3/23/2007
Cricket Blog-Podcast Going on
In case you have missed the on going India Sri Lanka Match, you can catch up at this blog
3/22/2007
Hooked on to this Video-IIM C
I happen to chance on this video, both through a friend as well as P.G. Awesome audio track...and of course images of IIM C
3/21/2007
Why Use Gmail?
I just happened to see this ad on Jammy's Blog. It's a rather simple ad, that lucidly explains why GMAIL rocks. Contrast this with the ad that Yahoo had, of a glitzy lady making you feel that Yahoo email comes with a pot of Gold-and-is-sexy kind of an advertisement. Such similar simple ads have done very well, in the past for brands like Amaron Batteries, and seem to connect with the user much better.
I am not criticisingYahoo's attempt, but just bowled over by the simplicity of the advertisement shown on Youtube.
I am not criticisingYahoo's attempt, but just bowled over by the simplicity of the advertisement shown on Youtube.
On a Lighter Note
Will this Happen?
Follow the podcast on my cricket Blog with Updates every 10 overs
The Cricket Blog was dormant following a small 2 wheeler accident, near my home in Madipakkam.So the Podcast is back and so am I.Login at 7 pm IST and stay logged on to my cricket Blog for updates.
What's the Score?
Saw this at Besant Nagar beach 2 days back- Monday night, during the India- Vs Bermuda match.
Those days(in 99 and 96), World Cup matches were aired through on a large screen on the beach. I enjoyed watching the matches, along with my friends, munching ground nuts and feeling the swift punch of air, through our chatter.These days, I guess, due to stricter television rights and public broadcasting rules, these matches are not being telecast.
3/16/2007
Is it really that "Big"?
That's the ad line of Rediff, advertising its unlimited email storage. This ad is pretty popular on TV networks these days and double entendre ad's are the one's that have lasting brand recall. I remember Fitness one gyms in Chennai launched their gyms, with similar double entendre, bordering on looking like they are talking on sex. Rediff's advertisement was also bordering on a similar line. Rediff approached SUN TV for advertising slots, to air their ad, as the SUN Network is a huge vehicle to showcase a brand down south. SUN TV rejected the advertising bid, supposedly due to so-called-cultural-mandarins(a.k.a protectors of culture) attitude that they display. Tamil Nadu, thanks to these sidey politicians has become a state where politicians use the conservative nature of people to condemn any act which has a male female interaction/any sex related joke/bold statement.
Khushboo's rather true statement a year back, was misconstrued by the politician's who utilized it as an election gimmick to win the masses sentiments. The fact remains that if so much of moral policing is done, and every thing on sex is hush-hush, then all it does in the long run, is to make children unnecessarily curious about sex, and they end up screwing their lives. Chennai, is also blatantly a city where most parents, are driven by this herd mentality, to police their children into studying, and encouraged not to build relationships with the opposite sex.
Most decent schools in the city don’t advocate such measures, but a majority of schools in Chennai focus too much attention on studies/tuition and discourage an interaction with the opposite sex, saying that the time could have rather been used to study. Any average school or college goer(Sathyabama,RMK and the other engineering college students would have a lot to say) would know that, but would prefer to remain tightlipped about the whole thing.
Its a huge problem to comprehend as the rowdy politicians (any political party) who run the state, make all these mass practices to woo the average voter and in the process only instigate their rather conservative nature to such boorish bohemian laws.
Did You Know
My engineering college suspended a guy who happened to sit in a seat with a girl in the bus. The guy just came out of an accident and could not stand, so he sat in the seat, leaving 2 spaces between the girl.
In other engineering colleges, Male and female interaction is monitored very closely by "dada’s" of politicians, who run the colleges and severely reprimand/punish/suspend students.
Colleges have bars in buses that prevent interaction between students of the opposite sexes.
Boys and Girls have seperate stairs for walking.
In Technical symposiums Men and Women are not supposed to participate togther..... and so much of other crazy rules.
Chennai as a city is a great place to live in, and their conservatism is actually pretty mild, but the way the government uses them as pawns spreading this moral policing, is when things start to look ugly. The way the politicians and TV channels reacted to the Khushboo incident was crazy, where each channel behaved as though they were concerned about the Chennai culture and "were upholders of moral traditions". SUN TV is just making things worse by refusing the ad of Rediff. There may have been a different reason, but I frankly don’t see any other reason than the moral policing angle, which made SUN TV reject the ad. The AD is no where near a Rakhi Sawant or Shakila Video that needs to be thought through so hard, but still SUN TV has its way. Rejecting such an ad, and if it makes news that publicity is good enough for building a brand impression than the money they were to make, if they aired the ads.
God Save Sun TV
Related Links
Rediff Unlimited storage News Article
The Rediff Advertisement Video-
Earlier Article on the Khushboo incident written by me
Khushboo's rather true statement a year back, was misconstrued by the politician's who utilized it as an election gimmick to win the masses sentiments. The fact remains that if so much of moral policing is done, and every thing on sex is hush-hush, then all it does in the long run, is to make children unnecessarily curious about sex, and they end up screwing their lives. Chennai, is also blatantly a city where most parents, are driven by this herd mentality, to police their children into studying, and encouraged not to build relationships with the opposite sex.
Most decent schools in the city don’t advocate such measures, but a majority of schools in Chennai focus too much attention on studies/tuition and discourage an interaction with the opposite sex, saying that the time could have rather been used to study. Any average school or college goer(Sathyabama,RMK and the other engineering college students would have a lot to say) would know that, but would prefer to remain tightlipped about the whole thing.
Its a huge problem to comprehend as the rowdy politicians (any political party) who run the state, make all these mass practices to woo the average voter and in the process only instigate their rather conservative nature to such boorish bohemian laws.
Did You Know
My engineering college suspended a guy who happened to sit in a seat with a girl in the bus. The guy just came out of an accident and could not stand, so he sat in the seat, leaving 2 spaces between the girl.
In other engineering colleges, Male and female interaction is monitored very closely by "dada’s" of politicians, who run the colleges and severely reprimand/punish/suspend students.
Colleges have bars in buses that prevent interaction between students of the opposite sexes.
Boys and Girls have seperate stairs for walking.
In Technical symposiums Men and Women are not supposed to participate togther..... and so much of other crazy rules.
Chennai as a city is a great place to live in, and their conservatism is actually pretty mild, but the way the government uses them as pawns spreading this moral policing, is when things start to look ugly. The way the politicians and TV channels reacted to the Khushboo incident was crazy, where each channel behaved as though they were concerned about the Chennai culture and "were upholders of moral traditions". SUN TV is just making things worse by refusing the ad of Rediff. There may have been a different reason, but I frankly don’t see any other reason than the moral policing angle, which made SUN TV reject the ad. The AD is no where near a Rakhi Sawant or Shakila Video that needs to be thought through so hard, but still SUN TV has its way. Rejecting such an ad, and if it makes news that publicity is good enough for building a brand impression than the money they were to make, if they aired the ads.
God Save Sun TV
Related Links
Rediff Unlimited storage News Article
The Rediff Advertisement Video-
Earlier Article on the Khushboo incident written by me
3/15/2007
What if you lose your GMAIL password?
When Google crippled me for a day!
I was on GTALK yesterday afternoon, when I received a scrap note from a friend.I tried logging to Orkut, and found that it wasn’t allowing me, and it kept on saying my password was wrong for my account. Was I sleepy? I went to the washbasin and sprinked some water and went back to my computer to login again..and damn it didn’t actually allow me to login. I tried the same with Blogger and GMAIL and the results the same.
I went to the “forgot Password” link and quickly answered my password question, and also changed the password. I suspect somebody had got into my MAIL account and has changed my PASSWORD, that’s why I was not able to log in.
After changing the password, I tried logging into Orkut, and it would still not allow me inside !!!. I was peeved and wondered what exactly was happening. I kept trying my new password and it did not work. Now this really scared me, as from my GTALK widget, I was not able to login to my GMAIL and every possible way of logging into Google services failed me.I was now worried and was getting skeptical of what password I had changed a minute ago. When I changed my password, my mind gave me a million different potential tough passwords out of which one was selected. I was in doubt whether I typed any of the other passwords and that confusion ate me for the next one hour.
By the way, if you feel, when there is a secondary email address why worry? Then, you need to know one more piece of data. My secondary email address at hotmail, no longer existed and I never bothered to worry about a potential security problem. Now what was I to do? I felt like an orphaned child in the midst of a flash flood, or a lone survivor in a flight crash.All my Google data was gone, as Google would help me only in 1 possible way.That would be only possible if the hacker was inactive for 5 days, and which hacker would hack an id to leave it inactive? So there I was, staring at a bleak future...with all my data gone….just gone…Chole go chey, poye pochu…..the olden days IODEX ad just teased me in my mind. There was a mini catastrophe going on
In the midst of this tension, I had ignored requests for nature’s call, and I decided I may as well do that. Some times you start hearing music and strange songs in your mind when you are in the toilet.This time, I was in no mood for my mind to go haywire.Once I had finished passing urine, I felt refreshed and a sense of ease.It just made me feel better.
I went back to my computer and said to myself that the 2nd time password limit was a 8 character word and I knew I would have to potentially test out 8! Cases to figure out my password..actually even more if one also add numerical characters(typically (26*2*9) to the power 8 times..but I did not let math disappoint me.I tried to recollect combinations of my password and much to my surprise, I realized that whatever I had thought was different and typed was a keystroke away and this was explored in the 19th such attempt…and was I gleaming with joy…I was over the moon.
