Shahrukh's "Ghar Ki Baat Hai"... another TV bum???

TV serials are terrible... I mean that's what most of youngsters wanna say unless it's something coolish like MTV Roadies or Channel V kinda stuff or English sitcoms (Friends, Scrubs etc) on Star World, AXN & HBO. I mean most of us don't even want to accept if we watch any so called Indian telly-shows which may be the reality-shows (the singing, dancing & comedy competitions actually) or the usual daily soaps (mostly starting with 'K' courtesy Ekta). Anyways, I don't really follow the daily soaps much & neither does anyone else in my home. My mom watches just a very few like Dulhan, Saat Phere, Betiyaan (see, I remember all the names which may prove that I watch them too... sometimes) and ofcourse Balika Vadhu (everyone seems to watch that, or atleast pretends to as it is some status symbol). And I do try to watch those reality-shows too, but I don't always succeed to enjoy them as they are tough to enjoy these days. And on top of that you mostly get to watch the same faces of the daily soaps on these reality-shows, trying to sing/dance/comedy which most of them miserably fail at. Seems we can't ever get enough of it... TV serials are terrible, LOL!!!

Shahrukh Khan has produced a new serial for NDTV Imagine named "Ghar Ki Baat Hai" which started airing from Jan 31, 2008. Being a SRK production I was expecting it to be something nice and different & nice. However as they say, never expect too much from anything or you may get hurt; I got hurt. They have a decent cast here with Sumeet Raghvan (we have loved him as Sahil of Sarabhai) as the husband, Juhi Babbar (Raj Babbar's daughter who really sucks, in a bad way) as the wife, Swapnil Joshi (the young Shri Krishna, has done decent comedy on Comedy Circus) as the brother in law staying with sister (is always eating & lazy too, but still not even quarter as funny as Joey) and Ali Asgar (this guy is kinda good & funny, not in here but in general) in recurring different roles. The 1st episode was so un-funny, I couldn't laugh even after my best tries. The dumb massage sofa (which was not actually a massage sofa but the inflatable sofa/recliner showed on telly shopping, surprised that they couldn't afford a real massage sofa with SRK production) And people jumping/shaking on it to show the massage was so dumb. Even the concept and storyline was bore & so were the performances. The attempted tribute on 'Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi' would itself become a tribute to un-funny & bore very soon if this is how it's gonna go. Damn Sharukh, didn't you ever watch your own TV show!!!

BTW, not as if all TV shows have been bums like this though. I used to love Sarabhai vs Srabhai, why didn't they do a season 2 yet? I especially used to adore the character of Dushyant, so damn funny!! Office-Office, Sriman-Srimati and some others used to be nice too. Reality shows like Indian Idol and Great Indian Laughter Challenge were pretty nice too when they started. It's just that they couldn't continue the same standards (hmmm, and may be that's why they are not doing more of Sarabhai). On that note, if you wanna watch real comedy then just watch our news channels like INDIA TV (click on this link for real info on them). All of them are just creating funny drama these days with no sense of news; with all red circles and diagrams/animations, they never seem to get the news straight but a twist. If you wanna watch real news, I liked TIMES NOW & Arnab on there is good.

I recently watched RAAZ-2 which was okay. Not very scary & not even great effects too, but decent storyline and nice music (surprisingly Emraan hasn't done what he's supposed to do, lol). But we still gotat do better with horror movies, most of them starting hollywood style these days but ending Ramsay Brothers style. I also saw 'Slumdog Millionaire' and it was just okay for me. I will probably write a separate blog to express my mixed views about selling Indian poverty to world with a decent piece of work & nice performances which has been praised worldwide. Alright boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (do COMMENT to let me know of your views too). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!!!

Happy Republic Day... but how republic are we???

It's Republic Day today, it has been 59 years since India was declared a republic nation (surprisingly many of us don't even know that and think it was in 1947; 1947 was when India got independence & in 1950 we were declared a republic with adoption of the constitution); since then we are officially known as 'Republic of India'. Many of you may or may not know (yeah, like you all are supposed to know) but I am very nationalist ( don't even know that it means but sounds good), I don't write much about my great patriotic & social thoughts and just keep blabbering about stuff (but i guess still better than BS of many other bloggers talk about; when they woke up, what they ate, who they ate or dated & how was there damn day. Those are the blogs I encounter except the other ones, lol). But some thoughts definitely kept striking my mind this R-Day (sounds cool like V-Day)... I mean Republic Day. All I remember about this day actually is how we used to run to school for being part of the R-Day prayer & flag-hosting ceremony as we used to get sweets afterwards. I being a member of Scouts in school, used to manage to get more packs of sweets & share it with friends (& be the Hero). Also the day used to be special to watch the R-Day parade on TV, I loved it as a kid and I guess most of us did (except being asked to write an essay about it, ugh!!). I always thought & still think that I love my India and am really proud of being an Indian, however there are few questions & concerns which come to my mind today. And they have been prompted due to some recent events & incidents around us...

The first and most disgusting is the recent attacks on girls by so called morale police of Ramsena in Karnataka claiming indecency. Previously also we have been hearing about such attacks and bans by moral police of Shivsena, ABVP, SIMI, maulavi n mullas & other such groups; on young girls & boys for there own stupid reasons. In a republic like India, how can such organizations and groups have rights to make such rules, who are they to tell us that how are we to dress or how are we to behave? You can't even safely roam around with a girl or without the questioning eyes of such people staring at you all the time. Just some time back I saw pictures of young girls & boys being man-handled and even beaten by police themselves in the name of moral actions (they were found drinking & partying). Who gives the right to police for beating up people in public (or even in private); they are not criminals or terrorists to be treated as such. Police or such organizations hardly show up when it comes to fighting crime or terror, but try to become the bosses to teach morale to us. It's disgusting to see the way a policeman or even government officials behave with normal public. Doesn't a common man has a right to some self respect in a republic. Why is he supposed to be treated like an animal or even worse in this human society?

Every person who has certain power tries to molest others and take advantage of that power. Starting from politicians, police, bureaucrats, government officials, social organizations & even media/press. On the worst of occasions, we just see the media/press covering that event (like youngsters being beaten or someone committing suicide etc) & creating sensational news out of it (taking pictures & videos and asking dumb questions such as how do you feel about it) and they never come forward to stop it from happening. Some stupid set of people with corrupt mind try to tell us how to lead our lives and we just watch it, being tortured and still try to be thankful to them that they are letting us live.

I recently heard that the High Court has lifted the ban on showing smoking in Cinema & TV. Again a moral police in the form of Central Health Minister Mr. A. Ramdaus was trying to guide entertainment industry by telling them not to show smoking onscreen because it will provoke people to smoke more. I am not saying that it is impossible seeing that the heroes are even smoking now and people may try to follow it as a style statement. But there is a thing called as creative independence, and we are a republic who have right to decide what we do to/for ourselves. There is so much bull-shit shown in cinema starting from crime, rape, drugs, terrorism to sheer fantasy like ghosts, spirits, black magic to scientific fiction like flying, time machines, androids & lot more. If people just start believing what they see on screen then what do we expect of this world to happen. We don't just act on what we see in cinema or TV; that definitely influences us in some way but does not guides us. And that's why we have some regulations & censorship on what can be shown to what kind of audience. I am not even a full supporter of this dump censorship which we try to follow in India, which does not even allows adults to see what they want (which could be violence, blood, sex, crude language or anything else) in the name of censorship. Why don't we let the people decide what they want to see and what they want to follow. Certain moderation is definitely required in a society but dumb restrictions can never be appreciated.

