tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44130035578084947212024-03-21T21:13:12.481-05:00BlurB.Anything under the sun, and beyond - in my purview.Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-73876902188872964812018-01-10T14:08:00.002-06:002018-01-10T14:08:58.564-06:0030<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
30 is the new 20. <div>
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Or atleast that's how it has been branded of late, with 40 being the new 30.. 50 being the new 40 and so on and so forth. Isn't it also amazing that our children seem to all grow up faster too, with social media in overdrive? 10 is the new 20, 20 is the new 30 that way. Until somehow magically the clock seems to reverse direction and 30 becomes the new 20. Serves to prove how human beings constantly need some kind of enthusiasm and celebration to keep them going. Otherwise every day and year becomes the exact same with nothing to look forward to nor achieve. No New Years, no Anniversaries, Birthdays, religious festivals.. nothing. </div>
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That being said, today (January the 11th), someone really special to me turns 30. I say "really special" because I cannot think of one other person who would put up with my idiocy for so long. She is smart, driven, passionate, loving, supportive and everything you can ask for in a life partner. She is beautiful from the inside and outside, and has no idea how many people like her company (despite her dry sense of humor). </div>
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This blog means a lot to me as it has charted the path my life has taken - one which has quite a few twists and turns till it came around to meeting this one special person. I may not have always been the person she liked, and I sometimes feel sorry about it - but she has done everything and more for me. She has been a rock through and through. (and I put a rock on her!)</div>
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This blog post a.k.a BlurB... is a little something to repay her for all the trust she has put in me. Happy Birthday, Kavvi. I am happy that the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn finally got together :) Love you! And have a freaking great year :) </div>
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Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-71436335779108164962017-12-31T17:44:00.001-06:002017-12-31T17:54:40.543-06:00Auld lang syne<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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And so, another year has passed. Lots of ups and downs, unexpected surprises and disappointments and a fairly stagnant year of personal development with respect to this blog. I sincerely hoped to write more.... but microblogging has taken up whatever little blocks of time I tend to have throughout the week to pen my thoughts. I consciously decided to sit and do something on the last day of 2017 that pleases me so here I am writing whatever comes to mind.<br />
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Do I have any huge New Year resolutions for 2018? Not really. I do have a few that relate to looking inward and clearing out priorities in life. I give it just one word - CONNECT. Connect with oneself, connect with the people that matter to me, connect with the world and connect with life in itself. Too often in this rat race I have found myself being completely disconnected and almost not even bothering to figure out what is happening with anyone who is not named me. Many of us have found ourselves in this situation when push comes to shove in our personal lives. The challenge I give to myself in what will be the biggest year of my life as yet will be to tap into my bandwidth and be able to deal with all of this patiently and come out on the right side of it all. Sounds like a humongous challenge, but this is also the first time I have been this clear with my goals in long in the face of adversity.. so that's that.<br />
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2018, I cautiously and optimistically look forward to you. Hope you don't get too crazy on me.<br />
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2017, thank you for whatever you have given me in experiences. I will never forget the learnings you gave me. For whatever little chance I got to spend with anyone who is reading this blog, I am most thankful for. (#Yodaspeak, anybody?)<br />
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To everyone who has been by me all these years, I hope you will do so this year too - and let me bug y'all a little more. Maybe this year I will do better to be on the good side of y'all.<br />
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Have a great turn of the new year... and Auld lang syne, everyone! Peace. </div>
Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-66179336264445858632017-06-24T23:11:00.001-05:002017-06-25T10:15:18.256-05:00Hey, Goodbye.. Old Friend! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Hey, Goodbye.. Old Friend! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">The human mind, depending on who you are is either an eclectic artifact of paradise or a devil's workshop. Back when I was forced to study biology classes to pass secondary school, one of the toughest things to master was the structure of a neuron. I think that turned out to be a euphemism of how complicated the brain is. We often hear about people having a conflict between the heart and mind on making a decision - when it really is a decision between a couple of hundreds of neurons in your head! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">As I write this piece on a three hour flight back to Texas from the west coast, there is nothing but darkness around me with a couple of reading lights flickering across the aisle. No internet, no headphones, nothing to listen to but the propellers thrumming along at 37000 feet of altitude. My guilt of drinking soda and chewing on ice cubes fades away as I pull strands of thoughts together from a few weeks of fragmented thinking. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">I've often been told I'm forgetful, absent minded, lazy and procrastinating. It kind of manifests itself in the fact that I had to wait a couple of weeks to write this when I could've just done it right there and then. But time is a beautiful son of a bitch.. whilst the world wonders if it's a dimension that can be altered or not, it has the ability to change the nicest of things into something ugly, and vice versa. The Vatican City was originally a mass tomb, India was once the land of all riches, Nolan's Batman lived long enough to see himself become the villain.. so on and so forth. To the human mind (especially the one inclined to Artsy pursuits), time acts as a slow cooker. It cuts, grinds, polishes, and sets the rough diamond that the initial blurb is. A single line of thought becomes a beautiful poem or an epic (LOTR,anybody?) over several hours of thinking. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">A few weeks back I found myself humming a random song on my way home from work. I hadn't heard this song in almost a decade (Hey Goodbye Nanba from Aayutha Ezhuthu - a Tamil movie), not even on YouTube or iTunes. I realized that a minute into singing it, and went on to hum the entire song. A few minutes later I played the song on YouTube just to notice the lyrics had been on dot. I still have no explanation for how I'd been able to remember the lyrics with my forgetful nature. It's a beautiful song, one that was on top of my lists back in the day - but it isn't what you would call an all time classic. Maybe it's dumb luck I remembered it all, maybe I hummed it with or without context.. or maybe the human mind really is a freaking awesome piece of work. I'm thinking I should go for the latter. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Until next time, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Hey... Goodbye Nanba! </span></div>
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Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-52318142840007607612017-06-09T00:31:00.001-05:002017-06-09T00:33:39.873-05:00Who am I?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"Who am I?"<br />
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A question like this is more often than not considered representative of someone with a psychological crisis.<br />
