Skewed Priorities?

It says something for my lack of attention that I completely forgot to mention that I have also managed to injure my head, thereby incurring 5 stitches as the Penalty to Pass GO and play again. The circumstances are not going to be elaborated here. Suffice to say, it is not something I would rather do again!

Reading...And Book reviews

Last weekend, I did not really feel inclined to do much socializing or going out anywhere. So of course, the obvious option was to read. Its been a while since I spent time just reading completely for a weekend, so got some opportunity to catch up on fantasy novels!
So far, have finished Terry Brooks series called Word Vs Void, which is a series about a confrontation between order and chaos, and two hapless people caught at the centre of it. If you like Terry Brooks style of writing, I guess it was standard, but since I don't I just have to admit that I found it pretty dreadful
The next series is this set of 7 books called the Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher. It shows that Fantasy Fiction is a grown up genre, when you can have sub genres in it. And a Wizard Private Investigator of film noir style is rather niche indeed! The series started well, and although a wee bit like a soap opera, its very very decent. Jim Butcher has ability, and writes with skill. Good enough that I have finished 7 of his books over the last 3 days.
All in all, a total of 14 books for the week. Rather good going, i say...even for my rather extravagant overdoses. The other books were a series by Leo Frankowski about an engineer dumped into 13th Century Poland, and River of Death, an Alistair McLean, which really disappointed me. McLean is way better than that book....and it was the only one of his that I had not read before...and it was lousy!
well, that is it for now....I would suggest that anyone who can get a copy of Jim Butcher do so...he is rather decent!

Harry Potter -- The saga ends

I have to admit it. Along with my sister, I was one of those many people who bought books 5 and 6 on day 1. For the first time since the series came out, my sister and I were in different cities, so could not buy 1 book on 1st day. The solution was therefore obvious....2 books for two people!
Well, I managed to start the book only on early sunday morning, but had managed to finish it off before noon! And I have to say, I felt handily vindicated by the book. It is no longer children's fantasy, now definitely in the young adult category; but that in no way means that it was bad. Sure, it was a VERY standard fantasy ending...but heck, i like standard endings.
While it would have been very poetic for Harry and Voldemort to die together, I much prefer it this way, where the hero gets to live!
All in all, nice book...though there were no Quidditch descriptions. Ah well, you can't have everything.
Well, now that the saga is ended, it looks like Bloomsburry is going to have some serious worrying about future cash flows to do!

Die Hard 5.0 -- Bruce Willis is dead. Long live Rajnikanth

Yesterday, I watched Die Hard 4.0. And while I loved the movie, with all its explosions and stunts, I just realized something.
Hollywood needs Rajnikanth. And Bruce Willis is doing his best to satisfy them. What with using cars as a sort of hyper large bullet with which to blow up helicopters, and various other such physics defying stunts, even Rajni would have his eyebrows as high as they could go.
And another thing....why is it that good looking computer hackers who also moonlight as kung fu master mercenaries are found only in movies? Well, my companion at the movie was more interested in the good looking computer hacker guy who can moonlight as a gun toting mercenary as well as getaway car driver, but in my humble opinion...no way...the girl was waaaaay cooler.
So, all in all, it was an amazing experience. And with Rajni's latest film having him sport the hairless look, its no surprise that by the end of the movie, I was not sure who was playing who.
Bruce...If Hollywood does not let you do Die Hard 5.0, join the Tamil film industry. I guarantee that you will find success, and bullet dodging roles galore.

Mumbhai!

I was in Mumbai on Friday and Saturday for NIMITT 2007, SP Jain's management fest. First off, a compliment...a brilliantly organized event, with some wonderful hospitality displayed by the gentlemen and ladies of SP Jain. They did a spectacular job indeed, and deserve every accolade that they are going to get.
But the city itself! I have to admit, I was not a big fan of the place. But like a skin disease, the city grows on you! Now, I have to say, I really love the city. Sure, it has lots of warts, and the lousy traffic is nothing to write home about, unless you want to write a horror story; but the life in the city, and not last, Marine Drive itself makes for a place that is simply awesome.
It helps that I met friends whom I had not met for some time, and spent a couple of very enjoyable days as well. All in all, a wonderful weekend.
So, anyone who wants to hire me....remember, a job in Mumbai would be good. Of course, I would also appreciate a pay package that lets me live the life I want in Mumbai! :D

Why are Chennai Buses the way they are?