Which brings me to another incident I saw on TV. Ashutosh Gowarikar got mad on Sajid Khan for making fun of films & film-stars in Star Screen Awards 2008. Seems we have still not learnt to even take humor on face (if we cant appreciate it). We are living in a society of humans and a republic country where people have right to free speech. It does not means that we start abusing or insulting people but certain level of fun and humor is part of a civilized culture. Either it's about flopping of big films like Yuvraaj, Drona, Tashan, Love Story 2050 & others (there's a huge list of flops for 2008, a bad year for our bollywood) or failure of big actors & directors like Yashraj, Subhash Ghai, Salman, Abhishek etc (I know you would like to add lot more, but we better don't even count them); all these things can be and should be made fun of. But somehow some people are not able to understand or appreciate it. I haven't seen much that, strong comments being made on big politicians or celebrities (it started to happen to certain extent now though through laughter shows & comedians). Humor can be sarcastic at times but that just means that there is some truth in that humor. That gives us an opportunity to see the mistakes & flaws and gives us a chance to rectify them. In place of getting offended by humor, shouldn't we just try to enjoy & appreciate it.

So much to complain about this republic where the public is not free yet. Not free of inhibitions, the conservative thoughts, the dumb morale codes and not free of themselves. It may have been just 62 years to independence or 59 years to republic but we are hundreds or thousands years old country, culture & society. These flaws have been incorporated into us recently by some dumb & numb minds trying to force us out of our greatness and demean ourselves. But we have to fight against all of them and prove to the whole world that we are not just one of the biggest republic of the world but we have the biggest heart, strength and power to be the greatest nation of this world. We have it in us and we can do it, we just have to go ahead and do it... NOW!!!

Alright boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (please COMMENT to let me know of your views too). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck... JAI BHARAT, JAI HIND!!!

(I would also like to congratulate Mr Barack H Obama for becoming the 44th President of USA, he's riding high on the cloud of expectations and hopefully it rains well as & when needed. I liked it when he said USA is a country of Hindus as well. VHP must be happy for it's work/contribution which maybe actually NIL or negative. Buddhists, Jains & Sikhs maybe angry as hell; I don't see a very bright future for Motels & Taxis in USA now, LOL!! BTW do you know what number Prime Minister is Manmohan Singh, everybody seems to know Obama is 44th? Do you know which are the largest wheat, rice & sugarcane producing states in India? Don't google these & tell me the honest answers, lets see how much we know about our dearest India...)

When Indians return to India from US...