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I love being a part of this generation of young people. We represent the kids of the 90's and early 2000s. A lot of us have seen both the pre-technology age and the post technology age. No landlines to fitness tracking wristbands. Snail mail to Whatsapp... so on and so forth. Throughout the years, we have been forced to adapt ourselves to the changing landscapes around us. (Not that older generations have not had to do the same) Constant change has brought about differing sensibilities in a lot of us as time goes by. Some of us refused to move out of the paper era into the computer age. Some others kept the bowl cut (also called mushroom cut) going through the 2010s. I had a Nokia 2610 brick phone till atleast 2012.. feel free to judge this fool on that alone.<br />
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Almost three decades of steady change has left a lot of us at a completely different point than where we intended to be when we set out into adulthood. What is important now to me was hardly known to me just a handful of years back. What was important to me when I was 21 has completely disappeared from the horizon since then. In a way this makes perfect sense but when you realize how much time you wasted thinking of things that will never be important to you, it sort of feels deflating. I still believe there are geniuses who planned every step in advance, reached their goals and went way past it by this time in their lives.. I'm certainly not one of them. Neither will most of my readers here be.<br />
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Ideals and beliefs make a person live life the way they do. Ten years ago if you asked me what unconditional love is, the answer would be a complete 180 from the answer you get today. Ten years from now, who knows how different the same answer would be from now! Life is a constant search for truth. It's a wild goose chase behind the holy grail of self discovery...an ECG connecting moments, people and their feelings.<br />
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Self discovery does not happen until you open your heart, lay it out in front of you.. and ask yourself what matters to you and what does not. Many years ago when I had not seen the real world and was still in the loving embrace of my parents, my span of acceptability was a lot smaller than what it is today. The realization: Acceptability is a direct result of what is presented to a youngster. I believed what was told to me, and what was dictated by society. I was stubbornly resistant to change and anything "out of the norm". In short, a CLOSE MINDED WIMP.<br />
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Indian society and its norms are a fun story unto themselves. Drinking? No. Smoking? No. Weed? Drug Addict! Late night outings? No. Girlfriends/Boyfriends? No. Pre-marital Sex? Disowned. Homosexuality? Big Fat NO. Women wearing whatever they feel like? NO. Not going to the temple? Blasphemous. Smiling at a random person from the opposite sex? Nope.... It almost feels like a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMTAUr3Nm6I">Meghan Trainor</a> song. I know many of us have been through these situations and more. What I have learnt is this - nothing matters but your belief. NOTHING. Not 98% in your high school exams, not your fancy engineering degree, not your 16 years of school, not your first half-girlfriend, not your endless coffers of money. None of the societal norms matter if you believe strongly in yourself. When you believe, you live. Every moment of life then becomes unique, self driven and precious. Every moment fuels your search for the ultimate truth. You then quit existing and start living. (Atleast that's what I think awaits me when I'm done with figuring out where I stand on the roughly 3 million South Indian societal norms.)<br />
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Believe, and you Become, Love and you Live! </div>
Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-33284861267793446242017-06-08T17:03:00.002-05:002017-06-08T23:13:39.597-05:00A right time to write.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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" 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There are some instances in life that cause you to wonder "what the hell was I doing all these years going off on a tangent?" I had one such epiphany sometime back.<br />
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Call it whatever - a course correction, throwback, renewed purpose.. I love writing. I used to write a lot, and then I stopped and did not know what or why that happened. Writing is a great way to express yourself - especially when you put pen on paper. With corporate life sucking the juices out of most of us millennials, we do not find time to even write a note to our loved ones. Writing letters to pen pals, relatives and friends stopped being fashionable in the 90s. Blogs apparently went out the window when Twitter arrived... Hold on a second.. that's what happened with me! </div>
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Whilst Twitter is awesome to trash talk sports and politics, I find that writing blogs calms me down and helps me focus. For thoughts and feelings that go beyond the 140 character limit, this is still the best medium to write in. Everything around me shuts down when the words flow from the heart through the fingers onto the screen. It's akin to what they call "being in the zone" when you are out playing the innings of a lifetime on the cricket field. The feeling of being engulfed with adrenaline, singular focus and the world slowing down to how fast you are zipping through the paces - there are few things in the world that beat this experience. </div>
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Sometimes all you need is a hard reset to get back to the basics... and start doing what you were best at. It was a refreshingly thorny happy-go-lucky, insightful straw that broke this sleepy camel's backbone. My hope and prayer is this lasts longer than the false dawns that have come in through the years.</div>
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Writing, the love of my life... here I come!</div>
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Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-63026490779616053992016-10-23T02:35:00.001-05:002016-10-23T02:35:16.969-05:00Life goes on.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In a shell<br />
Hearing a distant sounding bell<br />
That calls<br />
Asks me to come back to it<br />
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How did I get here?<br />
Life takes twists and turns a many<br />
Stops abrupt, ceases<br />
Comes back to bite us<br />
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Trials, never forget<br />
Tribulations, never stop learning<br />
little joys, relive<br />
People, never give up<br />
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An autumn morning<br />
A gentle breeze<br />
Bustling alleys<br />
Rustling trees<br />
A familiar tinkle of the bell..<br />
Feels like the one that brought me here..<br />
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I'm going, dear Mom.<br />
I'm going.,<br />
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To School.<br />
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Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-69457098512166276592015-03-12T23:04:00.004-05:002015-03-12T23:18:24.573-05:00Veteran<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few days ago I got the chance to listen to a brand new Tamil movie album by the young composer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamaad_Ghibran">Mohamaad Ghibran</a> - the OST of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttama_Villain">Uttama Villain</a>. Now I do not normally sit and listen to any new composer's songs without a recommendation (or two) so it was quite out of character for me to seek this one out on my own. Thinking of it, there is actually a method to my madness when choosing to listen to an album at length. I do a couple of tracks at a time, chew on them for sometime before going on to the next two and so on. The more I like an album, the more time taken to move on to other tracks. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFka87mb8mODoevyegbULjzAL-c8_oZ7YWkYNioOEJt3DSQdEcKUUZ6dI5XlSK7vZGiGjdyww3Dmim8hkPBzEpAw8rl0Gy0Jj8E9CuplTjBwE1sTPqutjfETyLvV8llFqCenjv3Rdwo94/s1600/love-and-music1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFka87mb8mODoevyegbULjzAL-c8_oZ7YWkYNioOEJt3DSQdEcKUUZ6dI5XlSK7vZGiGjdyww3Dmim8hkPBzEpAw8rl0Gy0Jj8E9CuplTjBwE1sTPqutjfETyLvV8llFqCenjv3Rdwo94/s1600/love-and-music1.jpg" height="265" width="320" /></a></div>
