YET ANOTHER ALL_BOYS_TRIP!!!
Arrival of flights..Pick up from the airport..Awaiting the last guy's arrival to the hotel..Calling front desk for airport shuttle..checking in to the single bedroom hotel..Declaring that Only 1 person would be staying in the room... Entering the hotel one by one to avoid being caught..

Maps..directions..City attractions..Info gathering..Getting lost..Finding an amicable cop for directions..Finding the nearest Gas station..Ask for directions the millionth time..Incorrect navigation in the car..the 3 or 4 fights inside the car over directions..use of expletives that sound like music to the bachelors's ears..Finally reach the destination.

Conversations that sound like someones getting released out of constipation..Laughter splitting across the room,with the decibel level gradually starting to rise..The throats slowly starting to get coarse..Use of words,which would have been last used 8 years ago during college..The galeejometer reading in the room hitting the roof..Jokes and funny episodes spanning the last decade..the ones which took place and the ones which were ably made up..

Gals..Gals..Gals..That college gal who even her best girlfriend would have forgotten,would be remembered and cherished about..That lost lover of a roommate will be recollected for the nth time ..Those run around trees,buses,wait at the busstops shall be revisited..Hearty laughs at the foolish follies..Gals..Gals..Gals..The ones we knew..the ones we din't know..the ones we might come to know..Everyone of them shall provide enough fodder for the all boys trip..

Photos..digital cameras..No batteries..search for AA batteries..The search ends at the next Gas station..1 or 2 group fotos..the rest of them Maaplai.jpgs..Uploading of snaps..circulating the link to the ones who matter..1 or 2 of them being prospective Daavs...

Food..Eat as much as U can ideology..search for the nearest Indian restaurant..Go for the buffet..Make sure no water is drunk during the feasting..eat for every penny being spent..go for 2 or 3 rounds..bring the dessert in a separate plate matching the main course plate..Go to the hotel and sleep like a dog for the next 2 hours..

Sleep time...Roll on the bare carpet..feel cozy under the only comforter being shared by 3 or 4 guys...talk the whole night..the darkness aiding in the seemless flow of nostalgic thoughts..Then comes the first snore..which ends the jamboree..followed by 3 asynchronous snoring...the sound reminding the good old college days..kind of re-listening to some old music ..it was last heard 8 years ago!

Time to leave..Packing all stuff..Voices suddenly filled with sadness..Hearts feeling heavy..Faces faking the sadness with some laughter..a few jokes which really don't evoke laughter anymore..Realisation that its time to part..Bye da..Goodluck da...Call me when you reach daa..

There ends the trip with a heavy heart filled with nothing but fond memories...Awaiting nothing but the next opportunity to re-create it and recreate ourselves...Question is..Is it even feasible in future..Guys r getting married..No more all boys trips!!?..No more galeej!!?..No more Jalsas..!..No more gilmas??

dei....Once more polaaamaa da??

-Raapi

Posted by rajesh |

As a part of our hinducrossword yahoogroup activities we had our Crossword clue contest.
These were some of the entries.Hope you find it interesting.I enjoyed it great time.I took around 15 minutes to come up with my clue,which happens to be the prize-winning entry! :)
Would some of you like to chip in your clues too?

-raapi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CWC contest rules:

The word for CWC #10(moderated by Balaji) is
TRANSPORT
You will have to frame your clues based on the following rules
1) You should use only one type of wordplay (anagram, double defn, etc...)
2) Use minimum number of words as possible without compromising surface reading.
(Ex. A clue with 8 words and good surface reading will be given more weightage than the one with 7 words and poor surface reading)

3) The clue should not use any word that is used as a means of transport(car,bus,van,train,aeroplane etc)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The entries and Balaji's expert comments
The entries and my comments follow

1) Ananth Padmanabhan.
send torn strap to places, by the way.

Explanation:
send- transport
torn strap- anagram of transport
by the way- a cryptic indicator of transport.

My comments:
Well constructed clue. Could have avoided the last portion.

2) subramanian krishnamurthy
To travel,you need to part with a pig's call.