A small list of some awesome facts; facts because it really happens when someone returns to India from US (Amreeka return ki chhaap). As for me, I already had 1/3rd of it in me and can never get 1/3rd of it; but I also learned 1/3rd. I did some modifications & additions too, but I love it. Top 25 things an Indian does after returning to India from "US", check it out...

~~~~~~~~~

25. Carries 1 dollar bill(s) in wallet & flashes them at any chance of opening wallet (takes out dollar in place of rupees and say, "Oh sorry, i m in India")
24. Speaks wrong English with slang and when pointed says "Oh shit!! I just hate this British English, American English is cool!!"

23. Always Says "Hey" instead of "Hi", uses 'dude' & 'guy/gal' a lot. Also uses Nope for No and Yep/Yo/Yeah for Yes.

22. Says 'Thank You' or 'Sorry/Excuse Me' or 'Oh shit!'everywhere in response to anything.
21. Tries to use credit card in road side hotel or any small shop/store too.
20. Drinks and carries mineral water and always speaks of health conscious.
19. Sprays Deodrant such so that he doesn't need to take bath.
18. Sneezes and says 'Excuse me' & 'Bless You' in response for others.
17. Says "Yogurt" instead says "Curds"; Says "Cab" instead of "Taxi"; Says "Candy" instead of "Chocolate"; Says "Cookie" instead of "Biscuit"; Says " Free Way " instead of "Highway"; Says "got to go" instead of "Have to go"; Says "Oh" instead of "Zero", (for 704, says Seven Oh Four Instead of Seven Zero Four)
16.Doesn't forget to crib about air pollution. Keeps cribbing every time he steps out.
15. Says all the distances in Miles (Not in Kilo Meters), weight in Pounds/lbs (not KGs), liquids in Gallons (not Litres) and counts in Millions/Billions. (Not in Lakhs or Crores)
14. Tries to figure all the prices in Dollars as far as possible (but deep down the heart multiplies by 40-50 as needed).
13. Tries to see the % of fat on the cover of a milk pocket or food product.
12. When need to say Z (zed), never says Z (Zed), repeats "Zee" several times, if the other person unable to get, then says X, Y Zee(but never says Zed)
11. Writes date as MM/DD/YYYY, on watching traditional DD/MM/YYYY, says "Oh, Excuse me! British Style!"
10. Makes fun of Indian Standard Time and Indian Road Conditions.
9. Even after 2 months, complains about long fights & "Jet Lag".
8. Avoids eating more chili (hot) stuff & keeps complaining about overuse of oil & spices in Indian food.
7. Tries to drink "Diet Coke", instead of normal Coca Cola and fat-free or less-fat snacks.
6. Tries to complain about any thing in India as if he is experiencing it for the first time.
5. Pronounces "schedule" as "skejule", and "module" as "mojule"
4. Looks suspiciously towards Hotel/Dhaba food or roadside shops.
3. From the luggage bag, does not remove the stickers of Airways by which he traveled back to India, even after 6 months of arrival.
2. Takes the cabin luggage bag to short visits in India, tries to roll the bag on Indian Roads.

Ultimate one:1. Tries to begin conversation with "In US ...." or "When I was in US..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Can you guess what applies to me here & what does not, lol? Wanna add/remove some, comment & let me know... Enjoy!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!!!

This one's coming pretty late, however I guess that was expected from me (when was the last time I was on time in blogging, ummmm... i guess, never!!). I thought I would write this on New Years Eve or New Year’s Day, but anyways it comes after a week in new year... A year (yep, it's called 'A year' & not 'An year' and even I was not sure before googling & checking it) is a long time in any person’s life; after all how many years do we get to live (I wish I get billions or even more, I guess I just love this world. Just I should remain young & handsome & awesome...), an year can never be considered short in that period. One calendar year has passed now and we have entered a new calendar year. People had celebrations, resolutions, new aspirations & some other ‘shuns’ maybe. Celebrations to drink all night & vomit till dawn & then drive recklessly to home & have a hungover 1st day of new year. New resolutions, half of which were not considered worthy enough to be even started on the New Year's eve itself and remaining half to be broken as it comes. And aspirations hoping this year would be better than all the past years (which hardly happens) and every coming year. Not sure about the other 'shuns'...

And Yes, I was saying calendar year because that’s what it is. After all what changes except a date on this day; we just have to start writing new year in the date which might take some time to get used to (luckily we hardly have to write dates anymore because of computers & all, otherwise I remember the days when we used to write the date on top of our notebook everyday in school. It used to be hell of a job to remember right date and it still is except fro my awesome watches). We keep mentioning through out the first week or more that this or that would happen in coming year realizing that the new year has already arrived. What’s the significance of New Year except a date, not as if we get richer or younger or more beautiful or anything else by change of the calendar. WOW, what if we wake up on New Year in a grand mansion being the richest & most handsome & awesome person in the world (which I already am, i meant about awesome & stuff and not the richest yet!!). Or we get a salary raise & promotion just because it's a new year. What is so special about new year for us, it's not like we are the only people to enter the new year & other's are left behind in the old year, lol (that would be special and ridiculous too; and definitely unique & special too, a reason to celebrate over others!!). Is New Year really a reason to party till dawn, get drunk & do all kinds of BS?? I guess it is, because all we need is just a reason to party & have fun; and this does seems like a reason, lol.

I am not against New Year celebration or parties though, they are all fun (in spite of the fact that I have just attended one in my entire life till now, that was in DC last year). I just don’t like the chaos people make in the name of New Year with the loudness & noise everywhere and getting drunk & having accidents/incidents (not a good start for a new year I guess). Or spending there money or time on something which they can’t afford (they should better use that money for something good, like give it to me!!), or just anything like that. What did I do… I was at home with my parents & sister. After last year’s partying out in Washington DC on New Year, this was my year to be back home. In last 25 years (yeah, that might mean I am 25, or may be just a random number I chose, lol) I have spent 22 New Year’s eve at home with my family. We sit together & watch TV, usually cut cake or have sweets at 12 and have fun. It is really nice to be with family on special occasions and that’s what I mostly do on festivals, birthdays, and anniversary (my parent’s of course) etc or even new year.

The last year has been good i guess, or nice or maybe just okay. I mean I am not sure, the year wasn’t bad at all but nothing too special as well. Lots of happenings have been mentioned in my past blogs. I wrote 21 blogs in 2008, that’s an achievement I think. It’s like 1.75 blogs every month (of course 0.25 had to be left as I am too lazy on writing blogs), or 3 blogs per month considering I wrote all of those in 7-8 months (and why am I making this average figures & all, does it actually changes anything… like that’s all I did all year, ugh!!). I visited many places all over the world (US-Kansas & Chicago, Philippines-Manilla & Cebu and India-Delhi, Chandigarh, Manali/Rohtang, Lucknow) and had lots of fun; made new friends & fiends maybe; bought guitar & laptop too; got my promotion (yeah, now doesn’t seems that exciting somehow); got operated (and it still sucks, I still have pain & it’s not healing or going away… seems something is wrong) and lots of other stuff which I have mentioned in blogs (yeah, I turned 25 as well, big achievement!!!). Lots of stuff happened, but nothing extremely special yet. I really hope & wish that this year is that special year of my life (now that’s where this new year comes in play when you start hoping for better or best things in a new year. All you couldn't do could be blamed on a bad past year & hope that new good stuff is waiting in new year. That's called being Positive!!!).

Also, recently 2 news have been up in airs. One about the war with Pakistan as the things are getting messy and other about the Satyam-Scandal. Both of them are disastrous, a very disappointing start for India in the New Year. We all know how dangerous wars are, innocent people loose there lives and country looses lots of its money & strength. In a war both the sides always loose, it's just that the side which looses more is considered defeated. Also this whole Satyam story is a big setback for Indian IT industry and economy. More than 5000 crore of money and 53000 people's jobs at stake is not a good sign. We know that many of these company’s do these kind of 'jhols' in the industry but at least they should not put the whole company or people at stake and not be able to even control it. Lets hope things will get better...