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As for my opinion of the soundtrack itself, I liked it A LOT. I am still stuck in the first two tracks and am a week into the album as of today. Without going into any technical details (which I suck at), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttama_Villain">Uttama Villain</a> made me write this relatively lengthy post to express myself. That is saying a lot given how less I have written in the past few years. Ghibran's sound took me back into the times when I was passionate about a lot of things in life that later fell off the horizon and gave way to less satisfying, more instant pastimes. How times change! Somehow I've lost a part of me yet gained another, somehow I consider myself to be in a better place today than ten years ago when life was much simpler.<br />
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Earlier this week I found myself scouring Amazon.com(not Asuvine stationers on T.P.Road) for fountain pens - that rare pleasure 90s kids got to experience during most of their schooling. There is something metaphysical about how good fresh fountain ink on paper makes me feel. It's going to set my wallet back by a lot more than how much dad paid in the 90s, but I can't wait to turn back the clocks on this one. <br />
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We <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time">sprung forward</a> this weekend, another one of those weird things we get to experience by living abroad. I've been through it for six long years now. Every year passes by and I cheat myself into thinking there's one more hour of sunlight. Every hour passes by and I cheat myself into thinking home is only but another spring away. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/bds-bachelor-of-dental-surgery/dentists-poem-by-ogden-nash/193146887392780">Ogden Nash</a> put it best; I'm stuck in a vicious circle.<br />
<br />
It is amazing what a moment of peace and good music can do. I remember the times when an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._R._Rahman">A.R. Rahman</a> album was some sort of a celebration, our ticket to paradise for at least a couple of days. Roja was a bolt out of nowhere, Indira a lost album we are still learning to appreciate. May Maadham was the rarest of the rare gems which rings in our ears to date. For some reason it reminds me of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPL_Group">BPL TV</a> and summer vacations in Madras, not that I'm complaining. Of late I find myself trying to understand the direction of the man's music, and its differently satisfying instant-coffee approach. I do not know if that's a good or bad thing, not as yet.<br />
<br />
Rahman visits our city in June this year for a concert. Predictably, I queued up and bought pre-sale tickets. Logic says he opts for the grandiose/contemporary over the simple/classic. The heart says do a damn throwback and give us veterans something to cheer about. All this gibberish and head scratching makes me think that I'm now where all Ilayaraaja fans were 25 years ago.... lost.<br />
<br />
As I yearn to re-live how good uplifting music made me feel, my search ends at Ghibran... for now.</div>
Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-50872266741805358042015-01-02T23:34:00.002-06:002015-01-02T23:34:45.136-06:00Pilot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Readers, I apologize for the prolonged absence from the blogosphere. It is my love for writing that has brought me back, albeit almost three long years later. A lot has changed in life - people, priorities, points of view. Today, we begin a fresh journey here.<br />
<br />
On to 2015.. and a brand new beginning.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-85363332161120884352012-03-10T23:12:00.003-06:002012-03-10T23:22:49.202-06:00Up above the wall, so high?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9kJWK0II-fDPyBjiVXsMKhEDAhzYt3LqNo-eFEJQvgPkHhm60WKB3IyLoO-Kqs7v5PFmleLpi4vLwlXa4pUSsAQdNddMDXUkV3Fk8F7aMK_COgFP5GWrLSHC45IjVx6zwLjmCoXd3BA/s1600/391121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9kJWK0II-fDPyBjiVXsMKhEDAhzYt3LqNo-eFEJQvgPkHhm60WKB3IyLoO-Kqs7v5PFmleLpi4vLwlXa4pUSsAQdNddMDXUkV3Fk8F7aMK_COgFP5GWrLSHC45IjVx6zwLjmCoXd3BA/s320/391121.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>For the past few months I have been experiencing what is famously known as the writer's block. Twice I have tried to begin writing on a subject only to be distracted by wandering thoughts and elementary fears (such as roaches). Great efforts had to be taken to coerce the mind into writing beyond just a couple of sentences - what with the world moving towards 140-character thoughts, meme-fications and viral campaigns.<br />
<br />
Beyond all the mundane rituals and emotions of daily life, over a while now a lot of my time has been spent following contemporary media. From going through resplendent photo archives of National Geographic to the disgusting lows of the Times of India to the creepy (erstwhile) News of the World, it has been quite a journey till date. With time I gained the thought that (like in any other aspect of life) it took the existence of bad to show who the good ones really are.<br />
<br />
A picture is worth a thousand words they say. The beauty of it is each one of us given a paper and pen to describe a picture, almost always ends up with a completely different set of thousand words. That is if ethics were followed and I didn't copy what you wrote. Most of us would know the feeling we get when reading something we wrote a decade back. How it takes just a simple variable called time to change our own thought!<br />
<br />
Most written/visual media and any other journalism is time-dependent on the stance it takes, the thoughts it presents (and ignores) and the inferences that it draws. There have been multiple instances over the past few years that I have set out to follow a writer or two, and found their perceptions of the same problem(or person) change as it(or they) betters/worsens. Some do turn out to be intelligent enough to veil this perceptional change with a layer of subtlety- most just write for a buck or two. Normally it takes not more than a couple of readings of the same writer's works to figure it out. Not many have that sort of time to follow specific writers when the world is busy raving about murderous rages and love anthems for non-existent world peace.<br />
<br />
In this random pastime of following a columnist's stream of thought over months(or years), there've also been Eureka moments when I've suddenly come to realize the brilliance of a person's work, and his/her unflinchingly steady viewpoints over extremely long periods of time. Such people, (rare that I came across) make great role models to look upto when trying to express yourself in words - day after day, year after year. A great writer does not alone make sense today, but forever. I have grown to fear a not so distant reality when more than lacking great writers, we would soon lack an audience discriminatory enough of good and bad, to play to. <br />
<br />
Writing, like any of the other arts - needs to come from the heart. More than a mere sermon of what lies in the author's mind, it must foist the reader with its reins and say - Lets go for a ride!<br />
<br />
I hope this took you on one. <br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-38302120660395371972011-09-23T00:36:00.006-05:002015-01-08T15:14:43.949-06:00Transcending meditation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuuVNBhf3JGNmI5y0eR_i65EjBbbF3tLdGSAw3BAHRG7cGDgw4WfK34FpVMT54yPYBfpljl-PrxBWtbD5IaK6r5tIHEL0TXAXKvXUt4uA2_F74VcxmdOq_FdxmLJLPBYPA6py9RumVEw/s1600/IMG_2166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuuVNBhf3JGNmI5y0eR_i65EjBbbF3tLdGSAw3BAHRG7cGDgw4WfK34FpVMT54yPYBfpljl-PrxBWtbD5IaK6r5tIHEL0TXAXKvXUt4uA2_F74VcxmdOq_FdxmLJLPBYPA6py9RumVEw/s320/IMG_2166.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the practices unique to India is the presence of what we now call the "moral police". A lot has been said in the Indian press about the "immature" policing of various issues. While the phrase itself may carry a negative connotation, an infant of the same when taught as "moral science" in our schooling systems somehow exudes positive energy. It probably has to do with the fact that children need to be supervised until they are a major(or later,in most of the cases), anyway. I vividly remember the days we used to have a session of Transcendental Meditation in our school assembly every morning, and had to pass "Moral Science" as a subject to move onto the next grade. A lot of us struggled to keep our eyes closed for those five minutes in assembly everyday. Most ended up shooting funny glances, or playing pen-games on the ground with their Hero's and Parkers- ultimately getting pulled up for disturbing the forced peace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is getting to be almost the end of summer in deep interior Texas, and the cool breeze now sets in well before the sun begins its journey back for the day. That means evening runs in the park do not anymore come with a free bout of dehydration, and the lake stops serving as a humidifier. The benches by the shore are hot no more- and with a couple of hours of rain behind us, we are actually having quite a bit of water in the lake to enjoy the waves. Fall is fast approaching- as is evident from the leaves beginning to have a characteristic rustle. The sun no more sets at a quarter to nine, it is more of a quarter to eight. The soccer and basketball fields fill up with people late afternoon only to empty out at eight after a couple of games and a lot of banter. Same goes for the nearby high school's football practice, as the coach loses his voice every evening to get his boys up to scratch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of minutes of attention. An empty mind with nothing to give and everything to take. A moment of transcendence. Meditation? Not sure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cellphone rang.</span></div>
