Aawaara Sajde

Choti Si Umar

2010-06-16T21:00:00.007+02:00

Was going through some of the old music folders and came across this beauty sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who happens to be one of my absolute favorite. While listening to the song I was trying to understand the song and the lyrics. The song from the OST of Bandit Queen (1994), is in Rajasthani and in essence it is a wail of a newly wed bride who questions why she had to be married so early. I think, the beauty of the song lies more in the music and words, which in no way means that the voice is not upto the mark. Nusrat is fabulous as always but for me the lyrics and the music steal the show.

Lyrics:-
Chhottie See Umar, Parnai O Babasa
Chhottie See Umar, Parnai O Babasa
Kayi Tharo Karro Main Kasoor? Ohhhh
Kayi Tharo Karro Main Kasoor? Ohhhh

Tha Ghar Jarni, Tha Ghar Kheli
Tha Ghar Jarni, Tha Ghar Kheli
Ab Ghar Bhejo Dooja Sa Ohhhh
Tha Ghar Jarni, Tha Ghar Kheli
Ab Ghar Bhejo Dooja Sa Ohhhh
Moh se kayi Bola, Mora Aansooda Bole
Moh se kayi Bola, Mora Aansooda Bole
Hiwade Bharo Hai Bharpoor Ohhhh
Hiwade Bharo Hai Bharpoor Ohhhh

Thare Pipariye Ki Bholi Main Chidakli
Thare Pipariye Ki Bholi Main Chidakli
Bhejao To Ud Jaun Sa Ohhhh
Thare Pipariye Ki Bholi Main Chidat Ri
Bhejao To Ud Jaun Sa Ohhhh
Bhejo To Bhejo, Babul, Marji Ho Thari
Bhejo To Bhejo, Babul, Marji Ho Thari
Saawan Mein Bulaiyo Jaroor
Saawan Mein Bulaiyo Jaroor Ohhhh

Akhiyan Ch Tu Vasda

2010-03-11T21:01:00.002+01:00

You wouldve probably heard the song being used as a background number in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (2008), one of my fav films in the recent times. Lovely lyrics sung in a melodious and simple way.

Inna Akhiyan Ch Paavan Kive Kajla Ve
Akhiyan Ch Tu Vasda
Har Vele Channa Mera Tere val Muh Ve
Buliyan ch Naa Tera
Akhiyan ch Tu Ve
Jadon Hasdi, Bhulekha menu Painda Ve
Haseya Ch Tu Hasda

Lamiyan si Vaatan Channa
Nere Nere Aaea Tu
Akhiyan De Raahi Aa Ke
Dil Ch Samayeya Tu
Jadon Puchdi aa Piyar Diyan Gallan Ve
Hauli Hauli tu dasda
Inna Akhiyan Ch Paavan Kive Kajla Ve
Akhiyan Ch Tu Vasda

Masa Masa Jindari Main, Pyar vich Rangi Ve
Aj Menu Jaapda Main, tere Naal mangi Ve
Aj Khushiyan da Ho Gea Savera Ve
Gam Saathon Door Bhajda
Inna Akhiyan Ch Paavan Kive Kajla Ve…

Aaj Rang Hai

2010-03-09T19:52:00.006+01:00

Ghulam Hussain Niazi and party performed on the 7th of March at Chaunsath Khamba, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, to a mixed audience from eight to eighty year olds. Jashn-e-Khusrau celebrates the sufiana kalaam (mystical poetry of Islam) of Amir Khusrau (1253 - 1325).

The forecourt of Chaunsath Khamba, a 17th century Mughal Tomb, bathed in a hue of yellow stood witness to the redention of qawwalis for 3 nights by some of the biggest names in Qawwali world.

The mehfil ended in the very popular Chhap Tilak and finally Aaj Rang Hai.

The fest picks up on 10th and runs till 14th so you can still catch on some poetry reading, walks, talks, film screenings and qawwali performances. Details can be seen by downloading the festival brouchure. (Rapidshare link)

Toomba By Sai Zahoor

2010-02-24T20:56:00.004+01:00

I really wanted to share this one with you all. Recently came across this amazing Sufi singer through the coke studio recordings on Youtube and this track has been playing continuously for the last 3 days on my laptop along with a few other melodious beauties by the same singer - Sai Zahoor.

