Google+ - the spark in the jungle of social networks

Thanks to one of my friends, I got my Google+ invite on June 30th. I woke up and found an invite in my inbox and immediately, I signed up. Having seen the screenshots and videos of it, I assumed it to be better than facebook and the rest.

My social networking stint actually started with orkut, like many other Indians and I was perfectly happy using it occasionally during my college days till a bloke called Zuckerberg came along and started facebook. I didn’t move out of orkut immediately, while I also had created a linkedin account too. Apparently, I was coaxed into believing that linkedin helps you in your professional life, but I now know that it’s just a fairytale. So, I signed up for facebook and started using it slowly. My weekly activity was to take a couple of quizzes, check out some videos, read some posts and then logout. The real ‘social networking’ hadn’t begun! As I entered the second year of my job, I began to use facebook increasingly, thanks to a special someone. Weekly activities became daily and I almost got addicted to it. Every hour or so, I used to click that facebook logo to see whether any messages had come! ;) And I used to post a lot too. Mostly geek stuff or music related which I wonder whether anyone ever read; but I wanted to share something or the other with people. In the meantime, there was one more form of social networking that was slowly making its presence - microblogging. I started with twitter and also was following a lot of opensource gurus on identi.ca and it was fun. You actually get to know something by following a lot of people and as the posts are generally terse (140 characters), you can gain a lot pretty quickly. And thanks to URL shorteners, you can embed a lot of useful information in just a mere 140 characters. But it was becoming increasingly tough living across facebook, twitter and identi.ca. And then came along Buzz. Buzz’s the tool which actually taught me how a social networking tool should be. More than helping me keep in touch with friends, it helped me learn a lot, particularly from the posts that people had shared from tools like Reader. Though I use Reader actively, there are certain posts that might miss your eye and when a friend shares it, you know about it. Perhaps, I found Buzz useful because of my brilliant friends who used it. Maybe others didn’t have such friends and Buzz was termed a failure! In the midst of all these, there also came Google Wave, which I perhaps used it for a week or two after which I felt like a loner. I really liked it, but it was like staying in a deserted island with no one to give company!

So, after several days of wonderful Buzz usage, I started using Google+ in Field Beta on June 30. My first reaction to it was it was neat, slick and clean! Trademark of a Google product. I’ve never been a huge fan of Google, primarily because of jealousy! :) Like Bill Gates jealous of Steve Jobs in Pirates of the Silicon Valley. But, at times I wondered how a company that huge can pull off smart things, almost periodically. I always liked Gmail, Reader and more recently Buzz, but I never was a huge fan of other services. But, just as one of my friends put, I could always trust Google with my private data instead of a company like facebook. I initially felt Google+ was different and great. But, as I kept using the service, I felt it looked more like facebook and I experienced my first mood swing! Google+ didn’t look right! It didn’t make me feel at home because resembled awfully like facebook. Nevertheless, I persisted and started exploring slowly and came across Sparks which actually resulted in the second mood swing! Here was a social network which could actually help you learn something. Social networks are not very different from other media - TV, Print etc. There should be a healthy dose of fun (read knowledge) and entertainment (read time-wasters), and social networks, especially facebook happened to have a lot of entertainment and distractions which I realised pretty late (sometime in April 2011) and started to limit my footprint. I was lucky enough to escape from the clutches of facebook addiction. And in case you are wondering, the very reason I started using facebook so enthusiastically is yet to be fulfilled! But, after my second mood swing, I certainly have begun to see the pros of Google+. In this regard, it is very similar to TV. It’s not bad just because there are a couple of crap channels. There are brilliant channels which we should unearth and watch. Anyway, the main purpose of this post, a very lengthy one at that, is to say what I really like in Google+ and more importantly, what I need Google to do to make it better (at least for me). I know it’s still in beta and will take sometime to be officially launched; nevertheless, here it goes! :)