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Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-16131008390902565692011-07-30T02:26:00.005-05:002011-07-30T02:57:07.160-05:00Birdie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtkmOwS8UfvFk1KSeOPAz8k_hQaoc8XmioQjonArX9SlBVl74xXW3BpqQutejExP5g-tgVBdWj0KeKxl6GuK-whItL9p2mqNcZ5wDdQRQT70JkQ7ccrzaF2cS_aYgTlNzSkyZGeCEmM0/s1600/IMG_7968%255B3%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtkmOwS8UfvFk1KSeOPAz8k_hQaoc8XmioQjonArX9SlBVl74xXW3BpqQutejExP5g-tgVBdWj0KeKxl6GuK-whItL9p2mqNcZ5wDdQRQT70JkQ7ccrzaF2cS_aYgTlNzSkyZGeCEmM0/s320/IMG_7968%255B3%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Birds are a beautiful creation of God, a wonderful phase of evolution(depends if you're a BJP/DMK supporter) They're said to be one of the primary inspirations for man to invent the flying contraption that we now spend most of our travel time in. For long Man has domesticated them, sometimes even using them for his leisure. From parrot-tarot, ostrich racing to the Quarter Dollar to the McDonalds burger- they are in almost all the frames of our lives. <br />
<br />
So why exactly, O dear birdie, do you choose my harmless little contraption sitting out in the sun to relieve yourself on? There might be a thousand monster trucks and 38 year old Cadillacs in the park, but amazingly you will always choose my vehicle to learn your version of body painting. World over, an avian flu disaster comes a distant second to how much of a trouble you crapping on vehicles is.<br />
<br />
While I have been thinking of this over the past month or so, my only real favourite TV show Top Gear chose to feature this on one of their programmes. How very convenient to escape reading the rest of my balderdash here.<br />
<a href="http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/bird-poo-2011-07-11">http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/bird-poo-2011-07-11</a><br />
<br />
On one of our family seaside trips, we happened to camp out by the beach for some lunch and lounging around. Needless to say the birds still tried enforcing the same fate on us as the cars. To my dismay the seagulls would not move an inch, however close I got to faking a hit with a polythene bag. A bunch of them got together and ended up making us finish a stone's worth of food in split minutes. (Don't ask me what a split minute is, split seconds just sounded too improbable there)<br />
<br />
When we could finally find a place to rest- away from the birds, a strong cold sea breeze caught our attention to a huge rock about a mile into the ocean. Size of a five storey building, it appeared like any other random landform- but for the tens and thousands of birds nestled on it. As many other such jaunts are called, it was The Bird Rock. After a few minutes of looking around a steady icy drizzle drove us back indoors and away from the ocean for the rest of the day. <br />
<br />
On the way back home we got discussing about wildlife in general, finally veering into those birds and how aggressive they were. I felt compelled to think that at some point in the distant past, they would have survived by living on land and never ever taken to the seas. Somewhere down the line they lost ground, quite literally.. before we gained control. Over the years, apart from the occasional bird attacks and droppings, they learnt to be content with a distant rock in the sea which no man can reach. Thus we peacefully coexist with our dear winged cousins, but for one niggle.<br />
<br />
I still have no explanation why most of them choose a vehicle that I own- to shower their bowels on, and not someone else's.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If you are reading this part of the post, it either means<br />
1. You never clicked on the TopGear link<br />
2. You thought this was going to be a funny article but got lost somewhere in the fifth or sixth paragraph.. and are now checking this portion out to see if I have a tone to the story. For which my answer is unfortunately no.<br />
3. You always read just the last few lines of my blog.<br />
4. You are a random(useless) Googler interested in half-baked political stories who searched for a BJP/DMK Alliance and landed up here.<br />
5. You love reading what I write.<br />
<br />
<br />
As I live in the improbable hope that most of you will choose 5, that will be it from me..for now.<br />
<br />
</div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-27809878576808612282011-05-08T13:13:00.011-05:002011-05-08T22:17:45.366-05:00Faces on Facebook<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LrsKe9tYJ2-GxAr0cArPNWIWeqhViMXscdFLgU6N30drL87ZzleygLaxXk2a0DPB-JcY8rJVmGEECiicRK_nTUKR6GyzTeakjiCM7xi0rNS_o5GqfjtOIXfmvW1a3gIMiHB3NZX7olM/s1600/facepalm_funny_slogan_bumper_sticker-p128183770902807177trl0_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LrsKe9tYJ2-GxAr0cArPNWIWeqhViMXscdFLgU6N30drL87ZzleygLaxXk2a0DPB-JcY8rJVmGEECiicRK_nTUKR6GyzTeakjiCM7xi0rNS_o5GqfjtOIXfmvW1a3gIMiHB3NZX7olM/s320/facepalm_funny_slogan_bumper_sticker-p128183770902807177trl0_400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This post is going to be very crisp and to the point. I am here to enumerate the various kinds of characters that Facebook unleashes within us and around(Although I would like to say "around" is a better option for me). This is just a funnier take on things in the big bad Social Network.. Here goes!<br />
<br />
1. <b>The Friend-er</b><br />
OCD towards adding a person as a friend when finding more than 2 friends in common. Also common are friend-races where two people race to having a certain number of friends. (Fake profiles included)<br />
<br />
2. <b>The Sport/Movie/Music maniacs</b><br />
At the drop of the whistle at Emirates stadium/Cowboys Stadium/Eden Gardens/Monza/Wimbledon/Staples Center, a flurry of updates discussing who is the God for the day. Includes Sachinists.<sachinmania.h> Ardent movie buffs posting one-line reviews/full length and spoilers thus ruining it for all on the list, lay in this category. Music maniacs too find themselves holed up here. (I was one, frankly).</sachinmania.h><br />
<br />
3. <b>PDA-ists</b><br />
Doesn't he love expressing how much emotional he was yesterday when his girlfriend left him for good/told him an OK/gave him a kiss?<br />
<br />
4. <b>Silku Stalkers</b><br />
Experts in finding out if a person's friend-circle has babes on a perfunctory look at the first 10 people in their list. Also find out new strangers to stalk every day. Stalking is a journey they say, not a destination. Characterized by unusually large number of random pics on their desktop.<superphotoofbabe.h></superphotoofbabe.h><br />
<br />
5. <b>Angry Young Man/Woman</b><br />
Is angry from the point he/she was born. Doctors took bribe to do caesarian to take him/her out; admission in KG school with 4000Rs. donation; why does Anna Hazare have thousand as his second name; why did Kalmadi spend on toilet tissues when he had only wet bathrooms? Anger, anger, anger. Also characteristic: status updates coinciding with major scam outings/fast unto death/natural calamities.<br />
<br />
6. <b>The Erudite Shutterbug</b><br />
Owns an SLR/DSLR. Suave looks, likely working/studying in US. Two-three photo updates a week. Strategy is to get maximum likes with minimally sensible photos(and lesser sensible captions). Shortly put, a bunch of wannabes.<br />
<br />
<br />
7. <b>The Linen washers</b><br />