Up to now, I have been (mostly) laudatory about Chennai. But now its time for a crib session. I have been travelling by the buses of Chennai for enough time now to start criticizing them. While the buses routes are extremely well covered, and you can travel from one place to another by bus, the downside is the crowds.
The buses are ALWAYS crowded. This is distinct from any other city, where there is a rush hour, and then the pressure falls. Primarily, this seems to be because there just are not that many buses. I visited the website of the organization, which claims they have 2000 buses. 2000 buses for 7 million people in a city where the distances are huge! That is just ridiculous. Even Bangalore has more buses than that...and the routes don't take two hours to cover. Which also brings me to my next point. Buses wander all over town! The average bus seems to take the LONGEST possible route to get to the destination, taking twice as long as any other method.
And the ridiculous pricing....the prices are cheap...and so are the services. The buses themselves are in terrible condition, barring the odd exception. Truly, when you pay peanuts, you get quality even monkeys will question!
Ah well...enough of this diatribe. The main reason that it was brought on is because my knees have been beaten up sitting in a space that even a midget would have trouble fitting into!

Haircuts!

Those who have seen me over the last few months have noticed that my latest attempt at disguise involved hiding my face behind an unruly mop of uncut hair.
Chennai's heat finally persuaded me to finally go for a haircut. And I was treated to a display of family tradition at the barbershop, with 3 generations, from a patriarch to the grandson, learning his trade.
End result is me, with far less hair, and almost unrecognizable (according to my boss).

Why Not?

I am known as a somewhat odd chap sometimes. It seems to me that it is because I don't tend to ask why, but why not!
After all, there is no really good reason why we should ask why? Whenever we do something, we go with "why should I do this?" So why not use "why not do this?"
It gives you very many choices. And lets you do things you might never have done if you had asked "why?"
Of course, howling at 1:00 in the morning at the local stray dogs at kharagpur might not seem quite so attractive, especially when the howler has a sore throat!

Sivaji---Da Bass

Last weekend, I managed to catch the latest Tamil Hit, Sivaji--The Boss. The who's who of Tamil Cinema is involved, from Rajnikanth as the star, AR Rehman as the music composer, and Shankar (a big dude in directing apparently) as director. The producers were AVM productions, who are also another huge production house.
With all this talent, they have succeeded in making a true classic. This is a movie that has to be watched purely for how they manage to break the laws of every science there is. From physics, to medicine; Economics to law; nothing remains safe from the depredations of this films writers.
But I digress. The plot first. It has this rich NRI dude, (a software systems architect) who returns from America to do social work in Chennai with Rs. 250 crore. To cut a long story short, he does not exactly make it...the money he has is just about enough for the bribes, and soon he is left penniless, and ruined.
Now is when things get interesting. He decides to singlehandedly liberate all the black money floating around (or hidden in rice bins) in India. Managing to do this, he fulfils his dreams, gets the girl, and beats up the villain. And he manages to do product plugs for HLL, Mercedes, BA, and god alone knows how many other companies in the meantime.
Of course, I still recommend one and all to watch it. The movie's plot may be dumb, but its all about ishtyle. And the movie has tonnes of that!
Well...so there you have it, Sivaji--The Baaaass. Running at a theater near you.