I have watched both Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (as suggested by 'wish on a star') & Ghajini, both are good movies and can be watched in theatre (& i mean movies should be watched in theatre, i am not suggesting to download & watch movies even if they are not good; just don't watch them. But if you do watch some, go to theatres or get genuine DVDs to watch them). Nothing too special as both have there flaws but fun too. Watch Rab Ne for a SRK & Chopra's usual romantic comedy fun, has some good cinematography & songs/dance too. SRK is cool as always & the new girl Anushka is good too (lil bit like Kajol, but not as awesome of course). The bad is that movie does not has a story worth stretching 2.5 hrs and goes illogical at many points (which is usual for any masala flick). DDLJ & Mohabattein were great so you would expect better from Adi (Aditya Chopra) though. Watch Ghajini for the new avatar of Amir (which is normal now as with every new movie he looks new & different). The movie has lots of action & some fun/comedy in flashback too, the new girl Asin is cool & bubbly (reminds of Rani, but not as good of course). The bad is that it's logical at very few points, or I guess hardly any. The mix up of action & comedy is lil jumbled and the movie is too loud & noisy at places. Watch MEMENTO for the real fun. So both these movies do not have great stories or an amazing plot, so don't expect anything special but just great performances & Nice Fun. I also watched Jumbo which is a cool kid's movie with poor/old animation but good Indian dubbing. Just to let you guys know it's not an Indian movie but a dubbed version of 2006 Thai movie Khan Kluay. I guess am watching & studying lots of movies these days!!!

Alright boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (haven't seen many or any comments lately, means people may not be even reading my blog yaar!!!). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!!!!!

Last time... good bye 2008!!!

Last blog is here.... Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-enterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your astrologist & even your plumber and the I.R.S.
May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.
May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your games instructor & teacher.
And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God's love in every sunset, every flower's unfolding petals, every baby's smile, every lover's kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wishing a very happy and prosperous Year 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A soldier's Merry Christmas!!!

It was the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give,
And to see just who in this home did live.

I looked all about a strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.
With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
A sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, so dark and dreary,
I knew I had found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.

I heard stories about them, I had to see more,
So I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping silent alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one bedroom home.
His face so gentle, his room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured an Indian soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?
Curled up in his blanket, a floor for his bed?
His head was clean shaven, his weathered face tan,
I soon understood this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night ,
Owed their lives to these men who were willing to fight.
Soon 'round the world, the children would play,
And grownups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
Because of soldiers like this one lying here.
I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.
The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more,
my life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over and drifted off into sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.
I watched him for hours, so silent and still,
I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
And I covered this Soldier from his toes to his head.
And I put on his T-shirt of military and black,
With a tricolor and an Army patch embroidered on back.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
And for a shining moment, I was Indian Army deep inside.

I didn't want to leave him on that cold dark night,
This guardian of honor so willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over, whispered with a voice so pure,
"Carry on Santa, it's Christmas Day, all is secure."

I knew he was right, they are always there for us,
Thanks a lot my friend, and to all a Merry Christmas!!!

My village trip adventure...

I am writing after 2 weeks now; one week was spent in being pissed as I was and the second week was spent on my trip to my village. I had not been there for almost 3 years now, so i wanted to see my relatives, my place, my people and everything. Also I wanted to enjoy my status of having a good job, US return and an awesome eligible bachelor, LOL. I mean the last time I was there I didn't have this nice job & stamp of US return and I had the excuse of being young (for my relative's aspirations of getting me married, I don't know why but ur relatives always seem most interested in getting you married). Its fun to get appreciations from people you love and get there good wishes & blessings (& be praised n flattered!!!).

My own village is located in Distt Ambedkarnagar of Uttar Pradesh (UP). My uncles & aunts, my grandma and some other relatives live there and around. It's a small place which is around 60 KM east from Ayodhya (A holy place in Faizabad where Lord Rama was born) and 7 KM west from Akbarpur. Our whole area is known as Shravan-Kshetra of Awadh-Prant. The local language is Awadhi, the language of Ram-charit-manas of Tulasidas. My 'NANIHAAL' (my mom's parent's village) is in Sultanpur Distt. I had plans to go to Nanihaal first as their was my cousins marriage. And then I was planing to go to my own village from there.

I was not getting a confirmed reservation in a train to get to my village. I was trying like a week in advance but there was no confirmed reservation available in Sleeper, AC, Chair-car or anything. And it's close to hell traveling in Indian railways without reservation (could be hell with reservation too though). I guess the rush was because of Bakreed coming in the same week. Later I even tried TATKAL reservation but that was full too. TATKAL is a emergency kinda reserved quota of seats in Indian railway which just opens 5 days before the travel date & you have to pay 150 extra for sleeper & 300 for AC. Also to let people know, you cannot officially board a train unless you have a confirmed reservation or atleast RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation). However you might board a train in India with waiting or even without a ticket if you have the green-ticket (Money-Money!!!). I tried to check online reservation in Flight and it showed the fare as just Rs 125 + TAX. I was so happy that this is what I needed, just Rs 125 & awesome journey through plane. So I decided to check the complete fare with tax; it was just Rs 4375. Yep, the tax was freaking Rs 4250, WTF!!

So I decided to board a bus till Lucknow from Delhi & then take a bus further to Sulatnpur & village from there. The buses to UP run from Anand Vihar ISBT Bus Station. I heard there is an AC bus to Lucknow and I wanted to get that. But I was late as per my habit and I missed it, it runs around 10pm. So I had to board an ordinary UP Roadways bus at 12 in night. It's a 12-14 hrs journey with some stops every 3-4 hours for people comfort. I got seat in the last row of bus (as you might know how much a bus rocks at the back, and i mean rocks in a bad sense) in the cold winter of New Delhi, where the roadways bus' window hardly close. With in 5 mins I was feeling that I am in hell and I am gonna regret it really-really BAD.

I was wearing my Track-Suit I bought in US. It's really well insulated to wind & pretty warm too. I used to wear it in sub-zero weather of US and it used to work great; it worked great here in the bus too. I had 4 stinking (not really, but they did look like that) guys sitting around me and a old Mullaji sitting besides me who was leaning over me every time falling asleep. If it was some pretty girl, I could let my shoulder stay steady all night for her support, but damn a second for the old man. How could he sleep in this kinda bus and that too on my shoulder. Then the bus stopped in some time, it turns out that we have just covered 20-30 KMs in one hour. The drivers & conductors of the bus get free food at these roadside dhabas (desi restaurants) as they are bringing customers to them in buses. I was feeling more and more doomed.

We got in bus again and I somehow I started feeling sleepy this time. I didn't realize when I fell asleep and by the time I woke up it was morning. I didn't feel as bad as I was thinking, more than half the time was spent without much trouble. Mullaji was off the bus and I had enough space to sit comfortably. I had a tea at the next stop, stretched my self a bit & was ready. I got in the bus & fell asleep again. I don't sleep that much on flights but it was working well in the bus somehow. I was in Lucknow by 1pm (13 hours journey) and most of the journey was spent sleeping, it really wasn't that bad. More like an adventure, which i enjoyed sleeping. Then I boarded a bus to Sultanpur from Lucknow and then to my Nanihaal from there. Also the buses aren't that bad anymore, They have cushioned seats which are not push-back but still okay. Roads also have improved so the ride isn't that bad either. Things are getting better...

I was at my nanihaal by 7 in evening. My Nana-Nani (mom's dad & mom) and Mama (mom's brother) were really excited and very happy to see me. It was a cool surprise for them to see me. There were many other relatives there due to the occasion of marriage. All of them were glad to see me after so long and so was I. I enjoyed the marriage food and slept all night. Next day woke up little late and then met all my relatives there. Everyone was asking 2 things, my experience in US & plans of marriage. I was able to answer first but was speechless to second. The answer has been same for years,'I am not ready, I would like to wait few years'. I don't know why relatives are sooooo interested in getting us married, they must be getting some commission or something out of it. Specially the grandparents are always more interested than even parents in getting there eligible grand children married. the line is,'We want to see you married and settled before we die, we want to see your bride and possibly children too'. Why, why should I do something like this just for their wishes and pleasure. They and all the relatives try to torture you to get married, its painful and FUN!!!!