Somebody forgot to tell them there are sites like Yahoo! Groups and Google Groups. Poor things.<br />
<br />
8. <b>Me, myself, mine</b><br />
They say the caption should speak for itself. (Except if it were from Category 6) Also includes self-advertising/advertising any group which they are part of.<br />
<br />
9. <b>Ping me not</b><br />
Perennially busy people. Characterized by taking offence when receiving a "Poke", and friend lists of 25 or less. Also characterized by response times of 5 days per message/poke.<br />
<br />
10. <b>Babes.</b><br />
Need I say more? Statistics say half of Facebook's activity centers around centers of attraction.<iambeautifulbutareyou.h></iambeautifulbutareyou.h><br />
<br />
11. <b>The Outcasts</b><br />
These people don't use Facebook or quit Facebook because of all the other (does not include number 10) categories. Widely considered the worst kind of screwballs by the whole world. Includes me.<me.h></me.h><br />
<br />
Appendix:<br />
<br />
12. <b>Check-in syndrome</b><br />
Need.to.check.in.to.toilet.<br />
(Thanks Rahul!)<br />
<br />
13. <b>Network maniacs</b><br />
Urban dudes who look for the best of all networks. Did you know your Yahoo account can link to Twitter, Twitter to FB, FB to Yahoo? They know it.<br />
(Thanks Rahul!)<br />
<br />
14. <b>Wikilinks</b><br />
They pride themselves in being the Wikipedia for all fun links. 5+ status changes per day. Typically 2 videos, 1 funny blog, 1 stolen tweet, 1 sport. Irritable at times, but they keep the world running.<br />
(Thanks Satish!)</div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-42363831307925214572011-03-17T22:17:00.003-05:002011-03-17T22:26:45.703-05:00On Cricinfo, again!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One of these days I was idling through some of the Cricinfo player profiles, and chanced upon Michael Atherton's page. Puzzled me how the guy hit just four sixes in almost an 8000 run Test career. However averse he would have been to six-hitting, could'nt he have gotten himself a top edge or a small ground to play in- here or there? I remember him playing in West Indies where he faced the likes of Walsh and Ambrose- but thought it would be a good idea to "Ask Steven" this out. So I asked, and turned up on Cricinfo yet again.<br />
<br />
So much for boasting about myself, but atleast I did something to boast of - probably a good result on the front page when one surfs for my name. So here goes the link:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/506181.html">http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/506181.html</a><br />
<br />
Hope everyone's enjoying watching the World Cup - Go India! (and England, for the superb cricket they play. And South Africa, for they deserve a cup this time atleast.)</div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-49722026474141574772011-03-03T21:29:00.001-06:002011-03-03T21:32:34.336-06:00Quksace agjke<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Guys and girls,<br />
<br />
Check out why Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University is making rapid strides towards being in the Top ten schools worldwide.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://echoes-of-the-silent-heart.blogspot.com/">http://echoes-of-the-silent-heart.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
Quksace agjke'ing is going to be the next big thing in the tech world. So what are you waiting for? Quksace agjke TODAY!</div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-54953192854350946092011-01-05T12:07:00.022-06:002012-03-17T14:21:04.754-05:00The College Station/Bryan Vegetarian guide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkN-Rcs_7J4wIWOz8P9sNmzSOgrv65lmLFFTB_1Nmtibu4CylIwb28Pi6hv-N_SYv33qHDod-Z1Gv53hUX0WlEBsye77KPdnS22BrgwMYwsj8ytp6hVKOQOGocA9GlhfMrYIRUftIo4fc/s1600/Texas-A-M-University-campus-in-College-Station_slide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkN-Rcs_7J4wIWOz8P9sNmzSOgrv65lmLFFTB_1Nmtibu4CylIwb28Pi6hv-N_SYv33qHDod-Z1Gv53hUX0WlEBsye77KPdnS22BrgwMYwsj8ytp6hVKOQOGocA9GlhfMrYIRUftIo4fc/s320/Texas-A-M-University-campus-in-College-Station_slide.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Chennai MC Veggie guide probably gave me the impetus to write this guide on Veggie(desi friendly) options in College Station/Bryan, TX - home to Texas A&M, around 1(or less)% by population of vegetarians and more. The statistics I expect for this post aren't great. CS-B has a population of 120,000 people, out of which I know maybe a 400. Out of the 400, maybe a 100 are vegetarians by birth, and a 50% of them have chosen to overstep the blood line. 50 unique hits doesn't look good, anyways let me get on with it.<br />
<br />
Real long list this- I've had some great contributions from readers writing in.. whoever said Veggies had no options here in the US? Eat your hat!<br />
<br />
1. <b><a href="http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/menu/menu.aspx">Chipotle</a>, </b>University Drive - Bol Burrito, strictly. Not here for its variety, but for the taste of its only Veggie offering.<br />
2. <a href="http://www.pitapitusa.com/main.php?page=9"><b>Pita Pit</b></a>,<b> University Drive/By HEB</b> - Great Pitas, lots of options!<br />
3.The usual Pizza places - <b>Papa Johns</b>(Monday!), <b>Pizza Hut</b>, <b>Dominos</b> (try the $4 lunch pizza!), <b>Cici's</b> (custom pizza buffet)<br />
4. <a href="http://www.bluebaker.com/"><b>Blue Baker</b></a>, Texas Avenue S - Great sandwiches. Superb pizza. A little costly.<br />
5. <b><a href="http://www.loscucos.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164&Itemid=376">Los Cucos</a>, </b>Texas Avenue S - Tex-Mex food. Most items made with meat, ask for no meat option. Still tastes great.<br />
6. <a href="http://www.goldencorral.net/menu/"><b>Golden Corral</b></a>, University Drive - Not too great, but given the humongous amount of dishes you could chance upon a few tasty Veggie items. Great dessert and ice cream.<br />
7. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/rosies-pho-college-station"><b>Rosie's Pho Noodle</b></a>, Texas Avenue S - Great noodle soup, milkshakes. Nice ambience. Quantity maybe a little more.<br />
8. <a href="http://www.frittellacafe.com/"><b>Frittella</b></a>, South College Avenue - Great Italian food, maybe a tad too cheesy for a few.<br />
9. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/taz-indian-cuisine-college-station"><b>Taz Indian Cuisine</b></a>, Texas Avenue S - Bad to decent level Indian food. On here just for the number of Veggie dishes it offers.<br />
10. <a href="http://freebirds.munchaway.com/"><b>Freebirds World Burrito</b></a>, University Drive/Near HEB/Near Cinemark - Great classic burrito, in manageable to unbelievable sizes.<br />
11. <a href="http://www.whichwich.com/menu"><b>Which Wich Sandwich</b></a>, Biochemistry Building, TAMU - Lots of Veggie sandwich options!<br />
12. <a href="http://www.schlotzskys.com/menu"><b>Schlotzsky's Deli</b></a> - A chain allright, but commendable Veggie options. Affordable too!<br />
13. <a href="http://www.pandaexpress.com/menu/"><b>Panda Express</b></a>, Texas Avenue S - Only one option, plain noodles with fried veggies. Go here if you don't mind absence of variety.<br />
14. <a href="http://www.aggielandmenus.info/?opt=11&rid=1"><b>Antonio's Pizza</b></a>, Northgate - For ones who love their pizza only the way they want it. The smoked mushrooms are quite a thing here.(some may not like it) And keep to one slice first, its BIG!<br />
15. <a href="http://www.potatoshack.biz/menu.php?store=NorthGate"><b>Potato Shack</b></a>, University Drive - For the ones who love their Veggie food, bland. And for those who love Potatoes.<br />
16. <a href="http://www.potbelly.com/Food/Menu.aspx"><b>Potbelly</b></a>, University Drive - If Capone threatened me at gunpoint to choose Subway over this, I would still choose Potbelly.<br />
17. <a href="http://www.theplaceforitalian.com/"><b>Caffe Capri</b></a>, Church Ave, Bryan - Decent Italian fare!<br />
18. Cafe Eccell, Church Ave, College Station - Decent but a little costly Italian food. Winery attached.<br />
19. <a href="http://www.olivegarden.com/">Olive Garden</a>, University Drive/Tx 6 Frontage Road- America's favourite Italian restaurant. I don't see a reason why it shouldn't be. (except that I personally prefer Carino's to this). Tasty food, superb ambience, always busy - be prepared to wait LONG.<br />
<br />
McD, Subway, Taco B(H)ell have not been included. They are way too banal.<br />
<br />
As always, suggestions are always welcome! Let me know if you feel any other place in BCS is great for vegetarians :) Shall be added!<br />
<br />
Michelle says :<br />