A Portrait

I have been harangued many times before, and therefore know well how to escape when people demand me to do stuff.
The experience of being wheedled however, was new to me though, and I feel prey almost immediately.
So...on to my current job, A portrait of a friend.
Naimisha is not a typical child. Well for one thing, she is not a child! People who work in glass houses should never throw stones. So I shall not make nasty comments of how people in software companies never do any work. I might just be hit with a rebounding retort.
If I ever needed good advice and a wise head on shoulders, I would go to my sister. But for a different view on most things, and a guaranteed entertaining conversation, I would also call Naimisha (yup..my sister is pretty entertaining too). And I frequently have...though I will heartily admit that because I call whenever my balance is ridiculously low, she is forced to call far more often...if only to complete entertaining conversations.
A play watcher by choice, and a pacifist by inclination, its hard to categorize her. Lets just leave it at individualistic then!
All in all, a fine and entertaining person to while away any given number of hours with. And intelligent too...which is not something that you can say about most of humanity.
But people also say nobody is perfect...but this was never meant to be completely accurate. Merely truthful!

The weekend Approaches

Well, the weekend is here again, almost faster than I could imagine. Time to go out and paint Chennai red...or whatever shade I please.
The sun is out, it looks like transport is around, and all is right with the world. Time for me to stop typing and start moving!
So, till I come back,
Ta Ta!

Clouds on the Horizon

There are times when I love my office. My window faces the docks, and the harbour just lies outside. And today, the monsoon clouds have moved in. The sight was unbelievable. The clouds were so low that they seemed to scrape the top of the cranes at the docks. And the sight of rain out to sea is one that can only be described when seen.
Truly amazing.

Farewell Tony Blair

Well, the final scenes are being played out in the exit of Tony Blair as PM of the United Kingdom. Last evening, Gordon Brown was (S)elected as the leader of the British Labour Party, and the Blair years are finally coming to a close.
So, what was Tony Blair really? Was he a spin obsessed publicity mad crowd pleaser, or a man who followed whatever he believed in, and damn anyone for the consequences?
Tony Blair, at first glance did not seem to be a poster boy for the labour party. A son of a barrister, with a private school education, he certainly did not fit the breeding bill! A music enthusiast, he even had his own band, though he was more interested in managing a band than playing in one. From the very first, people remember him as having an image of cool, rather than just being cool.
The passing away of his mother from cancer made his interest in religion more than just a passing phase, and in a country where the Prime Minister is hardly ever questioned on his faith, Tony Blair has certainly not hidden his own Christian faith and his convictions.
Elected for the first time in 1983 after losing in 81, Blair was made MP of a newly made seat that was carved out of a labour stronghold. It was a bad time for England though, with unemployment soaring. Blair's own constituency faced unemployment of over 20% and it is Blair was at the forefront of securing rights for his people.
But the writing was on the wall, and Blair recognized that the power of the unions was fading, and made a call in "The Northern Echo" to make the labour party more appealing to those who could afford their own houses, and were in the solid middle class, (conservatives, in other words).
Little did he imagine that these words were treasonous to the old labour way of thinking, with labour MP Davis Skinner calling him a traitor to socialism.

The Blair -- Brown Partnership

This partnership was initially formed with Gordon Brown being the more powerful person, who also shared Blair's belief that in order to be electable, the labour party must be more middle class in its mentality. Soon, the trio of Blair, Brown and Peter Mandelson began to take on the task of making labour more pretty than in its flag waving strike loving days.
How was this done? Old labour would have been scandalised. Focus groups, marketing campaigns, targeted leaks...all the tactics which they accused of the conservatives were now the tools that the trio used in order to make labour look better. In time, they became more and more powerful, moving rapidly through the shadow cabinet ranks within the opposition that they were forced to endure during the Thatcher Years.

The Leadership Deal--The seeds of Conflict

The death of Labour leader John Smith of a heart attack in 1994 was the opportunity for the two upcoming leaders. It was widely expected that the elder Brown would be the candidate for party leadership, but in a closed doors meeting with Blair, a deal was thrashed out. Even today, nobody is sure of the contents. But what is clear is that Gordon Brown withdrew from the leadership race, but he did extract his pound of flesh. In return, he got control of the treasury and the right to advice on national policy that no chancellor before could have had. But this move was made in the background of the switch in loyalties displayed by Mandelson, the third of the trio. Abandoning the staid and "boring" Brown, he sided with the new labour that was represented by Tony Blair, with his ready smile, dialogue and expertise with making babies love him all over the country. There is little doubt that this switch was looked at with disfavour by the Brown Camp.

