Dinchari

Curious case of Laxmi/Saraswati

2012-01-25T02:28:00.004+05:30

They say that Lakshmi and Saraswati rarely stay in the same house as per Hindu beliefs.

Essentially translating to wealth & knowledge.

The curious question is ... Should one freely donate knowledge to save up wealth or Should one safe guard the knowledge- knowing that you will be losing out on wealth.

Smart chess puzzle by Sam Lyod

2011-06-12T11:52:00.001+05:30

Source: http://www.futilitycloset.com/

Breaking my head on this for sometime now :)

Lajos Portisch -- Game to watch

2010-05-13T00:51:00.005+05:30

This game has a nice display of a forced draw. This game was played in 1981, when Kasporav was already a phenomenon.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1069940

After the 44th move ... game was clearly stacked in favor of "the" Kasporav. The white pawn on d6 had jogged far enough to secure a win for Kasporav.

Here comes a pure magical move by Lajos: Knight sacrifice on g3 ... Now Kasporav exchanged with a pawn instead of the queen.

I am sure, Lajos would have prayed to his gods to have this done!!!!

Beauty lies here .... 3 check points for black. white can flirt as much with his queen and rook... No use ..draw is inevitable.

Clearly, the immortal Kasporav had zilch clue of this, otherwise he would have never bothered cycling around with his rook & queen.

Brilliant manoeuvre by Lajos!!!!

The Sun i knew....

2010-02-06T01:33:00.005+05:30

A good friend of mine says "Sometimes it just needs to be experienced ....."
Sun indeed was the experience. It did not sink in until www.sun.com redirected itself. For one i wished that some hacker would have broken the sun network to get this act- not to be.
I hardly know what it takes to kickstart a company ,but i for sure know that building another "sun" is impossible.I hope the current ending is a cindrella ending where the prince charming presents himself & they live happily ever-after.After all looks like @times things can go wrong .....

RIP Sun !!!!

Things could be worse ... but this is the worst thing to happen

2009-11-25T00:25:00.008+05:30

Now exactly how bad is this ?

"Oxford Book Store in Jayanagar 5th Block is CLOSED. "

A friend informed me about this and we actually drove down to find a A4 size sheet hanging outside saying "Oxford Bookstore is shutdown"

The reason being that their contract with Oxford ended & so the closure.

Just can't digest the fact that so many nostalgic memories are just whipped off by some weird contract. The trips planned, hours & hours of nothing but everything kinda discussions, the chai,the people(Mahesh & Amarish Uncle in particular) everything ..... Phew!!!! it was not just a normal bookstore.

Now its turning into a saree and a jewelery shop.

In case you have not tasted the Ayurvedic , Brahmi and the Truck Driver chai .. your missing something bigtime . On a second thought , you are actually better off, because the feeling that you can not have it again is the worst.

I am now convinced of the 2012 dooms day ...Clearly such -ve developments are signs of where we are headed.

If there is anyway oxford can extend the contract .... Just do it....

The day the ball started rolling .......

2009-09-23T23:54:00.003+05:30

Sept 24th .... is an interesting date for me ...

Started my undergrad this very day in 2001 ... those were the days when boys were boys . Random flashes ..... Picture of our college dean making one of those inspirational talks ... the food .... the rules ... everything vividly clear in my mind ....

This is one day which i for sure want to revisit when i test drive my time machine. Everything was so perfect that i dare not change anything here.

Solution to a puzzle

2009-09-22T12:46:00.003+05:30

Here is a new puzzle that i read online

My solution is (617)274 8660

How?

1) Re-Arranging the puzzle in a row:
8MLDQ6 T UI6TFML RH AANRA6Q 8EFL DMQ86II2 O32S5J 13JXOJ

2) Count the number of letters in each word.
Number is (617)274 8660

More solutions might be possible .... looking on ....

Bharat Ratna for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

2008-11-05T18:47:00.020+05:30

This post is dedicated in the fond memory of my grandfather Shrinivas(Sinuka) Parvatikar who in close quarters has witnessed the formative years of Bheemya (as they fondly referred to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi). His favorite song being "Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma ...".

Our nation's highest civilian award added a new jewel to its crown. The respected doyen of 'Khayal' tradition of Hindustani music Pandit Bhimsen Joshi has been awarded the Bharat Ratna award. In northern part of Karnataka (esp. Hubli-Dharwad, the place I come from), the name Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is a phenomenon. Every other family has folklore describing its interactions with the legend. Here are some insights which were passed on as stories (not facts) from elders in the family.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi , was born on Feb 4, 1922 in Gadag. His father Gurajachar Joshi owned the now famous property of Wakil Chawl of Gadag. Both Sunil Joshi(Indian cricketer) and Ananth Koppar(who recently won Kannada Rajyostava prahsasti for his excellence in the IT field) relate their origins to this small chawl of Gadag. Also this is the place where the blind vocalist Panchakshari Gavai set up the Vireshwar Punyashram - a music school which gives precedence to blind pupils. As folktale has it, Bhimsen ran away from his house at the age of 11 to gwalior in search of a good music teacher. Having sensed the urge in the kid, Gurajachar made arrangements for bhimsen to study music under Sawai Gandharwa(Pt. Rambhau Kundgolkar) at Kundgol (10 km away from Hubli). I guess this is the phase when most of the stories start off.

Hubli-Dharwad by then was already at its peak of Hindustani music. The origins of Hindustani music around Dharwad are quite an aberration. Historically, classical arts in India were protected and promoted in the precincts of temples, in the courts of rajas and nawabs. They flourished in places of historic significance with centuries of ripened culture and strong political background. The tinsel town of Dharwad however defies this norm. Out of nowhere, in twentieth century it emerged as a great hub for Hindustani music. This rise coincided with the time when the Bombay Presidency was formed by the British. The Mysore kingdom spanned up to Harihar, while the parts of Karnataka north of Tungabhadra were merged to Bombay Presidency. The effects of this division are evident to this day where the most large scale industries stretch till Harihar. This division also meant that there was now a more active interaction between the Marathi and the Kannada cultres. Marathi drama cultivated a taste for Hindustani music. At around same time Ganesha festivals were introduced by Bala Gangadhar Tilak. Relatively untouched by the rising fervor of nationalism, the sleepy, peaceful town of Dharwad achieved great heights in Music, drama, literature and education. The areas of Malmaddi, Sadankeri and Hosayellapura were centers bubbling with activity. A walk around Karnataka University will testify the cultural exuberance Dharwad once enjoyed.