The next thing I did was to locate the secondary email address tab and change it to a different known id.If I did not locate my password, as per GOOGLE’s privacy policy, they wouldn’t help you in anyway. So be very careful about anything you do electronically.In fact, this post is the second time I am writing this, as I lost the content, when I typed the article directly on the Blogger editor. So in case you found this a useful read, do keep your back ups and password logic somewhere, where you can find it in an emergency…You never know when you would need what….I thought Google was the safest way of storing a friends phone number, a PAN number or some damn thing.If its on line, then I am fine…but sometimes overdependence on Online can kick you in the wrong place. BACK UP’S ARE DEADLY IMPORTANT….
People who learn from their mistakes are wise
People who learn from others mistakes are wiser…
Get Wiser!
I was on GTALK yesterday afternoon, when I received a scrap note from a friend.I tried logging to Orkut, and found that it wasn’t allowing me, and it kept on saying my password was wrong for my account. Was I sleepy? I went to the washbasin and sprinked some water and went back to my computer to login again..and damn it didn’t actually allow me to login. I tried the same with Blogger and GMAIL and the results the same.
I went to the “forgot Password” link and quickly answered my password question, and also changed the password. I suspect somebody had got into my MAIL account and has changed my PASSWORD, that’s why I was not able to log in.
After changing the password, I tried logging into Orkut, and it would still not allow me inside !!!. I was peeved and wondered what exactly was happening. I kept trying my new password and it did not work. Now this really scared me, as from my GTALK widget, I was not able to login to my GMAIL and every possible way of logging into Google services failed me.I was now worried and was getting skeptical of what password I had changed a minute ago. When I changed my password, my mind gave me a million different potential tough passwords out of which one was selected. I was in doubt whether I typed any of the other passwords and that confusion ate me for the next one hour.
By the way, if you feel, when there is a secondary email address why worry? Then, you need to know one more piece of data. My secondary email address at hotmail, no longer existed and I never bothered to worry about a potential security problem. Now what was I to do? I felt like an orphaned child in the midst of a flash flood, or a lone survivor in a flight crash.All my Google data was gone, as Google would help me only in 1 possible way.That would be only possible if the hacker was inactive for 5 days, and which hacker would hack an id to leave it inactive? So there I was, staring at a bleak future...with all my data gone….just gone…Chole go chey, poye pochu…..the olden days IODEX ad just teased me in my mind. There was a mini catastrophe going on
In the midst of this tension, I had ignored requests for nature’s call, and I decided I may as well do that. Some times you start hearing music and strange songs in your mind when you are in the toilet.This time, I was in no mood for my mind to go haywire.Once I had finished passing urine, I felt refreshed and a sense of ease.It just made me feel better.
I went back to my computer and said to myself that the 2nd time password limit was a 8 character word and I knew I would have to potentially test out 8! Cases to figure out my password..actually even more if one also add numerical characters(typically (26*2*9) to the power 8 times..but I did not let math disappoint me.I tried to recollect combinations of my password and much to my surprise, I realized that whatever I had thought was different and typed was a keystroke away and this was explored in the 19th such attempt…and was I gleaming with joy…I was over the moon.
The next thing I did was to locate the secondary email address tab and change it to a different known id.If I did not locate my password, as per GOOGLE’s privacy policy, they wouldn’t help you in anyway. So be very careful about anything you do electronically.In fact, this post is the second time I am writing this, as I lost the content, when I typed the article directly on the Blogger editor. So in case you found this a useful read, do keep your back ups and password logic somewhere, where you can find it in an emergency…You never know when you would need what….I thought Google was the safest way of storing a friends phone number, a PAN number or some damn thing.If its on line, then I am fine…but sometimes overdependence on Online can kick you in the wrong place. BACK UP’S ARE DEADLY IMPORTANT….
People who learn from their mistakes are wise
People who learn from others mistakes are wiser…
Get Wiser!
3/13/2007
My Thoughts on the World Cup
3/10/2007
Cricket World Cup Special
I have started a new Blog on Cricket. It basically contains my podcasts of cricket matches. I am starting with the World Cup. I have always thought of being a cricket commentator, but have never worked towards it. When I met Harsha Bhogle last year at a quiz, and asked him what I need to do, to get started, he advised me on recording my voice and hearing it, and if possible start with some Radio station as a part time jockey. Now which radio would want to hear a fresher, with no experience? I dont chat, nor do I engage in glib talking, there must be some way of living a surrogate cricket commentators life. Thats when I decided to entertain myself and showcase my interests via a blog. I decided to podcast my small modules of commentary and broadcast it via You tube. I have taken the video from my Cell Phone(Sony Erricsson w550i) and transfer it via bluetooth to my laptop, and upload it through youtube. Sounds interesting to get my hands dirty on this. Do keep checking the cricket blog regularly, and offer your comments,advice on my voice.I will be glad to have some feedback on this new hobby.
3/08/2007
Strange Sights in Chennai
Forts in Chennai? Ancient Castles? - Err...Its a Swimming Pool on ECR
Convertible Auto's in Chennai ?- I guess this one couldnt wait to get on the Roads without the top part.Very wel shows the importance the Auto driver attaches to revenues from the road.
Spotted Last Week
3/06/2007
Any Difference?
The World Cup is a few days away, and as I was watching this picture of a warm up match, I notice that most of the uniforms seem to be minor variations in the shades of Blue Green and Red. Gone are the days when you would wait with a suspense for the uniforms that cricket players would wear, Now its some insane logic via which they seem to design the uniforms.
Check the one Below, it seems to be almost similar. The Teams-England and Bermuda
2/27/2007
Karur- A Lovely Place for some Peace
I am doing this post from Karur, a small town which is a couple of hours from Tiruchi. I had come here for a short holiday, spending some time with my dad, who works here at a bank, and also to attend the marriage function of one of my colleagues at Sulekha.Karur is a very calm place, has an old world charm, and relaxing and being jobless, can actually be a hobby, if you happen to be in Karur. I did manage to visit Yercaud, a small hill station nearby.Though it is not as cold as Ooty or Kodai( where I hear the temparatures are slipping negative), Yercaud can be a lovely place for some solitude. There is no mad rush of cabs or people into Yercaud, even though its proximity to towns in interior Tamilnadu is much closer than Ooty or kodai to big towns nearby.
I spent some time walking in a few gardens and near the boat club. The drive was worth it.I should be back from Karur later this week(possibly tommorow, subject to availabity of tickets to Chennai).I will post a short travellogue on this place and some of the customs of the land of Karur, which I had learnt from my colleague.
I spent some time walking in a few gardens and near the boat club. The drive was worth it.I should be back from Karur later this week(possibly tommorow, subject to availabity of tickets to Chennai).I will post a short travellogue on this place and some of the customs of the land of Karur, which I had learnt from my colleague.
2/25/2007
Interview with Jimmy Wales-Wikipedia Founder
Since I have little time on my hand, and need to catch a train to Tiruchi in an hour, I have posted the interview with Jimmy Wales on my Sulekha Blog(which is easier than blogger for photo upload).
Check the interview at http://kartik.sulekha.com
Check the interview at http://kartik.sulekha.com
2/23/2007
Lost in Mumbai
Here is a post about my recent trip to Mumbai.
26th January : 6 30 pm, I was waiting at Bindaas park at IIT Madras, for my friend to arrive. In an hours time, the Sukhwinder singh concert was about to begin. The concert started at 8 and went on till 11 pm in the night after which, we decided to saunter around the IIT woods in the moonlight. It was half past 12 when i reached home, and then decided to pack my baggage for the Mumbai trip. It was half past 2, when I finished packing my baggage and 3 when I went to bed, only to be woken up at 3 3 0 am by my father and had to rush to do my ablutions half asleep.
I originally planned to drive down to the airport in my bike, but given the fact that my Bike insurance papers and RC book have never seen me, my father decided to play it safe, by dropping me in the car.
I reached the airport at 4 55 am and as I was walking after the security check, there came an announcement that shook me out of my stupor "AIR DECCAN FLIGHT DN 613 is ready for departure" , I waited for the announcer to say it again, as I stared in disbelief. The ticket said 5 25 am, but it was just 5 05 am, Could the heavens be falling? How on earth can an Air Deccan flight leave 20 minutes early?
I rushed with gay abandon across the airport only to be sent back by the guard near the security check, as I didn’t have an Air Deccan tag on my bag. I grumbled and after realizing that my antics would not let the man pass the security heck barrier, I ran back to the Air Deccan counter and got the damn tags. The guard allowed me and the next blockade came when the Air Deccan transport vehicle left just before I reached the front door. Pipped at the post was I? I thought was the last passenger to enter the flight, but given Air Deccan's improper flight advancement, there were 20 other passengers who felt the same, whom I spotted while I was waiting for the next Air deccan Pick up bus.
Eventually the pick up vehicle came and I strode like a colossus inside the plane to see images of Koyambedu (Asia's biggest sabzi mandi(vegetable market) in Chennai) on the flight. DN 613 was jam packed with people and resembled a town bus. I searched for empty seats amidst the din, and finally found one near two 50 plus aunties. I struggled my way in, as the poor lady near me was a little too fat for the seat, so I had to jump over her with my legs.
I just about managed to sit in a folded position, as my legs were jostling for space with the hand baggage’s of the women near me. I just closed my eyes in disgust and when I opened it the flight was 30 minutes into the journey and 12800 metres high, as the voice message echoed its way to my ears. I had a few cookies, Lehar Namkeen, and a Cheese sandwich for pre breakfast at this unearthly hour of 6 am.