<a href="http://www.peiwei.com/Locations/Locations.aspx?state="><b>Pei Wei</b></a> (University Drive) and <a href="http://www.jasonsdeli.com/restaurants/search?country=us&distance=25&unit=mile&postal_code=77840"><b>Jason's Deli</b></a> (Tx Av S) are fairly vegan friendly--<b>Pei Wei</b> has awesome tofu and veggies that you can get on any of the vegetarian choices. You could make amazing vegan salad at <b>Jason's</b> salad bar. <br />
<br />
Balaji writes in to recommend:<br />
<b>Genghis Grill</b>, <b>Fat Burger</b>(University Drive)<b>, Quiznos Sub, Aggie Cafe's </b>Pasta.<br />
<br />
Rahul Rangarajan at it as usual:<br />
<b>Gumby's Pizza</b>, Texas Avenue S - They have amazing pizza sandwiches, <b> </b><br />
<b>Shiraz Shish Kabob</b>, Texas Avenue S - They have a falafel wrap, falafel with pita and rice, and you get a brilliant yogurt drink that is similar to neer more(Indian buttermilk).<br />
<b>Jimmy John's</b> - University Drive/Near HEB - Good if you like cold sandwiches!<br />
<br />
Zalak writes in:<br />
<b>On the Border</b> Mexican Cafe, Texas Avenue S - Decent Mexican fare<br />
<b>Burger King - </b>Lovely vegetarian burger!<br />
<br />
Swathika suggests:<br />
<b>Abuelo's</b> - good Tex-Mex.. go after 3 or 9 for happy hour!<br />
<b>Carino's</b> - good Italian cuisine, baked mushrooms a must try! Also try the skilletini - they do it w/o chicken on request.<br />
<b>La Bodega</b>, Northgate - This has a mango rice item, which is pretty good.<br />
<b>Luigi's</b> - impressive Italian cuisine, this is off TX 6.<br />
<br />
Mahadevan brings up two popular Asian restaurants:<br />
<b>Jin's Asian Cafe</b>, Nagle St. by University - Good variety for vegetarians, frequent jaunt for desis.<br />
<b>Vietnamese Taste</b>, College Main - Appearances are deceptive! This is truly tasty Asian cuisine.<br />
<br />
Lakshminarasimhan writes in to recommend:<br />
<b><a href="http://www.firehousesubs.com/OurMenu.aspx?MenuID=8">Firehouse Subs</a></b>, Texas Avenue S<br />
<br />
Shraddha suggests two places in the Northgate area:<br />
<b>Burger Boy - </b>decent burgers, Veggie options.<br />
<b>Happy Yogurt - </b>more of a dessert place, where everything will be Veggie by default.<br />
<br />
Manjeet recommends <b>Spoons Yogurt</b> on TX Avenue S - and goes on to say it's the best frozen yogurt place in town. They even have non-fat, and no sugar added yogurts for all you health conscious people! He also recommends <b>Red Mango</b> on Brentwood by the Lofts for dessert. Now <b>Jamba Juice</b>, University Drive and <b>Coldstone</b> on TX Avenue S naturally follow for dessert suggestions.<br />
<br />
A person who goes by the initials M.R., writes in to recommend Pho John's Vietnamese restaurant on Texas Avenue. It gives good competition to all the veggie fare across the street in Rosie's Pho Noodle.<br />
<br />
Manasa recommends <b>my house </b>for food! Must admit I am honored by that comment- but providing food for the world, erm I'm a bit poor to do that :)</div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-13204158131793460482010-12-22T15:42:00.057-06:002011-03-10T13:15:45.907-06:00World Cup 2011 Travel: The Chennai Vegetarian Food Guide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mCowhsfBAmKOD8DQL2tJUkyA7PpR5CF2-FnKhfcQHZ6Vkehn7b-Kv411Uy-z0jSecp32u47cxnOZqk6KhBs9GyxPI3gZWhqUAKNaILFSWIjZzsWMJfAQONMWxMtK1nI96BNGza0vCdE/s1600/draft_lens5913762module46398042photo_1_1247748648chennai_meseum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mCowhsfBAmKOD8DQL2tJUkyA7PpR5CF2-FnKhfcQHZ6Vkehn7b-Kv411Uy-z0jSecp32u47cxnOZqk6KhBs9GyxPI3gZWhqUAKNaILFSWIjZzsWMJfAQONMWxMtK1nI96BNGza0vCdE/s320/draft_lens5913762module46398042photo_1_1247748648chennai_meseum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So being a Chennaiite, this is the obligatory post to pay homage to all the "Madharasi"ness that makes us who we are. In no particular order, these are the places where a lower middle class vegetarian with a moderately acceptable spicyness index and who generously eats spoonfuls of Equal sweetener(and Lactogen) would love to dine at. Any treats to be given to me when I am back in Chennai can gladly be organized at the following locations.(For which I will not pay a single rupee, obviously)<br />
<br />
-<b>Murugan Idly Shop</b>, T Nagar/BNB.<br />
-<b>The Dhaba</b>, RK Salai. (A little costly!)<br />
-<b>Saravana Bhavan</b>, Vadapalani.<br />
-<b>Kaiyendhi Bhavan</b>, Brilliant Tutorials, T Nagar.<br />
-<b>Mathsya</b>, Egmore.<br />
-<b>Palmgrove</b>, Nungambakkam.<br />
-<b>Sangeetha</b>, 1st Main Rd., Adyar. <br />
-<b>The Eden</b>, Besant Nagar.<br />
-<b>Hot Chips</b>, Pondy Bazar.<br />
-<b>Bajji Kadai</b> next to Adyar Bakery, Adyar.<br />
-<b>Rathna Cafe</b>, Pondy Bazar.<br />
-<b>Woodlands</b>, RK Salai.<br />
-<b>Gangotree</b>, Cathedral Road.<br />
-<b>Sri Bombay Halwa House</b>, Anna Salai.<br />
<br />
Any more?<br />
<br />
Suggestions I've got:<br />
<br />
<b>-Cozee</b>, Besant Nagar.. <br />
<b>-The Eden</b>, The Harrisons, Nungambakkam.. Courtesy: NJ Karthik<br />
<b>-Mathura</b>, Tarapore Towers (How the heck did I miss this?? forgot its name!).. Courtesy: NJ Karthik<br />
<b>-Barbeque Nation</b>, T Nagar, <b>Don Pepe</b>'s Mexican food.. Courtesy: Rahul Rangarajan(<b>Don Pepe</b> reviews are BAD!)<br />
<b>-Bakyas</b> - Jaishankar St./Station Rd., West Mambalam.. Courtesy: Balaji Kothandaraman<br />
<b>-Cream Centre</b>, Nungambakkam.. Courtesy: Divya Murali <a href="http://www.creamcentre.com/">http://www.creamcentre.com/</a><br />
<b>-The Grand Sweets</b>, Gandhinagar.. Courtesy: Mom<br />
<b>-Sanjeevanam</b>, Mogappair/Nungambakkam/Adyar.. Courtesy: Santhosh Rathnam (Apparently a health oriented restaurant)<br />
<b>-Cream Centre</b>, RA Puram is apparently one of the best restaurants Nithin Bharadwaj has gone to. He tweets <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/nithinvb">here.</a><br />
<b>-Vasanta Bhavan</b>, <b>Indian Chat Corner</b>(Besant Nagar) Courtesy: Vidya (I like the VB-Namma Veedu restaurant)<br />
<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&gl=us&g=84216%2C+Near+India+Silk+House%2C+Anna+Salai%2C+Anna+Road+Ho%2C+Chennai%2C+Chennai%2C+Tamil+Nadu%2C+India&q=iD+sathyam+cinemas&btnG=Search+Maps"><b>-iD</b></a> @Sathyam Cinemas, <b>Annalakshmi</b>(damn missed this), <b>Flower Drum</b>(exclusive Veg. Chinese), <b>Bay Leaf</b> (Veg. Bengali), <b>Ashoka</b>, <b>National Lodge</b>, <b>Shree Mithai</b>.. Courtesy: Harish Anand. He tweets <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/TheSharck">here.</a><br />
Mukundh Bala reckons the <b>Jalebi shop</b> opposite the bike exit of Devi Theatres is damn good for light snacks.<br />
<b>-Rajdhaani</b>, Express Avenue.. Courtesy: Aishwarya, Pavithra<br />
<b>-Rangoli</b>, Pondy Bazaar.. Courtesy: Aishwarya, Pavithra<br />
<b>-Crimson Chakra</b>, <b>Karpagambal Mess</b>(Mylapore).. Courtesy: Aishwarya (see comments below)<br />
-Harish Anand says the <b><a href="http://www.nalasindia.com/home">Nalas Aappakadai</a></b> (OMR, Annanagar, Velachery) people take orders via wi-fi on an iPod app! Technology I say. The food's good, importantly, for the MC Veggie. (also has an NV section though)<br />
-Divya Murali recommends <b>Mansukh's</b> at T Nagar for authentic "light on the purse" North Indian food, and <b>Vaishnavi Chat Shop</b> in Kilpauk!<br />
<b>-Pasta Bar Veneto</b> at Burkit Road is a favourite Italian food jaunt for school treats, says Ashwin Kumar.<br />
-Preeti recommends <b>Copper Chimney's</b> (Cathedral Road) Veggie menu.(old favorite) Might be on the higher side, though. <br />
-Sriram recommends one of Vadapalani's local favourites - <b>Town Bus</b> by Kodambakkam Powerhouse on Arcot Road. Have they painted the bus back as yet? <br />
-Sreevatsan recommends <b>Karthik Tiffin Center</b> @ Anna Nagar and <b>OSB-The Chaat Shop</b> at West Mambalam for economy dining... And <b>Kwality Rivera</b>, Adyar for great food!<br />
-Rahul Rangarajan is back with his trademark reco's -<b> a roadside Pani Puri stall</b> at the intersection of 15th and 16th main in Annanagar.<br />
-Mukundhan Rangarajan(or MB) asks with outrage why <b>Madras Bhel Puri</b> in Pondy Bazar near Gopalakrishna Rd. was left out of this list. He rightfully also asks us to mention his home on this list. Yes, MB- some of the most tasty food I have had is at your place. :)<br />
-Srividya recommends the<b> Margazhi Music festival canteens</b> at all Sabhas.. (best being<b> Gnanambika at Narada Gana Sabha</b>-agreed upon by Sunanda Narayan and Harish Anand!). She also recommends <b>Novelty Tea Shop</b> on Mint Street.(oft overlooked area for eateries, some of the best are here!)<br />
-Santhosh Rathnam is back with a new reco.. <b>Little Italy!</b><br />