The love of north Indian music was fostered by the fortuitous presence of some exemplars like Bhaskarbua Bhakle who stayed in Dharwad to teach at the training college and acquired fans and disciples. Vocalist Rehmat Khan also settled down in Dharwad at the same time. The Agra Gharana and Gwalior Gharana music slowly percolated into the streets of Dharwad. North Indian artists, invited to perform in Mysore, especially during the Dussera celebrations, often broke their journey at Dharwar where they found the weather as pleasant as the people. During one such halt, acclaimed vocalist Abdul Karim Khan made a visit to Kondgol. This artist from village Kirana in the north, happen to spot Ramrao humming Bhairavi which he had rendered the previous day. Khansab , immediately accepted him as his disciple and took him along to Miraj for musical teachings. Post his return, the polished voice of Ramrao made huge waves in the music oriented dramas. Back then dramas were the primary source of entertainment. This got him the title Sawai Gandharva or "Second Celestial". Some of the best years in life come from my stay at Deshpande nagar of Hubli , where the famous Sawai Gandharva hall is erected in his memory. A story has it that once when Abdul Karim Khan asked Sawai Gandharva to provide tanpura accompaniment at his concert, the sishya excused himself saying he had a sore throat. But Khansaheb found him performing his famous role of Subhadra that very evening, and cursed him with a permanent sore throat. This is one version which seeks to explain the deep alaaps being practiced by Hindustani musicians of the day. Sawai Gandharva’s contribution to Hindustani music is deep rooted in the very culture. Not only were his musical exploits exemplary, but his list of disciples would humble any other guru. The likes of Bhimsen Joshi, Firoz Dastur, Basavaraj Rajguru and Gangubai Hangal are house hold names. True to her guru, Gangubai Hangal still resides in Deshpandenagar and still performs at an annual event in Kundgol in the memory of her guru.

The life of little Bhimsen entered a new phase, where he started his music study under Sawai Gandharva. However life is not about fairy tales, life then was not easy. With singing as a career the survival options were very less. To musicians the establishment of Radio station in Dharwad came as a blessing. There were two ways to get in: One was to be an employee in the radio station, where one was prohibited from private sangeet bhaitaks (gatherings) of their own, but they were guaranteed a monthly income. The other was to be invitational performance at the radio station, but it was per event based and not a guaranteed source of income. Per performance used to fetch around 100 rupees (yes even with 100 bucks families could sail the entire month then). The social setup at that time was also different, something which is hard to picture at these times. Unlike today, there were hardly any restaurants then. The Kamaths’ were the pioneers who first started a restaurant in Hubli. The advantage with Bhimsen Joshi was that he was a Brahmin musician and people were more than happy to invite him. Interestingly , there was no expectation of money , while a song would do just fine.

Since the money sources were volatile, it meant Joshi had to roam around places to find occasions or events where his performance could be rendered. There was no concept of a fixed payment, but the payments were made as per the wish of the organizers. Also the far distance from either capitals( Bombay or Mysore) meant the political support was feeble. The picture was not all rosy and though musicians were respected, they were financially not in a good shape. Even in those tough times the fame of Bhimshen Joshi was spreading fast in Northern Karnataka and parts of Southern Maharastra. Luckily, new avenues opened up in Pune and Mumbai were the drama culture was taking new shapes. Even with tough competition, Bhimshen Joshi , with his talent made his mark and then there was nothing stopping him. An entry by Rajan Parrikar as part of Great Masters Series, covers in good detail the journey of Bhimsen Joshi to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. His Transition from train to car to Plane is a nice story. Also during his stints at the Lucknow radio station he shared space with his contemporary maestro Ustad Bismillah Ali Khan.

In the meantime, the Hindustani music was at its peak at Dharwad with the likes of Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur, Basavaraj Rajguru( who escaped to Pakistan to learn music during partition), Bale Khan, Pt.Arjun sa Nakod, Pt Raghunath Nakod, Balachandra nakod,Sanghameshwar Gurav,his son Kaivalya kumar Gurav,Pt.D kumardas,pt.Venkatesh kumar,sri Jayateerth mevundi,Shantaram Hegde,Chandrasekhar Puranikmath, Kaivalya Kumar, Sangameshwar Gurav and many others with their presence took Hindustani music to a peak never seen before. However musicians these days are not house-hold names unlike in the previous era. It’s sad but true that not many youngsters take up to music with the same levels of passion. Many don’t end up completing the rigorous training of Hindustani music. However the scene is not entirely that gloomy. There are many instances where the Karnataka is now standing up to take notice of the various performances. One of Pt. Bhimshen Joshi's favourite disciple is Madhav Gudi. Also notable among them being the renowned vocalist Sangeeta Katti(disciple of Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru for 12 years) who excels in different genres of singing. Also there are some upcoming superstars (not like rockstar) vocalists like Meghana Kulkarni who have sincerely pursued the rigors of Hindustani Music training. She is trained under the expert guidance of Rajyotsava Award winner Pt.Venkatesh Kumar from Dharwad. Considered as the torch bearer of Khayal style of music Kumar Mardur, son of Pt Somnath Mardur, reflects the very essence of classic Hindustani music.

Hopefully the time for a revival is in the reckoning and this Bharat Ratna has set the ball rolling. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is the sixth person from the field of art and culture to get the Bharat Ratna award after Satyajit Ray, M S Subbulakshmi, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Lata Mangeshkar and Ustad Bismillah Khan.

A question to ask is:

Will Bharath Ratna make a difference to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi ? Probably yes … probably no.

But the awareness levels which it generates for the field of his excellence, is of immense value.

To reflect this fact Pandit Bhimsen Joshi said --"I am happy to receive this award on behalf of all the great musicians and masters who represented the 'Khayal' tradition of Hindustani classical music in this country" -- after the award was bestowed upon him.

Long Pending , but things are starting to move

2008-09-28T01:07:00.000+05:30

This is the teaser for African trip we had sometime back ( long time back :) )

Long Pending , but things are starting to move

Back to being the 20-rupee petrol guy

2008-09-19T04:55:00.003+05:30

This has nothing got to do with the rising oil prices, nor the double-digit inflation , neither the crashing US economy.

Well 20 rupee petrol is a phase of life , where the bike hardly comes out of the RESERVE mode of its operation. I am sure most of them would have experienced this phase of life. Its just that i re-entered this phase.

Eagerly looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. "
-Robert Frost

Puzzles that dont let you sleep

2008-05-21T22:35:00.002+05:30

Here is one of them for sure.

There are some 100 assorted coins on the table. It is known that only 30 of them are with heads turned upwards. You are blindfolded and the challenge is to divide the coins in two piles with equal number of coins with heads turned upside.