I reached Mumbai at 7 30 am, and saw a few known quizzing folks whom I had met a few years back.I spent some time with them searching for my luggage that came in the conveyor belt. As soon as I came out the airport, all of a sudden from now where the taxi walahs made me an instant celebrity, by asking me where I wanted to go? I have my relatives in Airoli and since they leave for work in the morning, I didn’t want to trouble my grandfathers brother who stays there. Airoli was a good 50-60 kilometres from Santa Cruz, and I was in no mood to just while away my time there going home. Keshav also suggested that its better to go in the evening to Airoli, as it was tough to go to Airoli and be back in the city within a few hours.
I decided to take a tour of the city as this was the weekend, and the trains would not be as full as it would be on weekdays. I took a cab from the airport to Vile Parle station, and boarded a train going to Church gate.
This is the Vile Parle station, as I walked down the steps. The train was not crowded and I even found a place to sit in the trains(an achievement by itself). I was lulled into sleep by the movements of the train and woke up at Churchgate. I was told by folks that a morning walk on Marine drive is great,so I quickly walked up from the Churchgate station and turned right and quickly reached the marine drive, the portion of the road right between the Brabbourne stadium(CCI) and the Wankhede stadium.
I spent an hour walking on the side path of Marine drive listening to my walkman. The sky was overcast and it was only past 11 am, that shades of the sun's rays pierced Mumbai. I had my breakfast and lunch at a place called Satkar, right opposite to the Church gate station , on the side of the ambassador revolving restaurant.
After lunch , I took the train to Dadar and changed the railway line and purchased a ticket to Bandra where I was to meet Kaveeta Kaul, a person closely associated with the tinsel world(also a Sulekha Blogger). We met at Lucky's, a famous Biriyani joint at Bandra. We then took a rickshaw and went to Paali road( wrong spelling ?? ) and finally went to "Creps joint" a food hangout owned by the film star Dino Morea. Kaveeta and I spoke a lot on our lives, palmistry, tinsel town talk, Mumbai trains and the falsity of life that accompanies some people. She suggested me to taste a dish called Creps, which looked like a cross between an olive pizza and a butter naan, but a tasty dish though. After a few hours at Carter road, we decided to end the meeting, as I had to head home to Navi Mumbai and she to see 'Blood Diamond'.
At 6 45 in the evening, I bid Kaveeta goodbye, after she saw me off at Bandra, and proceeded to take my train to Dadar. At Dadar, I had the first taste of Mumbai train blues. I had to miss 5 connecting trains as the crowd was maddening. People were fighting for dear life in those 15 seconds the train stopped there. Hands, legs and shoulders were the instruments used in the attack. I was standing gaping at the ferocity that was used in the trains. This gaping look lasted till the 6th train came my way.
I finally got a train to place my foot inside and I felt like jumping in joy as I had 16 square inches of place to myself while standing near the footboard. I slept standing all the way and woke up a few stations before Thane. As soon as Thane arrived, I saw people rushing outside, as if the train was on fire. I later saw that these people who ran, actually crossed the platform to catch the next train.
I never knew life was so competitive here. Crowds everywhere, queues everywhere, a mad helter skelter life.... and from Thane to Airoli, an auto guy badmouthed me and cheated me. I was in no mood to complain. All I wanted was to find my relatives place in Airoli, before I hit the sack. I found the place and settled for a modest dinner, before I slept like a log.
PART 2
26th January : 6 30 pm, I was waiting at Bindaas park at IIT Madras, for my friend to arrive. In an hours time, the Sukhwinder singh concert was about to begin. The concert started at 8 and went on till 11 pm in the night after which, we decided to saunter around the IIT woods in the moonlight. It was half past 12 when i reached home, and then decided to pack my baggage for the Mumbai trip. It was half past 2, when I finished packing my baggage and 3 when I went to bed, only to be woken up at 3 3 0 am by my father and had to rush to do my ablutions half asleep.
I originally planned to drive down to the airport in my bike, but given the fact that my Bike insurance papers and RC book have never seen me, my father decided to play it safe, by dropping me in the car.
I reached the airport at 4 55 am and as I was walking after the security check, there came an announcement that shook me out of my stupor "AIR DECCAN FLIGHT DN 613 is ready for departure" , I waited for the announcer to say it again, as I stared in disbelief. The ticket said 5 25 am, but it was just 5 05 am, Could the heavens be falling? How on earth can an Air Deccan flight leave 20 minutes early?
I rushed with gay abandon across the airport only to be sent back by the guard near the security check, as I didn’t have an Air Deccan tag on my bag. I grumbled and after realizing that my antics would not let the man pass the security heck barrier, I ran back to the Air Deccan counter and got the damn tags. The guard allowed me and the next blockade came when the Air Deccan transport vehicle left just before I reached the front door. Pipped at the post was I? I thought was the last passenger to enter the flight, but given Air Deccan's improper flight advancement, there were 20 other passengers who felt the same, whom I spotted while I was waiting for the next Air deccan Pick up bus.
Eventually the pick up vehicle came and I strode like a colossus inside the plane to see images of Koyambedu (Asia's biggest sabzi mandi(vegetable market) in Chennai) on the flight. DN 613 was jam packed with people and resembled a town bus. I searched for empty seats amidst the din, and finally found one near two 50 plus aunties. I struggled my way in, as the poor lady near me was a little too fat for the seat, so I had to jump over her with my legs.
I just about managed to sit in a folded position, as my legs were jostling for space with the hand baggage’s of the women near me. I just closed my eyes in disgust and when I opened it the flight was 30 minutes into the journey and 12800 metres high, as the voice message echoed its way to my ears. I had a few cookies, Lehar Namkeen, and a Cheese sandwich for pre breakfast at this unearthly hour of 6 am.
I reached Mumbai at 7 30 am, and saw a few known quizzing folks whom I had met a few years back.I spent some time with them searching for my luggage that came in the conveyor belt. As soon as I came out the airport, all of a sudden from now where the taxi walahs made me an instant celebrity, by asking me where I wanted to go? I have my relatives in Airoli and since they leave for work in the morning, I didn’t want to trouble my grandfathers brother who stays there. Airoli was a good 50-60 kilometres from Santa Cruz, and I was in no mood to just while away my time there going home. Keshav also suggested that its better to go in the evening to Airoli, as it was tough to go to Airoli and be back in the city within a few hours.
I decided to take a tour of the city as this was the weekend, and the trains would not be as full as it would be on weekdays. I took a cab from the airport to Vile Parle station, and boarded a train going to Church gate.
This is the Vile Parle station, as I walked down the steps. The train was not crowded and I even found a place to sit in the trains(an achievement by itself). I was lulled into sleep by the movements of the train and woke up at Churchgate. I was told by folks that a morning walk on Marine drive is great,so I quickly walked up from the Churchgate station and turned right and quickly reached the marine drive, the portion of the road right between the Brabbourne stadium(CCI) and the Wankhede stadium.
I spent an hour walking on the side path of Marine drive listening to my walkman. The sky was overcast and it was only past 11 am, that shades of the sun's rays pierced Mumbai. I had my breakfast and lunch at a place called Satkar, right opposite to the Church gate station , on the side of the ambassador revolving restaurant.
After lunch , I took the train to Dadar and changed the railway line and purchased a ticket to Bandra where I was to meet Kaveeta Kaul, a person closely associated with the tinsel world(also a Sulekha Blogger). We met at Lucky's, a famous Biriyani joint at Bandra. We then took a rickshaw and went to Paali road( wrong spelling ?? ) and finally went to "Creps joint" a food hangout owned by the film star Dino Morea. Kaveeta and I spoke a lot on our lives, palmistry, tinsel town talk, Mumbai trains and the falsity of life that accompanies some people. She suggested me to taste a dish called Creps, which looked like a cross between an olive pizza and a butter naan, but a tasty dish though. After a few hours at Carter road, we decided to end the meeting, as I had to head home to Navi Mumbai and she to see 'Blood Diamond'.
At 6 45 in the evening, I bid Kaveeta goodbye, after she saw me off at Bandra, and proceeded to take my train to Dadar. At Dadar, I had the first taste of Mumbai train blues. I had to miss 5 connecting trains as the crowd was maddening. People were fighting for dear life in those 15 seconds the train stopped there. Hands, legs and shoulders were the instruments used in the attack. I was standing gaping at the ferocity that was used in the trains. This gaping look lasted till the 6th train came my way.
I finally got a train to place my foot inside and I felt like jumping in joy as I had 16 square inches of place to myself while standing near the footboard. I slept standing all the way and woke up a few stations before Thane. As soon as Thane arrived, I saw people rushing outside, as if the train was on fire. I later saw that these people who ran, actually crossed the platform to catch the next train.
I never knew life was so competitive here. Crowds everywhere, queues everywhere, a mad helter skelter life.... and from Thane to Airoli, an auto guy badmouthed me and cheated me. I was in no mood to complain. All I wanted was to find my relatives place in Airoli, before I hit the sack. I found the place and settled for a modest dinner, before I slept like a log.
PART 2
It was still dark outside.....more so the
I slept till 7 15 and then did a power ablution (the corporate terminology for doing something quickly for lack of time).I was to meet Ekta at 8 in the morning at Airoli Railway station. My aunt dropped me at the station, and a little distance away was a cute, chubby girl clad in denim all over. I gave it a guess, that it must be Ekta, having seen some pictures of hers on Orkut earlier.
