tunes, n thoughts

Typical working day. Me listening to music as usual. But gave a thought to the songs I was/am listening to, so here they are.

1. AdONa neenu naanu - PBS, Kasthurinivasa, & Rajkumar. Good combination. I like PBS. I feel he is better voice for Rajkumar even more than Rajkumar himself. I like Nee baMdu niMthaaga.. too.

2. Do pal - nice song from Veer Zaara, very melodious. Madan Mohan's old unused tunes were used in this movie. Sonu Nigam is good as ever in this song, but I am not too happy with Lata Mangeshkar. I know she's great singer and all that. But in Veer Zaara she sounds tired, it's time for her to get retired. I feel she doesn't do full justice to this romantic song. There are so many good singers on the block - Shreya, Kavitha, Sunidhi, Alka, n more. Even the great experienced lady needs some break.

3. Konja nEram konja nEram- this one is from Rajani's latest movie, Chandramukhi (i dunno whether the new movie 'Shivaaji' is released yet). It's good. I like Asha Bhonsle, she sounds flirtateous, romantic, n sensual in this song. (almost like Janaki, but no one can beat Janaki with her oomph songs.) Asha - Madhu Balakrishan pair has got this one right. It reminds me of those old duets of Jesudas n Janaki.

That's all. Now I'll go write that boring technical document, well not quite boring when the headphones are on. :-)

grahachaara

ಗ್ರಹಕ್ಕೇ ಗ್ರಹಚಾರ!!

That's what i thought when i read about Pluto's demoted status. Very funny. Feels bit odd too. The memories of 'navagrahahOma' and science teacher (who flashed the cane-stick and made us memorise 'there are nine planets in our solar sytem') are haunting me.

Anyways, as the little monkey says, 'the only thing constant in life, and in solar system, is change'.

Added on 02.09.2006:

trek to mt. atashkouh

Went for another trek on Friday; it was good as usual. But couldn’t summit the peak; that’s very disappointing. But it was good climb anyways. Though the altitude wasn’t much, the trek was long, I guess I climbed for 7 hrs continuously. And my energy was exhausted after that.

The starting point of the trek was a village which is one-hour drive from Tehran. I saw cherry plantations in that village. It was a nice sight! While coming back to the village we saw people harvesting the fruits n packing them, so we thought we’ll buy some fresh fruits. Those people gave fruits, but refused to take money. nice of them.

Me & Mohammad were talking about mythology while trekking. We exchanged info about Hindu mythology & Islamic mythology. Of all people I was explaining Trimurtis n Bhagavadgita!! Anyways I am quite good at Hindu mythology, so I could take on the questions.

There was some plain land on the way, sheep were seen grazing there. There was also a nice lush-green plateau, which is called carrot plateau. It seems they grow carrots n potatoes there in spring.

I am bit concerned abt my confined ability to take on tough treks, need to do something about it. Get more fit shri…

ps: i love my new Bestard shoes. Super grip! I didn't even slip once while climbing down.

got tagged

I agree. I got nothing better to do right now. Saw this tag in a blogger's page, thought of doing it for myself. It's long. Fun though..

BEST:

Male Friend - thought a lot over this.. guess it has to be Daryl
Female Friend - which female wud want to be best friends with a menance like me...
Vacation - all my treks

WORST:

Time of the day - the moment i get up n think of getting off the bed
Day of the week - nothing of that sort (but right now i dislike saturdays n sundays as i need to work on those days)
Color Crayon - drawing is not for me

LAST:

Person you talked to who went to your school - Annappa
Person you spoke to on the phone - Mohammad, my mountaineering guide
Person you text mesaged - Shubha, i messaged her after getting inside the flight in bombay airport
Person who instant messaged - SJ

TODAY:

What are you doing now? - doing this crap, what else..
Wearing - T-shirt n pajamas

TOMORROW:

Is - well, just another day (got reminded of Scarlett O' Hara who always thinks "i won't think of it now, i'll think of it tomorrow, it won't be this bad then. after all tomorrow is another day")
Got any plans - no.. as usual, will go to office but won't work..
Goals? - what's that? iam bad at football
Dislikes about tomorrow - nothing

FAVORITE:

Number - 7
Song - gimme kavitha, any song wud do
Color - black, i love black

CURRENTLY:

Missing Someone - yes
Mood - lazing, bit bored...
Wanting - dinner (it's 9 pm now)

TRUE/FALSE:

