mas(s) turb(o) a(c)tion

The other day, I saw a brand new Deep Sapphire Blue Honda Jazz. Inside sitting was a fat-bald-guy (I almost imagined myself on the driving seat).

Hands clamped to the steering wheel, chubby cheeks pulled back, jaws clenched, double chin almost hidden in shirt collar, eyes wide open - very focused on road, driving @ little under 10 km/hr. He came and stopped his car near me.

Beautiful car, wide tyres almost like a sports car, alloy wheels look-alike wheel caps. Interiors gave a feeling that the fat-bald-guy is sitting behind controls of a MIG 29.

Pictured a 16-17 year old guy looking up and imagining of !@#$%^&# J-Lo while actually, what he was doing was...

More Arjun...

Arjun - over the years

Jazz up the life

Saw her the other day and realised that her eyes are quite big. Nice beautiful eyes. Still she has chinki features.

Thats weird, that means you need not have small eyes to look like a chinki. I always thought 'eyes' is the defining factor.

In spite of the features, I still like her. Might buy a Honda Jazz someday. Lets see.

Toyota Fortuner Review

Saw two Toyota Fortuners today. Never thought there would be a car from Toyota stable which I wont like but this one is surely one of them.

Very bulky and looks like Tata Safari (which is another one I dont like), backlight arrangement is very similar to a X5. Its very curvilinear almost is as tall as it is broad. This somehow does not fit the SUV image in my head. I think SUV should be broad and flatter in looks, that gives it a mean look. More like a wide jawed Arnold Terminator look.

Now I hear this Fortuner has a 3 litre twin-turbo deisel which packs power of 171 horses and all time 4WD. Am sure toyota would have done a good job there. And I am sure its a very nice car. However, I will not buy it.

The SUVs I like Range Rover, Audi Q7, Volvo SUV which I saw today, not sure the name.

Confessions of a grocery shopper !!!

Surati Kolum, Surati Kolum, Surati Kolum, !!!

Nahi bhaiya - nahi aap aaise mat kaho

Kahan hai yaar - Surati Kolum?

Bas mat kaho aaise, woh aachha hai.

Doobraaj, Surabhi Kolum, HMT Kolum, Kolum Economy, fir Doobraj.

Nahi, haan uske pass itne paise nahi hain, par aaisi halat koi kharaab nahi hai. usko main ghar leke gayi hoon, sab se milwaya hai. ghar pe sab ko woh pasand hai.

Boss, yeh surati kolum kahan rakha hai...
Thanks boss. Next is pickles. Aachaar kahan rakha hai?

Haan woh chota hai thora mujhse, par main usse bahut pyaar karti hoon, aur woh bhi. Haan, hum dono ek doosre ko bahut pasand karte hain.

Pickles kahan rakha hai.
Wahan last me.
Thanks.

Nahi, aur mere commitment ka kya? Nahi maine waada kiya hai usse ki main usi se shaadi karoongi, main apne commitment se peeche nahi hatoongi. Bas.

Got the pickles, aam ka, niboo ka, mirchi... aam is ok, lets take aam. Done.

Now only milk. good. Ah and a few happydents.

Honda act

Probably the no 1 is not all that secure now. And so, is trying things in the market to challenge rather than to lead.

Toyota has launched a Corolla Altis sports model.

Movie review - Love Aajkal

Watching this movie called Love Aajkal.

In the first 10 mins it goes from atrociousness to ridiculousness. In the next 5 mins, it keeps swaying back and forth. Post that the movie is good.

I didnt dislike it. I didnt see it.

Diwali

There was a time in my life when I used to dance to very loud music till midnight and then start bursting crackers till 4 AM in morning.
There was a time in my life when I used to burst the loudest bombs infront of houses of people who used to tell me they have problems with loud noise or that there are old people in the house who would like to sleep.

Obviously, things have changed now as I didnt enjoy someone bursting crackers at 10.30 PM when Arjun was asleep.

Is it possible to be balanced without swaying too much on any one side. Still thinking.

Happy Diwali everyone.

Open – the magazine

Reading Open for the first time. I am really impressed with this magazine. This is why -

Stories in narrative form, no unnecessary graphs, tables. The main thing, stories are not very long like a India Today or Outlook where the articles/stories run to 7-8 pages. The longest article in this magazine is 3 pages which is a good length.

Editorial is another relief. It has been some time since I read an editorial which had an opinion. Be it times of India or any other magazine, editorials are either just an introduction of what’s inside or some 500 word article, which conveys nothing. After reading it, you don’t know anything more than you already knew about the topic, does not bring any value to the table.

I think Open in that way is quite decent. Am liking it. Got a 1 yr subscription. I recommend it.

The art of politics

Saw on TV Karan Johar has apologised to Raj Thakrey for using 'Bombay' some 12 times in his film "Wake-up Sid". Raj Thakrey was angry that he has not used 'Mumbai'.

Was wondering whether "Bollywood" should now be called "Mollywood". :-)

What are you upto???

