George Orwell turns in his grave

'With more than 30 million surveillance cameras in this country, the average American is caught on tape more than 200 times a day: on the street, at the ATM, in department stores, even in public restrooms.'

Shot entirely through public surveillance cameras, 'Look' is something I am looking forward to. Here is an interview by the filmmaker on Newsweek.

Last Man Holding On - Ep # 1

INT - GAURAV'S CAR - NIGHT

The rickety old Corolla is trudging along on Ventura Blvd. M changes the saddest song of the only audio CD the Corolla boasts of.

M

What the Fuck, Dude.

I am sick of this song.

Gaurav changes the track back to the suicide inducing voice of a heart-broken, melodramatic queen.

Gaurav

(Inciting M)

I looove this song.

I intend to do PHD on it.

M this times switches a lot of tracks forward to get to a random song.

M

If I hear any more of it,

I will vomit on empty stomach.

The bass of the new track kicks in.

M

Not that this is any better...

Fuckin copied from a Persian song.

Gaurav

That's it! You said it!

I am sending this along with

the Persian song to Bob McQuaid.

(Back story)

M

No, you are not!

Gaurav is visibly excited now. One would presume, as a fellow classmate, he likes to see his mate getting screwed by the Prof.

Gaurav

Yes, I am sending it to him!

(Pause)

M shakes his head not believing how childish a 21-year-old can be.

Gaurav

...And telling him that Persians

copied their song from us!

The old Toyota shakes with roars of laughter.

Asia not the big culprit

Few days ago I got into a little trouble with my Prof. regarding piracy/plagiarism from Asian economies. Here is a study that says that Piracy by Asian countries is over-estimated. The real culprit is closer to home.
Phew. That was close. Tyler Cohen saved my ass to back my boast up.

Get Ready Please

Can't find the real source of this post. Very inspiring stuff. If anyone happens to know the original writer, let me know.

-

-

'Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and fears will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.'

Still Standing

Its been almost three months since I landed here in the angelic city of US, the boast of California - Los Angeles. Not so FOB (Fresh off the Boat) anymore. Time to start blogging again. Hopefully more frequently. I must confess I had moved more to Facebook in the last four months. But today an important announcement by 'GapingVoid' inspired to be active again. Time to reflect, think, and create after soaking in the chaos of outside world. It certainly has given me some fodder!

Nostalgia returns

I am most nostalgic about my teenage years in a small town called Jind. I was all of twelve and was mostly out on the streets either on my roller skates or on my bicycle. The colony was a little away from the city and I, with a bunch of friends, used to cycle through a small forest to reach railway tracks and flatten one rupee coins as the train passed on them.I was there recently for a wedding in a family that also stays in the same colony and saw very less has changed in the last fifteen years. On the right above is the house we lived in fifteen years ago.The tree in the front was used to put ropes and swing on them. Really carefree days they were!

Ok, this used to be the officers' club but now it has been turned into a kindergarden. The badminton courts above where the children are playing were used as a location in my first story that got published in the school magazine. It was about my struggle to learn roller skating. I used to practice everyday at the badminton courts before the players came and claimed it. One day I got chased about in the courts by a buffalo when I pissed her off while she was drinking water from the handpump (at that time there was no fence around the club). The fear of being romped down by the buffalo made me lose the fear of falling on the skates and I learned to skate while dodging the beast! Suuweeeeet!

Disclaimer- The above incident is purely fictitious. I must have fallen flat on my ass at least a hundred times and nursed numerous scratches before I could learn to skate.

Voyager

Till recently I was working with a travel channel called 'Voyages' in Mumbai. It was a good gig while it lasted. I got to travel to a lot of Indian and Thai destinations. I was the Thailand expert! More on that later. However I didn't have a digital camera then and I was too involved in work and having fun that I didn't care about taking pictures then. A mistake I realised few months ago. I am still chasing some of my friends for some of the photos we took together from their cameras. (In case you are reading this, mail me the pictures you bastard/bitch!)

In the recent past after me leaving work and heading home I have been travelling a bit again. I kind of like it now. Otherwise the life is too monotonous. Here are some random pics I took in the last two months.

My beautiful looking graciously ageing mother. She is not very comfortable with posing for pictures. I had to coax her to stand in front of the FRI building in Dehra.

The magnificent looking Forest Research Institute in Dehradun. It is also ageing somewhat like my mother. I stayed inside the institute very close to the building so got to photograph it a couple of times.

The Monastry at Mussoorie. My sister above is amused by being at the monastry. Why shouldn't she. After all she is studying to be a lawyer! And her friend in the background too is pursuing law. Both the girls in the trip tried to unsuccessfully terrorize the rest of us and were a pain in the ass with their arguements. There really is a very thin line between terrorists and lawyers.

Bulla ki jana main kaun

Our next major halt - Dargah, Ajmer. I was asked to wrap around a 'lungi' since I was wearing shorts. Reason - Katrina Kaif entered the Dargah in her short skirt during the fiming of 'Namastey London', raised the eyebrows of many and sparked a fight amongst two groups. I knew she had strong legs! But comparing my legs to Katrina's is not fair. On her.

One great contribution by Dargah is Sufi Music.I am huge fan of it. It is probably one thing that has truly shattered boundaries of religion and nation. Here are my two favourite sufi rockstars. Rabbi with his amazing lyrics and Strings with a voice to die for. Rabbi's video 'Bulla ki Jana' has lyrics translated in english and Strings' 'Na Jane Kyon' is part of the Spiderman-2 OST.

Do check them out. They truly rock!

Road to predition

I had always wanted to drive between Mumbai and Delhi. Like everybody else's, my excuse was the same - lack of time. When I needed my car in Mumbai, it was put in a truck and sent to me by my folks. There was no time for me to go Delhi and get the car.

This time I had finished my work in Mumbai. And there was no hurry to rush back home. So my father flew down (he had not been in Mumbai for a long time and not seen how I was living here) and we drove to Gurgaon.

My friends thought that I am embarking on my toughest voyage and some even tried talking me out of it. I was even more determined now. I could do it. I could be with my old man for three days!

Our first halt was Gandhi Ashram Sabarmati. A quiet place on the banks of Sabarmati river, this place epitomises the man who knew it how to keep it simple. At least when we talk about material comforts.

What interests me most about Gandhi is that he was a late bloomer. He showed no signs of brilliance and greatness till very late in his life unlike some other prodigies who have formulated their theories by the age of 25. Gandhi got better with years fighting his character's shortcomings. It gives us a reason to look forward to. At least to me.

On the left is Gandhi's famous bad handwriting. I think it reads,'If you can read this you are most probably a doctor.' Heh.

Leaving Mumbai

What better way to bid farewell to a city that hosted me for the last two years than being at an Indian Ocean concert. Their rendition of Bandeh for Black Friday is excellent. Do check out a shorter version of it.

For those who don't know, Black Friday is based on Mumbai Blasts that rocked the city in 1993.

Two of my close friends who make the most amazing couple in real life also have worked on this film. Aparnaa and Pavan. Pavan brilliantly played Tiger Memon in the film. Watch out for him. He is going to go places. Industry seems to have discovered him.

So it is goodbye to the city whose public transportation system and commuting made a man out of me. And the people with their helping attitude restored my faith in love and humanity.