The Real Indian Idol?

Amit Paul is a great singer, no doubt. But he also looks cuter than Prashant Tamang does, according to a lot of women. And this might work against Prashant Tamang, in his race to win the Indian Idol.

Harshit, a fabulous singer and a consistent performer has an old grandmother appealing to the audience to vote for him. It is a heartrending sight to see the toothless old lady bless him on the stage of ‘Voice of India’. Junta (including me) might therefore vote for him, regardless of whether he is the best performer ओर not.

The judges of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ ensure that they bring in Poonam’s impoverished background, almost every time she sings. It seems like the proverbial rags to almost riches story and the audience cant help feel sad for the girl who fought all odds to make it to the ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ stage.

It felt really sad last night to see a great singer like Abhaas leave the contest because he has the least votes from the audience, despite judges declaring him to be one of the best singers in the contest.

And this seems to be the story across almost all singing talent hunts. When the panel of judges contains esteemed names from the music industry, why does the audience need to decide on who is the better among the best? Aren’t the judges capable enough to do so? Can’t the audience just sit back and relax, and enjoy a beautiful musical journey, while leaving the tough task of judging to the experts, to figure out who does greater justice to the finer nuances of singing?

And who is really benefiting from the audience votes – Not the best contestants, I am sure.

Would the winner declared based on the audience votes, be the real winner? Would (s)he be the real ‘Indian Idol’ that people could use as an example of a fine singer for their kith and kin to emulate, or just someone who won a contest, recorded an album and then faded off into oblivion like many others before him/her?

Seems to me that the latter is likely to happen unless the experts are allowed to make their choice.

Ganapati Bappa Morya!

Ganesh Chaturthi is a time in Bombay when people of different ages, castes, even religions get together amidst all fanfare to welcome the adorable elephant headed God, pamper Him to no end at his temporary home, the pandal, till its time for Him to go back to His Mother.
I was lucky enough to take my planned vacation during Ganesh Chaturthi time and visit my folks in Bombay. And I have been in a ‘drum-sound’ induced high :) since Friday when the Ganeshjis were brought to different pandals. It’s a heady feeling to see so much of positivity around – people dancing on the streets, full of smiles, putting their entire mind, body and soul into the celebration.

It was विसर्जन (immersion) time for the Ganeshji in our colony yesterday

So I landed up at the colony club to see Ganeshji embark on his final journey to join his Mother। Amidst the revelry, I spotted quite a few people I had not been in touch for a long time. It felt really nice to catch up with people I had not met for years together! And when the truck carrying Ganeshji moved out of the colony gate, I experienced mixed emotions – happiness and peace of mind that I have Vighnaharta’s (the destroyer of obstacles) blessings and nothing can stop me from achieving whatever I want this year, and sadness that the cute elephant headed God who makes me break into a smile every time I see Him, was going away to be back only next year! I hope He dissolves completely in the water, unlike some of the rather disturbing pictures I have seen recently, of undissolved Ganeshjis with one arm, or head and half a torso.

Ganapati Bappa Morya
Pudhchya varshi laukarya!

(Translated roughly it means O Lord Ganesh, do come back next year!)

Customer Delight!

There is a family of flower sellers who usually supplies us flowers for our daily पूजा. For the past few days, the kids of the family have been coming home to deliver the flowers. Mom asked them for some ‘extra’ flower packets twice because it was पूजा time. Yesterday, even without us asking for it, the smallest kid of the lot, around 5 years old, extended 3 packets of flowers towards me, saying ‘दीदी , auntyji extra फूल माँग रही थी ना ? मैं आज खुद extra फूल का packet लेके आ गया ! अभी पूजा में फूल की कोई कमी नहीं !’

This is what’s called Customer Delight! A 5 year old completely understood what my Mom wanted and his gesture delighted her beyond words! Wish adults were as perceptive as the little ones and knew how to read the pulse of the customer!

A weekend amidst the clouds!

No, I didn't go bungee jumping or parasailing :), if that's what you thought after reading the title of the post. This is about a weekend to a place 1525m above sea level, that put me on cloud 9,10,11.... and that destressed me completely!

A bunch of friends and I decided to head to Coorg last weekend to unwind amidst the pristine glory of a hill station.

A few wrong turns and a 3.5 hour delay (all thanks to the driver taking us through a longer route and almost taking the detour to Kerala) later, we reached our hostess Shamala’s place ‘Chirpy Haven’, at 3.15 am in the morning.