I am a cuddler - yes
I am a morning person - no way...
I am a perfectionist - what's that?!
I am an only child - no
I am currently in my pajamas - yes
I am currently pregnant - haha...no..
I am currently suffering from a broken heart - yeah, sort of.. (if u meant love-failure, no)
I am left handed - yes, but partially left-handed
I am addicted to Blogging - no
I am online 24/7 - Yes, but not literally (i eat, sleep, n bath)
I am very shy around the opposite gender - nooooooo
I can be paranoid at times - yes, at times...
I currently have a crush on someone - yes, on 2 men whom i have never met (n no, iam not talking abt tom cruise n likes, iam serious ;-))
I currently regret something - currently? no idea. but i constantly regret something for an year now.
I enjoy country music - indian? yes. western? no
I enjoy smoothies - yes..
I enjoy talking on the phone - depends on the person on the other end
I have a hard time paying attention at school/work - yes, i do
I have a hidden talent - yes, sad thing is it's hidden even to me ;-)
I have a lot to learn - yes, but i am lazy to learn
I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal - seret? yes, ashamed? no. but then secrets are secrets.

ANGER:

1. Are you currently mad at someone?: no, i'm cool
2. Which of your friends has the worst temper?: haven't given any thought to this
3. Have you ever thrown something at anyone?: yes, stones when i was a kid
4. Ever had something thrown at you?: same as above
5. When you are mad do you prefer to stare angrily or yell and scream?: none, i prefer to stay cool

EXCITEMENT:
1. Has anyone ever thrown you a surprise party for you?: yes, on birthdays... n i LOVE them
2. Are you easily excited?: yes
3. What you are most excited about?: abt treks
4. If you won a million dollars what would be your first thought?: wow!!!
5. If you could have anything right now what would it be?: those million dollars please..

SELF-DISCOVERY:

1. Name: why is this Q under self-discovery?!
2. Where were you born?: Shivapura, Udupi district
3. What is your main goal in life?: told u not to speak abt football
4. How do you want to die?: is anyone really giving this option to me?

OPINIONS:
1. Sex before marriage?: No for me.
2. Gay Marriage?: haha... let them go to hell...
3. Lower the Drinking age?: drinking what?
4. Recycling?: YES

DREAMS:
1. What was your latest dream?: that i had lost lots of hair on the front of my head
2. Have any of your dreams come true?: i dont know
3. What was the weirdest dream you've ever had? : many, who remembers deams anyways

R U:

1. Straight, Gay, Bi?: Straight
2. Do you have a bf/gf?: No
3. Do you have a crush?: yes, n this queston is repeated


Q: How many beds did you lay in yesterday?: 2 (i know it sounds funny )
Q: What color shirt are you wearing?: Gray
Q: Name one thing that you do everyday?: lots of things. eat, sleep, bath, brush, go to loo..
Q: What color are your walls?: white
Q: How much cash do you have on you right now?: 4,38,500 Rials, plus i have a 100 USD bill :-)
Q: I can't wait till?: till i get back to India
Q: When was the last time you saw your dad?: 4 yrs, 7 months n 2 days back
Q: What did you have for dinner last night?: rice, saambaar, menthesoppu palya, n curds
Q: What's the last piece of clothing you borrowed from someone?: a polar cap frm Mohammad
Q: What website(s) do you visit the most during the day?: dont even get me started with this.
Q: Does anything hurt on your body right now?: no, touchwood.

HAVE YOU EVER:

1. Have you ever failed a class?: yes, in 12th standard. blame it on the world cup
2. Have you ever sung in front of a crowd?: yes, in a group but.
3. Have you ever not taken a shower for 3 days?: yes, when i went for trek at Dalhousie.
4. Have you ever slept with a night light?: i hate night lights
5. Have you ever danced in the rain?: hm..yeah..
6. Have you ever lied? - what question!!
7. Have you ever had contacts?: u mean lenses? yes
8. Have you ever tripped over something stupid?: yes, many times

PICK ONE:

1. Samosa, Pakora, Kebab: pakoda
2. Bollywood, Lollywood, Hollywood: bollywood, i love drama!!
3. Love marriage, Arranged marriage: had read a saying that this is like asking a person whether u wud like to be hanged or poisoned ;-)
4. Honeymoon, no moon: well, i like moon...
5. How many kids would u like 1,2, 3+ : 2, even 3 is okay, but NOT one.
6. Kulfi, Ice cream: why not both?
7. Shah ruk khan, Orlando Bloom: i loved orlondo bloom in Troy, but can't help it with SRK!
8. Meenar-e-Pakistan, Eiffel Tower: Neither. take me to Amazon...
9. Lahore, Khi, Islmbad: well, it doesn't hurt to go to any of these places, n i love teavelling. let's not be mean to Pak anymore...

gone with the wind

What a book!! Loved it. I guess I love big books, thanks to SLB (I am used to reading his big books). The canvas big books make for the story to unfold is large, n u not only read a story, u’ll know much more; there will be more space for the characters to make their presence felt. For example, even the silliest Negroes were given so much space in the process of story-telling in this book.