Ekta it was, and it was so sweet of her to offer to take me around the city. We met up and decided to take a bus to Vashi and take the harbour line train to VT. The Airoli bus stand hardly had buses, and it took a little waiting an chatting at the station, before the bus came. During this ride, I learnt that Ekta was a Punjabi, settled in the Central-Western parts of
In a few minutes, we reached Vashi and helped ourselves to some Pav and idlis, at the railway station, after which we entered the Vashi station. The train that came was remarkably not-full, I as gleaming with joy, .as I had a few inches to park my legs. We resumed speaking about the folks we were to meet in an hour’s time at Nargis's place. The view of the
As stations went by, my knowledge of Mumbai increased and so did the crowd inside the stations. The most populous city of
Another thing with Mumbai, that I noticed was, that however maddening the rush might be for a person, he/she does stop to help you, if you have any questions as an outsider to the city. I was touched by the gestures of
The best of all was the lack of a economic divide, amidst the citizens. However filthy rich, one may be, they still know about the local trains and don’t mind traveling in it. In any other city, it’s tough to observe a senior honcho rubbing shoulders with a paanwaala jostling for the proverbial inch space. Once in a train, all are equal.. the whole concept sounded really cool, as I have seen a few folks at work, who would make funny faces, if they heard I was traveling by train. The train or the bus is never an option for most senior folks that I know.
In Mumbai, no one seems to feel shy using the train, and that is a very modern society with little materialism attached to it, and it is this culture of Mumbai that impressed me a lot.
Once Ekta and I reached VT, she helped me buy a belt at one of the local shops in the underground subway. I got a 60% bargaining discount thanks to her. We then boarded a taxi and got underway to Colaba. In the taxi, Ekta played the city guide, telling me about a few places of interest during the short 10 minute journey, before we reached Nargis's place.
We received a warm hug and reception from Nargis and sat down in her plush hall. It was an extremely beautifully maintained house that Nargis had. I was in conversation with Mrmullinner who had lots of ideas of Sulekha Bloggers being stake holders in the company.Mrmulliner is a techie with Indian Railways, and was giving me some ideas on how sulekha can learn a few tricks to tackle Tilo.
The Lunch was a lovely spread that had me mouth watering and the Kheer was a perfect way to wash up the lunch inside the stomach. The meet started having mini meets where lots of conversations were going on, and I realised that Sulekha was literally an addiction for most of the folks here. Humor soon found its way into the meet, with Keshav, Pratishta and Naresh joining us. Keshav entertained us with his tales of lifting beer cans with a rope in Bandra, to which the bandra resident and my good friend, Buntys Banter evoked a suprising look. Pratishta gve an account of Saas Bahu converstaions over phone...and bridging the dilli-mumbai feelings. Mrmulinner's cute little daugher also joined in, and was hooked on to Nargis's dog(Forgot the dogs name). It was also good to know that we had 2 professional writers in the midst of us in the form of Annjana Jha and Nargis Natarajan, who have had their works published before.
It was sssssoooooooooo good being there, being a part of these lovely people's lives. but as good things need to come to an end... I bid goodbye around 1 45 in the afternoon, with Keshav and Mrmulliner helping me to a taxi.The whole meeting was lovely simply because the place and the people whom I met, because of the images I had of Mumbai that bollywwod had helped me arrive at, like the following flicks
Baaton Baaton Bein
Don
Rajnigandha
Golmaal
Munna Bhai series
Traffic signal (recently)
There was an air of conviviality and simplicity in an old world charm that had " there is no need to rush, we have a lot of time for
All of this flooded my memories, as I asked the taxi to stop at Marine drive for a few minutes as I felt the pleasant air of the sea hitting me and the huge boulders below me. I then asked the driver to take me to a place called Matunga. In between this I also attended the information session of a
I reached Matunga after an hour's jouney and landed up at the temple/Mahal where the marriage was to be held. I go there and see that very few people were in the hall.I see a tall burly guy, who's asking a lot of questions to the boys in the hall.I assume he's the bride and ask him "Are You Deepak"? and Bingo it was.... We were meeting after 21 years.... We last played..when I was 3 years old, living in
My mother, had gone with a few relatives to some local sight seeing. It was a home coming for her, seeing Mumbai after 30 years. She had spent 14 years of her life in Mumbai, living in the Airforce quarters in Vile Parle.
The evening was spent going with a few folk at the marriage hall. I visited the beautiful Mahalakshmi Mandir and Prabha Devi beach. During the drive, I managed to get a view of Haji Ali and the famous
After too much of socialising, and lovely sumptous South Indian Tiffin, I decided to explore Mumbai by the night. I took the train from Matunga to VT,and I remember listening to a song 4 times , on various Radio stations in that one journey.(From Nishabd: " aa jaana " sung by Big B, I guess).The trains were as empty as Chennai, and I revelled in that excitement to have a compartment and a footboard to myself. I called up EKTA for directions and she helped me, by suggesting the Gateway of India and Planet M, for spending some time in solitude. I managed to also go to Tendulkars. I found the lighting very good, but the pricing was a little to high.I decided to invest the money in a movie at Regal Cinemas, which I would live to regret(SALAAM E ISHQ).
Overall the Mumbai trip was cool, and inspiring. Just a pity that I coud'nt see the dabbawallas of Mumbai to gain some perspective. Someday when I am done with an MBA, I just hope I land up with a job in this city. Not that I have anything against other cities, but I SIMPLY LOVE MUMBAI and am bowled over by the city, despite the the ballistic and maddening crowds.
Best Images of the trip
Travelling on Harbour Line, across the Arabian sea.
Fighting to get an inch space to stand in te Mumbai Local trains
The Lovely meeting with SUMBA.
The evening walk along Marine Drive
I have not put any pictures here as some of team SUMBA didnt want me to blog about them with their pictures on Sulekha. Folks who want to see the Mumbai pictures can check this online album
Just hope all you folks are still there....when I come visiting Mumbai next time around... (not immideately though ).
2/20/2007
First Quarter Results
Stock Name- Kartik Kannan
Fund Name- February 21
Alternate name- Birthday
Type of business- From cakes and candles to expensive hotel treats
Below is a ledger account of the transactions in the first quarter of my life for the fund called-Birthday
Feb 21 over the years
1983 : Your's truly was born at 12 am in Hyderabad
1988 : I remember celebrating my birthday for the first time,as I wanted the typical conical cap,pink ribbons just like it was in the movies ...and lo! it did happen,thanks to mom and dad with a pineapple cake to boot...and of course a lovely greeting card from my grandfather all the way from Nanganallur to Delhi. The guests for my birthday were only 2 people, My Mom and Dad :-) . I also remember going to Man Mandir in R.K.Puram Delhi for the archanai and puja..that one normally performs .
1989: Spent a 'quiet' birthday not even distributing chocolates as I could'nt eat chocolates during that period,as I had my tooth broken by a punjabi classmate in a mock boxing contest. GRRRRRR.......I shouldnt have watched the boxing contest shown on"The world this week" the previous night.
1990: Again a quiet birthday,but the last one while in school at Delhi, remember being gifted "THE OCTPOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA" by Archana, my dad's colleagues daughter.
1991: This time the birthday happened and so did a small party in my adayar home in Chennai, with all my 2nd floor friends coming into wish me birthday wishes.Life in an apartments was so cool, with me getting to be the centre of attention. After the birthday party got over, I kinda felt bored, so decided to play "Robber and Police" with me taking the self proclaimed privilege of captaining the "Police" team.
1992: Birthday was spent flirting with my first crush (4th standard ), a cute bengali chick called Swati Bukyalkar ...and creating my own colours in felt pens..in what I felt would be the Indian uniform for the 1992 Cricket World Cup..which was to start the next day.Damn....I behaved as if I never knew tamil and I knew only hindi, just to give her the feeling that we have a similar background, and this helps in "cementing" the bond.
1993: After being tired of buying conventional t shirts and shorts, I decide to have an unusual birthday present and decide to paint my own T shirt..with the letters INDIA in front and KARTIK behind..which for the next couple of years made people stare at me.Those were the days when cricket fever was at its max,and I would play cricket with that shiirt, have coloured pads on my leg, apply my mother's fair and lovely cream to resemble the White Zinc cream that cricketers(especially the australian bowlers)used to have when playing cricket.
1994: was in 7th standard... and spent the birthday quietly giving chocolates to my close friends and started a new ritual , the namaskaram to my grandparents which started to be firstsourcce of big time pocet money...of 100 bucks during my birthday.
1995: First time , somebody treated me on my birthday...my mother and I were taken by my mother's sister's folks to a place called Nilgiri's nest for a dinner and I dont seem to realy eat so much then..and decide to finish the dinner as early as possible and get back home to have a early snooze as I need to wake up at 2 30 am the next day to watch the India vs Australia one day match to be played at Dundedin in the New Zealand Cricket Centenary.
1996: It was called Cricket's greatest year by Prime sports (now Star Sports)..and it sure was.I remember giving a treat for the first time after my friends at school literally forced me into giving one .... the treat was 60 bucks worth of samosas,pepsi,puffs among 4 people and I felt like I was a millionare giving away Charity.On my birthday which happened to be my nandhee...(a ritual which is done a day before the upanayanam) I sleepily got up and saw water heater warming the water near the bathroom and sleepily felt my hand into the water to see how hot the water was , totally unoblivious of the water heater and lo....got the first electric shock of my life.Those days the Coke,Pepsi cans were the "in -thing" and with the world cup on .... I decided to treat my cousins to some Coke ..and bought three coke cans ...and had a crazy hobby of collecting many empty soft drink cans...to showcase on my cupboard that I had drunk all of these..and treasured them as if they were vignettes meant to be preserved.This birthday was all the more enjoyable as the whole family was at my place , during my upanayanam and nobody moved out to the kalyana mandapam,untill the India -West Indies match at Gwalior was over.