Also, a cow had given birth to a calf on the same day and I got to eat fresh 'Inri'. When a cow gives birth, for the first few days the milk is kinda stuffy and thick. If you boil it, it curdles itself and turns into kinda paneer (cottage or farmer cheese). Sugar is added to make it sweet and it tastes pretty good. The new born calf starts standing & walking in few mins after he's born, they jump a lot though. I also tried my hands on milking a cow, I have done it earlier too and I am okay at it. I wonder who was the first guy that look at a cow and said," I think that I'll drink whatever comes out of those things when I squeeze them?", sick people LOL. Also I wandered in woods near the village and also the fields & farms. I'll put all the pics up soon, got some pretty cool ones. (link to pics I hv uploaded on Orkut: http://www.orkut.co.in/ExternalAlbum.aspx?uid=14373366021617571617&aid=1229595165)

I went to my village from there. Met my uncles & relatives. It was fun hearing them praise me & feel proud of me . They might be jealous inside, i mean you never know but it was still fun. I hope they really are proud of me though, I have been good and done good. Best is yet to come. I saw my beautiful fields & farms, the canal near my farms, the railway line crossing in between my village; everything was fun & filled with memories. We used to climb & jump from trees to play different games, run in canal, take the cattle to field for grazing grass... lots of memories.

There was SHRAVAN-KSHETRA Mela (Fair) on Dec 12th which happens once a year for 3 days, I went there to. It was kinda stupid and totally village-ish but fun. There were small & big jhoolas (rides), lots of CHAAT & sweets (filled with oil & fat but YUMMY!!!) to eat and different kinds of stupid stuff selling all around (starting form house hold item, to clothes, to utensils to gifts, almost everything). Also there were magic shows & 'maut ka kuan' kinda stuff which is gr8 FUN. I enjoyed the mela with my cousins and then went to SHIV BABA. It's a holy auspicious place in our area which is very famous, I do visit it almost all the time when I go to my village. Shiv-bab ki Jai!!!

Then I went to Lucknow to my other uncle's place. I like Luknow, it's clean, organised and nice looking. Specially the areas of Indira Nagar where my uncle lives & Gomti Nagar etc. It does looks like a nice metro. I love to visit it but can't stay there, i guess its because of people with old mentality and all that. Also I guess people & government are the reason taht a nice place like Lucknow is not turning into another hot-spot for IT & MNCs like Gurgaon, Banagalore, Hyderabad or Pune. But i would still say that it does seems safer & cleaner & nicer than Delhi. Delhi might be the most unsafe place with the rising crime in the city. But still, Dilli is Dilli, Dilli hai Dil waalon ki...

Yeah, I came back to Delhi after Lucknow trip. Getting a reservation was not easy again. I tried the reservation online & got RAC in BSB Delhi Spl somehow. I like the online reservation system of Indian Railways, its pretty cool and it does works. However I was not able to get a seat inspite of my RAC. I was told on inquiry that the reservation got confirmed but there was no chart on platform or the train. The train came late by 3 hours without information & the TTE did not know anything about seats. He must have sold the seats & filled his own pockets. I travelled sitting on a seat next to the door in this cold winter all night. But again I fell asleep, sleeping adventure... LOL. The train arrived late by 4 hrs next day. Few things never change I guess!!!

Anyways, coming back to home was a great relief. Delhi always feels like HOME sweet home. & It's cool that you can catch Metro from Both Old & New Delhi Rly Stn to your destination. Few things are changing, for good. Delhi weather is getting cold, lets see how it goes. FYI, I installed Airtel Digital TV and seems to be working pretty good for now. I saw Transporter-3 today, okay movie. Lots of action & stuff & Jason is pretty good. I am also looking forward to see RNBDJ very soon. Not much to do anyways as I still don't have work yet...

Alright boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. This one's a HUUUUUUUUGE blog, my biggest (blog entry) I guess. So really have to thank you for reading it (till here!!). I tried my best to keep it small (and this was the result, either i didn't try well or my best needs to be better) but then it would have been what I told all my friends earlier,"It was a gr8 fun village-trip however tiring too"... that's it, lol. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (please COMMENT to let me know of your views too). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!!!

I am PISSED... (also I didn't vote)

First day of last month of this year and I am really pissed. Why... or why not... I mean doesn't this world kinda sucks, at least right now. I have not been very well lately; have not had any project (on so called bench/beach) for more than 2 months; the world is going through this awful recession & economical downfall; and some bloody $%^&#$@ enter in to our own country, blow up our places, kill our innocent countrymen and try to spread terror.......

As for not being well, it's been both me & my lovely home. By living in US for sometime, my immunity power has definitely weakened (it's like a superpower most of us Indians have; immune to dirt, pollution, noise, political downfall, crime, corruption, all kinda enforced pain etc). I can't stand pollution, dirt & keep falling sick; or at least not in best of my health. And on top of that I had that surgery (see my previous blogs) which has definitely affected me for sometime, I am much better and almost recovered now though.

I don't talk much about my work here (bcoz some of my colleagues & managers read the blog too, lol). But I am not very happy with my current situation. I have been on so called beach (usually called as bench in other companies), which means I don't have any project to work on. There were project opportunities in Philadelphia/Kansas/Portland but thing's didn't turn up well. Sometimes because of me being sick or not available or mostly because of this recession because of which new projects are not coming up. I don't have much to do and I am getting kinda bored and concerned too. I want a nice project soon, in US!!!

Recession and Economic Downfall sucks soooo much, many of us have been affected by it in some or other way. Many of my friends have lost there jobs or are on the verge of losing there jobs because of this. I lost two project opportunities, because they could not get signed-off owing to recession I guess. The dollar is strong as compared to rupee these days (around Rs 50 for a dollar); whereas it used to be pretty low when I used to transfer money sometime back (I have even transferred on Rs 37 per dollar). The prices are so damn high of everything now; the usual vegetables, milk, ration and everything else is damn expensive. Even the burger & pizzas are almost twice the price now. What's there to be happy about it??

And on top of that... these Mumbai Attacks. Some bloody $^&*%@ enters in our own country and try terrorize our own people in middle of the daylight. They captivate places like Taj & Oberai and kill innocent people there for no damn reason. What kind of f***ng religion or faith or aspirations can lead anyone to such actions. And I despise those Indians who are involved in this or supporting this; yeah, I mean how can someone enter into your own house without anyone knowing unless someone from your house lets them in or helps them. There has to be some of our people who are helping them. I consider Rape & Terrorism as two of the biggest crimes; those who are hurting innocent people for just there pleasure should be punished mercilessly. Because these people do not just hurt the victims but also affects the whole society in negative way. People are afraid to get out of there houses, or even stay in there houses; how bad is that? We do not feel safe in our own homes, we see our own people killed & hurt and we can't do much to save them.... This has to be stopped, if the government and our leaders are not capable enough to fight for us, we the 'people of India' have to rise together to bring it to justice!!!

Hmmmmm, also I didn't vote this time in Delhi Elections. As it was being said this time around,'Pappu vote nahi deta'. I guess its better to be a 'pappu' than to go ahead & vote for some jerk whom you have never heard of or you are not sure what is he gonna do for you, your place & your country. I heard there is an Article 49-O under which you have right to not vote, or say that I don't like anyone and want to vote for no one. And if no votes are more than total votes in the region, a re-election will happen with all new candidates. Earlier in paper polling, an unstamped vote was considered as no-vote. But with electronic voting, there is no option yet for a button for no-vote. I have heard that it has been suggested by election commission in electoral reforms but lets see when it actually happens. I am sure our cunning politicians would never like to give us a right to not vote for them; but I hope this happens sometimes and all of us can get together to show we do not like them. I guess the situation would be same for me, until I go ahead and contest in election myself!!

So... so much to be pissed and not much to be happy about!!! But I watched 'Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye', pretty nice movie. I always have liked Abhay Deol out of all the Deols; he's charming, smart & a good actor. The movie is a story of a young boy wanting goods in life who turns into a smart thief. Stealing stuff by outsmarting people with his intelligence is not just his profession but passion too. A nice comedy movie with decent presentation & good acting by Abhay as the thief and Paresh Rawal in 3 different roles. Overall it's a nice fun movie. Also I am waiting for 'Rab ne Bana Di Jodi', seems interesting movie.