Constraints: You cant see even a bit with blind fold. Also, one cant touch the coins and get any information :)

Clues: Coin flipping is allowed. Also, coins can be moved around easily.

Valentine Day of my life with "THE DON "

2008-02-16T19:43:00.008+05:30

"My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." "
--Guess the source

The day unfolded itself pleasantly(I don't attach special importance to the day, grapes are sour you see). The day was made special with me having an interaction with the legendary Professor Emeritus of Computer Science department at Stanford University "Donald Ervin Knuth"(Ka-NOOTH).

For my friends who do not know about the Don . Here's my version of what I know -
He is the author of "The Art of Computer Programming" book series... unofficially considered the bible of Computer science. Many people (including me) talk very highly of these books without having read them in true spirit. People also relate to him from his other antics like
* He pays a finder's fee of $2.56 for any typographical errors or mistakes discovered in his books, because "256 pennies is one hexadecimal dollar". (His bounty for errata in 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated, is, however, $3.16). According to an article in MIT's Technology Review, these reward checks are "among computerdom's most prized trophies". --Source Wikipedia
* During out talk he mentioned that he doubles the amount for every English grammar error made as well as the bugs found in his code. This is the confidence every Newspaper editorial and every bit of commercial software written should posses.

The best moment set in when we(my hard core geek friend and I) had the privilege to ask the Don a question. The whole assembled audience applauded our owl's effort to meet the Don. He answered the questions thrown at him with at most sincerity, every word seem to make sense.

Here are some of the gems he spoke about:

*"Life is a binary Search"
*"Literate Programming"
*"His Correlation with Mathematics and not Economics"
*"Difference between Mathematics and Computer Science"
*"How to write a design a Bad Programming Language"
*"Polynomial Time solution for NO Hard problems", prophecy about possible implications.
*"How to become better at Computer Science"
*"How he would change the entire Library Linker feature, using the Assembly language as a replacement"

Don't worry if you find most of the above greek and latin. I could not even make out which language they were [:)].

We also have captured the audio from the telephone, the recording quality is not that high. Planning to get the audio quality to some acceptable level before posting the link.

P.S : The excitement too high to express in words. Call it the fallacy of the language or my inability to use it.

Trip Making --- Manali-Leh-Manali

2007-11-26T04:55:00.000+05:30

A chronicle coverage of this trip is inked by my parter in crime Kiran. Link to the Snaps.

Well here is the banal version of epitomizing the whole trip:
"We successfully completed the trip we started on 29th of June 2007 from Bangalore, reached Leh, and returned back to Bangalore on July 8th 2007".

However, this trip has had an impact on our lives in ways more than ONE. There is a sense of immortal charm to this trip , which resonates deep in our minds till date. All the events that unfolded have vivid memories which we treasure and cherish.

Looking back there is no point denying there is a very thin line between adventurism and foolishness. A greater part of what triggered this foolishness was the movie below with the ever haunting music.

The quotes with which the movie begins "Probably all this does not make sense , but if you are 23 it seems just right" . Incidentally, Scott Adams in his book God's Debris makes similar comments on the age of 23 at the very start of the book “If you are 23, yours odds of liking it are very good”. Here is the link to an on-line version of the book. Also books like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig, provide alltogether a different angle towards bike riding. God bless my good friend who gifted me this book.

Hmmmm.....

The Plan : To drive the roads of the highest motorable roads of the world.
The Method: Improvisation.

However, here is the collaborative document which we used to plan the trip. But one strong learning from this trip has been that the reality that entails the planning, is entirely different and something which has to be experienced. When it(reality) hits you, the only solace is improvisation. Nevertheless, one may find the pre-reading useful as it helps one form some mental picture of what to expect.

Satisfied with our googling capabilities, we set out to conquer the Himalayan terrain as if it were yet another drive on Bangalore roads. We had a day to search our bikes in Manali, where we had put in some thought to minimize risk by hiring two bikes, than risk a single point failure. We also did learn up some basic bike handling stuff, like cleaning spark plug, replacing clutch wire(a very common failure esp in Bullets), replacing engine oil and other basic fixes to common problems. Being an engineer(even though a software engineer), getting to know a good engineered product like YAMAHA is a kick in itself.

In worst case(O(N)), out exist strategy was to put the bikes on a truck and ride back home. Completely oblivious to the events in store, we set out on a 5 day tour to Leh from Manali.

[To be continued ... ]

“Many will call me an adventurer - and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes.”
-Ernesto 'Che' Guevara

Addendum :
---------------
Link to Gustavo Santaolalla - Motorcycle Diaries theme (live) by Arijit:

Prisoner Puzzle

2007-11-02T01:56:00.000+05:30

A warden meets with 'N' new prisoners when they arrive. He tells them, "You may meet today and plan a strategy. But after today, you will be in isolated cells and will have no communication with one another.

"In the prison is a switch room, which contains two light switches labeled A and B, each of which can be in either the 'On' or the 'Off' position. I am not telling you their present positions. The switches are not connected to anything.

"After today, from time to time whenever I feel so inclined, I will select one prisoner at random and escort him to the switch room. This prisoner will select one of the two switches and reverse its position. He has to move atleast one of the switches. He can't move none, either. Then he'll be led back to his cell.

"No one else will enter the switch room until I lead the next prisoner there, and he'll be instructed to do the same thing. I'm going to choose prisoners at random. I may choose the same guy three times in a row, or I may jump around and come back.

"But, given enough time, everyone will eventually visit the switch room as many times as everyone else. At any time anyone of you may declare to me, 'We have all visited the switch room.'

"If it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will be fed to the alligators."

Here's the question:
Is there a strategy the prisoners devise can devise? If YES, What? If NO, why NOT?

Answer to be posted as a comment in three days.

Legendary Days

2007-10-11T08:20:00.000+05:30

Oct 9th

che guevara

Oct 10th

Rekha

Oct 11th

Amitabh Bachchan

Figuratively Speaking

2007-09-17T01:37:00.000+05:30

This is an article i read some time back while traveling. The allegory presented was so powerful, that the idea still resonates in my mind. Thanks to Internet, was able to recover the article in its pristine form.

Here is the article :
http://www.shashitharoor.com/articles/toi/elephant.php

exercise for readers:-
Search "India" in the article.

True Independence day gift

2007-08-18T00:40:00.000+05:30

Just did not want anyone, I know , to miss this news.
Bangalorean Anup Sridhar defeated former world number 1 and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia. Though the tournament has progressed, I want to take a snapshot of this moment and let the feeling sink in.

Taufik Hidayat is to say the least is born to play the game of badminton. Elegance personified and a game which has cult following. A simile in cricketing terms: There is a huge fan following for Azhar's game than Dravid's.