1997 : Again one of those really cool birthday's spent at Besant nagar beach with my close friends and when I was short of cash my friend Ram pitched in some of his money to pay up the bill...
1998: This was spent just going to the temple and drowning myself in my CBSE text books as the public exams were nearing.1999: A very quiet birthday, with half the people forgetting in my family as it was overshadowed by my cousin's housewarming ceremony.
2000: Again another birthday lost in the din of the class 12 Board exams.All I do is take a darshan at a temple before sleeping into my science text book.
2001: 18 till I die !!! This was the song I heard in the morning on my walkman ...as I turned 18 that year and in typical rebelious fashion...I didnt want to go home and go to the temple and have a quiet birthday.I got off my college bus ......simply roamed around alone....walking across the whole of adayar,with my walkman to my ears ... feeling the self glorified fact that I am no more a kid after turning 18.
2002: Birthday treats become more localized and outsourced...as I treat my friends by asking them to come to a symposium at Hindustan engineering college and enjoy the lunch there. 2003: My first major hole in the purse...treat classmates to a huge bill at Pizza corner in Chennai.
2004:My first birthday spent all alone ..in Pune ... as I Go there for an interview for the MBA program at Symbiosis and treat myself to a Maharshtrian special called SPDP (Sev potato dahi papdi ).First birthday I discover the pain and joy of being alone in a big city.The pain being my health was bad then,and joy being ..Pune was BABE LAND ....
2005: I give three rounds of treats to my college friends, Close friends and then Infy friends at the Dominos outlet in Infosys Chennai and learn how easy it is to get swayed by emotions in giving multiple treats only to see that the bank account is damaged to an extent :- )
2006:
Had a blast in office.They give me an impromptu birthday party.Spent the better part of the evening analysing targets and projections for the next month.I was cursing my stars,that the best part of the evening was spent drowning myself in mundane excel sheets.
2007:
Damn the whole birthday eve has been spent in deleting the 100 odd spam mails I have recieved requesting for my credit card number to buy VIAGRA and CIALIS at their discounted 4.65$ rate. Thankfully, there's no invitation from a credit card agency to consider me worthy of their next credit card scheme.
I was planning an outing but am reconsidering because all these treats these days for birthdays do not have any outlet for talking and spending a good time remembering the good ol days ...but just a eating fest where people gorge at your expense...and after finishing a heavy meal... they remember to wish me along with all the burps and belches.People and friends start expecting treats in bigger and more posh hotels as the pay cheque increases....but according to me , the star status of a hotel hardly matters.As long as you are able to enjoy the day and are able to feel special on that day with your friends, it hardly matters where you have food at udipi hotel or chola hotel.I realize this , my friends dont .... :- )Ask me and I would love to spend time just sitting on the bench of a railway station or the beach eating groundnuts with masala.Nothing equals the that joy.... and simple arrangement where one is able to converse a lot with his special friends and also enjoy the day.
So Here I am 24 years completed entering my 25th year of existence
Fund Name- February 21
Alternate name- Birthday
Type of business- From cakes and candles to expensive hotel treats
Below is a ledger account of the transactions in the first quarter of my life for the fund called-Birthday
Feb 21 over the years
1983 : Your's truly was born at 12 am in Hyderabad
1988 : I remember celebrating my birthday for the first time,as I wanted the typical conical cap,pink ribbons just like it was in the movies ...and lo! it did happen,thanks to mom and dad with a pineapple cake to boot...and of course a lovely greeting card from my grandfather all the way from Nanganallur to Delhi. The guests for my birthday were only 2 people, My Mom and Dad :-) . I also remember going to Man Mandir in R.K.Puram Delhi for the archanai and puja..that one normally performs .
1989: Spent a 'quiet' birthday not even distributing chocolates as I could'nt eat chocolates during that period,as I had my tooth broken by a punjabi classmate in a mock boxing contest. GRRRRRR.......I shouldnt have watched the boxing contest shown on"The world this week" the previous night.
1990: Again a quiet birthday,but the last one while in school at Delhi, remember being gifted "THE OCTPOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA" by Archana, my dad's colleagues daughter.
1991: This time the birthday happened and so did a small party in my adayar home in Chennai, with all my 2nd floor friends coming into wish me birthday wishes.Life in an apartments was so cool, with me getting to be the centre of attention. After the birthday party got over, I kinda felt bored, so decided to play "Robber and Police" with me taking the self proclaimed privilege of captaining the "Police" team.
1992: Birthday was spent flirting with my first crush (4th standard ), a cute bengali chick called Swati Bukyalkar ...and creating my own colours in felt pens..in what I felt would be the Indian uniform for the 1992 Cricket World Cup..which was to start the next day.Damn....I behaved as if I never knew tamil and I knew only hindi, just to give her the feeling that we have a similar background, and this helps in "cementing" the bond.
1993: After being tired of buying conventional t shirts and shorts, I decide to have an unusual birthday present and decide to paint my own T shirt..with the letters INDIA in front and KARTIK behind..which for the next couple of years made people stare at me.Those were the days when cricket fever was at its max,and I would play cricket with that shiirt, have coloured pads on my leg, apply my mother's fair and lovely cream to resemble the White Zinc cream that cricketers(especially the australian bowlers)used to have when playing cricket.
1994: was in 7th standard... and spent the birthday quietly giving chocolates to my close friends and started a new ritual , the namaskaram to my grandparents which started to be firstsourcce of big time pocet money...of 100 bucks during my birthday.
1995: First time , somebody treated me on my birthday...my mother and I were taken by my mother's sister's folks to a place called Nilgiri's nest for a dinner and I dont seem to realy eat so much then..and decide to finish the dinner as early as possible and get back home to have a early snooze as I need to wake up at 2 30 am the next day to watch the India vs Australia one day match to be played at Dundedin in the New Zealand Cricket Centenary.
1996: It was called Cricket's greatest year by Prime sports (now Star Sports)..and it sure was.I remember giving a treat for the first time after my friends at school literally forced me into giving one .... the treat was 60 bucks worth of samosas,pepsi,puffs among 4 people and I felt like I was a millionare giving away Charity.On my birthday which happened to be my nandhee...(a ritual which is done a day before the upanayanam) I sleepily got up and saw water heater warming the water near the bathroom and sleepily felt my hand into the water to see how hot the water was , totally unoblivious of the water heater and lo....got the first electric shock of my life.Those days the Coke,Pepsi cans were the "in -thing" and with the world cup on .... I decided to treat my cousins to some Coke ..and bought three coke cans ...and had a crazy hobby of collecting many empty soft drink cans...to showcase on my cupboard that I had drunk all of these..and treasured them as if they were vignettes meant to be preserved.This birthday was all the more enjoyable as the whole family was at my place , during my upanayanam and nobody moved out to the kalyana mandapam,untill the India -West Indies match at Gwalior was over.
1997 : Again one of those really cool birthday's spent at Besant nagar beach with my close friends and when I was short of cash my friend Ram pitched in some of his money to pay up the bill...
1998: This was spent just going to the temple and drowning myself in my CBSE text books as the public exams were nearing.1999: A very quiet birthday, with half the people forgetting in my family as it was overshadowed by my cousin's housewarming ceremony.
2000: Again another birthday lost in the din of the class 12 Board exams.All I do is take a darshan at a temple before sleeping into my science text book.
2001: 18 till I die !!! This was the song I heard in the morning on my walkman ...as I turned 18 that year and in typical rebelious fashion...I didnt want to go home and go to the temple and have a quiet birthday.I got off my college bus ......simply roamed around alone....walking across the whole of adayar,with my walkman to my ears ... feeling the self glorified fact that I am no more a kid after turning 18.
2002: Birthday treats become more localized and outsourced...as I treat my friends by asking them to come to a symposium at Hindustan engineering college and enjoy the lunch there. 2003: My first major hole in the purse...treat classmates to a huge bill at Pizza corner in Chennai.
2004:My first birthday spent all alone ..in Pune ... as I Go there for an interview for the MBA program at Symbiosis and treat myself to a Maharshtrian special called SPDP (Sev potato dahi papdi ).First birthday I discover the pain and joy of being alone in a big city.The pain being my health was bad then,and joy being ..Pune was BABE LAND ....
2005: I give three rounds of treats to my college friends, Close friends and then Infy friends at the Dominos outlet in Infosys Chennai and learn how easy it is to get swayed by emotions in giving multiple treats only to see that the bank account is damaged to an extent :- )
2006:
Had a blast in office.They give me an impromptu birthday party.Spent the better part of the evening analysing targets and projections for the next month.I was cursing my stars,that the best part of the evening was spent drowning myself in mundane excel sheets.
2007:
Damn the whole birthday eve has been spent in deleting the 100 odd spam mails I have recieved requesting for my credit card number to buy VIAGRA and CIALIS at their discounted 4.65$ rate. Thankfully, there's no invitation from a credit card agency to consider me worthy of their next credit card scheme.
I was planning an outing but am reconsidering because all these treats these days for birthdays do not have any outlet for talking and spending a good time remembering the good ol days ...but just a eating fest where people gorge at your expense...and after finishing a heavy meal... they remember to wish me along with all the burps and belches.People and friends start expecting treats in bigger and more posh hotels as the pay cheque increases....but according to me , the star status of a hotel hardly matters.As long as you are able to enjoy the day and are able to feel special on that day with your friends, it hardly matters where you have food at udipi hotel or chola hotel.I realize this , my friends dont .... :- )Ask me and I would love to spend time just sitting on the bench of a railway station or the beach eating groundnuts with masala.Nothing equals the that joy.... and simple arrangement where one is able to converse a lot with his special friends and also enjoy the day.
