I am sitting in the SAP lab in the Guest house, working on Personnel Administration.... checking out the configuration and process of various Personnel Administration activities in SAP, when the new year flips past me....Rather, I was searching for the connection...searching frantically for a single spek of the stick in the signal side of my cell phone..Suddenly it seems the entire Air-Tel netwrok is down and not a single cell phone is working...It seems like a year- every single second that passes without the signal and without being able to call/speak to someone....

But, then, I return back....I would have to be calm....Listen to some Kishore Kumar numbers...and so right now, it's "Ek roz mein thadapkar...is dil ko tham loonga"....Its so Kishore Kumarish...its soothing and its very heart warming....Just done with another song..."Making Love out of nothing at all" from Airsupply.....

What a way to start the new year!!!

Wishing all you a great New year...Let all your dreams(and mine too) come true this new year!

மேடையை போலே வாழக்கை அல்ல, நாடகம் ஆனதும் விலகி செல்ல,

ஓடையை போலே உறவும் அல்ல, பாதைகள் மாறியே பயணம் செல்ல,

விண்ணோடு தான் உலாவும் வெள்ளி வண்ண நிலாவும்,

என்னோடு நீ வந்தால் என்ன? வா!

மன்றம் வந்த தென்றலுக்கு மஞ்சம் வர நெஞ்சம் இல்லையோ?

I want to hear this song so badly now, that I can go to any lengths...but then, I am in Hyderabad...not in Mangalore!:(

I am happy, peacefull, content.....so much more today...This moment...I would happily jump from the Jog falls, without parachutes!!!..anyone for a bet????

Ummm....So back to Hyd...After nearly 5 months....soooooo much had changed by now. Some for good...some for bad and atleast one for the worst!...Never mind..

Sometimes, somethings are like the cute blue horizon that come up in your view on a foggy morning, when you sit in the bus/train, have nothing to do and enjoy the beauty. It seems to be with you for ever, but you only know too well, that it is gonna be there just for the time being- untill you get bored of it..or you have better things to do...

Anyways many things are the matter of getting used to...You get used to pain, till it no longer matters to you..you get used to love, and then you no longer feel the need of one...You get used to being alone and then you no longer feel alone!

Getting used to!- and its all the more important that one gets used to Life!..I am getting used to! ;-)

The latest getting used to is, "Life without Internet"....I am here in Hyd for a Certification(SAP Certification)..The training venue would have no Internet. So, would be out of Internetted world for a month from now.

It seems the first casualty would be my Bloglines account. With 118 feeds(that throws somewhere around 700-800 /day) to read, I had been getting used to Information Overload. Now, I think I need to get used to Information Malnutrition! ;-)..Will get used to!

Hyderabad and Briyani beckons!!!

Should I laugh or cry?

Should I be happy or sad?

Is it for good or bad?

Still thinking! :)

Why are we powerless when Life rushes past us?- with our full knowledge- tears us apart, upturns plans, murders hopes, shatters dreams and leave us spell bound by the effect?

Why is that, even after all these, we still Love this Life? What makes us to think......well...think?

I had been seeing this news item for quite sometime now, in Internet discussion groups, in blogs, in news channels, and in all places that I can possibly put my eyes on. I dont know much about the case(let alone that he was a gangster long back and that he is convicted for killing 4 people). These are public knowledge, but I dont know the intricacies of the case.

I had not been a votary of death penalty. Today, when I read Metafilter's words,

Tomorrow Stan "Tookie" Williams founder of the Crips gang is scheduled to die. Many feel that Tookie has turned has life around, he's written books about his life, and has had his story made into a movie and even been nominated for the Nobel Prize Some say he deserves clemency others do not this morning Tookie was denied an appeal to the California Supreme Court and is waiting on a federal appeal. Which begs the question Should Tookie Die? [Bold to emphasis by me]

Scheduled to die?.....I am shocked at this sentence. It is true!..he is "scheduled" to die..Now, how horrible can something get as this?

How would that man be feeling in his prison cell...may be when I am typing this, he is already injected with the legal injection and is on his way to permanent sleep..but to know that I am gonna die, that these are the last few moments that I would be seeing this world...these are the last few seconds, that I would be breathing, that I would have this "I"..how would it feel to feel that way?

Why can't humans be more wise? Are laws to organise men or to be ruthless? I agree Laws should have more teeth, but those teeth should be like that of a Tiger gripping it's cub, not a prey. Laws that are dragonian as that recommending Death Penalty are not only ridiculous , but are also a black mark on the civilised world.

No crime can be stopped by fear. Fear is not unsurmountable...It just takes a bit of resolution and a momentary rage to commit a crime( I am not speaking about the organised crime here...those might be for so many other reasons, which too can be logically reasoned with and remedied).