Alright boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (please COMMENT to let me know of your views too). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving... & IITF-2008

Happy Thanksgiving to all my dear ones and thanks for there love & support!!!

For my friends who may not know about thanksgiving... Thanksgiving, also known as Thanksgiving Day, is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is primarily a North American holiday which has generally become a national secular holiday with religious origins. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members.

I was talking to one my russian friends recently and I asked if they celebrate
thanksgiving. The resposnse was an astonishing NO saying 'its an american festival so why should they celebrate it' and I am funny. I am not saying that thnaksgiving has to be celebrated all over world or it is not an american festival but why should anyone feel offended by this. I think thanksgiving is a beautiful festival where people get to thank there loved ones fro all the good they have done. We are always thankful to people around us for tehre goodness but we hardly put it in words. Saying that THANK YOU sometimes is not bad I guess. So this is a festival in very good spirit and I like it.

Last year I was in US during thanksgiving. A day before thanksgiving, I went to one of my dear friend's house and had delicious dinner (not a usual turkey dinner though, but some kinda hen). Then I went to Los Angeles for a fun trip and on the day of thanksgiving I had an awesome thanksgiving turkey dinner at the hotel. And then had an aweosme fun in Los Angeles & Las Vegas (I spent $3500 in 4 days, never done that). Thanksgiving is gooooooooooooood!!

Second news is that I went to IITF-2008 today i.e. India International Trade Fair organized at Pragati Miadan in New Delhi. I have been going to Trade Fair since 1998 regularly every year (except last year when I was in US). The awesome thing is it hasn't changed much in all these years. It still looks almost the same every year with thousands of p[eople & hundreds of stalls everywhere. I went to few stalls as usual like Electronics, Saras/Handicraft, Good Living & few states (Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Punjab etc).

I feel that food is not as interesting as earlier anymore, especialy in state stalls. The stuff is ususally very expensive as compared to other places, i ma not even sure if it's origianl or even good quality stuff. But it's really interesting to see all different kind of stuff at just one place. It used to be an amazing experience when i was in school. I used to go to Techmart & all oher halls/stalls and collect tons of pamphlets & information brochure (for no reason). And later just visiting all the food stalls for eqating only. And now just roaming around and watching lil stuff here & there to finish the whole thing in less than 4 hrs (which used to take 10 hrs & twice or thrice visit). But it has always been a nice FUN!!!

Anyways, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please, if you wanna). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!!!

There have been terrorist attacks in Mumbai... WTF!! Why do people do stuff like this? Or maybe they are not people anymore, just Weapon Of Mass Destruction. And we know what needs to be done against WMDs, destroy them completely from root. Afterall how can anyone ever justify killng hundreds of innocent people; there cant be any appropriate reason for this ever. Something really needs to be done to end this now & forever.

May god bless the souls of all who lost there lives, got hurt and there families; bad things like this may never happen again to anyone......... Amen!!

Feeling better, getting better... I m still the BEST!!!

Yeah, I am feeling better than last week. I mean, I was in terrible pain. OMG, that pain for 2 days after surgery was just too much, couldn't almost live with it. Thanks to all these painkillers, i was getting 'Voveran' injections which really helped me. FYI... all that painkiller drugs do is to primarily deaden the nerves so that they cannot transmit pain signals to the brain. Therefore you do not feel the pain after you swallow a painkiller. Yeah, So if you don't want to land up in a sick bed, think before popping that easy to reach painkiller.

Possible Side effects of painkillers:
Aspirin: Intestinal hemorrhage, peptic ulcer, precipitates asthma.
Ibuprofen: Stomach ulcer, vomiting, skin reactions
Novalgin: Blood disorder
Voveran: Liver and kidney damage, water retention leading to high BP
Nimesulide: Toxic liver failure, kidney damage, blood in urine
Paracetamol: None
Note: Prescription painkillers can be highly dangerous if taken without medical supervision. Also, I am not responsible for any of this information, just collected from net and wanted to share...

So with the help of all those prescribed/supervised drugs/medicines i am getting better. I am popping like 10 pills twice a day, that's a lot I guess and it does seems to be working. So I am feeling & getting much better. And yeah, I am still the BEST. I mean that's a fact, can't be changed. I was talking to my old friend Sumantho today after a long time, cool guy. He told me that I haven't changed, which is obvious as I told him... "Perfection can't be improved", LOL!!!

BTW, people have been asking me what's DNS & Septoplasty which is an obvious questions since I have been through that and have mentioned them in last two blogs. I thought that interested people might go ahead & search it on net if they want to know. I even had mentioned the links to info about it in my first blog's comment too. Anyways, let me talk about it a bit here.

DNS is acronym for Deviated Nasal Septum. A deviated septum is a common physical disorder of the nose, involving a displacement of the nasal septum. Doctors told me that it's a very common condition found in many people, just the extent of it and affect may be different. I didn't have any problems myself either. But depending on the extent, it might lead to Sinus in future. So I thought of getting it treated and the treatment is a surgery called Septoplasty. Septoplasty is a corrective surgical procedure done to straighten the nasal septum, the partition between the two nasal cavities. It's very safe & fine surgery, doesn't leaves any visible scars and nothing very complicated or risky about it I guess. I mean it does feels kinda weird when you feel that someone is working inside your small nose with not just knives but hammer & chisel too (yeah, to cut that spur of extra bone growth. I was on local anesthesia but it does feels scary). The surgery takes around 2 hrs and I really appreciate the accuracy & art of surgeon hands, i mean imagine them working inside a nose with chisel & hammer... WOW!! And then 2 painful days when ur nose is stuffed and you can't breathe which is terrible. Then you realize how important the nose is and mouth is not for breathing or you can't do anything else with it much. And a week to 10 days or maybe more of recovery. And yeah, every surgery may have its complications & risks so beware of that. Here are few links for more info about DNS & Septoplasty:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviated_septum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septoplasty
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/deviatednasalseptum.htm
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/56/main.html
http://www.healthcentral.com/encyclopedia/408/56.html
http://www.medindia.com/surgicalprocedures/septoplasty-surgery.htm
http://www.facialbeauty.com/Nasal%20Septoplasty.asp

Hmmmmm, so lots of medical information this time. I feel like a doctor or something like that now. But I guess lots of my regular readers or I should say admirers are not reading my blog anymore. Like my cool manager Ganesh Letchumanan, he really used to appreciate my blogs (or atleast he says so and I would love to believe that too). He's a great guy, I had a conversation with him (which I can't disclose here what it was about, kinda confidential) and it was nice. I mean, its a good sign if you feel good about or after talking to someone; it shows that a person is nice. Like most of the people feel good after talking to me, which shows how awesome I am, and blah, blah, blah!!!

BTW, I watched 'Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa' y'day. Nice movie, pretty old concept of close friends but confused about love until they find it. But presented in a nice & fresh way, faces look fresh and the music too. Imran Khan is here to stay, looks good & acts well too. As for Genelia, she's the same. Her role was pretty much like her old movie 'Tujhe Meri Kasam' with Riteish Deshmukh, can't believe she was just 16 when she did that. Also, one funny thing happened. I wanted to see Sarkar Raj as I thought I had it, I started watching it and felt as if it was very similar to the first one (with VIshnu getting jailed & attempted murder, Shankar killing his brother and all). Later I realized that I was watching the 2nd part of the first movie Sarkar only, LOL. I mean I had recently watched Godfather and it has been long since I saw Sarkar, and it has lots of elements of Godfather-II so I thought I am watching new Sarkar HAHAHA. Need to see that one and other movies which I have missed too...

That's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please, if you wanna). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!!!

I am BACK!!!

Yeah, I am BACK!!! Again, sounds soooo damn cool naa... I feel like Arnold Schwarzenegger (had to google him to get his last name, lol). Anyways, all I mean is that I am back from the hospital. If you guys remember I was hospitalised for Septoplasty surgery for my DNS. I am at home and resting/recovering now. It would take around a week for recovery and I should be fine.