So Here I am 24 years completed entering my 25th year of existence
2/14/2007
Did You Know?
A Few Points
Jammy has been nominated for the best humour Blog on Indibloggies .Jammy has one of the most rib tickling comedy genre of Blogs and its pure fun checking what he is upto. Personally I feel ,its very tough to maintain a genre throughout, but Jammy is one of those folks who revels at it,without any redundant prose or decline in quality.
I am back from a non informed Blog sabbatical. I was away as my mind was going through hell in deciding a few life options, which taken now, would more or less determine a major career path. My mind is more clearer and am feeling at peace now. Not that life is easy, just that I feel more enthusiastic about certain actions of mine.
I have decided to dabble a lot more in my interests, primarily Cricket and travel.I dont have a clear picture of where I want to go, but lets see how inventive I get.
and ya.....
You wont have to come here and go empty handed. Am back to blogging...
Jammy has been nominated for the best humour Blog on Indibloggies .Jammy has one of the most rib tickling comedy genre of Blogs and its pure fun checking what he is upto. Personally I feel ,its very tough to maintain a genre throughout, but Jammy is one of those folks who revels at it,without any redundant prose or decline in quality.
I am back from a non informed Blog sabbatical. I was away as my mind was going through hell in deciding a few life options, which taken now, would more or less determine a major career path. My mind is more clearer and am feeling at peace now. Not that life is easy, just that I feel more enthusiastic about certain actions of mine.
I have decided to dabble a lot more in my interests, primarily Cricket and travel.I dont have a clear picture of where I want to go, but lets see how inventive I get.
and ya.....
You wont have to come here and go empty handed. Am back to blogging...
1/31/2007
Goa Part 3
Part-3
The night at VAGATOR beach was spooky and exciting. We had dinner at a place near the road that leads to the beach.There were a few foreigners, who were also in the tables adjacent to us, as some of our photography flashes seemed to disturb them. We werent into anything naughty there, but then as soon as the food started to come, our hands were more focussed on eating than on the click button. Some of our Tamil jokes, were actually understood by the nepali cook, who was gawking at us. The legend was that he spent three years at a resort in ECR(East Coast Road in Chennai).
The night at VAGATOR beach was spooky and exciting. We had dinner at a place near the road that leads to the beach.There were a few foreigners, who were also in the tables adjacent to us, as some of our photography flashes seemed to disturb them. We werent into anything naughty there, but then as soon as the food started to come, our hands were more focussed on eating than on the click button. Some of our Tamil jokes, were actually understood by the nepali cook, who was gawking at us. The legend was that he spent three years at a resort in ECR(East Coast Road in Chennai).
Thats Aanand in the background who is ruing the decision that we made to come to vagator beach.His idea of a holiday was to spend the night charging the mobile at our room :-)
That's Sabari and I having drinks after our dinner(dont mind the frooti, but I dont like beer)
After a sumptuous dinner we proceeded to walk to VAGATOR beach where the full moons light basked over the wet sands and the huge rocks.I went ahead and stood near the ocean, wetting my feet in the waves that lashed across the rocks.The lovely colour of the ocean against the moonlight, made it all the more excitingto just sit there and let the waves do all the talking. The guys who accompanied me, were shit scared and wanted to return home to the hostel.One of the other reasons, they wanted to return home was that some of them were tired after a 27 hour journey. Vagator is just the place for a naughty evening. Vagator beach has 2 disco's close by 9 bar and Club Cabana, which can be accessed by climbing the hill. The hilly part of vagator beach also has a flat helipad landing place, which has a few chairs across the edge of the beach cliff.This is unofficially the smooching point for lovers.I remember many couples blissfully busy, making hay while the moon shone :-).
I heard from the locals that Vagator beach has 2 parts to it.The one we were standing was called the big Vagator beach, which most Indians frequent.There is supposedly a little vagator beach to the left, which more so has only foreigners.They seemingly have named it the"Tel Aviv" beach.
I wanted to explore the beach and the spooky streets around Vagator, but my friends had enough, they were in no mood for any adventure.So they forced me to fix a cab and return home to Mapusa, the place we were staying(actually it was Peddem, close to Mapusa).There ended the day of 28th December sitting and charging our mobiles in our room
The next day, I was the first to get up at 6 15 in the morning, and decided to take a stroll around the place I was staying. I managed to see some lovely goan houses, all decked up for the new year.There was something about Peddem, that had an air of easiness about it. There was also a playground nearby which seemed shrouded in the morning mist. I must have walked about 2-3 kilometres in the morning exploring peddem on either side of the Mumbai Goa highway and enjoyed it as there was hardly any crowd or honking vehicles. Idling was fun there after a long time.
I wanted to explore the beach and the spooky streets around Vagator, but my friends had enough, they were in no mood for any adventure.So they forced me to fix a cab and return home to Mapusa, the place we were staying(actually it was Peddem, close to Mapusa).There ended the day of 28th December sitting and charging our mobiles in our room
The next day, I was the first to get up at 6 15 in the morning, and decided to take a stroll around the place I was staying. I managed to see some lovely goan houses, all decked up for the new year.There was something about Peddem, that had an air of easiness about it. There was also a playground nearby which seemed shrouded in the morning mist. I must have walked about 2-3 kilometres in the morning exploring peddem on either side of the Mumbai Goa highway and enjoyed it as there was hardly any crowd or honking vehicles. Idling was fun there after a long time.
Adding to the fun was the colourful houses that were on display there
As I was busy exploring the colourful goan houses, I didnt notice that I had 4 dogswho were silently following me.The 4 became 7 in a minute as dogs surrounded me and I knew the golden rule of "never run before a dog", and slowly but steadily made every step, swallowing a few heartbeats as the dogs advanced. Thankfully due to some cyclists and a few jeeps the dogs had to give way and I walked a little faster and took some crazy route to reach the hostel,where I was staying.I was walking in new surroundings and had lost my way, in my escapade against the dogs. I kept faith in my ability to spot the correct way back home and thankfully, joined a road that took me straight to my hostel at Peddem.
After a round of idling I head back to our room and the guys are still fast asleep. I decide to entertain myself by watching Tendulkar's innings the previous evening on the Television that is there in the reception. After a couple of hours, the guys are ready to see Goa,and we walk across the peddem road to take a bus to Mapusa. On reaching Mapusa , we decide to go to Arambol beach(Rather, I ).This must rank as one of the best decesions I have taken in my life :-).
Arambol is 30 kilometers from Mapusa,and is accesible via the local buses, which works out very cheap at 15 rs a ticket. Bikes and cabs are other options available to reach Harmal Village that surrounds Arambol beach. We take a bus, that goes in the direction of Morjim, Mandrem and Kerim and get down at Arambol an hour after we started.
It was a pretty hot day, and standing a hour in a crowded bus, has sapped us of our energies and we get down to take some liquid refreshments.Some go for Pepsi, Some for beer, while Arvind and I go for sugarcane juice.Soon others follow and also order 2 glasses of sugarcane juice and a banana to keep us fit for the activity in the beach all afternoon.
We wade through tall trees and plantations and pass through several churches and cloth shops. Some of the guys decide to stop over to shoot photographs, while some get enamoured by the various colours on display by the cloth merchants.
and then ....as the trees and the huts clear, we see a pristine beach which catches our attention.The beach is lovely, and I see people swimming quite deep into the beach.The Outlook Traveller reports that Arambol beach is safe for swimming and I stand by that, after spending hours swimming on the ocean.The beach is quite a long horizontal stretch,that also has a fresh water lake in between the beach.The beach has miles of wet sand, an indication that the low tides are in operation.
After a round of idling I head back to our room and the guys are still fast asleep. I decide to entertain myself by watching Tendulkar's innings the previous evening on the Television that is there in the reception. After a couple of hours, the guys are ready to see Goa,and we walk across the peddem road to take a bus to Mapusa. On reaching Mapusa , we decide to go to Arambol beach(Rather, I ).This must rank as one of the best decesions I have taken in my life :-).
Arambol is 30 kilometers from Mapusa,and is accesible via the local buses, which works out very cheap at 15 rs a ticket. Bikes and cabs are other options available to reach Harmal Village that surrounds Arambol beach. We take a bus, that goes in the direction of Morjim, Mandrem and Kerim and get down at Arambol an hour after we started.
It was a pretty hot day, and standing a hour in a crowded bus, has sapped us of our energies and we get down to take some liquid refreshments.Some go for Pepsi, Some for beer, while Arvind and I go for sugarcane juice.Soon others follow and also order 2 glasses of sugarcane juice and a banana to keep us fit for the activity in the beach all afternoon.
We wade through tall trees and plantations and pass through several churches and cloth shops. Some of the guys decide to stop over to shoot photographs, while some get enamoured by the various colours on display by the cloth merchants.
and then ....as the trees and the huts clear, we see a pristine beach which catches our attention.The beach is lovely, and I see people swimming quite deep into the beach.The Outlook Traveller reports that Arambol beach is safe for swimming and I stand by that, after spending hours swimming on the ocean.The beach is quite a long horizontal stretch,that also has a fresh water lake in between the beach.The beach has miles of wet sand, an indication that the low tides are in operation.