Such victories are not mere victories, these indeed are allegories which can be used to show to the world the accretion in the self-belief among Indians as world beaters. Visualize the independence day with Sharukh saying DO-minate and Anup DO-ing it.

Cheers Anup .... Keep DOing it

Chess Puzzle

2007-08-04T22:06:00.000+05:30

The puzzle is given to me by my friend Ananth Shrinivas .

This is the question:
Where was the queen captured?

Note: Any valid chess move is allowed. (This means u can place a queen in front of a pawn and the queen might not be captured)

Also here goes the solution:
It was captured at H6 by the pawn.

The solution here is un-consequential as the way to it is the key.

This is a puzzle in the book is "Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes" by Raymond Smullyan.

Where is the legend Gary Kasparov now

2007-05-18T00:30:00.000+05:30

We all know the great Gary Kasparov for his prowess at chess. Where is he now? Check this out

Was watching Australian network , where they featured an interview with Gary Kasparov.
The interview starts like this "You have been barred from talking to Russian media!!!!, we are grateful to have you have on the Australian channel"
Back here, we fail to appreciate this power of democracy :( .

But I have a different point-of-view here. Inspired by the interview, I got back to the internet to get a more indepth feel of the issue.

Influenced by the famous quote "who wants to use brains, just google it", I almost involuntarily, googled 4 it. Typed in " Gary Kasparav" (Dumb enough agreed).
Here are the results.

No surprises here, these results are dumb too :) . The top links are from the wikipedia, which one can almost be sure of these days.
Now I have two ways

1) to put pressure on my little brain, trying out "gary kasparov russia protests" (again some crap I can think on top of my mind).

or

2) Leverage the power of the internet comunity. Used del.icio.us here . The results are here, the ones I need at this point of time.

With method 1) I could not easily get this link out, whereas with method 2) I got it. This link, I believe is the material I am looking.

I am too loyal to google to stop from using it, but now that I have options -I am happy.

Historic day today ..... April 16th 1961 ....Bay of Pigs Invasion ...Cuban Revolution

2007-04-17T00:08:00.000+05:30

Please read this Amazing piece from Cuban revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion

Here is the most important declaration in Cuban History on April 16th 1961
by Fiedal Castro's(FC) to the Army (A)

FC: "Do you agree with Urban Reforms?"
A : YES!!!!!!!!!!!! (raising their rifles)
FC: "Do you agree with the Revolution's changes in education and health?"
A : YES!!!!!!!!!!!! ( again ...raising their rifles)
FC: "This is called Socialism."

To feel what I actually mean check this out

These are snippets from the historic documentary I watched today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPlnGiS488s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KzFc5BmLEM

History's gem

See Anand just got better

2007-03-12T21:57:00.000+05:30

Cant be a coincidence!!!!! But a fact
http://sify.com/sports/fullstory.php?id=14407011

Best idli and coffee shop in shop -- Brahmin's coffee bar

2007-03-11T14:48:00.000+05:30

Brahmin coffee bar is voted as the best IDLY shop in Bangalore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This (20 ft X 10 ft) outlet just rocks. Started in 1965, the simple menu consists of Idli, Vada, Kara Bhath and Kesari Bath. The real killer item is the "CHUTNEY" .... never miss it.

A plate of idly-vada will cost you Rs. 16, Kharabath costs Rs.8 and Kesaribath Rs.8. The outlet is open from 6 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 7 pm, except on Sundays.

Driving directions:
From Ashrama Circle go towards Uma theatre, take right before Jnanodaya School, proceed for 100+ metres and you will find the outlet at right corner of the road.

Just check this out
http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=12953908&x=77568895&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2

Chennai Update

2007-01-23T04:17:00.000+05:30

In Chennai for a talk on DTrace. Well guilty of not having prepared the presentation...waking up late night!!!. But not complaining as the room is real cozy :).

Plans ahead
Trip to Mahabalipuram on the ECR road.Heard a lot about its coastline drive.
Then Spenzers and Marina beach.

BTW guess what ???
My sudoku solution got selected and have got a call this Sunday. Alas I cant make it. Let me know if anyone interested to attend this second round.

Internet time running out here(connected to hotels wifi..decent speed)
Chennai rocks !!!!

Weird Sudoko puzzle ... The toughest I have come across

2007-01-20T17:09:00.000+05:30

This is not the regular puzzle we are used to. Have spent half of my day solving this.
Now here is the solution I came up with. There might be multiple solution , not sure though. Try madi !!!!!

Vishwanath Anand COULD NOT DEFEAT ME

2006-12-23T21:12:00.000+05:30

I am in my perfect senses when I say "Vishwanath Anand COULD NOT DEFEAT ME".
This is just the trailer, check out more snaps here. So the next time you talk to me just keep this at the back of your mind.

Yeah, Vishy was at our work place and we had a session of rapid chess with him. To say the least he was amazing. But, me being me, could hold the fort for 20 minutes. He dished out all the tricks he had , but ofcourse I had an answer . He reached the limits of his intellecual capacity and finally called quits. Finally I consoled him saying "Well played , but better Luck Next Time mate" .

Now coming back to reality- yes I did play chess with the legend himself. We did interact and compete with Anand(in flesh and blood). Anand is the brand ambassador for NIIT and NIIT has good association with the company I work for. Hence the game. There were 10-12 of us competing with him in a rapid chess scenario.

Initially we had our tactics well laid, so that we give him a run for his money. Me and my neighbour had a simple stratergy. I was supposed to play black and he would be playing white. A white move in my board would be faithfully copied by my neighbour and I would replicate every black move. The intension was to make Anand play against himself( Obviously inspired by some Sidney Seldon Novel, but the application was innovative).

But just before the game, our so called tactics went down the gutters as the organiser asked everyone to start with whites. I normally dont show my psychopathic intentions but-- this occasion demanded one!!!. So there you go, Anand face-to-face with me and I dont have a stratery to counter him. Honestly, it hardly mattered!!!

With everyone going in for the standard Ruy Lopez move or Queen's Indian Defense , I decided to go with a rather unusual move called Benko's Opening. Just to put things into perspective ,this is one of the favourites of Gary Kaspaparov.

Finally, after juggling for 20 minutes and having lost a pawn each, the game had to be called off for the pausity of time. Post match we had our share of snaps and autographs. Also there was an interview session with the one of the true legends of Indian sporting hsitory.

Steve Ballmer in India --- who cares

2006-11-08T22:58:00.000+05:30

Ok my old friend Steve Ballmer is in India. He is organizing a big event in Mumbai.