I was operated on 6th, the operation went well. It was a 2 hour operation and then I was hospitalised for 2 days for review. The surgery was done with local anaesthesia, which is not painful butkinda weird when you can feel that how you are being treated. Some one operating on you with knives & blades and even hammer/chisel (to break/cut the bone, wow). Very precise and nice hands, its surely a tough job. Surgeons are real artists & craftsman. My surgeon, Dr Maj DK Gupta was pretty cool too. I was in huge pain for 2 days, had to take painkiller injections too witrh all he medicines. But much better now!!

Anyways, i'll keep posted with more updates. Not much to say right now. I am still on so called beach without any project. Waiting for something interesting and nice. Conversations are on for few projects, lets see what do I get...

I watched Lovestory 2050 and it was not bad either. I mean Harman is cool; he does seemscopy of Hrithik, with his looks, acting, dancing, dialogue & even style. I mean, he should try to be different and make his own unique style. But he was pretty nice for his 1st movie. The overall movie is fine too, I just think that our Indian audience cannot handle Futuristic & Sci-Fi Fantasy. They are fine with historical or mythological fantasy & stuff but not scientific & futuristic, which is weird. But anyways, people should try to make these kinda movies in India, I liked it. It was stupid at few places, but all the movies are. Nice attempt, keep it up.

I'll sign-off for now. So please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!

Getting hospitalized for a surgery...

Yeah, sounds cool naa... I mean, people are really getting concerned to hear that line of mine as my status. And I am publishing this line on all my messengers & websites etc. It's kinda nice to see people concerned for you and caring about you. Well, we all love that.

So, I am just getting operated for DNS, and the surgery is called 'Septoplasty'. I should be hopefully fine soon. I am getting hospitalized today and the surgery date is tomorrow. Would be kept hospitalized post-surgery for 2-3 days. Might take a week to 10 days for recovery. This is what I have been told by the doctors. Hopefully things go well and great!!!

Do Indians need VISA to travel in India... & be treated as immigrants now

When I initially thought of creating my blog, i thought I would use it to express my thoughts and feelings on different issues & topics. Not just writing about my day to day life or like a diary/journal. However I didn't do that, as I dont blog that much. But this might be a start...

I heard about Raj Thackeray, a politician from Mumbai talking about lots of stuff today. He recently became a controversial political figure in India due to his rhetorical speech against people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar; this includes statements against actor Amitabh Bachchan and the Mumbai Police Officer. He blamed north Indians immigration into the state of Maharastra as the reason for a shortage of jobs for the local Maharashtrians.

I really don't understandthat how to understand this whole concept. I mean, if today Mumbai says that so called outsiders should not come there. So they should stay in there own states. Now if people move to big cities (like Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Patna, Ranchi, Bhopal etc) in there own states, the people from those cities may accuse them of the same, that why are they immigrating to there cities and stealing there jobs and places. And further they might be accused of the same if they move to there near by towns for better opportunities. Or at the worst, if people move even to a village outside there village (or native place) they would be accused and treated as immigrants. Afterall once you leave your native place where you were born, you are an immigrant anywhere. So... i guess we should just stick to place where we were born and survive there as we can, because we are not supposed to move out... RIGHT?? Just be a "KOOP-MANDOOK" (famous sanskrit word which means, a well's frog who does not knows the outside world).

Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and many other metros and major cities have always been a target for people to move to. They get better job oportunities, better money and better life which helps the people to grow and prosper. Then it helps there native places to grow & develop and in turn it helps in our countries growth and development too. I mean people growth is country growth. Also it helps these metros & cities to develop as well, because these people who move there do a lot for the places. Afterall they treat it as there home, infact it becomes there home.

Anyways, people move all across India to any and many places. We are a country of diversity and we see people from all over country, settled and established all over country. And we have never heard such complaints form any other part of India. Not even south India, where the cuture seems a bit diffrent to some people and they think its differnt. But it's one country and we all live and prosper together. People do have some language or cultural barriers some times but we always take them off by the unity and bonding we have of being one.

Then why do we hear this in Mumbai from a person who is not a representative of Mumbai in any sens. He's not the government, he's not an elected representative, he's nothing. I don't know why are we even paying attention to anthing like this. I don't think that this is the coplain or pain of a commom mumbaikar or marathi person. They are so loving and nice people, they are all our fellow Indians and we have been together for ages. With love, with prosperity and with unity. Our Army or defense forces, our Indian cricket team, our film industry, our national government or any and everything consistes of people from all over the country and we excel together as ONE!!!

Why are we even hearing to a person who's not making any sense? Why are we even paying any attention to him? This should never be made a politcal issue and its ridiculous the way politicians and news channels are trying to give it a political color. I was glad to see the support we got from people Like Mr Bachchan or even Amar Singh and some others. I was not very glad to see that the Maharshtra govt or maybe some Marathi leadres have not come clearly in opposition to this. But it's not time to be glad or unglad. It's time to come together and tell this world and these people that we united, we are one and we dont pay attention to these stupid concerns. We have bigger and better concerns for our people & our nation and we'll take care of all of them together.

As my mom was saying today, "if we won't be able to accept our own countrymen and not let them prosper & develop in our own country; how do we expect that from other countries and other people all over the world". We blame western countries of treating us as thirld world or racism or not letting us grow, we expect them to be fair. Are we not doing the same to our own people and our own country???

Anyways, I guess I have said something (not enough ofcourse) and it shows what i think. Please let me know about your views about this too. I'll sign-off for now. So please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!

Jai Bharat, Jai Hind!!!

HAPPY DIWALI!!!

Shubh Deepawali to all of you!!!

I am at home in India this Diwali unlike last year when i was in US. As most of the festivals or special occassions i spent in US, nothing happened. I mean, thats the difference of being far from family & friends. Anyways, did some usual shopping & home decorating for Diwali today.

We went to Rishikesh & Haridar this weekend. I did a whole family trip after a very long time, it was great fun. But I guess I have really lost my immunity power or its getting weak. I caught cold n fever just because of the travel. Ofcourse the weather was kinda cold there and also there was hell lot of pollution & dirt in all the way there. I almost couldn't breathe. Hope i get well very soon, want to enjoy my diwali & have fun...

FYI... There was a Diwali Festival last week in my company and I won the prize for 'Best Dressed Male'. I was wearing my Shervani style kurta set. Ofcourse I was looking awesome, it was really great. Havent got the prize yet, lets see what I get.

I wached Himesh Reshamiya's KARZZZ and it was fine. I already like him as a singer & composer and now as an actor too... wow!! the guy must have something. I also saw WEDNESDAY & AAMIR last week, really great movies. Saw HELLO too, not bad. I could have done it much better though, lol. Looking forward for watching all other nice movies i missed or the one's coming soon.

I'll sign-off for now. So please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!

I am back to India...

So the latest news is that i am back to India. There are tons of other news, but as many of you might have realised that i am terrible when it comes to regular blogging. I really have no idea 'why', but that's the way it is. I really hope though that it doesn't remains the same, i do need to change that.

Anyways, i came back to India last Monday night (landed 29th Sep at 11pm IST). The flight with British Airways was cool ,as always. I like them, tehy are pretty good. I landed in India at exact right time too. Surprisingly, the immigration process didnt take too long this time. It was over in few minutes. I liked that. Even the IGI Airport in Delhi looks better than before. I am hearing it would be even better or best in coming future. I hope so too. I had to wait really long for the luggage to arrive though, almost an hour. But everything was safe & fine. This time the TSA guys in US did not screw up my bag like last time (if you guys remember, they tore my bag using a knife even when it was unlocked. thats what they call as security inspection, huh). Anyways, the guy at custom did try to stop me and scanned my bag. Ofcourse teh purpose was to draw some money out of me, but i had nothing to worry about. Somehow, it always sucks teh ost when you come back to India. I mean I change 3 flights in my trip going through 4 airports (Kansas City, Chicago, London, Delhi) and it's most tough and painful in our own country. The worst airport and worst service, everyone looking for making money out of you or create trouble for you. This really needs to change, really!!!

