen to these songs when you are totally stressed out and need some peace !

Favourite Tracks - The Ice Is Getting Thinner, Pity and Fear, Bixby Canyon Bridge, Grapevine Fires, Your New Twin Sized Bed.

Rating - 8.0/10

Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Genre - Experimental Electronic Music

Synopsis - I liked this one. Never have I heard something that closely resembles this one. There are a whole lot of musical experimentation in all the songs. There is a particular song called Good Girl/Carrots, which has a tabla playing in the background. A little mystic....It adds a little touch of sunshine to your life, I feel. There is also an unmistakable feel good factor incorporated somewhere in the songs too. Before you know, the same song which was perhaps reminding you of a fairly tale, will now take you into a jungle of other sounds. There is even a train bustling in the background of one song !! All very pleasing to the ears !! A, must try musical endeavour.

Ambience - The album is itself a wonderful ambience !

Favourite Tracks - Take pills, Search for delicious, Bro's

Rating - 7.0/10

Battles - Mirrored

Genre - Indie, Electronic

Synopsis - I came across this album called Mirrored on Metacritic. This album had made its way into the Best of 2007 charts, as per their critics. Now take it from me, its nothing like you will imagine of this album until you hear this. Its a mixture of keyboard effects, the kind your young cousin would have made when he first got his hands on a keyboard or a small piano. Of course, Battles have included some rhythmic sounds and drumming in the background. Well there are hardly any vocals (other than few intermittent voices in the song Bad Traits) in this whole album. Its just sounds, electronic and MC. I felt fooled after getting this album !! Well, true they aren't my kind of music anyway, but all those who felt they always had an answer to some of life's weirdest makings, should hear to these tracks and then ask themselves whether they have an answer now !! As a person who is adventurous in trying out different genres, I recommend all to give this a try, anyway; but at the same time, it is also an avoidable for the faint hearted, who might question. " how the hell did this album make into the Best of 2007" !!

Ambience - Doesn't matter, you ll get to know !

Favourite Tracks - Personally, I didn't like this album.

Rating - 3.0/10

Burial - Untrue

Genre - Electronic, Trance, Grime

Synopsis - This new album from Burial, is something of a masterpiece collaborating trance music with electronic sounds in the background. Its got a magical touch and don t be surprised if you are reminded of unicorns and angels. There however, is a slight similarity to songs of Enigma.

Ambience - Cloudy or rather rainy evening, sitting in solitude, a dark room preferably lit only by the evening glow ! And I d recommend this particular setting to listen to this album, because it demands that sort of attention to intricate sound detailing. The darkness of the setting will add to this musical experience.

Best Songs - Etched headplate, Endorphin.

Rating - 7.0/10

World's Best Architect - Spidey !!

Solitude exposure in the sun @ the Amrita Biotech Campus !!

Click on the snap to enlarge

When the world saw Blue, we taught them Black

This post is dedicated to all of those people, who have seen us play or enjoy music, and have felt its a Lifestyle by itself !

Thats us at NIT Ragam 2008, where we made through to the finals of the rock show and finished third on the podium !

Looking back at it, it was one helluva experience and feeling that can't be explained by my humble vocab !

It was a dream come true for all of us and it really proved that practice could get you to places !

My good friend Arun (a.k.a CP), who is also the band's drummer ( now ex, just like myself ) and I had always dreamt of forming a band when we first made friends at college.

Didn't quite see it happen until a bunch of young talent joined us couple of years later. Getting together and then agreeing on one genre was tough. It took us an yr to get noticed outside college. Our IIT Saarang performance was really a platform from where we picked up some energy and stage presence. One another thing worth mentioning about the IIT trip, was the fun we all had together as a band. We even shopped , ate, had loads of fun on the train journey, together. For 4 days it was just music all around and man, did it cure the senses ;-) !!

Then on, the jams and experience from IIT, gave us amazing confidence that we could really pull off this show at NIT. It was also known to be our last performance together, with me and CP soon leaving for our jobs and other priorities after college.

I won't go into the details of our show, but wouldn't miss out the fact that, as a band, esp on stage, you have this feeling that you hold the key to people s hearts !!

Will really miss the days we jammed, defying authorities @ college, crossing the limits of sanity and having fun the way we wanted and most of all make people around us, encore for more !!

It ll always be cherished as one of the most important things that livened up our college life !

Fellas, in this rat race of life, music is one thing that ll ensure your mental well being...rock on and never say die !!

Peace,

$ur

If a change is resisted...you might be losing that much needed experience called Life !

I must say that its been some time since I blogged...Been on the run with lots of other things on my mind...And with that came changes that taught me some important lessons in my life, mostly regarding my interaction and relationship with people.

People generally are known to resist changes. Most often you get bored of the same old routine in your life..you look out to people around you and start to think.." Hey now thats fun.." .But because even the very thought of change, gets you a cold feet almost instantly, you resist it.

I admit that I myself was a person who loved to stick to things which went mostly by majority opinion. Never did I stop to think whether I felt differently about some things that happened around me...

One person studying whose personality taught me to be myself, and in being so, think independently, also taught me to accept changes. He was one of my closest pals from the day we met, to the day fate parted us. Hats off to you man for all that you taught me, mostly through just being with you for the most part of your life.

A change, conscious or not, is a different feeling. It is very much analogous to changing the profile on your mobiles ;-)...You step out of the "you" you were and start to look at things little differently. Initially its like you are in a new place where you don t know anyone...but sooner you are ready to accept the new change in your life, the sooner you adjust.

One thing that i learned from a change is how fresh we feel, when we get out of own "old" skin and look at it in a way others see it. Sometimes, you will find things that you might want to change in yourself.

I have a reputation of writing long blog entries which go abstract as it thickens !!

I just wanted to let all of you know how good I felt when I started to accept changes in my life, and began to take every moment of my life as a lesson teaching me something trivial or the other.

Hang around for more, soon..till then

Peace,

$ur