Now I dont plan to take leave from my office , but still want to attend the event tommorow at Mumbai...Wondering How check this out.

http://www.microsoft.com/india/indimix/event_agenda.aspx

ugenie launched today

2006-11-01T20:51:00.000+05:30

My friend & senior from PESIT ---Mekin has joined a startup called ugenie. They went online today.

Well here is a brief Summary of about the company
Prof. Rajeev Motwani of Stanford University is an advisor to UGenie. Who is Prof. Motwani?? well his students founded Google.

Former amazon executives, Harish and Krishna Motukuri founded the start-up in June, funded by VC's Sierra Ventures and BlueRun Ventures.

What's more they are in the same building, where I work.

Ugenie is an online comparison-shopping tool and a "true price discovery engine" as founders want to put it.
Other player in this field is TheFind.

The following makes an interesting read on how they do it.

Ugenie brings-in two nice features to online shopping:
a)Computing taxes, shipping, discounts, and coupons (even finding coupon codes for you) to compare the actual “credit card damage”
b)Taking your multiple-item shopping list and finding the best way to bundle products across sites to minimize shipping charges and maximize discounts.

But the sad part is ITS only for US :(. Probably Indian market large enough for their expectations or might be in their expansion plan.

Fun to the core

2006-10-04T10:36:00.000+05:30

Click here for more snaps

Last week was very hectic, atleast I thought it was. The very thought of a long weekend made it even more interesting. We had the trip planned(seriously). Some of the mail exchanges we had on Friday made Sastry comment that this was the best ever planned trip.
Plan was simple..
There were 5 bakras Manu,Sandeep,Sampat,Sastry & me who would volunteer themselves for the trip. I was getting the car.We all were supposed to meet at Sandy's place @ 1o, play cards and leave the next morning.THATS IT!!!!!!.
Plan was foolproof...
But I was the first to screw it up. Because I work very hard, I could not make to Sandy's house that night. But the party had begun.They played cards all night having all conscience of morning being a long ride, but none of us bothered to sleep.
None of us slept, but were ready to leave by 4.00 am. Have to confess here. We actually left this early for the first time.
Plan being foolproof worked....
The plan had a small problem though. It did not include the place where we were supposed to go. We brainstormed for 15 minutes and finally decided to boil down to either Chicmangalur or Pondicherry. Ideal situation for my coin to come out, however didnt use it as we decided for no particular reason that Chicmangalur was the best place to go.
Plan was revised or deviced...
There we left at 4:15 am. Ripping across we reached Chicmangalur by 10. Having enquired the locals, here was the new plan.
Chic--Mulangiri--Bababudangiri--- thereafter (GOD knows best)

My Presentation @ VTU EduSat

2006-09-07T01:15:00.000+05:30

I am excited to speak at the VTU edusat programme today @ 4.30 pm. I am speaking on
Unix Shell & Architecture. Here is the preso

The programme is very innovative in its essence. For more details check out here.

In Brief,
The live lectures are received at classrooms of the engineering colleges. There are two types of classrooms - interactive and non-interactive. The 1.2-meter antenna has been installed in each college.

* In the interactive classroom, the students can interact with the subject expert at the teaching end through a voice link via satellite (64 kbps audio return channel). The question and the subject expert's response to the question can be heard live in all classrooms.
* Non-interactive classroom will have 'receive-only' facility and the students can interact with the subject expert via telephone line or mobile phone or internet. In this case, normally, the subject expert repeats the question for greater clarity.

Hope everything goes smoothly.

Steve Irwin No more

2006-09-04T18:18:00.000+05:30

Once i was randomly browsing through the channels and this guy made me stop @ animal planet channel just with his sheer energy. Hmmm indeed a legend in his own right.

Steve Irwin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gods Debris

2006-08-23T16:59:00.000+05:30

This is how the Intro starts
After a certain age most people are uncomfortable with new
ideas. That certain age varies by person, but if you’re over
fifty-five (mentally) you probably won’t enjoy this thought
experiment. If you’re eighty going on thirty-five, you might
like it. If you’re twenty-three, your odds of liking it are very
good.

Now in case ur tempted to read here is the link

Assholes learn this way

2006-07-27T19:19:00.001+05:30

PS:Click on the image to get a clear picture

Ok me is the subject under discussion here. Locking the system was never in my veins u see. I somehow always felt unlocked system provided the highest sense of security.

Well some 1 wrote this script when I was away

Here is the script

while true; do echo "I'm guilty for not locking the system"; sleep 1; done

2006-07-19T00:08:00.000+05:30

read this link

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Learnt some smart acronyms RTFM and STFW

Though sounding rude ...truely technical

Spelling bee Competition

2006-07-17T01:33:00.000+05:30

One sure shot indication that Indians are making a mark on the global scene is this speeling bee competition in US.

Just check out the top finishers in the list here.

Another interesting observation was when, the round before the final was completed-players were allowed to interact. Call it just a one-off, but the kids actually ahd groups among them. The Indian kids interacted among themselves, while a different party was going elsewhere... Hmmm btw its just an observation.

Completed 1 year of work exp

2006-07-12T20:25:00.000+05:30

Now I can for sure write in my resume about my experience as being 1+ (+is for 1 day delay).

Years are going as quick as....i donno but real quick.

Lots of things to do ....less of time left.

Will Not watch FUTBOL anymore

2006-07-02T02:21:00.000+05:30

More than anything I cannot watch...thats it

As I write 3 minutes to go.... brazil on the way back home.....

Boy why brazil of all the teams...futbol is a bad game. I HATE IT ...I HATE IT

Sambhar of 69

2006-06-23T00:41:00.000+05:30

I had my first real six rupees,
stole it from my father's pants.
went to a nearby hotel,
to eat the sambhar of 69.

Me and some kadke dost,
had it all and we caught bukhaar,
jimmy puked, Joey got ulcers,
and Bagga ne maari dakar.

Oh when I went back now,
the food was as stale as ever,
and though it was 99,
still the sambhar was being served there,

That was the worst food of my life.

There's no use in complaining,
when you got no other place to eat,
rushed in the evening to the doctors clinic,
but he too was at the toilet seat, yeah

Standing there waiting out,
nurse told me I will wait forever,
oh and when I held my breath,
I knew that I had to use that loo there
That was the worst food of my life.

Back to the sambhar of 69.

Kiran Completes 1 year at Thought works

2006-06-21T01:39:00.000+05:30

Congrats!!! Kiran for successfully completing a dozen months at Thought Works.

Well I somehow had this old snap with me. This picture was taken when Kiran was still young and had got his first "Pasine ki kamayi" as an intern.