My mom, dad and my friends were waiting at the airport to receive me. It's an awesome feeling. My dad got kinda emotonal again to see me, it happens i guess. It was amazing to see DAD & MOM and also the friends. 4 months is not too long, but coming back froma long distance always feels different & cool. It's again like a scene from Johors or Chopras movie, lol. But it was not that dramatic this time, I guess my paents are getting used to it. They are very intelligent people, i just love them. It's so nice to see them and be with them, coming home is always coming HOME.

It feels good to be back home however it does comes with its some downfalls. Yeah, I am saying downfalls. Thats what most of the people say when they come back to India from US, you start seeing downfalls in India. I am talking to my friends like,'Your country is like this/that'; WOW, 'your country'. I was asking my friend taht do people drive in lanes in India. He ws like, you have stayed here for 23 yrs, you should know. Yeah, It seems as if I don't know my country. Or i dont like what I know so I pretend not to know...

Anyways, I am back home now. My mom is feeding me like a.... lets say elephant or Dinasour. She loves me a lot and ofcouse I missed Indian food so I am all for it. But my body doesnt seems to support it that much. I am already having indigestion and watever, really not feeling well. I guess your immunity becomes weaker when you come back from India. Cleaner air, healthier food and whatever, we forget the strenth of our 'desh ki mitti' (soil of our nation).

The overall US trip was pretty cool. I had tons of fun this time. Drove some amazing cars (Hyundai Sonata/Azera, Buick Lucerne), did skydiving, went to chicago and had an amazing experience. I had been sharing my experience on & off. there is a lot more and i'll try my best to put it on here very soon.

So please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck... I love my India!!!!!

Yesterday was my B'day...

Yes, y'day was my 25th b'day which I spent without my family & friends here in US!! would be writing more about it soon...

I always thought that I would celebrate my 25th b'day with a huge celebration. An amazing b'day bash with my family & friends. Afterall, you do not turn 25 everyday (Actually you don't turn any age everyday, but 25 is like silver jubilee... a quarter century, wow!!). But we all know that things dont always turn the way u want them. I was not even in my own place or country at the occassion. I was in middle of USA, in Kansas. Not many friends there and no family atall...

I had planned on caling my parents to US so they could celebrate my b'day with me this time. We would go to some outside place, like Chicago or somewhere and have a unforgettable amazing time. But my parents could not manage to come (they could not get the passport in time). So yeah, things again didnt turn up as I planned and I ended up alone.

I was really sad & disappointed since Aug 31. I spent the night of August 31 with a friend and had some nice pie cae & fun, thanks. It was sweet & nice. Went back home & slept for nothing. I wanted to go out somewhere but couldnt get any friends with me. In the evening, 3 friends showed up with Brownie cake & wine. That was lil fun too. And thats it, it was all over. Not what I had planned or thought for the day.

But anyways, things dont always turn the way you plan. And you should try to make best out of what you have. And still be damn disappointed and hurt sometimes. Afterall sadness is part of life too. Everything is an experience...

That's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!!!

I did SKYDIVING!!!

(My pics of skydiving:
http://picasaweb.google.com/it.rahul/Skydiving
Small video taken by my camera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF8BRvZwVVk
P.S. The pics have been uploades and video taken by the skydive-centre would be coming soon :)

Yeahhhhh, I DID SKYDIVING… another one of my accomplishments, lol. I mean it really feels like an achievement when you do it, it feels great. Jumping from a flying airplane at the height of 10000 feet in sky, wow!!! A free fall at the speed of 120 mph (that is approximately 200 Km/hr), wow-wow!!!

Was I scared? Yes I was, when they show you that video stating “This is a dangerous sport where you may get seriously injured or even killed. And no one but you yourself is responsible for any accidents. You do not have any right to any claim or sue anyone”. By the way, who would like an opportunity to die just because they’ll get to sue someone, it hardly happens. But its great fun and great fun comes at a price.

As many of you may know, I love adventure sports. I have never been interested in outdoor sports in general (yeah, I am not a BIG fan of cricket either… and I am not sorry for it). But a rush of adrenaline when you do something crazy, I love that. Adventure sports are my deal. I love going to adventure/fun parks too, I mean rides can be crazy but they are fun. The rides in US are anyways amazing. I have been to Six Flags park, Kings Dominion park and also to the rides in Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas. I have done rafting, rock climbing, skiing, trekking and Scuba Diving too (in Philippines). I want to do these again and many other new adventure sports stuff too, I will.

So, let’s talk a bit about my experience with skydiving. I did skydiving at Butler in Missouri (it’s a state in US, near Kansas). The place is known as SkydiveKC, and it’s good. It is around 1 and ½ hour from Kansas City, my Sonata did the driving. We were 3 friends out of which only 2 were doing it, after all it’s not everyone’s plate of cake. We were supposed to be there at noon and I did manage that (for me being somewhere at noon on a Sunday is almost like impossible, I am actually used to waking-up after noon on weekends). You have to go through a small training. They’ll show you 2 videos, one about all the stuff you need to know and the other about the risks involved that anything may happen to you and no one is responsible. The video is kind of scary, may make you upset.

But believe me it is not as bad in actual. Jumping out of the plane seems the scariest part, I mean jumping out of a plane flying at the height of 10000 feet seems ridiculous. Why would anyone ever do that?? But we humans do lots of crazy stuff just for the feel and zeal of it I guess. Just to prove to ourselves that we can go to extreme and try doing anything possible or maybe impossible in this world. That’s why we are different and that’s why we are superior. Apart from that, no airplane is perfect (no machine is perfect after all). So little bit of experience with jumping form a plane might be helpful, lol. Sorry, no jokes here… but the whole thing is just so great.

I had opted for a ‘Tandem jump’ package where you jump with a professional trained diver/instructor. That’s the only way you can do your first skydive, unless you are in an emergency situation while you are on a flight and you might be asked to jump. Maybe you don’t have to pay for that jump, but I am sure that is not going to be any fun. I am not even sure if they give you any parachutes to jump. They always talk about using that life jacket and I guess they just want you to jump in water, damn!!! Anyways, the Tandem jump comes for $205, plus $95 for video & photos. Another diver jumps with you to take your photos & video too. I’ll share them soon.

After the training, they tell a bit about how to sit in plane & how to get out etc. You should listen carefully and follow it, I did. Then I got suited up in the jump suit and got into the plane. Ride to 10,000 feet is little boring, it takes long and you just have to sit through waiting for jump. But once the doors open at the height, it’s totally different. I could feel the wind striking my face & I could see the height I was at… way above the ground. And I could see that I was about to jump from a plane. Hanging at the door before jump, I felt ‘is it the right thing to do’, lol. However after jumping from the plane there was no scary falling sensation, it’s more like a floating or flying sensation. I was flying in the air. The free fall just lasts for around 30-40 seconds and then the parachute opens up. By the time you realize what happened, it’s over; but still its amazing FUN. I could feel flying in air & I could feel the thrill. I also did a 360 degree spin during free fall, that’s cool. I also did a spin while coming down hanging to parachute, that’s cool too. Then I landed safe & fine, totally excited & happy.

My instructor was John Paul, he was pretty good. His son Chris was the cameraman. They together own the place & do pretty well. I just hope they had better planes and could do more height, would be way more fun. I would surely say that if you want thrill, you should definitely try Skydiving. It’s a great thing. I would love to do it more & maybe even get certified sometime in future. I want to do Scuba certification too (yeah, wanting is easy… so it’s good to want at least). Overall, it was really AWESOME & AMAZING!!!!

SO, that’s pretty much it for right now. I know I am damn slow at writing blogs. That is really bad and I am sorry for it, I am really trying to improve that. The problem is I am really busy these days and writing a blog takes long time for me. I don’t just write it, I think & write and edit & improvise to make it look better for myself and my readers. Thanks for reading it & enjoying my experiences. I still have to write about my great CHICAGO Trip and some new movies I saw (Mummy-3, Tropic Thunder, Death Racer). Would try to pen them down soon.

So please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENTING as well please). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck!!!!!