1. On the UX front, I believe Google can make the interface theme-able, or at least introduce more contrast. Though the different divs look seamless, it would be great if there was more delineation.
2. The Circles are an excellent concept - one that is unique to Google+. I want to have a lot of people in my social realm but predominantly, I’m interested in only a few people’s life. I can look at the others’ posts and lives when I’m really bored. But, currently all circles are equal. It could be better if Google+ can sport some way to make certain circles more important than the others, so that we can concentrate on the people who actually matter the most to us.
3. The Stream currently shows the posts from all Circles. This could be made configurable so that posts from only certain Circles actually make it to the stream. Just an extension of the previous concept.
4. Currently, only 5 Circles are shown under the Stream. The Circles that should be visible or not can be made configurable. Also, a small notification tip can be added to the Circle name to show how many updates are currently available from that particular Circle. To be honest, this looks very similar to the display and notification of Groups in facebook, but hey, Circles are better!
5. One shortcoming I noticed in the early days of Wave was the absence of a means to actually post something with only the keyboard. After you had keyed in your post, you’ll have to click that ‘Post’ button to send that wave out. The same problem exists with Google+. Google should support Shift+Enter or something else to post.
6. And, it’s now weird to show Buzz as a separate tab under the profile. There should be some kind of a back-porting mechanism that converts all the buzzes (including reshares, Like (+1s, that is) and comments) into Google+ posts. Maybe this has been scheduled by Google and should be available as more people start using Google+.
7. A way to find all posts that we have commented in. This is available in Buzz. But, this needs to make its way into Google+ too. I would want to revisit my comments sometime in the future.
8. The chat widget addition is good too. I have never really liked the chat being integrated as part of my email, but now, I can use Google+ for chatting while Gmail stays separate. Also, the chat widget was populated with a few contacts - many with whom I’ve never chatted in my life! :) They’re in my Contacts and chat list because of Orkut! But, then it correctly added the person whom I wanted! :) And, it’s great that the chats are stored in your Gmail Chats folder. And, shifting from one Chat tab to the other using Tab and Shift+Tab is missing! A minor glitch, I must add.
9. Hangout is the feature that initially attracted me to Google+. Me and my friends have been trying to find a video conferencing solution. We stumbled upon oovoo, tokbox, Skype beta and finally, we have arrived at the solution! :) It worked brilliantly and I tried everything on it. It was beautiful too. One shortcoming is the chats aren’t stored! :) And also the ‘Push to talk’ when watching a video could be a ‘Toggle to talk’, but then people are supposed to view the video and not talk! :)
10. Sparks is the feature that brought me back to Google+. It has the potential to satiate what I need of Google+. Maybe, Reader could be integrated with Sparks and thus help in sharing knowledge and learning new stuff, which is the real fun!
11. I guess the Mobile App is equally good. Especially, Huddle. I hope to use it in the near future.

It’s heartening to see that Google has put a lot of effort into developing Google+. It has certainly learned from its mistakes in Wave and has equally adopted the positives of Orkut and Buzz, and thus has rolled out a beautiful product. It’s hard to believe that it is still in Field Beta and I’m eager to see how the finished version would be.

To be honest, I wanted to try more of Google+ after reading this. When I first used it, I was increasingly looking at the similarities between facebook and was afraid that Google+ could turn into a gutter that facebook is. I mean it; who’s not on facebook! What identity do you have? You just are another speck in that garbage! Google+ is something similar too, but then you maintain your friend’s circles more effectively. Hopefully, common users who want to do social networking for entertainment and not for fun (read learn) will stay with facebook and won’t tread the path of Google+. Even if they do, I’d have a way to limit my “Circles”! :) And, I’ll remain a critic of Google too! :) Let’s wait and see whether the faint spark will live to reach the intensity of a forest fire! I hope it does! :)

The Smart “Phone”dler

iGreetings! In today’s world, anything without an “i” as a prefix, hasn’t got much value to it. The ahambhaavam (sense of I - ego) has an altogether different meaning these days. It’s all about whether you possess a coveted iDevice or not and if you don’t, or if you are even remotely nonchalant about its existence in your neighbour’s pocket, you’ll be looked down with disdain. It’s hard to not be amused about how cellphone companies cash in on people’s ignorance and thrust on them, pieces of silicon with a highly polished LCD screen.  Furthermore, you’ll have to shell out thousands every month, just for some sparingly genuine usage of mail and the exceedingly trash talk on facebook and the like. And before I proceed, this shall be applicable to all you android junkies, windows phone wizards, blackberry bosses, bada brigadiers and any other smartphone user. Also, a piece of word to people who know me. If you think this is a case of sour grapes just because I lost my iPod Touch and am scared as hell to get another device, then, in a way, you’re right; but I’m happy that I found it out early and through the hard way that I don’t need a smartphone in my life, at least for now! :) It is a bit annoying and sad to see people deluded into getting smartphones mainly because his next cabin mate has got one! A classic reenactment of the cap seller and the monkeys story.

Before we proceed further, we might have to answer what a smartphone is. There are several thousands of definitions floating around, and to be frank, many of them are vague! Let’s take the most widely accepted definition, from Wikipedia - A smartphone is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. That’s about it. That should be the most simple definition. The smartphone has higher computing capability and better connectivity (read data). To put it succinctly, it can perform no better than your laptop computer, yet it offers better mobility.

Now, our first question for the day. Who needs a smartphone? Let’s derive the answer from our definition. People who are always on the move and have to work on the go; it could be from checking mails from remotely connecting to a server and code software. And, that, only when you cannot afford the time to switch on your laptop, connect to the Internet through your wireless dongle/WiFi. If you are sure that you’ll use 3G/4G capabilities completely and you absolutely cannot live with them, you have every reason to get a smartphone!

The second question is what you need to ask yourself, do I need one? I shall do my best to assist you in answering this question. If your answer is “No” to any of the following questions, then please don’t get a smartphone! If it is “Yes”, then continue reading.