Explanation:
To travel,you need-this tells u the use of
transport(remember i have assumed it in noun form)
i.e. to travel u need transport.

My Comments:
"you need" part of the clue seems unwanted.

3) Raapi
Start porn dance move?(9)

start porn anagram = transport
dance= anagram indicator
move = transport

My comments:
A great clue which qualifies as a prize winning entry.

4) Ashwin
Not a cis form of this portugese wine evicts an intensely pleasurable emotion.

Explanation: there are two types of structures in
Organic chemistry. Cis and Trans. Not a cis = TRANS
portugese wine = PORT. TRANSPORT as a noun also means
an intelsely pleasurable emotion

My comments:
Nice clue in using a different connotation of 'TRANSPORT'. But the clue seems to be extremely lengthy

5) Arun
Parts torn asunder to convey (9)

Parts torn --> anagram fodder
asunder-->anagram indicator
to convey --> meaning

My comments:
Another great clue which qualifies as a prize winning entry

6) Bala
Experienced workers, we hear are moved on Tuesday

Experienced = PRO
Workers = ANTS
Are= R
Tuesday = T

My comments:
The Homophone indicator could have been placed after 'are'.
The required word is used in the past tense. It should have been "move"

7) Arvind
Torn parts reassembled to carry from one place to another (9)

My comments:
Well constructed clue, again a bit lengthy.

Bonus Clues:

1) Raapi
Embedded in Fortran's portable transfer?

embedded = indicator
transfer = transport

2) CVasi
You may get carried away by it! (9)

3) Vinod
Carry away wine, after drunken rants

Defn.- Carry away
wine- PORT
drunken rants- ana. RANTS- TRANS




Winner:

This was really tough with 2 entries qualifying for the prize. Anyhow..... the winner of this edition of CWC is Raapi.

Raapi, congrats ....now CWC #11 is all yours.


CWC Trivia
Shyam & Raapi have both won CWC 3 times.
Balaji(Myself) follows with 2 wins
Ramanujam & Pradeep have won CWC once.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In case you are interested you may join the group.It is a nice forum to discuss the daily crossword grid and other interesting stuff associated with crosswords.




Click to join thehinduxword

Posted by rajesh |

Most ambiguous of all relationships,in my opinion,is Friendship!
Never know where we are,when it comes to friends.
Is it at the start of an ever-lasting phase or middle of a steady association or at the brink of extinction of a so-so acquaintance!Is it the ever available commodity/readily breakable bond kind of traits of friendship that tends to make it so volatile and uncertain?
When I grossly categorise as friends,I need to make sure I dont include the chosen few - who no matter,what transpires hang on till the end,in the most resolute manner making them on par with a sibling/close family member.

There are some of those friends,who don't really invest any time or attention towards keeping the friendship engine oiled,but are always existing silently in the background ready to extend their hands of comfort and solace,when need arises.These are the ones,which don't expect much from us and vice versa,and hence really don't deserve to be complained about too.It is just that the circumstances did not allow them to actively keep in touch.If not for the inexplainable situations,they would have definitely kept in touch and would have always been happy to be associated with us.

But as it pertains to the current trend of fast-food/Use n throw mode of life,friendship also seems to have those low hanging fruits,which in majority of the cases,prosper for a very short period of time,waiting for the next opportunity to fall.The sudden acquaintances from work,blogs,chat/emails fall into this category wherein a bond is made with almost no idea about the individual at the other end.The initial hook-up takes place solely based on the belief that the other person would be a compatible person of the same frequency.No investment in terms of genuine feelings or trust is made in such cases until it has been thoroughly established beyond doubt that the virtual person at the other end of the phone or the computer is indeed a real person who could be banked with any amount of even the most remotest of personal information about oneself.

It is highly rare for such relationships to build into the ones which make a mark in one's life,but then the slow and steady pace at which it develops lends the much needed time to understand and establish a bond.It is the same slowness in pace and virtuality aspect that makes it an easy affair to conveniently forget a significant number of such hastily acquired friends.