Arjun - Are you in a meeting?
Me - No
Arjun - No, what are you doing then?
Me - I am working.
Arjun - I have to ask you a very important question.
Me - Ok???
Arjun - What do you do but?
Me - What do you mean?
Arjun - I mean, what do you do in office? Your work?
Me - I ...... am a project manager.
Arjun - Ok. What does that mean?
Me - I will come home and explain.
Arjun - Ok, so are you coming home in 10 mins?
Me - No Arjun, I will be home in the evening. Ok, bye now.
Arjun - ok, bye but Pyash wait, I have to ask you something...
Me - Ok, whats that?
Arjun - What are you upto Pyash?
Me - :(, will explain once am back mate. I will have to hang up now, have to rush to a meeting.
Arjun - Ok, I will see you in the evening, bye now.
HANGS THE PHONE
Me - Bye...

Work vs TV

Watching Man vs Wild on Discovery. Sounds like a name of a rec :-)

Troy

Am watching Troy for the nth time. It is an amazing movie. A movie made on Homer's Iliad (poem), this is the poem which gave the phrase "Trojan Horse".

Let them say, I walked with Giants.
Let them say, I lived in the time of Hector - tamer of horses.
Let them say, I lived in the time of Achilles.

Green, blue and red

A year has passed since Green died. Some of it froze and became blue. Some of it blushed and became red.

Anna and Vijay

Watching an idiotic movie of Julia Roberts. Her name in the movie is Anna. I remember her name was Anna even in Notting Hill.

Was reminded of Amitabh Bachchhan and his name Vijay in so many movies. The only difference is that I still like watching Julia Roberts'n movies, at least some of them.

Golf

A few of my friends play and like Golf. I have never played this game - but am sure it would be fun. I still dont see any special skill in the game.

Am watching amateur golf on ESPN. All the players are wearing bermudas. Its almost like saying that you wear shorts when you are amateur and then when you graduate and become professionals, you start wearing pants. :-)

Interesting huh?

On men wearing pink

May be it shows that you are happy and 'gay'.
My wife thinks the only man who looks good in pink is Hugh Grant.

I have two pink shirts.

First day at new job

Got this from an editor friend... not sure of authenticity of this.. but surely a very interesting read...
_____________________________________________________

Nandan Nilekani in his new avatar as a Cabinet Secretary. Here is what
he had penned after his first day in the Parliament. The last entry
stopped when the House was just about to begin. Let's see what happened
thereafter....

The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipation and
excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me that my introduction was one of
the important points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make
my speech properly. After so many interviews and conferences, I was
nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the proceedings of
the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entire
House. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique Identification
Authority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and every
Indian had a digital smart card as a proof of his existence.
Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references to the
various projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned. The House
listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a few words and I did
exactly the same!!! I thanked the Government of India for having given
me this opportunity and I assured the House that I would strive to
successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me
into the House and before the proceedings could move any forward, there
was a small commotion on the other side of the hall.

It was Minister of Textiles who had a comment to make before the next
point on the agenda. He made a request that I should be attired in a
more austere way instead of a flashy suit. It did not go well with the
image of a minister who should live to serve the common man and should
be less ostentatious in his habits. I stood up to reply. I offered my
apologies to the Honourable Minister and assured that I shall be in a
more acceptable dress next time. I felt that he was right. We also used
to have corporate dress code in Infosys. So it's here as well!!!!

I sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and to my
surprise; it was the former Indian skipper and one of my favourite
batsman Mohd. Azharuddin. I remembered that he had recently won the
elections. I smiled at him and mentioned to him that I used to like his
game very much, shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed. Azhar told me
that he would "fix" me an appointment with an Italian designer who had
designed his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer in Milan doing
Kurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and reminded myself to give this
example to Friedman for his next book," The World Markets are
flattened".

Since there was no doubt about the "Fixational" capacities of Azhar, I
told him to give me the details and I would consider. The proceedings of
the House went on with numerous bills being debated and passed as I sat
as a passive audience waiting for my project's turn to come up. After
the lunch break, it was the moment for me!!!!

MY PROJECT"S FIRST REVIEW CAME UP FOR PRESENTATION.
I was at sea. My laptop did not have any reserve power. I went to
Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmly
replied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!!!!
The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans for
the Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for
30-60-90-120 days' milestones and I have presentation to make for which
I need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what was
going to happen after this.

The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was completely
in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened. A Joint Cabinet
Secretary Committee was set up to judge the feasibility of my request.
The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting
will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizing National Security
threats to my request. This was because the power socket comes under
Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comes under Broadcasting. I
have also been told to reconsider my timelines of 30-60-90 days and
start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they are right. I did not
have the foresight in this matter.
The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more
inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project to
be executed over the next five years. I have also been given a
presentation slot 3 months from now (by which the issues related to the
power cord etc will also be resolved). I am filled with mixed reactions.
I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wants a strategic
solution. I come out of the House and text Murthy.
"You won't believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a
NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!!!"

condolences

Four Hindi poets died in a car accident near bhopal while they were coming back from a kavi-sammelan.

The names of the poets are -
- Om Prakash 'Aditya' - here is one by him
- Neeraj Puri
- Lal Singh Gujjar
- Om Vyas 'Om'

I practically grew up listening to Om Vyas 'Om'. He was our neighbor in Ujjain and was there in almost every function where he had a new poem to recite.

May their souls rest in peace.