1. Are you a developer who develops software for a smartphone? - Get one and make sensible apps and not stupid ones!
2. Are you a hacker or do you intend to root/jailbreak your device? - If yes, and if you are looking to use it for ssh/vnc/vpn or any other troubleshooting, please be aware that your laptop can do more!
3. Are you getting a smartphone to play angry birds? Seriously, ANGRY BIRDS? Puff! kthxbai!
4. Are you getting a smartphone so that you can keep checking facebook every 2 minutes? - If you are highly social, I advice you to actually go ahead and make a call to that friend of yours than poke him virtually on facebook.
5. How about maps? I’d want to know where I’m when I travel around! If you are frequent traveller, then go ahead and buy the smartphone; if not, I’m sure you can look up the routes prior to actually travelling! Or better, get a dedicated GPS device!
6. I’m a voracious reader who can devour 10 books a week! - I don’t have to tell you anything. You’d already possess an eBook reader if you are that avid a reader!
7. I listen to a lot of songs. - It’s high time you search that iPod of yours! Now, where did you put it after listening to Rebecca Black and Justin Bieber, a month ago?
8. It increases my productivity. I use RTM, ToDo lists, Notes, Calendar, Mail on a daily basis. - Mmm. This is tough! Are you really sure, you can’t do these with that high-end laptop of yours?
9. I keep track of what’s happening in the world through tools like twitter, google reader. - If you’ve pushed their limits on a laptop and you want more, then proceed forward to get a smartphone! If not, first utilize them fully before proceeding to a smartphone.
10. But, it is a status symbol to own a smartphone! Every Joe Bloggs has a smartphone and I want one too! - Well, he also has a girlfriend and has to support her for life. Are you ready to support one? But, be wary of the exorbitant costs that you’ll have to incur. For both the girlfriend and the smartphone!

The third question is, can I live without one? This is a slightly modified version of the previous question and I can definitely not answer and you’ll have to think whether it is worth the money. Of course, if you are stinking rich and have enough money to booze and get a smartphone, by all means, get one. Only then, developers like me who code software for packet-core networks can thrive! :) And “2,312 Likes” for stalking that hottie’s profile on facebook and kudos on becoming the mayor of Thalapakattu Kakka Biriyani shop on foursquare.

Now, answer me honestly, do you really need a smartphone?

World Cup. Checked!

Ever since I started watching cricket (the 1996 world cup), I’ve always dreamt of India winning it. I wanted to cherish the emotions and feelings that would’ve ran through Kapil’s Devils in ‘83. And here it is! After 15 years of wait (for me), the World Cup has come home.

I’ve always liked every player representing the country, and it was at times painful to see people bashing Dhoni for some minor lapses. And what was more agitating was the way these people would say, they could do better than Dhoni. I bet you, those shoes are damn difficult to fill in! A billion hopes on his shoulder to lift the trophy and it is hard to even imagine the pressure. Even though Dhoni said that it would be rude to say “Shut up!” to all his critics, it’s high time these people realise that it was Dhoni (and Gambhir of course) who won the World Cup. Not Sachin, not Sehwag! So, a big middle finger to all you “son-of-a-bachelor”s (Too much of Wodehouse, I presume)!

Looking back on this World Cup, India’s journey has been brilliant. They started the proceedings with a big win over Bangladesh, thanks to that mammoth innings from Viru, followed by a thrilling tie which they plucked it out of England’s grasps after Zaheer came back in the batting powerplay to dismiss Strauss. India crawled their way to victory against Ireland, thanks to a brilliant all-round display by Yuvraj. The next match against Netherlands was comfortably won; India were in the running against South Africa except the last over where Nehra was slammed by Robin Peterson and Botha. This was followed by a brilliant win over West Indies at Chennai. What happened next was history! India ousted Australia, Pakistan and Srilanka to win the World Cup for the second time and the first one in my life!

Indians have always been passionate about their game. If there is one brand that could always sell in India, it is Cricket. Almost all the liquor shops would have run out of stock over the past two weeks after India marched over Australia, Pakistan and finally Srilanka. It is high time we take a leaf out of Dhoni’s mens’ book. They achieved what they could, to do India proud. What have we done? Every Indian must ask this question to himself and ponder. What has he done to this wonderful nation other than helping business tycoons like Mallya? What can he do to make her proud? What can he give back to the Mother who has done so much for him?

There could never have been a perfect time for the World Cup to arrive. It has come amidst allegations of corruption and political turmoil and India needed to show the World what it is capable of. As always, Cricket has saved the day.

My wishes go to every Indian who cheered India to win the World Cup and I urge them to make this nation proud!

Jai Hind!

My tribute to the game called Cricket

All these years you wanted to watch cricket, but you had exams of all sorts scheduled perfectly alongside the matches and all that you can do is peep in occasionally to watch that bottom bar for the score and if you overstay your welcome in to the TV room, you experience a bad feeling about tomorrow’s exam and your legs automatically take you to the study room!