We sit down at a place near the ocean and begin to throw all our accoutres into a common bag.We place our clothes,glasses,watches,mobiles in the bag and strip ourselves down to our basic minimums.Some of the guys..want to feel the warmth before they plunge into the ocean, so they still stay put there. I walk across the wet sand and plunge into the waters.The feeling of the chill water on a hot day can just be the next best feeling to the sensuality of biting a crisp dairy milk chocalate.
Soon Kishore and Arvind join me in the water. A few metres ahead we see a broken bottle.We decide to have a swiming race, as to who would get it first. All three of us, wade hard through the water but are stopped in our tracks, as we sight a couple trying out various "positions" of love making in the water.We decide to not to interrupt them in their intimate moments, but cant help noticing the topless lady as she walks past us, as she makes a headway to the coast, with her partner.
Welcome to Arambol.... a rather pristine...nude beach, with no heavy indian gazers...each one does his private thing, and thats why I like the beach.Spooky as it may seem, its a lovely beach, if you just want to forget the busy humdrum of life in the city.
We spend a few more hours in the water, and I spend some time in a new beach hobby.After a session in the sea, I would come back to the coast and smear mud all over me.That would basically be wet mud to stick better, followed by a round of dried sand, and yo thats already looking like a bufoon. I did manage to attract the attention of quite a few onlookers, but I liked the feeling of mud all over me, and then I would wash the mud, by lying on the wet coast,waiting for the waves to remove every sinew of mud that was invested on my body. It felt divine, untill my stomach growled and grumbled for lunch.
We just turned back and hit a shack for our lunch.We had quite a heavy lunch, which had cheese pizza and french fries for starters.Then we ordered dal fry and gobi,for which we helped ourselves to a few butter naans, and washed it down with a glass of Lassi.Sabari was the only guy, who apart from all this had 2 bottles of Kingfisher beer and a fresh catch of roasted fish,apart from chicken biryani.
After a heavy lunch at 4 pm, we then started walking across the wide expanse of Arambol beach.We had to bypass a mountain and in the small passage across the mountains were spread numerous cloth shops.Some of the guys were busy buying the goan trance "hare rama" and "Om" kinda T shirts, while I chose to stay aloof and rested at a nearby joint with my legs firmly placed on table and my eyes gazed on the excellent view that I had from the seat where I was perched.
After some bargaining, the guys had finally bought some souveneirs, and we were finally on our way to the next beach,which was an extension of Arambol beach, called the Sweet lake beach.The sweet lake beach, was a smaller beach than the main Arambol beach and had an amazing view with tree top shacks and paragliding options available.The waves and the current are extremely strong, in the evenings and its advisable to stay floating till chest deep water and not to venture beyond that.
Some of the guys were too tired and relegated themselves to the rocks.Arvind and I, were the only ones interested in any beach adventure.We repeated the mud-bath and walked across the expanse of the beach, getting curious looks from onlookers.As we strode along, we observed that this beach had far more people in the nude, with even more ladies being topless. I guess as Indian's staying in the sun for hours sunbathing, was probably something we werenot used to, as we came from a tropical climate.Arvind and I decided to have a moon bath, where we would lie on the beach after moonlight, as we would not be able to bear the heat of the sun.
We went to the extreme end of the beach and decided to venture out into the waters.We stayed there for a little more than hour, waiting for large waves to toplle our stance in the water. Next to us, were a couple and a lone lady in her 40's. All of us exchanged a few pleasantries in the water, and some general advice on what were the safe limits of staying in the ocean. Arvind and I spread ourselves and decided to take some rest,while the couple next to us, went into passionate love making. At this point Arvind and I, decided to leave them at peace and went inside the water for another dip.When we came out the couple's clothes were near the coast and the couple were totally nude, though not into making love. I at any point did not want to disturb them, but since my glasses were not be seen on the mud, I realized that my glasses were probably masked by the clothes of the couple strewn on the mud. Errr..I had to go upto them and ask them, if my glasses were behind their clothes.And lo it was....I spent a few minutes chatting with the lady on the next beach ahead,as I realized that they would feel a little uncomfortable by or prescence. She didnt mind talking to me in her state of nudity and directed me to another beach, across the mountain. Arvind and I immideately set foot and had covered a kilometre up,when the sun set and we realized that we it would notbe safe to trek back barefoot in the darkness.
We went back and reached the sweet lake beach, and spent some time basking in the moonlight as the couple didnt seem to mind our prescence.We were in the water for about half an hour, when we saw that 6 people were now there on the coast, and were getting ready for something.Thats when my friends came searching for us, from the other side of the beach, admonishing us for straying across so late in the ocean. They came, and they drove away the foreigners to put their clothes on.
We bid bye to our friends, the firangs (??? for the past half hour)..and set back to Arambol beach.We actually in the interim period did book an accomadation that was under the stars on the beach for 50 rs a night, but some of the guys objected and we had to return back to our hostel. If anyone does get a chance to go here, do take some one of the opposite sex, along with you..to enjoy the lovely full moon evening agaisnt the dark bluish skies and the rampaging waves. The fact we were 6 stags, did no good to either of us ..all dreaming of if's and but's....
We had an awesome dinner across the beach, in a shack and this was probably one of the most divine nights that we would have enjoyed in our Goa trip. Arambol Rocks...big time for the excellent options it has of food joints,beach shacks, mountain views, the lovely water and of course a non interfering crowd.
One of the best things to do at night, is to plug your walkman, and take a walk across the wetter parts of the beach and lo you feel the inner peace and a sense of calm, that seemed to be lost in your daily journey to work.
Expect more updates soon..........(with Pictures)
1/22/2007
So near yet 14 runs far
West Indian Cricket, over the years have produced very few solo heroes who stand tall amidst the ruins. Some that I can think of are instances where indivudual heroics just add spice to an otherwise insipid performance. Lets go right back to Richie Richardson quitting the scene after the 96 world cup. Lara's twin centuries against the aussies in the carribean, Ricardo Powell's masterful 124 off 93 balls in the finals of the Coco Cola Championships against (who else !!!???) India, Samuel's charge against the Aussies in 2001 and his century against India at Vizag in 2002, Chanderpaul's 150 against the South Africans in 1999, and of course looking at Team moments , the best ones being the incredible 418 record breaking chase against the Australians at Antigua and the victory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2004. These are a few bright glistening moments amidst the appalling losing streak that the men from the carribbean have become used to.
But hey ..things are changing arent they? The West Indies have now bounced back tremendously since their home one day series against Zimbabwe and India, and though may really not have found all the answers to being a happy and winning unit, they are definetely on their way there.
Sometimes defeat can be the elixir of life that one may be looking for, as in defeat, one is forced to think of their insecurities and their battle with them.It may take anything from a second to a few years to conquer the demons of the mind, but as long as the desire to drive away the demons of defeat is there, hope can spring up like light at the end of a dark tunnel.
The West Indies have probably matured like that, over the last 10 years where they played not to lose heavily.The year 2005 being their worst, with 2 victories out of 18 matches, ending up last in the table of 13 teams. Its been a remarkable change for them in the year 2006, beating Australia thrice (No Team, except South africa did that last year) and also some of the other teams, and finishing 4th in the 2006 odi tables.
Somebody's whose stood through all through those losses and seen the team go from bad to worse and now slowly rising like the phoenix, has been Shivnarine Chanderpaul(along with Lara). Chanderpaul's innings yesterday seemed like a great greek tragedy in the sense that the old warrior fought when all was lost, and seemed to take the battle to the enemy's camp, sending frissons down Dravids spine.
There is a sense of ruggedness in bis batting.He may not posses the most sublime off frive or the flick, nor may be there any elegance in his stance,but all he has is the courage to conquer oppositions by his dogged resolve and batting. Yesterday his innings at Nagpur was a treat to the person who could believe that miracles do happen. His innings bordered on the mundane for a while before a sleeping giant woke up and decided to make India pay for their lapse(The catch Sreesath dropped). The consecutive fours off the bowling of Agarkar and Sreesanth made the bowlers frustrated. 3 fours after the dropped catch made agarkar fume. Sreesanth started the next over attempting to atone his sins of dropping chanderpaul and he too was smoted by Chanderpaul for 3 effortless boundaries before Chanderpaul unluckily gave the strike to Ramdin, who started the beginnning of the end.
Though 59 of 23 looked a distant possibility, when it resuced to 33 of 12, I was still biting my nails with a "what if " sign, as Chanderpaul's grit was like robinhood fighting for his land. What was then hot fire, now turned into a damp squib, when Chanderpaul gave up the fight in the last 2 overs.The warrior ran out of steam, but played an incredible innings,under pressure.What actually made me chew my nails was, the fact Chanderpaul was hitting the ball at will wherever he chose, and it was this arrogance that seemed like it could easily be India's bugbear.
Even though India managed to sneak through, It was certainly Chanderpaul's day, an innings etched into the annals of great chases..and as I say this, something tells me that Chanderpaul and Lara will fade into the sunset of their careers with World cup being their biggest hurrah, that they could tell their grandchildren, as their pearl which took a long time coming.
But hey ..things are changing arent they? The West Indies have now bounced back tremendously since their home one day series against Zimbabwe and India, and though may really not have found all the answers to being a happy and winning unit, they are definetely on their way there.
Sometimes defeat can be the elixir of life that one may be looking for, as in defeat, one is forced to think of their insecurities and their battle with them.It may take anything from a second to a few years to conquer the demons of the mind, but as long as the desire to drive away the demons of defeat is there, hope can spring up like light at the end of a dark tunnel.