-Pavithra is back too.. <b>Mothers Kitchen</b> at Nanganallur she says!<br />
<br />
<b>Update</b>: The <b>Kaiyendhi Bhavan</b> seems to be no more as Santhosh Rathnam puts it. Sad.<br />
Also, <b>BBQ Nation</b>'s veggie options aren't that impressive. But worth a shot?<br />
Aishwarya is coming up with a review of <b>Tandoori Tadkka</b> soon. You can find it at the Slurp Spots blog.<br />
<br />
Unsurprisingly, most of the City's best Sambars(acc. to Harish Anand) seem to come from among these restaurants. Check them out <a href="http://thesharck.blogspot.com/2009/10/sambar-trail-discovering-chennais-five.html">here. </a>. <br />
(The chap reviews restaurants bigtime, btw!)<br />
My friend's recommendations and reviews on vegetarian eateries in Chennai. <a href="http://slurpspotsreview.blogspot.com/"><b>http://slurpspotsreview.blogspot.com/</b></a> If you need to analyse more before you choose ;)<br />
<br />
P.S. I forgot to include the best place of them all, <b>Home</b>! <br />
<br />
Follow me on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/sreenathj">http://twitter.com/sreenathj</a></div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-57142698043962401142010-12-22T15:22:00.000-06:002010-12-22T15:22:55.537-06:00December.28 degrees Celsius on Winter Solstice is not really what you look for in a typical lead up to winter. In keeping with the hot weather, if you wish to follow what nonsense I think of on an everyday basis, follow me on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/sreenathj">http://twitter.com/sreenathj</a><br />
<br />
Yes.. for once I did not include natural phenomena, unlimited underscores, or sms language on the ID.<br />
<br />
See you there.Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-57163078981048936252010-11-30T19:27:00.001-06:002010-11-30T19:28:40.224-06:00A song I've been hooked to, todayNoor-un-ala from Meenaxi it is! Wonderful Sufi composition from A.R.R. Let me not hold you longer- go ahead and listen/watch it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZqEKyZMook">Noor un ala - Meenaxi - A.R.R</a>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-78185558864804874812010-11-12T12:20:00.004-06:002010-11-12T21:25:47.480-06:00Skymall - half the world's pat(i)ented stuff is hereUPDATE: Check out these links for other(better actually) funny Skymall experiences:<br />
<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38172193/ns/technology_and_science/">7 useless Skymall pool gadgets</a><br />
<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBwQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cracked.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-7-most-useless-skymall-products-reviewed-accordingly%2F&rct=j&q=7%20skymall&ei=iQPeTM-1K4qjnwear5H6Dw&usg=AFQjCNHfx1wjBSzM8OReGjqEJ98pEbzGGA&sig2=kFS7vVMv8SQejJu2C1kxwQ&cad=rja">7 most useless Skymall Products</a><br />
<br />
If you have flown the domestic routes in the US, you would know what I am talking about. Otherwise, here's a quick look, <a href="http://www.skymall.com/">http://www.skymall.com/</a> . Make sure you come back and read what I have to say. A beaten-to-death, pointless, if-you-have-nothing-else-to-read reduce-your-savings-to-minuses magazine which sits on the back of the seat in front - that's Skymall for you. Ever looked through the products it advertises? For people who've not had the chance to see this wonderful, eclectic display of the best of the best of the most useless patents in the world, here's a small sample.<br />
<br />
Automatic sleep sound generator (phew,so does this snore?)<br />
Stainless steel purse (pain in the arse, literally)<br />
Pet residence bed wid bone pillow (okay...)<br />
Double sided toothbrush which reduces brush time by 66pc. (Industrial Engineer stuff??;))<br />
Low voltage electric blanket (Seems Vijaykanth uses the high voltage variety)<br />
Video recording sunglasses (no nasty ideas, people)<br />
Mens towel with a pocket (I desperately need my purse when I leave the shower... immediately!)<br />
The million germ sanitizing travel toothbrush sanitizer (So other brands sanitize only 423967 of them?)<br />
The precise portion pet feeder (my pet's going to die if it eats 0.01g more)<br />
The warming cat bed (what am I warming the house for then?)<br />
The digital swim camera mask (what is your target market,btw?)<br />
Remote controlled tarantula (why would I get one for a 100 bucks when I can buy a real one for less?)<br />
The headache relieving wrap (retro-Home Shopping Network)<br />
The 40inch foldable foto studio (ingenious,buddy)<br />
The voice activated r2d2 .. (this was a beauty)<br />
The water squirting remote controlled car (again, target market?)<br />
Shrub guards (these actually cover all the shrubs, and looks like a shrub itself.. who'd buy this is a question)<br />
Pet crib which acts like a teapoy (wouldn't want my tea spilt if the pet shakes it)<br />
An instant bedroom fire escape ladder (also useful for the occasional cheating on the wife/husband)<br />
Cat potty trainer (seriously guys?)<br />
Some more...<br />
Movable restroom for pets..<br />
Feng shui handheld suggestion compass..<br />
Foldable slippers (Hilarious to look at! If ever you get a chance, check this out) <br />
<br />
Feel free to add on to this list. Lets celebrate the freedom of useless patenting.Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-87227414274117208522010-11-08T23:15:00.000-06:002010-11-08T23:15:01.547-06:00Rockarolla into the Windee City!Had a great flight from Cleveland to Chicago enroute to good ol' Cal! The flight attendant, Linda kept us in splits all the time though the duration hardly kissed an hour. The most entertaining crew member i've come across, hands down!<br />
Some quips :<br />
-If the plane lands in water, please pull out your lifejacket underneath your seats, if that doesn't work, pull the cushion and hold onto it. If that doesn't work, thanks for flying southwest airlines.<br />
-Ladies and gentlemen we've landed in Chicago. I now tell you what my parents told me when I turned 18. Take your beep beep bags and get out.<br />
-I hope you enjoyed flying southwest. We loved taking you for a ride too.<br />
-Every year southwest nominates the best of the 1800 odd bla bla bla crew which flies between Cleveland and Chicago for the blehehehe award. We have successfully managed to avoid getting that for decades now. So if you need something go ask the pilot... we wouldn't care anyways.<br />
-Please don't hesitate to get up and use the restroom for the interim 2 mins between takeoff and landing. Also I request you do us a favor and clean the lavatories if you ever use them aboard this flight.<br />
-Southwest appreciates your business of making us richer by how much you're poorer flying us ;)<br />
<br />
<br />
I was sitting at the very end of the aircraft but the flight attendant had us in splits all along. One of the best flights I've flown on- also one of the shortest. Short is sweet, I say.Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-74026775152730918892010-11-01T15:20:00.002-05:002010-11-12T12:37:46.090-06:00Birth and death of Social Networks, w.r.t. Poor.Indian.Grad.Stud<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bpTpUXsaBUkpcfZmchE_cMpTfDBOLPebLxhGIuQPVKDCCRmP-4dAVPb8PKRyQNcJilSvcYqGsn7jqHmjLMUrKacZxIRuHvP1b_tpQRrvA7hsZ5oO-_NsIT-jEM4K3EF5bMnpnWetQ1I/s1600/fb+v+orkut1.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534680554480493442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bpTpUXsaBUkpcfZmchE_cMpTfDBOLPebLxhGIuQPVKDCCRmP-4dAVPb8PKRyQNcJilSvcYqGsn7jqHmjLMUrKacZxIRuHvP1b_tpQRrvA7hsZ5oO-_NsIT-jEM4K3EF5bMnpnWetQ1I/s400/fb+v+orkut1.JPG" style="display: block; height: 311px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div>Much has been made about Orkut's waning star and Facebook's meteoric rise. How would it look like in the perspective of a desi-phoren-studying Grad's life? Circa Fall 2008(US Version). May apply to certain previous/after batches or other countries too.*</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>*Does not include twitter</div><div><br />