Once we entered Madikeri, our hosts were waiting for us in their car (at 3.00 am in the morning!) to show us the way to our accommodation for the next 2 days. Shivering in the cold night air, we stepped out of the van to be greeted by the warm smile of our hostess. I couldn’t wait to hit the sack as soon as I stepped into my room because I wanted to wake up early morning to take in the sights and sounds of Coorg.
It’s a different thing that I didn’t manage to wake up early enough (though earlier than the others in the group J) and when I finally did, saw greenery all around, leaves laden with dewdrops and reached out for my camera to capture my first sights of Coorg, my cam conked out!

‘Mr. Murphy’s blessings!’ I thought and waited for things to go from bad to worse but Mr Murphy had all things good in store for us! A sumptuous breakfast and about half a flask of hot coffee later, we headed out to see the sights. Armed with lemons and salt as an antidote for leech bites (since it had been raining intermittently), we landed at Abbey falls. My friend's son Varun, was excited about the possibility of being bitten by leeches (which would possibly increase his 'adventure quotient' among friends :)) but was disappointed that he didn't spot any!

A few photos (special mention: some pics of a friend where he looked like he was posing for mooh dikhayi pics) amidst the scenic locales and we were off for a short trek through Cauvery Nisargadhama.

The sound of water at both Abbey falls and Nisargadhama was like music to my stressed mind and body and I could feel my tensions melt away.

It had started raining on our way back to our homestay and I was glad to be indoors when I heard the rain beating a rhythm on the roof! Our hostess had a Coorgi style dinner ready for us. While most other members of the group indulged in some revelry that went late into the night, I reveled in blissful slumber soon after dinner :).
Fortunately for us, though it rained incessantly through the night, the skies cleared up on both the mornings we spent at Coorg. After bidding good bye to our hostess (she had the same wide smile on her face while seeing us off that she did while welcoming us!), and armed with coffee, pepper, cardamom and wine, we started off our journey towards Bangalore, with stops at various places enroute.

A quick visit to Raja seat and some more ‘concept’ pictures later, we headed out to visit the Namdroling monastry and the Golden temple.

We reached there right during the Lamas’ prayer time, and it was quite an experience to see hundreds of Lamas pouring into the temple and offering different forms of prayer (some reading silently at one temple, some chanting aloud to the beat of drums at another). What was possibly the cutest sight for me was the little Lamas indulging in continuous chatter and playing pranks on each other.

After spending some time boating in the waters of the Ranganthittu bird sanctuary and watching avian visitors like the White Ibis, Egret etc., and a languid crocodile here and there, we were all set to head to Namma Bengalooru, and call it a weekend well spent!

Its been a week since I got back to Bangalore after the trip but there are two things that remain firmly etched in my mind - 1.) the hospitality of Shamala who stayed awake late into the night to make sure we reached her place, safe and sound, arranged steaming hot food for us during breakfast and dinner, and treated a bunch of absolute strangers like members of her immediate family throughout our stay at her place, and 2.) the bonds that I saw developing between my friends. We were friends before the trip. We have become close friends after the trip.

An angelic stressbuster!

Since Tuesday was Raksha Bandhan, I landed up at my bro’s place late evening to tie him a rakhi. After a stressful 2 weeks at work, I was looking forward to a relaxing time with family. And relaxed I was from the moment I entered my bro’s place till the moment I got home, all thanks to my 1 year 3 month old nephew, who had taken it upon himself to entertain me from the moment I stepped into their house till the moment I stepped into mine! A cherubic baby, he kept me totally enthralled with his perceptiveness and super fast learning skills, and made me laugh with his antics.
The little angel conveys all that he wants through the 1st syllable of every word – ‘Ba’ could stand for a bus, a ball, a balloon, a banana or a bicycle depending on the context and it is upto the adults to figure out what he meant! I wish I had carried a camera with me that day to document all his adorable antics! Never mind, there’s always a next time!
I guess God couldn’t be everywhere to bust everyone’s stress. So he created babies!

'Manufactured' news?