Lot many nice things happening around me

*Sandeep was awarded a confirmation in Infosys... One real cool guy, has all the ammunition to take over any girls heart...
*Our team won a nail biting chase in the "galli match" we had
*relatives flying all over the world--also my mother learnt to chat with these NRI's all by herself
*friends flying for higher studies (atleast 8 ppl whom I know closely are flying to US in august)
*one of my friend gets the best employee, other gets recognised for his volunteer activities .
*My juniors now to be called as Engineers. I happened to visit the college, meeting them after they had just submitted thier final project draft.

Mood in my camp is real upbeat.... guys u rock!!!!!!!

My cutest captured image

2006-06-19T00:34:00.000+05:30

I have made sure that this cutie is present in every device I have..... my laptop has it ....my cellphone.... my desktop... and now my blog.

On close observation...u see the pillar behind. The pillar was supposed to be the object of this picture; but as I approached with my camera.....the girl was very happy that I was taking her snap and started waving. The delight was so spontaneous and natural, that I had no option but take her snap.My amateurish photography skills have done little justice to the god-like innocence.

We actually were on a trip to Shravanabelagola, Halebidu, Belur..... but this was the most beautiful thing I saw during the trip.

philosophical day

2006-05-25T11:21:00.001+05:30

In just one day I learnt this many philosophical concepts

1) Loaded gun concept
2) Broken window theory
3) Stone soup theory
4) Friends concept

Now none of them are related to any thing.

These will hardly make any sense to a layman :) --as its completely philosophical u see.Try google-ing for some success.

My favourite is the Loaded gun concept, I doubt even google helping here.

Pak singers take it all

2006-01-18T00:03:00.000+05:30

I am just listening to the songs of Kalyug and the striking voice of Atif has really captivated me. Song is "Aadat"-- for the first time I did nothing but listen to the song. This is 10th time I am listening to this song after the first time I heard it.
Its not the song, its not the music, Its all about the voice.

Later really impressed by the voice I googled to find Atif is a pakistani, So are Strings, So is Junoon, So is Ustad Fateh Ali Khan many more I guess. Boy this is a awesome list.
These are voices who have trancended the boudary purely on quality.

Every Indian is brought up to hate a pakistani, I just am the same. So I think these ppl must be given Indian citizenship so that I can adore them.
The best part of music,unlike sports, is that we can enjoy the talent.

But boy the talent pool in pakistan makes me jealous. Imagine what if there was no partition.

Olympic medals for Hockey, squash, Kabbadi(anyway if a part of)
US would have supported us, china would give its arms, Russia its space technology

Now instead of all this thinking I will get back and listen to the song again.
"Jiya Dhadak Dhadak" and "Tu mujme kahi baki hai" ---tooo mismerizing
Hats off Pakistan 4 this, balls otherwise.

Books I wish to read

2005-10-29T02:21:00.000+05:30

General
1) Heard a lot of the book Shantaram-by some foreign author
2) Tao of physics
3) A night at a call centre--Chetan Bhagat same guy who wrote 5.Someone
4) Catch-22( Heller) one of the most hilarious books EVER
5) Fountain Head -- I am still to grab a copy of it
6) Lance Armstrong Biography --still reading it
Just for paulo coelho fans
1......the alchemist
2......the pilgrimage
3......the valkyries
4......eleven minutes.

Business Stuff
1) Tom Peters - Circle of Innovation
2) Maverick - Ricardo Semler
3) Managing Radical Change - Sumantra Ghoshal
4) Every Business is a growth business - Ram Charan
5) Getting to Yes - William Ury
6) Getting past NO - William Ury & Gang
7) The Ffth Discipline - Peter Senge
8 ) Made in Japan - Akio Morita ( A very simplistic book though )
9) First, Break all the rules - Marcus Buckingham10) Best Practices - Arthur Andersen
10) Iacocca"..Its the autobiography of Mr. Lee Iacocca
11)Unnatural Leadership (err...not sure)
12) Borderless World (err....its abt globalisation....)
13) Kotler on Marketing (Philip Kotler...a masterpiece)

These may not be classics in true sense but a must read nevertheless..............

Came across these today

2005-09-15T00:31:00.000+05:30

"...the so called anti-globalization protests have become among the most globalized events in the contemporary world" - Amartya Sen

your ass is grass (read as 'anyone and everyone will trample over your posterior')

Bowled over by Jeffrey archer

2005-08-23T21:53:00.000+05:30

To cut a long story short-- Nice short stories. Read few stories 2 day -- every story entirely different and interesting. Thx Kiran for giving me the book.

Tie a tie

2005-08-19T22:57:00.000+05:30

WE are professionals'( pros as one of my friend likes to call) .Try this

Browsing without Mouse click is possible

2005-08-19T19:18:00.000+05:30

Try this link its all fun

Being online helps

2005-08-10T23:23:00.000+05:30

No gift I bring but worship, and the loveWhich all must bear to lovely souls and pure,Those lights, that, when all else is dark, endure;Stars in the night, to lift our eyes above;
To lift our eyes and hearts, and make us moveLess doubtful, though our journey be obscure,Less fearful of its ending, being sureThat they watch over us, where'er we rove.
And though my gift itself have little worth,Yet worth it gains from her to whom `tis given,As a weak flower gets colour from the sun.Or rather, as when angels walk the earth,All things they look on take the look of heaven -For of those blessed angels thou art one

Working latenights

2005-08-05T23:27:00.000+05:30

I have been working latenights these days. A blessing for someone who hates to get up early and sleep late

Do these tests really help??? See it yourself

2005-08-04T01:10:00.000+05:30

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/returning/betterlearner/learningstyle/thinker_quiz/index.shtml

I was rated as a "Interpersonal thinker"

I am the first

2005-08-01T09:16:00.000+05:30

I came to the office first. Scheduled time being 9.30 I was out in the office at 8.47 . This is a great achievement for me. Anyone wondering that have I become prompt-- yes I have. I am very punctual these days. U know disciple, punctuality, dedication (who can forget deference) etc etc qualities are sort of embedded in me these days.

Hmm getting to the reality -- my friend had a interview at 8.45 here and I got him here at 8.45.20 -- still maintianing my legacy of being late.

WAY TO GO

For Harry pottter fans

2005-08-01T02:50:00.000+05:30

I donno where I got this link from but a awesome link for Harry fans

Check this link out

http://www.brain.net.pk/~waqasharoon/hp/books/

eeeti nimma AMRUTA

2005-07-26T22:37:00.000+05:30

Had been to this narrative play performed by Srinivas Prabhu and Arundati Nag herself at raangashanhara. It is a sequence of dialogs between two soul mates with letters as the medium of expression. Though the actors just read the letters for the whole of the play-- one just feels that the characters are themselves present and performing. Words used really create an impact -- just inexplicable.