As I look back into the last few years of my life,I find it hard to believe that the majority of the folks,whom I consider as friends today have mushroomed in the last few years from the last category -the low hanging fruits!Is it a healthy trend - I am really not able to comprehend!

-Raapi

Posted by rajesh |

Palakaatu Maadhavan!

Posted by rajesh |

Stupid,insensitive Headline on Rediff!!

Posted by rajesh |

Bol Rae Papihara started it off!!Thanks to one of my great friends,my penchant for Hindi Movie songs got rekindled recently.Before I go about with this blog,I wanna express my sincere thanks to this ardent afficianado of Hindi film music,who seems to be dedicated,devoted and whatnot to it :)
Sunday mornings have changed a big deal.It never was the same as today's 'sleep like a dog till noon' 15 years ago,when my Sunday mornings started off promplty around 7 a.m with 'Rangoli'!

Appa was fond of old Hindi movie music and watching Rangoli seemed to be a weekly ritual in our household,with me sitting on my 'kutty' cane chair and sister sitting on appa's lap as we sipped our hot 'little decoction' coffees and listened to appa hum to some of the renditions!

My faint memory still reminds me of the standard format that Rangoli followed,with 70 to 80% old hindi movie songs with the last 1 or 2 songs from the latest movies!As the other houses in our apartment blared with other tamil programs,we made sure we shut the doors real tight to enjoy the blissful Hindi music,which I doubt if any other family would have ever watched/heard!

I was able to follow Hindi very well from my childhood since it happened to be my second language all through my schooling!Infact I am one of those tamilians who never studied tamil,but then gathered enough knowledge to read the 'kumudam' jokes and name-plates on buses!

Anyways,I stumbled upon this golden opportunity to revisit the past when I listened to some old Hindi songs on the behest of my frend.
Here are some of those song that I heard and my views.

Do sitaron ka Zamin par milan :)
I liked the slowness in the song and the way it was sung as if the singers had all the time in the world on their hands!!

"Mohabbat ki jhooti kahani pe royae...badi chot khaayee jawaani pae royae" :((
Simple sad facts stated in a very mild manner!Loved Latha Mangeshkar's tender young voice!

I listened to Pyar Kiya tho Darna kya from the latest re-release version of Mughal-E-Azam,but seemed to relate from better with the old classic version :
"Pyaar kiya tho darna kyaa?jab Pyaar kiya tho darna kyaa?
Pyaar kiyaa koyi chori nahii kii!!jab Pyaar kiya tho darna kyaa?
Chupp Chupp Aahae Barna Kyaa?" :-{)

">abhi naa jao chod kar..yeh dhil abhi bharaa nahii...
abhi abhi tho aayi hoa..bahaar bankae chaayee hoa..Havaa zara mehek tho laen..Nazar jaraa bahak tho laen..Yeh shaam dal tho lae Zaraa..Yeh dhil samal tho lae Zara..!" :-})
This song was ultimate...How I wish....hmm..Never mind..Next song!

">Jahaan mein aisaa koun hai..ke jisko gham milaa nahii??
thumhaarae pyaar ki kasam..thumhaara gham hai meraa gham!!" :-{{(((
-Superb song...got goosebumps when i followed the meaning of the
song..the way the females cries/tries to make her guy realise...she
really wants to share joy/sorrows..too good!!

"Yeh zindagi Usiiki hai..jo kisii kaa hoa gayaa...pyaar hii mae khoa
gayaa..!!" :)

I observed few things..
Most of the songs give importance to the lyrics unlike the new songs
which focus on drums/beats/rythms only..
Most of the songs in a movie are by females(read as Latha Mangeshkar) :)
Most of the songs have the words 'Pyaar' 'Ishq' 'Zindagi' 'Mohabbat' 'Chaand' :)
Most of the songs are based on situations where the female tirelessly
tries and tries again to explain her love .
The songs are quite easy/pleasant to reproduce,I mean,excellent ones
for both budding male and female singers who would like to hone their
vocal skills ...
The songs seem to be short and the lines seem to repeat again and
again,but then still managing to keep the listener enraptured by it.