The West Indies have probably matured like that, over the last 10 years where they played not to lose heavily.The year 2005 being their worst, with 2 victories out of 18 matches, ending up last in the table of 13 teams. Its been a remarkable change for them in the year 2006, beating Australia thrice (No Team, except South africa did that last year) and also some of the other teams, and finishing 4th in the 2006 odi tables.
Somebody's whose stood through all through those losses and seen the team go from bad to worse and now slowly rising like the phoenix, has been Shivnarine Chanderpaul(along with Lara). Chanderpaul's innings yesterday seemed like a great greek tragedy in the sense that the old warrior fought when all was lost, and seemed to take the battle to the enemy's camp, sending frissons down Dravids spine.
There is a sense of ruggedness in bis batting.He may not posses the most sublime off frive or the flick, nor may be there any elegance in his stance,but all he has is the courage to conquer oppositions by his dogged resolve and batting. Yesterday his innings at Nagpur was a treat to the person who could believe that miracles do happen. His innings bordered on the mundane for a while before a sleeping giant woke up and decided to make India pay for their lapse(The catch Sreesath dropped). The consecutive fours off the bowling of Agarkar and Sreesanth made the bowlers frustrated. 3 fours after the dropped catch made agarkar fume. Sreesanth started the next over attempting to atone his sins of dropping chanderpaul and he too was smoted by Chanderpaul for 3 effortless boundaries before Chanderpaul unluckily gave the strike to Ramdin, who started the beginnning of the end.
Though 59 of 23 looked a distant possibility, when it resuced to 33 of 12, I was still biting my nails with a "what if " sign, as Chanderpaul's grit was like robinhood fighting for his land. What was then hot fire, now turned into a damp squib, when Chanderpaul gave up the fight in the last 2 overs.The warrior ran out of steam, but played an incredible innings,under pressure.What actually made me chew my nails was, the fact Chanderpaul was hitting the ball at will wherever he chose, and it was this arrogance that seemed like it could easily be India's bugbear.
Even though India managed to sneak through, It was certainly Chanderpaul's day, an innings etched into the annals of great chases..and as I say this, something tells me that Chanderpaul and Lara will fade into the sunset of their careers with World cup being their biggest hurrah, that they could tell their grandchildren, as their pearl which took a long time coming.
Lack of time
I have been a little busy lately battling the common cold, some personal work and family issues. I did manage a post on my alternate mirror blog.I am posting the link of my travellogue Blog part 2 here. I will add more to it in the coming days, atleast 5 pictures a day starting from today on my Blogger Blog.
The last few days have been a lot of interospection on life so far and what I want to get out of life etc etc. I have a lot to share here in terms of thoughts and opinions, posts that I have missed out, will soon feature here.
This blog will be back to brimming with my views, starting from today (not this post...the next one :-) )
The last few days have been a lot of interospection on life so far and what I want to get out of life etc etc. I have a lot to share here in terms of thoughts and opinions, posts that I have missed out, will soon feature here.
This blog will be back to brimming with my views, starting from today (not this post...the next one :-) )
1/15/2007
Livin La Vida Goa-Part 2
The Next day, I woke up at 4 30 in the morning, given the fact that the train was scheduled to arrive at Mangalore by 5 30 am. None of my friends wanted to be woken up at this unearthly hour. The first major station I saw early in the morning was Kasaragod, a small town in Kerala.The train stopped there for a few minues, and I got down and searched the platform for any vendor, who could sell me some hot tea/ coffee, but it wasn't to be.
I started till here and gave up as the images took a lot of time to load. Expect a detailed post on each day coming up.I have already typed the content, but since content without images would be bland, I am waiting for an apprpriate time to add the images once internet bandwith and my mood are in sync. I am right now in the Bangalore Railway station,working on some personal work, as I have a conference in a few hours on Sankey Road.
The whole travellogue should be up this week.
1/12/2007
Indian Cricket _Venkatesh Prasad Vs Aamir Sohail
| Indian Cricket Watch the famous episode between Aamir Sohali and Venkatesh Prasad in 1996 World Cup Quarter Final, India vs Pak in Bangalore. | |
1/11/2007
Livin La Vida Goa-Part-1
10-30 am 27th December- I get a call from my friend Anand, who's waiting at the central station, Chennai for 1 member of the gang to arrive, yes thats me..andI had to cut his call, as I was in a meeting, fully aware of the fact that, three kilometres from the place I work, a certain Mangalore West Coast express was all set to leave in 45 minutes. I quickly finished the meeting I was engrossed in at work, and sped to the station a good 25 minutes ahead of time, only to hear that the train was to leave half an hour later than scheduled.The surplus time was spent gazing the various platforms of Chennai Central and hogging in Saravana Bhavan.
Once the train started, we discovered that the 6 of us had been booked in two different sets of seats,3 in each set, though within the same coach.Unfortunately I had no glamorous woman between 18 and 25 in my coach, and I resigned to my fate of having to send the journey with 3 cronies and 2 potential terrorists. Out of these 5 people 1 was a 70 year old self proclaimed god fearing man, while his adjacent seat had a man wearing a white and white shirt and Lungi.He turned out to be a politician, a councilor of the Red hills area in Chennai.The other 3 people were his chamchas. A few minutes into the journey the 2 "potential terrorists" who did not posses a ticket, drove away the original inhabitants of the seats away with force,which was mutely watched by all passengers.Though I did raise my voice in support of the victims, the rowdie's voice seemed to overpower mine and mine was lost in the din of the noise between the harangued passengers, the hooligans and a shamed TTE.
If that was not enough the Councilor opened his suitcase and amidst a smelly set of clothes were a few bottles of liquor and heavily greased oil packets having chicken biriyani.These savage men went about openly having liquor as soon as the TTE passed and I had to bear the dirty smell, for well over an hour before the drunken stupor struck them and they fell asleep.
In their drunken state, before they lost consciousness, a eunuch entered our compartment and these 5 men, including the lecherous old man(the self proclaimed god fearing 70 year old), decided to extract his share of fun, for the tenner, he personally entered into the eunuch's blouse.He went about fondling various sensitive organs of the eunuch and the rest of the men also seemed to lay their hands on whatever they felt would titillate them. It was a like a porn movie with their clothes on.The eunuch went about teasing and entertaining her patriots before she decided that these 50 plus men, were not man enough. Our tour had an eventful start and left us shocked at the audacity of the politician and the old man.
From the Right-Clockwise - Thats the letch, Vinu Anand and arvind, sitting in rapt attention of what their future looks like
Before the old man, succumbed to the liquor, he also entertained us on the pretext of checking our palm and giving us pointers on astrology. He cracked some lewd jokes, that never looked befitting the image he had give us earlier, and the guys patiently listened as we had no one else in the compartment to speak to :-).
The 6 of us regrouped and started making fun of each other, especially the funniest college antics each of us did and topping the list was a discussion on one of our fellow companion, Sabarinath, who changed his name to Shabreee after spending an afternoon in London.Thankfully decent couple boarded the station at Vellore and they gave us company tell Palakkad, and we didnt have any more dirty episodes, barring a few minutes when the politician tried making a pass at the couple(the lady, more so ), in his last stages of drunken stupor.
The period from 6pm to 9 pm was the most enjoyable with the fresh evening breeze, cooling the warmth on a hot Chennai afternoon. This period was spent taking potshots at each others inane comedies while in College,after all it was supposed to be a small re union amidst friends.
December 27th seemed to be over in a flash, and as soon as we entered Kerala, I helped myself to a few banana snacks including chips and some local delicasies that is available at the wayside stations.
Sabari and I at Palakkad station.
The later part of the night was spent listening to music, and this particular song "Green -Day Bouleward of Broken Dreams" as I sat near the isolated window near the door, to reflect on what I wanted from this 6 day break from the normal routine.Though it was chill, I enjoyed opening the door of the compartment at night and feeling the chill gush of wind, even as I could see the train snaking along the bends and the curves under the moonlight, with my walkman providing the right musical ambience.
Thats me at the window
Expect more in Part-2 ( On day 2 the 28th of December-2006).
1/07/2007
Insipid Life
Life for the moment is pretty hectic , insipid and not worth measuring. Expect a detailed post on my Goa travellogue soon. The Goa trip was a such a respite from work, but the short 4 night stay in Goa, was too short to explore North Goa properly.I managed to visit Arambol,Ashwem and Vagator beaches, and spent sometime in solitude on the moonlit beaches,with my walkman playing a few kishore da numbers.It was absolute bliss for the moments I sat there,on the rocks abutting the wet sands. In short Goa was like a dream that faded away in a wink.
Life looks hectic as whatever I plan to do invariably fails and the fast pace of life all off a sudden from the laidback lifestyle in Goa has had my body complaining of fatigue very easily.
Photos and Goa tour pics coming soon.
Life looks hectic as whatever I plan to do invariably fails and the fast pace of life all off a sudden from the laidback lifestyle in Goa has had my body complaining of fatigue very easily.
Photos and Goa tour pics coming soon.
1/02/2007
Saddam Hussein's Death-Video recording on Mobile Phone
Saddam's hanging seems to have been covered by a video.I dont know the extent to which this is true, but just passing it on to folks to share the video.
The embed code for LIVE LEAK doesnt seem to be working, but I guess it should work on a Wordpress Plugin.
embed src="http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf" width="450" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="autostart=false&token=863ce7d4a3" scale="showall" name="index" />
The embed code for LIVE LEAK doesnt seem to be working, but I guess it should work on a Wordpress Plugin.
embed src="http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf" width="450" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="autostart=false&token=863ce7d4a3" scale="showall" name="index" />
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