Dear Mr. Aamir Khan is in trouble again according to the following newsreport:


Khan has been accused of not paying due respect to the national flagThe Youth Congress wing of Indore is likely to file a case against actor Aamir Khan for insulting the national flag. The actor, who was in Indore on the night of August 16 to inaugurate a car showroom at Fortune Landmark mall, did not pay attention to the fact that the national flag was flying high, and not at half mast, as it should be after sunset.“He did not pay attention to the national flag,” said Abhay Dubey, spokesperson for the Indore Congress. Youth Congress members objected to the actor’s negligence and even protested against him.Said an eyewitness, “The actor showed up at around 10 pm at the Fortune Landmark showroom. He seemed to be in a hurry to finish with the ribbon-cutting of the showroom. All of us standing there could see the national flag flying high. According to the Constitution, the national flag should be at half-mast after sundown. Aamir Khan is an intelligent man. He should have taken note of it.”“The Youth Congress wing of Indore booed the actor and even showed him black flags as a sign of protest,” added Dubey. “The police even hauled up the Congressmen who were holding black flags and shouting slogans against the actor. They also lodged a case against the protesters.”

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&sectid=2&contentid=200708222007082202305017111e3ff4e&pageno=1

If the protestors saw the flag flying high and not at half mast, why did they not do anything about it? Is it not their duty too? Did they also not disrespect the national flag? Or is intelligence only the forte of Mr. Aamir Khan and not the protestors?

Ah well...I guess people will do anything to 'manufacture' news and feature in it , leaving the 'not-so-common' common sense conveniently behind:):):).

Working oops Fighting Hard!

I wonder if this is what happens to every Business Analyst, Tester or Manager :):):):)



Courtesy http://xkcd.com/

Capitalize on your weaknesses!

A nice story that I came across today....


A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei,"(Teacher in Japanese) the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" "This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue." Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?" "You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm." The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame God, the circumstances or ourselves for it but we never know that our weaknesses can become our strengths one day.

Each of us is special and important, so never think you have any weakness, never think of pride or pain, just live your life to its fullest and extract the best out of it!

Proud to be an Indian?

Come Independence Day eve or Republic Day eve and mailboxes get flooded with forwards on how people are proud to be Indians, about being proud of our country. Lyrics of Patriotic Songs are forwarded to all and sundry, flags are distributed and songs are sung.
People are so eager to demostrate their love for their country that they go out of their way to dress up in the colours of the Indian flag, gush about how fortunate they are to be a part of the next superpower and even make desserts in the tricolours of the Indian flag! Great! On August 14th - 15th and January 25th - 26th, the patriotic fever is at its highest.
But what on days before or after these days? Why don't we ever receive mails on how proud people are of their motherland on the other days? Why do the same people who are proud of the nation on 2 days of the year criticize the country, the infrastructure and the people the other days?
Been wondering about this for the past 3 days now...

Happy Lefthanders Day!

My grandmom wished me a belated 'Happy Left Handers Day' today. Ignorant ol' me did not know that there was a special day ear marked for the southpaws before this!

Here's some trivia that I discovered on left handers on the web:

• Sinistrophobia is the fear of left-handedness.


• While many people are left handed, very few are 100% left handed. For example, many Left handers golf and bat right handed. On the other hand, there is a high percentage of righties who are 100% right-handed.


• Lefties are also called "southpaws". The term was coined in baseball to describe a left handed pitcher.


• Tuesdays are Lefties luck day.


• Only about 10% of the population is left handed.


• During the 1600's, people thought left handers were witches and warlocks.


• International Left Hander's Day was first celebrated on August 13, 1976. It was started by Lefthander's International.


• It is believed that all polar bears are left handed.


• There is a rumor that octopuses have but one right hand. Scientists are diligently studying this.


• Everyone is a Left Hander in Left Hand, West Virginia.

I also discovered this image that depicts the quintessential left hander, courtesy the lefthanders club (http://www.lefthandersday.com/posters.html

So all of you who:

• found using scissors a nightmare (they are all designed for right handers)


• had to struggle to get used to the mouse (the left handed mouse is not that easy to use)


• were told it was bad dining etiquette to hold the knife and the spoon in hands opposite to what is the accepted norm


• found it difficult to synchronize with the aerobics class where every exercise starts off with the right hand/leg


• found it extremely tedious to use desks in school (they never have special ones for left handers!)


• were the object of ridicule in the formative years at school and later the object of admiration coz you were different from the rest


• are creative thanks to having a more active right brain that the left

Here's wishing you a Happy Left Handers Day!