At the end of the day, Killing is not the answer for Crime and that too a legalised Killing- definitely not!!..It sucks to say that.."Legalised Killing"

Hume Tum Se Pyaar Kitna Yeh Hum Nahi Jaante
Magar Jee Nahin Sakte Tumhare Bina

A soothing song by Kishore Kumar, to add to the cool morning wakes me up from sleep....Saturdays- Early morning raise is like asking for a Stuffed Pizza in Madurai Muniyaandi Vilas. But, then it really happened!..May be Muniyaandi Vilas is globalising!:P

Saturday's had for a long time been Young World, half day classes, exams, afternoon sleeps, Oil baths, "Shanthi- Swabhimaan"less afternoons, cricket with the sole rubber ball [sometimes a custom built ball with tyre tube cut into strips and strapped over a mass of paper], Chess under the sprawling Mango tree in the front yard, hot snacks in the twilights, a peaceful walk to the nearby Perumal temple- the chill cardomam, tulsi flavoured "prasaatham", occasional "thodyaanam", family dinners and sleep with head on patti's lap.

Then, it was 'day'mares of assignments, submissions, presentations, deadlines, food hunting, late night cinemas, night outs, bhakkar sessions, cricket [occassional football too] on the corridor, sleeping on the ground the day before BrandScan, sleepless chatts......

Now, it is waking to V's "Technicolor Hits(in Dolby wherever avaliable)", Oil baths, Brunch, no cricket, no chess, no Shanti, no Swabhimaan, no Perumal temples, no prasaathams- but Guitar, Internet, endless cups of coffee/tea, ceaseless noise of the Tower Fan to complement the A/c, books, deadlines, food hunting, sleep......

Where is Paati's Lap?

Well, I know many of us say Xerox for photocoying. Infact, I never knew such a word photocopying existed, till some five years back. It had always been Xerox for me. I still use the word Xerox for photocopying. I know there are many more who use the word to mean the action. That was in the Yester-years.

So, what is becoming Generic like that, today?

Search - Google:
Here, offlate, I had seen that I use the word Google more to mean Search than anything. I had seen many people say, I googled for "X"...I googled for "Y"....etc. But, that is restricted to searching for something online. I wonder, will that extrapolate to the offline world too?

Search and Buy - Amazon:
I am increasingly reading notes, that say to "I wud have amazoned", to mean that he/she would have searched for it in net and bought it!!

These are the two words that I had come across..but if given a chance, I would add,

Gmailed it- to mean Email!
Bloggered it - to mean blogged!
Flickered it- to mean had posted some photos online!
delicioused it- to mean had bookmarked it online!
consumed it- to mean that I had read a book!
"Orkut"ing- Networking.
Yahoo'ing- Chatting.

Any more pointers from you?

I know I had written sooooo much about this song and the effect it has on me..but come what may, it does deserve another mention here...."Valai Oosai" from Sathya, is one awesome song, with the Flute and Guitar playing some really wonderful notes throughout the song, with SPB's and Lata's voice and the Lyrics perfectly fitting the trance- Wow!!!..I just Love it...anytime I hear that song, any mood would turn cheerfull...Raja stands Taaaaaaaaaalllllllllll!!!!

ராகங்கள் தாளங்கள் நூறு,
ராஜா உன் பேர் சொல்லும் பாரு....

Hats off to you Raja!

Today's The Hindu, Mangalore edition, carried a nice article on the Morphing face of Mangalore. And that is, to a large extent, true..Though I hadn't had great opinion about this city, when I came here, I had seen stunningly beautiful houses here, in Mangalore and I am sure, it would cost me a fortune to build such structures in other cities (provided I get enough space there at prime locations).

I had always been a fan of minimalistic architecture and for the importance of functionality over frame. When I read through the article, it was impressive to say the least. Have a look at the home. The traditional furniture had given way to granite stone fixtures, that form permanent seating arrangement. I was initially doubtful about the privacy that these sort of structures offer..but I am convinced after seeing some of them here and also, reading about the way they are designed.

I like spacious rooms with lots of natural light and would anytime prefer a lightless room- I mean a limited electrified home, with lesser EB bill:P...But what with all the cities becoming a concrete jungle, and the houses becoming more a pigeon holes than the true "homes", I would prefer a city like Mangalore, for it's calm, serene and peaceful atmosphere, but for the career prospects- or the lack of it. But this city is for sure, a better place to settle down after your retirement.

So, what sort of a home would I design(rather want my architect to design)?...It might closely resemble something like a Loftcube project, that is being experimented in Germany. I am completely impressed with the functionality of the structure and the design. I would get all I want and be comfortable with the limited coverup area of the structure. The LoftCube is designed for a maximum of 5 people and it can be placed at the rooftop. This concept of a anytime, anyplace dwelling area, is new and as an experimentative idea is great.

Though I had indeed come across certain minimalistic structures like this, in the Soviet Era's East Europe, those buildings are nothing when it comes to functionality. This particular concept and the execution of the idea seems to be awesome. However, this might suit only the nomadic life style(as correctly pointed out in the site), and not be an ideal one for the family oriented Indians.

One point that I noticed in the site's "concept" page(or slide) is that, it is filled with Women's silhoutte...I suppose, that is to insist on the security of the structure. But they would have put atleast a single guy there!:P

Would definitely look forward to find something like this, in India!