I particularly thought the play was senti and had a lot to do with emotions kind of stuff.

The best part of the play was that I was sitting next the legendary, honourary ,Jnana Peetha award winner Girish Karnad. He has his play coming up this month end . The play is called HAYAVADHANA. This play has an interesting storyline with fantasies abound in it-- with a message though.

About Ranga Shankara
Ranga Shankara - the first dedicated theatre space of Bangalore. Inaugurated on 27th Oct, 2004, the theatre celebrated the finest of Indian and world theatre for 35 days. Forums, workshops, films, platform performances, cart performances in different parts of the city, coffee, books - people here have now been introduced to a phenomenal theatre culture!

add: RANGA SHANKARA, 36/2 8TH CROSS, J P NAGAR IInd PHASE (next to the POST OFFICE)
BANGALORE - 560 078 INDIA
ph: 080 26592777/26494655/26493982.
biggest landmark: MY HOUSE -- just drop in to my house, I will take care of rest.

College magazine

2005-07-23T01:44:00.000+05:30

The college magazine is out. watch out 12.5 MB file. Very informative

Training goin on

2005-07-18T18:16:00.000+05:30

I have my training goin on since last week -- but it was 2day that we felt the heat. It was tech stuff with lot of grilling. Best of luck for me

Its My Blog too Shantanu......So here it is

2005-07-16T13:38:00.000+05:30

Hello All,
I really don't know what to write today, my friend suggested me to keep my blog updated since we meet each other once a week or fortnightly.
Actually I am feeling both Happy and Sad. Firstly the Happiness, I am very happy for two reasons :- My best school friend (girl) probably will get married by this year, their parents have started searching for a boy, first shot towards it will be today and she will be the first one to get married in our group. Second reason is, my Engg. college friends are returning to Bangalore after a week's training in a far off place Mysore conducted by Infosys and all are posted in Bangalore itself, but thats not the true fact I am happy about. The fact is my college crush is posted in Bangalore too and returning today itself.

Lets come to the other face of today's story,Sadness. Firstly, haven't seen my college crush for a long long time. Secondly, I told about my best friend gettng married right....she was my first crush in school. Thirdly, I forgot to ask my friend's sad incident that happend to him, which I came to know from the his Blog , he has written a philosophy instead of true incident. But that really creates curiosity....one more thing i really like to read is blog first than anyone else.

Let me tell you about how I came to know about my friend's marriage proceedings. Actually we thought of meeting her today in a coffee day....hey rhyming words dude[One more true FACT...she is prettier than my college crush !!!]. She lied to me that she wasnt well and so cannot meet me. Then I started my style of getting the truth from her, told her girls are like this and that, later she got so much bugged that truth came out. I started laughing at her when I heard about this, because she had told me about her goals for next 2 years what she going to do. But I had told her the true fact whats going to happen in a few days or months and the same happened. Most of the girls do like this because of parents pressure or loss of interest in future[goals].
My suggestion to girls like this, please do read "The Alchemist".

I felt like telling you about myself today, Hey... I am emotional and sensitive guy but avoid showing it in front of others .
This fact is known only to few of my close friends and my family.

Thats all for today, can't write anymore, nothing is flashing to my head.
But will be both and for whole day.
Bye
-Arvind

Blogs actually make sense

2005-07-14T10:49:00.000+05:30

though I have just started off this monday-- I kinda have a feeling that I am losing out of my friends. I am the culprit I know-- I havent called up any of my friends since Monday. I dont feel particularly good abt it but thats the way it is. Faces that we had to bare with the whole college life will rarely be seen--is indeed a hard fact to digest. Those were the days where we would discuss even the silly activities of our day--like a girl I saw in the temple the other day-- the huge multi billion dollar idea(obviously not working idea) etc etc etc . but here are the days where something crutial is done and I dont get to share them with others
As of wht I see Blogs can save us -- where our day to day activties can be listed and in a sense keep our friends updated with our daily junks.

A new friend is asking me for a coffee now -- So I am leaving as of now-- but will keep u updated even with such silly things

Bye

Start of a new Episode

2005-07-10T23:01:00.000+05:30

I will be starting off my pro career tommorow at Oracle.
May GOD save Oracle

Must watch Movies

2005-06-12T13:25:00.000+05:30

This list has no order -- But it does not require one I guess. Each one a classic in itself

Life is Beautiful, Philadelphia, No Mans Land, Run Lola Run, Schindler's List, Mask, Matrix,Forrest Gump, You Got Mail, Fight Club, Finding Nemo, Shrek, Cast away, Truman Show, One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, Sixth Sense, God Father, Monster inc, Anand, Throne of Blood, City of Joy, Artificial Intelligence, Ben hur, Chupke chupke,Basketball Diaries

2005-05-21T11:36:00.000+05:30

Go Go Go Karting -- The day that was

2005-05-21T11:35:00.000+05:30

Yeah this is me-- for sure 100%

2005-05-21T11:32:00.000+05:30

This is wht we do in our office Time Pass

2005-05-01T23:57:00.000+05:30

No work to do

A day to remember

2005-04-27T17:40:00.000+05:30

Today was unplanned fun.
Here is how the events unfolded.
Got up at 9 , looked the same day. I was not yet awake propoerly when my new cellphone rang.
Sumit called me for bungee jumping.
I said yes shamelessly-- knowing pretty well that I had to go to office for doing my

project. Actually I was the one who started the talk abt bungee jumping -- but never thought

it would materialize.
After a lot of exchange of calls,we decided we all will meet up at 10.30 at Sumits place--

me,Sumit,Shreyas,Veeresh, Arjunand Bhargav.
Sumit also gave a cryptic address enroute to his house-- like Grandpere's message in

DaVinciCode."Take double road-- Take mission road-- Take U turn -- Take left-- Ask for

Police Station-- Ask for my house-- finally me"
Here I was Dr.Robert Langdon finding my way -- took a wrong U turn and ended in a place

where I was sure that I had lost. I tried reaching to Sumit -- all in vain. Was wandering

about-- just to see his house right in front of me-- with a flyover in the middle.
There I was with a sense of accomplishment as if I found the Holy Grail

We all turned up at Sumit's place all set to take the plunge. On our way somehow-- out of

the blue -- someone came up with the idea of Go-Karting. All of a sudden the routes were

changed we headed to Karting without even thinking.

I still remmember my first time with karting -- the person there had said that I should

never attempt karting in my life. I was pathetic then driving fast motors at 5-10 kmph. This

time though I did pretty well -- managed decent speeds. My friends were really good at it.