After all the hush and hoopla, IPL 3.0 finally ended after what seemed like a decade. Nevertheless, the tournament that is still ongoing in the Caribbean as I key in this blog post, the World T20, looks like half-cooked porridge! The same set of teams playing every year for a trophy which they’ll eventually lose the next year. A six or four hit and the camera zooms to show the skimpily clad cheerleaders and the crowd roaring, the opposition team captain scratching his head! How much of this do we have to bear?

Back in those days, there was cricket which was played not very often as today. That very feeling of watching your favorite cricketer smack a couple of boundaries, your favorite bowler uproot the stumps was rare! If there was one thing that had urged me to switch on the TV all these years barring the science shows, the animal (esp. snakes) shows, it was cricket. I never supported any particular player. I supported and still support India as a whole. Any player donning the Indian clothes was and is my favorite. Be it Sachin or Hrishikesh Kanitkar.

I started watching cricket during the 1996 Wills World Cup in India, thanks to my mom who patiently taught me why two blokes actually run across after hitting the ball with what they call the ‘bat’ which looked quite weird and why there are two fellows standing on the ground watching the game in the sun (the umpires) while they could easily watch it at home without a sweat. So, this series started everything related to cricket for me and learning about its many complexities wasn’t that hard! Probably I should attribute this liking for cricket to my Indian roots. Everyone knows India is a cricket-crazy country and people here do everything for cricket and actually see cricketers as god. And I’m still trying my best to possess the entire collection of the ‘96 world cup just for the love of cricket. This includes a mail I sent to ESPNSTAR querying the availability of DVDs containing footages of matches from this series. And there is no reply yet! :(

I still remember the way Sachin played in that World Cup. His exquisite shots through the covers (of course I didn’t know the fielding positions then) or the picture-perfect straight-drive and the way the crowd went crazy made me excited. Going back in retrospection, I really like a lot of from World Cup ‘99. First, it was Jack Russel from England, maybe because of that MGR style cap that he wore with that sunglasses or maybe because I got to know from my dad, why the wicket keeper actually wears pads after I asked him why a member of the fielding side wears pads and gloves after seeing Russel walk out to the ground with his team mates. And there was Dominic Cork, whose nice high-arm bowling action was beautiful to watch. And there were the Dutch, who I think lost every match in that edition. But I liked them for their orange jersey which gleamed in the hot Indian sun. And there was a player called Ganesh Mayilvaganam in UAE. I wondered what this guy with a tamil name doing in UAE. And who can’t fail to notice Jonty Rhodes who was impregnable at the gully region and of course Gary Kirsten for his marathon knock of 188* against UAE. And Sidhu who was really good to watch on the field with that turban; and the spat between Aamir Sohail and Venkatesh Prasad; the explosive batting of a man called Sanath Jayasuriya and an able partner in Romesh Kaluwitharana; The Aussies - Shane Warne who was superb with the leg spin, Ricky Ponting with his french beard and Mark Waugh who was a beauty to watch at the crease; The West Indians - Ambrose, Lara and Richie Richardson, who used to chew bubble gum almost all the time - my mom used to warn me saying that, if I chew a lot of gum, I would get big lips like that of Richie :) ; The ecstatic Kenyans who led by Sandip Patil’s coaching bet the West Indians. Lots of funny names in that side - Tikolo, Odoyo, Odumbe, Chudasama. :) Wah! What a fun series that was? The scoreboard in the TV relay was at the top right corner and was plain and showed only the scores unlike these days where it is always placed at the bottom like a news ticker (I wonder why) showing ads almost all the time! Back then, Cricket was a fun sport which was really addictive and players played for their countries with passion and the will to win. It was the time when Cricket hadn’t yet been recognized as a business/profession as it is today. There were cricketers who actually worked when not playing cricket.

After that the actual fun started. There came out the Big Fun cards, the Center Fresh cards I used to buy. There was a time where I used to get the cards alone. For every series, there used to be new cards released.  There was the Sahara Cup between India and Pakistan which India won 4-1. I had all cards from that series! It was the same series where Ganguly got a 5 wicket haul and one of the matches was washed out and in one of the matches, India was on top as Pakistan was reeling at some 60 odd for 6. And who wouldn’t forget the Sharjah cup which was traditionally called the “Coca Cola Cup”. And that Sachin innings against Australia. Magical.

And then India-Australia ‘99 series in India during which one match was held in Chennai. I remember asking my dad to take me to the game. He didn’t though! :( And then there was the 99 World Cup in England where Ganguly played really well. There was one game that India lost against Zimbabwe. Nevertheless, they couldn’t make it to the semis and South Africa choked with that Steve Waugh catch drop by Gibbs and the last over debacle in the semis where Alan Donald was run out and the scores read 213. The final was however a one-side affair where Pakistan were skittled out by Australia. The top scorer in that series was Rahul Dravid, I guess but Lance Klusener aka Zulu got the man of the series for his murderous hitting and some really good bowling.