The Early Years-- Everything goes right!

Tony Blair and Labour swept to a landslide victory in 1997, on the promise of nothing less than altering the entire civil society of Britain and the UK. But while his rhetoric was earth shaking, the reality was quite a bit less trailblazing. But nobody could deny the young prime ministers ability to connect with the people, through television, or in person. His smile may have been plastic, but it never wavered, and the grin on his face was a testament to his ability to manage events that surrounded him. Weeks after his election, his eulogy of Princess Diana was a masterpiece, and the phrase "People's Princess" is one that will be remembered long after Tony himself hands over the reigns of power.
And When Cherie announced that she was pregnant and little baby Leo was born, it sent approval ratings through the roof. Nothing seemed to unite Britain quite like their Prime Ministers Fatherhood, and Tony was riding high with approval ratings of over 90%. And with successful NATO interventions in Sierra Leone and Kosovo, it seemed as if Tony's voice on the world stage was no longer that of a toothless old man, but a strong and dedicated leader.
Another huge change that was less talked about, but did happen partly due to labour rule and Blair was the rise of multicultural Britain. Not only was Chicken Tikka Masala displacing fish and chips and Yorkshire Pudding, but the captain was Nasser Hussein, and Bollywood dreams was the flavour of the month. (It bombed though)

Things Go Wrong-- George Bush and Iraq

With the election of George W Bush Jr. to the White House, people expected the warm chemistry that had developed between Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to dissipate, and a cooling off in relations to begin. Strangely enough, the barristors son and the oilman's son hit it off brilliantly, linked by their strong faiths. The September 11 suicide attacks on the World Trade Centre were an opportunity for Tony Blair to stand shoulder to shoulder with Dubyaman in the lens of the TV cameras, and from that instant on, Tony's downward spiral seemed to begin.
Before that itself, Tony wished to ring in the millennium by having Britain adopt the Euro...but that was effectively scuppered by Gordon Brown and his 5 point checklist. The Europhile Tony Blair was effectively snubbed by his chancellor, exposing rifts within the labour insider list.
The initial assault on Afghanistan was mostly welcomed (even by me...I am not a big Taliban fan). But after that, hanging on to Dubya's coat-tails began to hurt. Dubya's axis of evil speech did not have to be greeted with wild cheering by Tony, and the report to Parliament about Saddam Hussein and his 40 minute strike capability was a wild exaggeration at best, and blatant falsehood at worst.
As things turned out, Iraq is what Tony Blair will be remembered for. The Iraq disaster was looked at by the tabloids as a symptom of the spin obsession of the Blair Government, and finally led to Alistair Campbell, a long time insiders ousting from the inside advisers council. A cash for peerage scandal also loomed, and suddenly, the knives were out for this formerly Teflon PM. Now, nothing could go right. Even his deputy prime minister swinging a punch at a drunk heckler became a symptom of Blair's failure. And the image of an easygoing youthfu prime minister has faded with time into a tired and image obsessed man, who has clung on to power far longer than he should have.

Epilogue

Can we write off Tony now? I fear we may have to. Sure, Bush wants him in a middle east role, but there is little trust in the middle east for the man who wanted to be deputy sheriff of the world. And a return to frontline British politics seems unlikely for the man who ruled for a decade. But as Tony's speech announcing his departure demonstrated, this man still has the magic needed to manipulate his audience. Labour will miss his charisma, and his hand with babies. But I doubt they will miss his policies.

Bande--From Black Friday

This is a song that really grows on you. The first time I heard it, I thought it was just about ok...but after a few dozen repetitions, its really quite a song. Some people might find its rhythms a bit discordant...but I just find it stunning!
My only problem is singing it...that does not seem to be working out very well .

Nostalgia...and finding old blogs

Well, yesterday's comment on Amulet of Samarkand prompted me to try finding one of my old blogs...and I was successful too. And I was impressed. The me of yesteryear was really quite a ways better writer than the me of today. Read this for yourself and confirm it!