We had a race with me in the pole position. We had a terrible accidents --some deliberate--

some unavoidable, but we managed ourselves unscratched. I ended 3rd -- pretty good for a

debut as terrible as mine.

We were now heading to the place where only mad people entered. Mad people because -- people

who spend 500 bucks, drive a long distance in the mid-day sun and end up risking their lives

can be described no better. When we went there we were surprised to see that mad people can

be amazingly hot.Yeah there were hot chiks jumping . Our male superiority boasted -- "Hey if

the chicks can do it must really be simple". Believe me its not.

After seeing them scream, dance, fall etc .., it was our turn to jump. No one was prepared

to volunteer for the jump. After much "pehle aap pehle app",I was made the bakra on the

grounds that it was my idea.
Lots of things were tied all around my hips, legs-- which made me wonder "what if --what if

these snatch". There was a platform which evlevated to the top. It was a crane that actually

took the platform up. The curator-- the person who made us fall was also present in there.
I hopped my way in and the platform esculated high. I enjoyed the view all along my way up.

There it was I could see Mekri cirlce,Vidhana Soudha, Golf Ground--almost the whole of

Bangalore. As the platform took its position at the top most position-- the enjoyment ended.
The curator was the taking off the buckle, setting me free and in a way telling me "ja sale

kud ke mar". He had some points to make before the jump -- I was hardly in my senses to hear

. All I heard was "Do u have any questions". I was quick to ask "What are my chances of

survival" , back came "100 %".
I spread my hands as if my dream girl was running towards me. At the ground level were my

friends chantting "come on Shantanu" , "U can do it" etc etc , but it sounded to me "bakra,

bakra --see the fool top there" .
any way I had no other option than jump. As I was about to fall , I saw a bed right below

me, that was enough to take me back. I was thinking , if this fall was safe why the hell

they had a bed down there. Why was there just a bed, why not a heavily stuffed cusion(as in

pole vault sport) which could take the impact of my fall and offer enough resistance to

nullify the effect of gravity. I wondered wht was the exact gravity here (9.8 or 10 as the

books I read often suggested different values). All the physics I studied suddenly flashed

before me. I moved back to consider the effects of the fall. I had enough time to formulate

a hypotesis in physics. Which said , "if a man weighing 72 kg jumps from 140 mts , he is

sure to die independent of the presence of the bed below".
As I was formulating my hypothesis , an experienced friend of mine shouted from below "Look

I am here in all blood and flesh ;still alive and shouting". That was reassuring.
I said to myself -- "This was the time to test my hypothesis-- and if possible prove it

wrong".
Then redid the whole exercise all over again, Went to the edge of the platform , spread my

arms to hold my imaginary angel approaching , took deep breath , pushed my feet to the far

edge", the only thing I did not redo was to look at the bed down under. All of a sudden my

dream girl was in front of me asking me to hug her, I lept to hold her -- that was it .

I had jumped.

Cannot explain in words the feeling of a free fall-- one has got to do it . Ur feet feel

weight less, ur heart stops beating, world turns upside down-- many things happen in a

fraction of a second.
The string sort of thing attached to my leg -- finally came to action. It pulled me back,

again throwing me setting me up for a free fall.
This 2 seconds is what this whole crazy act is all about.
By now I sensed that there was a possiblity of me being alive. Regained my senses and

started shouting , screaming -- mainly to scare the people around. I was still popping

around when the platform started its descent.
As I approached the ground , the staff members there caught hold of me, placing me smoothly

on to the bed. Everything was making sense now the bed, the height, the free fall, the

screaming and the 500 bucks. Totally worth it.

After me were Sumit, Arjun and Bhargav took the jump. All had a gr8 fall. Impressed by our

effort they offered us a free jump. We forced Shreyas to take the plunge-- but he has a girl

friend these days-- all our efforts were in vain. All of a sudden he suggesteed my name --

reasoning that since I had taken the first it was me who had to take the last as a moral

obligation. Fair enough. There I was searching for the board which said "Shantanu is a

bakra, a bakra".
This time though it was not a Bungee jump but a "rocketer". Here I was to stand on the

ground. There was a high tension rope suspended from the crane, which was attached to my

back.
I was propelled into the sky as if I was a missile. Before I was aware I was flying, before

I could feel that I was fired I was falling. Everything was happening really fast. This was

not as thrilling as the bungee jump, partly because I had the bungee jump moments ago. The

main reason I sensed was that I had no control over this act.
Bungee jump is the ultimate test. Its challenging not because of the height, the free fall

or the risk involved but because of the decision one has to take when standing on the edge

at the top.

I feel its a must for everyone. Now that I have been there -done that, I feel I have

acquired the right to say whether Bungee Jumping is a sane or an insane activity.

Now with normal life restored, I am here writing(or wasting time writing) about my

experience.
I will post the snaps soon -- as a proof of my act.
Take care.
Bye

2005-04-21T01:28:00.000+05:30

Got this picture from my friend Pawan(right end). Ok from Left -- Sunil(Kamya), Ajay(Ajya), Somshekhar and Pandya

Expt

2005-04-20T11:29:00.000+05:30

I am trying to post a picture here with hello

Free Codes

2005-04-20T11:22:00.000+05:30

Free C / C++ Libraries, Source Code and Frameworks

How to be a part of Tsunami relief operations1

2005-01-04T02:49:00.000+05:30

A personal request to all who are donating money—please donate your contributions to trusted authorities like the links suggested below.
Prime Ministers Fund
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund
Hindu Relief Fund
Indian Express Relief Fund
NDTV Relief Fund
Times of India Tsunami Relief Fund

(Compiled on 4-1-2004)

Contact Persons in Bangalore

AID : Guru- 98452 94184 , Saurabh Jain-98842 45668 ,
ICA- Geeta Rajagopal-98401 73553

Hope one finds the document useful

FROM

SHANTANU G
Email : Shantanu_gg@rediffmail.com

Even cheating is not easy

2004-11-17T01:17:00.000+05:30

To get this code I had to slog for 2-3 hrs on the net
arent we working hard for the project

Photography

2004-11-16T02:09:00.000+05:30

Hi friends meet a professional photographer today in yahoo chatHe was indeed a professional.He knew a great deal abt the slr cameraHe suggested me www.photography.com

English learners/lovers--must read

2004-11-16T01:11:00.000+05:30

Read this for improved interest in english

Starting with timepasss intensions

2004-11-12T00:07:00.000+05:30

Hey folks
Love Govinda,Jackie chan movies .
Then this blog is for u
where nothing but time is passed (also to mention "wastefully")
bookmark this blog and timepass ur way in internet

Bi
-- TPGUY