Then, there were 3 years of occasional cricket watching which was followed by the World Cup ‘03 where I started seeing the true color of the media in India. It was during my Standard 10 exams which were supposed to be crucial. I remember how I used to sneak into my grandmother’s house to watch the match as the TV cable connection at my house was suspended to “aid” my studies! India played poorly against Netherlands in that edition and lost their next match against Australia in the group stages. What followed suit was unforgettable. Players’ homes were attacked and the Indian media lashed out at the players questioning their commitment. The team somehow managed to bounce back and reached the finals. The final was the day after my exams got over! Me and my uncle got ready to celebrate an Indian victory. However, there was no power for the first 10 overs of Australia’s batting and my rather over-enthusiastic uncle checked for a fuse burn but forgot to switch on the mains! Alas, we didn’t watch the match thinking that there was still no power, only to find that the neighbors were watching the match after which we realised our blunder! :) I went home and watched the remainder of the match, only to see India losing, notwithstanding an excellent innings by Sehwag and a good series, overall.

What came after that was terrible! The CAS (Conditional Access System)! You had to get one of those set-top boxes if you wanted to watch Star Sports/ESPN. My dad found it unnecessary to get one of them and I never managed to catch a glimpse of a full series after that! Except for matches those were aired on Doordarshan.

Forward to 2007 and there came another world cup! India performed pathetically and all sorts of celebration plans with my college buddies went up in smoke. The BCCI tried to find all sorts of excuses to make up for the Indian loss and they arrived at the so-called brainchild of Lalit Modi, only that it was rather conceived by Zee Sports as ICL, but by BCCI’s backing, it became one-in-the-kind in India. Behold the IPL. In the same year, India managed to win their second world cup, but now it was the shortest version of the game. Dhoni and his men won the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa, where all the glitz and glamor started. The IPL unfurled the next year and was a cash raking opportunity for the cricketers. Nevertheless, the IPL gave an opportunity to local boys but the foreign recruits capitalised more.

The year after, IPL was played in South Africa, where the local Indian boys barring a few internationals struggled and yet again the foreign recruits cashed in. This year, it was the same story. And for two years, India has never managed to enter the semis of any world event. One of my friends had exclaimed - “The IPL is actually Indian Practice League where you pay and train foreign recruits only to beat our asses at every world event!”. Harsh as it may sound, it is true and there is no fact denying it!

The media and former cricketers have begun to vilify the current team questioning their attitude. True. There are players who play only for the sake of money and not for the passion, which is really hurting to see! You can’t blame them. BCCI (and ICC) has to share the blame, for they don’t respect the players’ bodies and schedule as much as matches as possible in a calender year only to fill their pockets!

Now - one year after becoming a professional, no exams, no nagging feelings (unless you are committed!), there is too much of cricket that it makes you sick!. The beauty of something lies in how infrequent that happens so that people actually wait for it to happen. A 36-run over happens so rarely that it is revered. If everyone can bat like Sachin, then where is the “uncertainity” factor! How will the world be if there were no Heisenberg principle? Bland!

Wish cricket would thrive as that beautiful gentleman’s game, that beautiful game that kids play in almost every nook and corner, that beautiful game that brings a tear of joy when your favorite team wins the match by hitting a six of the last ball, that beautiful game which makes you sulk for 2 days after your team loses, that beautiful game which you eagerly look forward to, that beautiful game where players play in the right spirit only for the passion, that beautiful game which is worth catching a glimpse even during exams, that beautiful game which is ONLY a game!

पुनः मिलामः (Meet you again),

An elegy to my lost iPod Touch

Day : 2nd May, 2009

Time : about 15:00 hrs

Place : 401K Vijayanagara to Vidyaranyapura bus

Situation : A crowded bus and I’m going to a relative’s place.

Outcome : A good 30 minutes into the journey, I come to know that my iPod has been stolen!

The Present:

One song that has been impressing me (not a surprise, eh?) lately is Behne De from Raavan. The tamil version “Usurey Poguthey”, in spite of being released late; surely captures the audience too. So, yesterday, 9th May, a good one week since I lost my iPod; en route to Bangalore from Chennai, I was thinking about this song when a fellow near me fished out his iPod from his bag and started swishing the screen to browse across the collections he had. A strange feeling of nostalgia crept unto me! Even though I took my iPod-getting-stolen-incident pretty maturely and coped up with it, the occasional glimpse of one over the past week brought a wry smile to my lips. A conglomeration of Usurey Poguthey and thoughts about my iPod resulted in an elegy which i dedicate to my lost iPod. :( RIP!