Hope some of you atleast enjoyed this small odyssey into the past!I sure enjoyed it a lot and this post shall help me revisit many many more times with just a few clicks!
-Raapi

Posted by rajesh |

Loser!!!!
Thats how I felt after 1 and half hours that I spent writing up a blog and finally when I clicked the update button,the blogger webpage died on me and came out blank!!
All my efforts to go back to the page with my written matter proved futile!

I don't have the mood to recreate whatever I had come up...May be I shall try to revisit those thoughts once again in the next few days!

So,yet another Valentine's day seems to have conveniently vanished without disturbing me :)!I don't think I am gonna crib about it anymore.
I seem to have started realising that I am solely responsible for all my actions and for the pathetic state of affairs,if any!
-Raapi

Posted by rajesh |

This trivial methodology has been my personal test,rather a unique way of re-assuring or comforting myself at times of extreme boredom and utter loss of interest to do anything.
I am sure many of you might find it stupid or meaningless but then I would urge every reader to try this out and assess the feeling.An expression of the feeling in the form of a comment would be an added bonus:)

So,here is what I do when I get into that familiar state of boredom:

1)Just close my eyes with my palms and use my thumb to close my ears too.

2)Think of my closest ones,namely mom/dad/sister and the dearest of friends and relatives(not necessarily in that order always)

3)Think about what each person would be doing at this instant..
For Eg: Appa would have been back from his early morning walk and busy with the Stock market portion of 'The Hindu' newspaper.
Amma would be making the 'tamarind concoction' for making the delicious rasam,simultaneously stirring the pan of delicious fried potatoes and hummin against the backdrop of the M.S.Subbalakshmi song from the 2 in 1!
Sister would be sitting, draping herself with the 'Rajaaai Blanket' and studying earnestly for her final exams.
Paati would be 'pesanjufying' rasam mammu for my cute cousin Aaadish etc etc.

4)Try to think of the dearest of all people who would have thought about me/my wellbeing for atleast 1 second that day or rather atleast hold no grudges against me and would be ready/feel proud anyday to be associated with me.

At the end of this almost 3 minute ordeal,which I carry on almost once every week,this is what I achieve almost always...

1)A sense of rejuvenated feeling and better appreciation of life;

2)2 minutes of nearness with the dear ones,enough to battle 200 more hours of loneliness and distance!

3)Re-assessment of who are really close to me and who I really need to live for!

Now,its time for this week's assessment.Now Cmon..close ur eyes :)..Try it out..!!

-Raapi

p.s:If you are vetti enuff,try this as an extended version..

It may be someone who has lost a loved one...
It may be someone who is not able to see light at the end of the tunnel...
It may be someone who is lonely and just plain bored..
It may be someone who has chanced upon yet another worthless blog...
It may be someone who is dancing in a euphoric feeling..
But then ,this song has its unique touching effect on any person.

Listen to this song with your eyes closed.Dont directly follow the lyrics,but jus try to relax and relate to the music!

"Nooru murai pirandhaalum..nooru murai irandhaalum...
unai pirindhu
vegu dhuuram naaan.... Orunaalum poavathillai...
Ulagathin kangalilae uruvangal marainthaalum..
Onraana ullangal orunaalum maraivathilla!"
.
.
.
.
.
"Oaraayiram Paarvayilae un Paarvayai naan arivaen!"

Magic!!Isnt it?

Posted by rajesh |

This post is basically from a short series of email exchanges between my friends(married & pondering) and I(Bachelor and clear) :)!
Hope it makes a good reading!Interesting to find out the paradigm shift in ideas and behavior among my set of friends upon entering the enigmatic phase of matrimony!
As they discover and rediscover themselves,their revelations are surely going to set a lot of examples worth emulating!
Looking forward to lot more thought provoking real-life anecdotes:)!
Thank U dear buddies and Wish You goodluck!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mr Iyer
> Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 11:11 AM
> To: My Group
>
> Subject: 10 Things U Gotta Acclimatize After
> Wedding
>
>
> 1. You would have to fill the anniversary date column
> henceforth.
> 2. You would have to remember your wife's nakshatram/rasi during
> Archanai.
> 3. You would have to check/tick MARRIED instead of SINGLE in
> forms.
> 4. You would have to remember her favorite soup while 1/2
> orders.
> 5. You would have to have her on your right while namaskarams
> and food.
> 6. You would have to get used to addressing like "MY WIFE needs
> a bla bla bla..."
> 7. You would have to get used to wait while she bathes/gets
> ready/shops n what not.
> 8. You would have to check packages/rates for a couple wherever
> applicable.
> 9. You would have to hold her hands when you are at a
> road/market.
> 10. You would have to find ways to get least embarassed at shops
> like Naidu Hall.