And for the main characters it was even wider space. The story goes on for 12 years (1861–1872), n u can imagine the depth n breadth to which each character is built.

I loved Melanie & Rhett. Melanie was so good that anyone would fall in love with her, as whole of Atlanta did. But sadly Scarlett realizes her value only when Melanie was dying. I liked Rhett’s attitude, he’s cool. And for Scarlett, I can only say hat’s off to the author for shaping up such a character. I guess Scarlett is one of the best characters I’ve read. She’s arrogant, courageous, child-like, selfish, headstrong, n what not.. yet she’s so appealing! As the author says at the end of the book – ‘she loved 2 men. If she had understood one, she would’ve never loved him. If she had understood another, she would’ve never lost him.’ Author says Scarlett didn’t understand anyone, but I think she didn't understand herself even.

American civil war - that was lots of info for me. This book has war as backdrop. So learnt bit of history too.

And it being the greatest love story – yes it is. I can say just that. Classics are classics.

Here are the things I scribbled while reading the book:

on 27.05.2006:
just started reading this book, have hardly read 50 pages (n the book is hefty, 1000+ pages). amused with Scarlett O'Hara - rich, spoilt, teenager who's only interested in getting boyfriends. Anyways she is interesting. She got to be, as she's the main character of the story. Me liking the narration of Georgia countryside too.
on 01.06.2006:
getting to know Ellen n Gerald O'Hara, Scarlett's parents.
on 03.06.2006:
Rhett Butler's entry. things abt barbeques n balls, very interesting. more facinating is the fake manners an young miss has to display to get good beau. very funny. I like the way author shapes up scarlett's character; even though she tells the reader that scarlett is nothing more than a stupid teenager, she makes her very special n interesting. i wonder how she weaves these 2 contrasting things very well together.
on 07.06.2006:
gosh! this book is gripping me... n it's the tragic war story again (which i read many times in my all-time fav book 'Parva'). ashley is very much right when he says 'war is not all glory, it's dirt n misery'. scarlett is just a child as rhett butler mentions. i like rhett bulter, n his sharp tongue. he's as mysterious to me as he's for scarlett. what r his intentions? i really dont understand. n i like ashely n melanie, wish scarlett was as mature as them. but one thing i like abt scarlett is her love for ashley, it's solid n i like her for that. one more thing is her longing to be near her mother. sometimes i feel scarlett is very selfish, but with her great love for ashley, her mother, n her home Tara, she isnt all that selfish; she's quite a character.
more on 07.06.2006:
forgot to add this.. i was quite surprised to find out that even in west there was bad treatment of widows that time, i thought it was/is there only in hinduism; n rhett butler talks abt 'sati' in india. scarlett's marriage with charles - it's completely thoughtless n foolish that she gets married to him just to take grudge on ashley.
on 10.06.2006:
melanie's delivery n their escape from atlanta - this part of the book moves u n make u shed tears.. i was as tensed as scarlett when i was reading this part. scarlett is growing up now, life teaches her the lesson, but the hard way. all she knows now is hunger, she's fighting only for survival.
on 13.06.2006:
i was blank for sometime last night when i cudn't find the book in the house, it was as if i had lost a world (one has to read this book to understand what i am saying); but then i got it. i had forgotten it outside the house, n my colleague had kept it safely in his flat, ah! it was such a relief to see it..
well, things are better now; war is over, but the aftermath is as bad.. scarlett is really strong (as ashley says), but iam loving melanie..she's so sweet, hope scarlett also starts liking her. me too waiting for ashley, for i am curious to know how things turn in melanie n scarlett's lives with his re-entry. where is rhett butler? no news of him..
oh, i finished 500 pages of the book, iam finally half-way thru :-)
on 21.07.2006:
i had to part with the book during my india trip fearing the excess baggage thingy. so scarlett o'hara n co had to stay back in tehran, only to embrace me into their world while iam back here. what's happening with them? ashley's back. high taxes sword on tara. scarlett out there to save her home; but she acts oversmart with rhett butler who's in jail at atlanta.
on 29.07.2006:
my hats off to scarlett for her hard work!! reconstruction is a tough task n she's got it in her, though she's appearing selfish n shrewd.
on 05.08.2006:
iam done with the book. relieved, but not happy that iam done, I cud go on n on with this kind of book.. thoroughly enjoyed the book, n the entirely different world it took me to. one of the best books i've read so far!!