Here are the lyrics…

intha boomiyila eppa vanthu nee porantha
thala steve-in moolayila nee vethancha
ada ipod nano sirusu thaan
latest ipad kooda perusu thaan

ada ipod nano sirusu thaan
latest ipad kooda perusu thaan
oru ipodtouch bayangara use-da
maththa mp3 player-laam thoosuda

usurey poguthey usure poguthey
sutta ipod-ah naan nenaikkayila.. oh..
payapulla thavikkuren pocket-la theduren
kuduthudu da thiruttu payale
istore forum-la nee irunthum
buththi unna vaanga nenaikkudhada
purse-la paisa illanuthum
manam nondhu noodles aaguthada

pocket-um kannum thooram thooram
ipod-a naan paakala
purse thaanya mukkiyam endru
vera ethayum nokkala
eduthaan eduthaan
ada nekka thaan eduthaan
koduthen koduthen
ada kotta vittu naan koduthen
intha ipod kirukku theeruma
ada ipod-oda vilayum kuraiyuma
en manasula baaraththa erakkidumma..
suthi-ulla payalellam.. ada kai kotti sirikkuraan..
sooniyam vechavanukkellam.. saami kanna kuththa poguraan..

usurey poguthey usure poguthey
sutta ipod-ah naan nenaikkayila.. oh..
payapulla thavikkuren pocket-la theduren
kuduthudu da thiruttu payale
istore forum-la nee irunthum
buththi unna vaanga nenaikkudhada
purse-la paisa illanuthum
manam nondhu noodles aaguthada

intha ulagathil ithu onnum pudhusulla
onnu rendu roobai-na thappu illa
ada pathinaalaayiram athan vila
atha aduchivan nalla manushan illa

etta irukkum ipod paaththu nottam vittaan naadhari
thottu vidaatha thooram irunthum suttuputtane mollamaari
thaviyaa thavichu
naan enna seyya theriyalaye!
thudiyaa thudichu
avana thediyum kidaikkalaye!
ada innoru ipod vaangalaam
athu muthalaavatha pola vanthiduma
en kannukkula kola veri therigirathey
suthi-ulla payalellam.. ada kai kotti sirikkuraan..
sooniyam vechavanukkellam.. saami kanna kuththa poguraan..

usurey poguthey usure poguthey
sutta ipod-ah naan nenaikkayila.. oh..
payapulla thavikkuren pocket-la theduren
kuduthudu da thiruttu payale
istore forum-la nee irunthum
buththi unna vaanga nenaikkudhada
purse-la paisa illanuthum
manam nondhu noodles aaguthada

The past week without the iPod wasn’t difficult as the iPod as a music player was replaced by my laptop/desktop. However the mobile browsing part cannot be compromised and I have learned to live with it! Appadi mobile-la mail/buzz paaththu naan onnum kazhattaporathilla.. :)

OK.. Push in your comments.. The next post will be dedicated to Cricket, an article that has been sitting in my Drafts folder for quite a long time now!

Thaai Thindra Manne lyrics

தாய் தின்ற மண்ணே
இது பிள்ளையின் கதறல்
ஒரு பேரரசன் புலம்பல்

நெல் ஆடிய நிலம் எங்கே?
சொல் ஆடிய அவை எங்கே?
வில் ஆடிய களம் எங்கே?
கல் ஆடிய சிலை எங்கே?
தாய் தின்ற மண்ணே?

கயல் விளையாடும் வயல் வெளி தேடி காய்ந்து கழிந்தன கண்கள்
காவிரி மலரின் கடிமணம் தேடி கருகி முடிந்தது நாசி
சிலை வழி மேவும் உளி ஒலி தேடி திருகி விழுந்தன செவிகள்
ஊன்பொதி சோற்றின் தேன்சுவை கருதி ஒட்டி உலர்ந்தது நாவும்
புலி கோடி பொறித்த சோழ மாந்தர்கள் எலி கரி கொரிப்பதுவோ
காற்றை குடிக்கும் தாவரமாகி காலம் கழிப்பதுவோ
மண்டை ஓடுகள் மண்டிய நாட்டை மன்னன் ஆளுவதோ, மன்னன் ஆளுவதோ

நொறுங்கும் உடல்கள், பிதுங்கும் உயிர்கள், அழுகும் நாடு, அழுகின்ற அரசன்

பழம் தின்னும் கிளியோ பிணம் தின்னும் கழுகோ தூதோ முன்வினை தீதோ
களங்களும் அதிர களிறுகள் பிளிற சோழம் அழைத்து போவாயோ
தங்கமே எம்மை தாய் மண்ணில் சேர்த்தால் புரவிகள் போலே புரண்டிருப்போம்
ஆயிரம் ஆண்டுகள் சேர்த்த கண்ணீரை அருவிகள் போலே அழுதிடுவோம்
அது வரை அது வரை…
தமிழர் காணும் துயரம் கண்டு தலையை சுற்றும் கோளே அழாதே
என்றோ ஒரு நாள் விடியும் என்றே இரவை சுமக்கும் நாளே அழாதே
நூற்றாண்டுகளின் துருவை தாங்கி உரையில் தூகும் வாளே அழாதே
எந்தன் கண்ணின் கண்ணீர் கழுவ என்னோடழுகும் யாழே அழாதே

IPL 3.0

Hi folks!