Poetry...mostly!

Hmm, Nothing particularly eventful happened today. But I have this sort of urge to post something...so why not rummage through some memories of schooling?
This is about a poem which we were subjected to in 12th Standard. Its title was "Gerontium" (I think). As a poem, I don't really recall much about it, except that there was a line about Jews...and this truly memorable verse which had "Christ on a tiger...and The word within a word, unable to speak a word".

I could never pretend to be a big fan of poetry. Considering my favourite poems till then were "Ulysses" (Tennyson), and "Elegy on the death of a mad dog" (I dont remember the author), its not hard to see that poetry was not my strong suit. But when I read Eliots gyan, and heard my teacher trying to twist it into something that could fit it into a 10 mark answer, any spark of poetic appreciation that had lingered decided that the odds were just too tough and blew itself out!
I shall not subject you to "The broken tower", and others of its ilk. Needless to say, I never did enjoy English Poetry class in 11th and 12th too much!

I believe that the least the dashed things can do is rhyme. So, if I choose to inflict "poetry" on you, poor reader, know this. At least it will rhyme!

p.s: There is another time when this classmate of mine set anothers pant on fire (mostly accidental)...but we can save that for a really slow day.

Book Review: Amulet of Samarkand

It was a comment on my management blog that has prompted me to review this book...But first, a brief digression.
I remember reviewing Amulet of Samarkand a couple of years ago, but like most reviews, it has gone into the dustbin of one of my old blogs. But this blog shall be different!

Ok..back to the review

"Amulet of Samarkand" is the first book of the Bartimaeus trilogy, written by Jonathan Stroud. It is set in an alternative universe where the world is ruled by magicians, who use daemons to dominate the world. The series follows the deeds of a young magician, named Nathanial, and a djinni named Bartimaeus. The book is so different primarily because of a neat split between first and third person narratives, with Bartimaeus telling his story in first person, while Nathanial's story is told in the more traditional third person.
The explanations are given in neat little footnotes, which make the pace of the story much quicker.
Anyway, back to the review itself. This book might seem similar to Harry Potter, what with there being a young brilliant boy wizard, and a wizard government, and a story set in England. But perish the thought...that is where Harry and Nathanial part ways.
I will let you read the series and find out more for yourself, but will just say this. This series was one of the best I have ever read...and I have read a lot of fantasy novels.

A Very Side Note Indeed:

For those interested in philosophy, it has been pointed out that in the books, the daemons can be seen as a metaphor for the plight of refugees and migrants in Western Europe. It is pointed out that they are frequently the ones who do the work that lets the system function, and yet are the ones who bear the brunt of prejudice, and who do not have any rights to speak of. You are free to agree or disagree with this view. It just makes the books even more neat though, in my opinion!

Speaking Hindi in Chennai

Yesterday, I had the somewhat surreal experience of engaging in a half an hour long conversation with a fellow bus passenger in Hindi.
That does not sound so surreal, you, casual reader might say. But let me assure you, Chennai is many things. Its large, Its hot, Its usually friendly. But one thing it does not have in abundance is a Hindi speaking populance. And secondly, the contents of the conversation.
But I get ahead of myself. The man himself was from UP, and has lived in Chennai for some years. His son is an MBA working with Accenture.
Following this brief intro, he then launched into socio-political analysis of the current societal situation in India and the growing inequality. After a side trip into Chinese competencies and a brief discussion on the north-south divide that afflicts the chinese economies, we then started discussing the dog menace in Bangalore. In between there were snippets about the various problems facing the agricultural sector, and the plight of rural farmers in Maharashtra.
Now, for those who know me well, you will know that my skills in Hindi only extend to singing Old Kishore Kumar songs badly...but one way or the other, i managed to speak in Hindi for a good half hour, though it took me several seconds to come up with खेती and i dearly hope that the hindi equivalent for productivity is प्रौध्योदिक capability!
Well, that is all for my first post. More details of my life and times continue!