Reply from Mrs.Iyengar..

> 1. You should also remember what dish she likes/dislikes
> 2. Convince your team mates to take ur spouse along for a informal
> project party . Juz it in case u need to make arrangements for transport
> (atleast in my case)
> 3. You should help her in the kitchen and house hold work
> 4. Never forget her dear friend's names and what they do.
> 5. Remember to have ur wife updated about ur friends. Don;t let her feel
> left out when u are going out with ur friends
> 5. Ofcourse remember her closest kins details like their natshathiram,
> gothram.important dates
> U expect ur wife to remember that . right!!??
>

Rejoinder from me :

In both the emails,Noticed the words..
"You would have to"
"You should"
"You should never"...
I take exception to that.

My view is..Both the male/female have the choice to follow or
disregard many of these.It really depends on the compatibility factor.
But then,a disregard for one or 2 of these doesn't really mean a loss
in rapport.It will defly be compensated by some other unlisted
virtue,at the least expected moment!

Whatsayall?

-Raapi

Posted by rajesh |

The french guy's mindset:"C'est terrible..Mon ami"
The American's mindset:"We should work towards earlier detection of Tsunami!"
The tamil politician's mindset:"Nalla sandharpam ithu..engada en Benaami?"
The Hindi politician's mindset:"Abh dhikaathaa hoon merae beyimaani!"

Is TSUNAMI a blessing in disguise to many?Are the central and state governments really bent on improving the life of survivors?Is anybody keeping track of the money garnered through aid that poured from all corners of the world?Did people die unfortunately,to fatten the wallets of the corrupt politicians?

-Rajesh

Posted by rajesh |

This seems to be an unusual phase where in I feel I have hit the roof and there is no more scope for any blogging from my side.The reason being the monotony of my life.I noticed that most of the popular bloggers of the present day,flourish mainly due to their rapidly fast paced environment filled with awe-striking events and happenings,which are of great interest to the majority of the internet savvy crowd.Their websites have become frequently visited areas akin to the special 'cinema section' of the tamil dailies,for which the entire family pounces upon.

People of all ages throng these websites as if they are some daily newspaper websites and the bloggers in turn do not dissapoint their ardent afficianadoes.They have their websites glittering with photographs and catchy phrased titles,invoking even the dullest of all visitors to chime in with his/her comments.Was wondering if the blogger community would soon start reaping enormous profits out of the loyal customer base that thay have generated,i.e,what if an LG or a Kiruba was to become a brand ambassador for a commodity or a company and start infusing the establishment's new introductions and releases into the minds of their readers with their unique style of 100% success/feedback guaranteed blogging?

Coming back to the reality that has hit me:If it needs an interesting environment and dedicated audience for a succeful stint at Blogging,I wonder what a person who is drowning in the quicksand called 'Boredom' could offer through his blog?There is not much happening in this city-Austin and even if somethings happening in the name of '6th street'/'Keep Austin Wierd' campaigns,the teetotaller aspect of me makes sure I am seldom a part of it.There isnt anything strange happening in my personal life too that is different from any other normal person and I have totally run out of ideas to start one of those never-ending stories.
So what shall I do???

'Quit blogging..U dumbo..or atleast quit clogging ur senses and start thinking!'
That is what my mind says now and I am sure my mind is definitely an underestimated thought factory secretly at work.So shall wait for it to churn out some interesting topic/ideas and hopefully it is soon.
Until then .. Ciao.

Posted by rajesh |