So, another edition of the Indian Premier League is under-way and the three games so far have been awesome. The first ball of the IPL fetched the wicket of Manoj Tiwary of KKR but yet KKR won, thanks to some excellent batting display by Owais Shah and Angelo Mathews. Deccan missed a golden opportunity and hopefully they’ll bounce back. The next match saw some brutal hitting by the Mumbai Indians and of course a spirited run chase by Rajasthan Royals led by Yusuf Pathan. The next match, Delhi won pretty comfortably. Sad that Viru didn’t get many runs.

So, in my last post, I had mentioned about a list of players I would support. And that list is here (team-wise)!

RCB - Kumble, Boucher, Dravid, Kallis, Morgan, Pandey, KP, Steyn, Taylor and Sriram

CSK - Dhoni, Badani, Badri, Balaji, Haydos, Hussey, Murali, Albie, Ntini, Raina and Vijay

DC - Gilly, Gibbs, VVS and Symo

DD - Gauti, Viru, AB, Dilshan, Karthik, Parnell and Warner

KXIP - Bopara and Yuvi

KKR - Dada, Gayle, McCullum, Owais Shah, Langeveldt and Bond.

MI - Sachin, Bravo, Duminy, Jayasuriya, Zaheer and Pollard

RR - Warne, Yusuf and Smith

Well, that’s pretty much the list! :)

For the next edition of the IPL, there are tenders floating for two more teams. It is likely that the Sahara Group might bid for a franchise. Some of the players I would like to see there are

Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson (Zimbabwe)

Brian Lara (West Indies)

and for heaven’s sake some Pakistan players fellas.. I would love to see them bowlers spanked for sixes and of course the batsmen’s stumps uprooted! :)

Looking forward to today’s matches! And of course Haydos’ mongoose bat.. :)

Sayonara!

A beautiful January 2010

Pardon the gap since my last post! I was waiting for something substantial to write about! Pardon me if this post is reaaaally long! I couldn’t help it!

So, a lot of things had happened since my last post! It had been a fantastic new year! We finally moved to our new house, having spent the new year at our previous house, watching the fun and frolic at Royal Orchid from our terrace!

The week after, I had been to a dog show in Chennai where it was really heartening to see all dogs and their masters. I was a bit worried seeing certain dogs being treated very badly by their owners. These people don’t work and earn a living out of copulating dogs and selling the puppies. All I can say is these people are equivalent to “mamaas!”. And there are people who own dogs without knowing the breed’s temperament and characteristics. The other day, I happened to see a Labrador being taken for a walk near our house. When I went near it, the fellow told “Sir, thodatheenga!!! Athu kadikkum!!!” (Don’t touch, it’ll bite!). I didn’t mind him and knowing the temperament of Labradors (as I own one), I approached the lab and he started playing with me. Guess, he was ill-treated all this while, otherwise he wouldn’t have been this close to strangers, even though he is a Labrador, who is very social to humans.

And then Pongal came! I had been to Chennai for 4 days, enjoying good food after several days! :) If you are a bachelor, you would understand my plight! :’( After returning to Bangalore, I had the chance to go to Aayirathil Oruvan with a couple of my friends. It was a different experience watching the movie. Though the movie stalls at a lot of places in the second half, this film is here to stay. I was really impressed with Karthi and Parthiban’s acting and also Reemma’s. Her lip sync could’ve been better! The 12th century tamil was certainly good to hear. Yet, Selva could’ve chosen a different clan (something fictitious) other than Cholas/Pandiyas as these people were well civilised and the film portrays them really badly! I really liked the songs of the movie, especially Thaai Thindra Manne and Un Mela Aasathaan :). The former has been sung by Vijay Yesudas and he has done his job to perfection! Very good singing! And diction is also very good for someone whose first language is not Tamil. The latter has been sung by Dhanush, his wife Aishwarya and Andrea. Dhanush sir! Neengallam paada vanthutta, naangellam enna sir panrathu??? :( Nevertheless, he has sung really well. Another song that impressed me was O Eesa, by Karthik and Andrea. An abstract song! Nevertheless, it captures your attention (be it the special effects or the skimply clad Reemma! :) ). Though the tune isn’t original, it suits perfectly!

Coming back to the song that really impressed me! Thaai Thindra Manne! The lyrics are refreshing and beautiful. There are two versions, a Classical one and the other one, i.e. The Cholan Ecstacy has the first stanza of the classical version + another stanza in Telugu. This song brings the “olam” (sad feeling) of the Cholan king. Well written by Vairamuthu and good composition by GVP. This song syncs well with the present Srilankan Tamil issue too. Thanks to my mom for making me understand what a “Bharani” or a “Kalambakam” or an “eeruketta ethirmarai peyar-echcham” is.