</div><div>%^& Maybe some references/styles borrowed from krishashok's blog. The idea of a graph..well that has been done too. I don't claim any originality for this except for the drawing and concept part ;)</div>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-5810658978743842472010-05-14T20:45:00.000-05:002010-05-14T21:04:37.613-05:00Today!I know I will think how amateurish this post will look while scrolling back down my old posts say, a few years from now. It is as momentary as <a href="http://www.espnstar.com/opinion/columnists/column/item61774/">Boria Majumdar's</a> repartees on Indian cricket's failures., as childish as that beaten-to-death parrot Laxman Sivaramakrishnan., as stupid as Warney's "Oh Yusuf is the next Bradman" quips.<br /><br />But this is what's inspired me today- <a href="http://cricket-online.tv/australia-vs-pakistan-2nd-semi-final-t20-world-cup/">Michael Hussey and that blinder he played</a> to take Australia into the World T20 Final against England. It reeked of sheer power, grit and determination. Borrowing from Cricinfo's quote on "Being Australian" or "Australianism"., here goes:<br /><br />""Australianism," wrote Arlott, "means single-minded determination to win - to win within the laws but, if necessary, to the last limit within them. It means where the 'impossible' is within the realm of what the human body can do, there are Australians who believe that they can do it - and who have succeeded often enough to make us wonder if anything is impossible to them. It means they have never lost a match - particularly a Test match - until the last run is scored or their last wicket down."<br /><br />Absolutely true on the cricketing field., and true even more, off it. Stand up and be counted, people- "impossible" may have just been chucked outta the dictionary.Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-47138499858922196822010-05-07T23:41:00.000-05:002010-05-08T00:08:34.695-05:00Managed to get onto Cricinfo!Between taking breaks to study for a final exam, I managed to get a comment onto Cricinfo's public commentary section. Might be too small a thing to brag about, but its a success for a person who is hooked onto the site about 75% of the time he is even accessing the net.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cricinfo.com/world-twenty20-2010/engine/current/match/412692.html?innings=1;view=commentary">http://www.cricinfo.com/world-twenty20-2010/engine/current/match/412692.html?innings=1;view=commentary</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Look for the Sri Lankan innings commentary - roundabout the 18th over :) Atleast something to feel nice about during death week.Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-24124804639301612812010-04-30T00:39:00.001-05:002010-11-02T18:56:58.703-05:00Quest(ion)?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga99R0DHk1mA1qkcltUWuqA2gNnzs-pCJ13wjoTXOcHuSlPHT_bspC5NhiYqhYMJ1IDqj-AgtOxPXuW5ZBU49d17V2_CHZ9rU5ASXQxioWrTM_gjNg2k8KMdqbAtq2FHoX_fyDGEZVuIo/s1600/3398180359_a612e1dcf6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465809462902080066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga99R0DHk1mA1qkcltUWuqA2gNnzs-pCJ13wjoTXOcHuSlPHT_bspC5NhiYqhYMJ1IDqj-AgtOxPXuW5ZBU49d17V2_CHZ9rU5ASXQxioWrTM_gjNg2k8KMdqbAtq2FHoX_fyDGEZVuIo/s320/3398180359_a612e1dcf6.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
As the Chevy Malibu whizzed past blurry scenes of pastures, meadows and water-bodies, time appeared to stop a bit- and rewind upon itself. The sky went a dull blue from the melange of colors that it was., the pines turned into teak and eucalyptus, the road from flawless tar to a random mass of fine gravel. The Chevy turned into a bus and my uncle and aunt into its driver and conductor. The only constant appeared to me, although hardly half the size of what I was barely a few seconds back.<br />
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Passing scents of ripe jackfruit and mountain flowers overcame the diesel smoke. The air was getting thinner and we were climbing uphill, which meant every corner in the road only made life tougher for, what now- were perennially blocked ears. Nevertheless the joy of visiting a hill station knows no bounds for an Indian kid from a hot city.<br />
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Hillstations represent most of what all Indian kids would want to embellish their summer vacations with- except for say theme parks. For the average urbaner who's just seen billowing smoke from vehicles and a stack of matchboxes for houses, the higher altitudes bring in the much needed romantic respite. The laidback lifestyle and wonderful climate soothes the mind and sets it thinking differently about the things in life you thought were pretty straightforward.<br />
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It was no different for me, on this trip. Nurseries, milk farms, cashewnut and coffee plantations, a blanket of mist, the roadside tea shop, the "monkey"cap-clad people, houses with dangerously sloping roofs, a fresh vegetable market.. absolutely everything about the things surrounding me felt beautiful. The bus was now a warm cozy bed compared to the dingy storeroom it looked like before. All around me appeared very simple, down to earth, lovable, one-dimensioned. People grew trees, crops, hens,etc. sold them to get food, or had a small shop of their own products, or were just random nomads quizzically staring at sophisticated people touring their place.<br />
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I was sucked back into the warp., and my eyes read a beautiful Californian countryside from the confines of the Malibu. The car sped by a farmer weeding a vegetable field. Chickens ran around the field and the mistress sat outside the farmhouse sewing a sweater.. Not very different from what my eyes saw ten years ago.<br />
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Somewhere in the quest for a better life,I guess man won...but mankind lost.Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413003557808494721.post-35251474927623133362009-09-10T17:08:00.000-05:002009-09-10T17:47:55.876-05:00Just one more!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlo9LGc9rKl9j_Gjf0qY1eG6fY-bKJG0ZWGaxJG4OpZpN2khhlFPElodL-BNuJ0FPN4pFZgIUMnVsdKT3L0vtDI3ZdbEms-HYu0D8SuWfu03txK8INfQIbX6ZkXmBOZr2yrOL9YeMEkY/s1600-h/extra_mile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlo9LGc9rKl9j_Gjf0qY1eG6fY-bKJG0ZWGaxJG4OpZpN2khhlFPElodL-BNuJ0FPN4pFZgIUMnVsdKT3L0vtDI3ZdbEms-HYu0D8SuWfu03txK8INfQIbX6ZkXmBOZr2yrOL9YeMEkY/s320/extra_mile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379973414291819378" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Most of the blog entries in this page seem to be alluding to the past, or keeping it as a reference to current and future happenings. I am not sure if that is the way I think, write or wish the blog to be. ( However one-dimensional my thinking may seem, it's my blog, so there's no other go but for you to read it. Follow that up with a "smiling" smiley! ) It sure does make a lot of sense to me, to learn from mistakes and keep on improving. Yet again, this little scribbling would also allude to a minute reference from the past, to put my idea across.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I am sure every one of us would have had to listen to our headmasters and teachers lecturing on discipline, way back in school. It would be easy to guess how many of those lectures during the daily morning prayer/general school assemblies we would have paid attention to, and how many of those we would remember till date. Sometimes I feel sad when I realise how much efforts they take to direct us onto the right path, and how passive we are in our response. It could be the age where we couldn't concentrate on lectures, it also could be that we feigned hearing to them. But over the past few days I got to know the extent to which it could help a person , if he had paid attention to as small as one statement in a teacher's peptalk.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Whatever you do, keep telling that you can push yourself more- and go the extra mile. Be it an exam where you don't know all the answers. Be it in sport where you are leading the pack. Be it at the track where you run for 20 minutes- run the extra minute. Be it in doing good for people- you can always do more. Be it when faced with repeated failures- do not give up, you never know if your next try could lead you to success! Be it in life, where you need to keep bettering yourself. Be it when you face death- by choosing to push yourself to live that extra second."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I remember the headmistress speaking these words at one of those peptalks that my school organised before our 12th Standard examinations. Frankly speaking, I was never a fan of hers- but chose to keep these words in mind, and live by them. There's been many a time when I've thought I should stop writing- for want of time and concentration, but every time that happens I've promised myself to write just one more.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">By the looks of it, this shall keep happening all my lifetime.</span>Sreenathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11759989841820771656noreply@blogger.com4