OK! So coming to cricket! IPL-3 has now become IPL v3.0. Looks like even cricket has started adopting terminologies from IT. To top it all, IPL-3 will be telecasted live (nearly) on YouTube. Now, this is really cool! Considering the wretched CAS (Conditional Access System) which employs Set Top Boxes for viewing paid channels like Set Max, this deal with Google will certainly increase the fan base of IPL. Another important issue is the unwarranted snub metted out to the Pakistan players. Though the jingoist in me laughs at the plight of the Pakistani players, the purist contradicts and goes with the players. This could’ve certainly been avoided by the IPL. Now everyone has backed away from the situation and the blame has come to rest on the franchises. Besides, there have been talks given by the Pakistan players saying that they are proven T20 performers, iterating the fact that they are the current T20 champions. I agree, but you cannot say that players like Afridi and Tanvir as proven performers! They are useless fools. While the former just tries to clobber every ball, the latter has been living his life only with that weird action of his. Someone whom I certainly looked for in this IPL was Umar Akmal. This lad has some really good talent and temperament. If he can hone his skills further and gives his best, he can be the next big kid in cricket. I’m neither exaggerating nor being sarcastic here! I’m really excited about this youngster Pollard! This fellow is definitely a talent to look for. Let’s see how he performs for the Mumbai Indians in this year’s IPL. And I have devised a strategy for this year’s IPL. I have been a very huge fan of the Chennai Super Kings team because I’m from Chennai. :) However, this year’s auction didn’t go well as far as CSK is concerned as they only bid successfully for Perera and Kemp. So, to save myself from the ignominy of Chennai fairing poorly in this year’s IPL (or any other team for that matter), I have decided to make a list of players whom I would support. I would work on that list asap and post it! :D Let the IPL bandwagon begin!

Proud to be the son of the Indian Republic. Jai Hind!

Bachelors and houses

Hi folks,

Well, so this is another of my rantings. Every bachelor would have certainly faced this problem. And we, as part of shifting our house, are certainly feeling the heat. First of all, let me answer some FAQs in your mind..

• Why are we actually changing our house?
  • The seven of us are living across three different houses. We are moving to a bigger 3BHK house.
• Where are we living presently?
  • Kodihalli, Bangalore
• Where are we actually moving to? What is the new house like?
  
  • Murugeshpalya. It is a duplex inside a flat. Looks really awesome. Will post pics when we move in.

Let us move on.

So, we initially started looking for house a good 3 weeks before. We found an excellent house in Wind Tunnel Road, Bangalore which was very close to our office (this is not the house i mentioned before). This house was really good with french windows and good wood work. The house was almost confirmed. When we were about to pay the token advance, we got a call from the owner saying that some crazy fool paid the entire deposit amount (about a lakh) and he is renting the house to him. Besides he had issues with 7 of us staying in the same house. We being bachelors… (EDUCATED, CULTURED, WELL BROUGHT UP BACHELORS)

So, we were back to square one. We had to go home for Christmas the following weekend and resumed our searching back on 28th, Monday. Myself, IIT and Fish roamed across Murugeshpalya in the evening and approached a broker by name Mahaveer Enterprises. He showed the house I had mentioned in the FAQ and we were impressed. We paid the token advance immediately.

We got everything packed and Myself and IIT went today to the broker to finalise the deal and get the sign of the owner on the agreement. The owner’s wife met us and she was OK in letting the house to us. The owner was not in town and will reach Bangalore tonight. Besides, he wants to meet us before giving us the key. Just to make sure that we are bachelors (EDUCATED, CULTURED, WELL BROUGHT UP BACHELORS) and possibly warn us about maintaining dignity, decorum etc etc…

So, we are supposed to meet him tomorrow morning before checking in to the house. Enna solla poraano.. We are waiting. Hopefully we shouldn’t lose our cool.

All that OB PTSK has done is built a house and with that rent is now living. Sambaathichu vaazha thuppu illa, ethukku intha hairkku ellam oru life.. Besides he asked 2500 for maintenance (instead of the usual 800) because we are 7 of us. Why do house owners look down upon bachelors? OK. I agree that there are bachelors who smoke and drink. In fact those who are currently living in that house smoke and drink there daily. But they just can’t generalise the rest based on a few. Pareto’s principle will not be certainly applicable here. OK. I agree that owners fear that bachelors might run away with their daughter or someone else. Naan kekkuren.. Enda.. All men have their tools.. Why do you single out bachelors? In fact, youths are the ones who are responsible these days. Paathomey.. N. D. Tiwari, Governor.. S. P. S. Rathore, DGP.. Ivanunga enna youthaa.. pongadanggg…

God.. Please make things smooth tomorrow. We don’t have the strength to go in search of yet another house.

Thirunthugada veeda katti vaadagaikku vittu, velaikku pogaamal sambhathikkum lagudapandiagala…

Sayonara

Srinath