He isn't someone famous, acclaimed or oft-heard, but the rustic and earthy tones of his voice have def struck a chord.

Lyrics:-

Ooooo…(Alaaps)

Ooooo….(Alaaps)

Jeevein Saiyaan…

Mein sadke pak Quran toon

Jind waaran Nabi di shaan toon

Jina haq da rah dikhaya hain

Ohna jhoot mana farmaya hain

Sai Zahor deewana kehnda hain

Jehda naam Allah da lehnda hain

Allah Allah Allah, Toomba kehnda hain

Haq, Allah Allah Allah, Toomba kehnda hain

Allah Allah Allah, Toomba kehnda hain

Allah Hoo… X 4

Ooooo……(Alaaps)

Jeevein…Bulleya…

Toomba Shah Latif wajaya

Jise Sindh wich kadam tikaya

Naara paak Ali da laya

Padh kalma te akh sunaya..

Sai Zahor deewana kehnda hain

Jehda naam Allah da lehnda hain

Allah Allah Allah, haq Allah Hoo

Allah Allah Allah, Toomba kehnda hain

Allah Hoo… X 4

OOoooo…..(Alaaps)

Jeevein Saiyaan…..

Toomba Bulley Shah… wajaya

Bhand kanjeri te bhaes wataya

Jihne nach kay yaar manaya

Dera wich kasoor delaaya

Sai Zahor deewana kehnda hain

Jehda naam Allah da lehnda hain

Allah Allah Allah, Toomba kehnda hain

Allah Hoo… X 4

Hoooo……(Alaaps)

oooo……(Alaaps)

Jeevein…Bulleya

Toomba pa kalandar waari

Toomba pa kalandar di waari

Jithey jhukdi khalqat saari

Katti jandi dukh beemari

Sai Zahor deewaana kehnda hain

Jehda naam kalandar da lehnda hain

Allah Allah Allah, Toomba kehnda hain

Allah Hoo… X 4

Lyrics available here have been tweaked as per what I feel is right. Corrections welcome.

Kite Flying

2008-08-13T22:28:00.004+02:00

Some of the fondest memories of my childhood are related to kite flying. I dont know when I took to it, but it was one thing I really loved and spent, more or less, all my pocket money on. There's something about kite flying which makes it so addictive so enjoyable?? Maybe the delight of watching the flight of the kite which is controlled by you and the way the kites soars in the sky. Or maybe the fact that the kiteflyer views the kite as an expression of his/her free self. Whatever. I just loved flying kites.

Early days were not so good when I was just about learning to fly the kite. Many a kites have been torn or caught up in the trees or the electric wires in an attempt to make them fly. Finally after a numerous failed attempts one day I did manage to fly the kite. But the joy was, well, shortlived. Some seasoned kiteflyer, with a heart of stone, sweepeed his kite low and off went my kite.. "Aai-Bo"... this the expression which you hear from your victorious opponent when you loose a "Paitch".

Before I go any further let me introduce you to the terms and lingo of kite flying. Kite is Patang, the line/string used to fly the kite is Manjha, Sadhi or Tool. Manjha is the thinnest of the strings with a coating of glue and ground glass (known as kaanch burada) which makes the string very sharp and potentially capapble of giving cuts n nicks. I've heard of steel burada manjha but haven’t had a chance to use it. Manjha is mostly colored red, black, green, yellow, blue, orange..

Sadhi is a thicker, coarser white colored thread. It doesnt have any burada and is usually deployed after the Manjha while flying, coz its easier to fly with Sadhi than Manjha.

Tool is the thickest of the three, much thicker than Sadhi. The sheer strength of the string is enough to win you a paitch. It is usually used only with large kites as small kites can’t support the weight of tool.

A paitch is a mid air dual of two kites, in which both the kite flyers vie to cut the kite string of the other. Now kiteflying is no ordinary sport and certainly not for the fainthearted. Paitchs are a matter of skill, honor and on rare occasions life and death. Many a times the seasoned kiteflyer would stick a 10, 20 or 50 rupee note to his kite, which in a way talks about the guy's confidence in his skill. Why I am saying 'guy', is coz this is mostly a boy's thing. I don’t recall seeing any girl indulge in it. Though my sis did ask me from time to time to let her handle the kite for some time but she would soon hand it back to me.

Kite Flying has been a popular sport in many countries like Japan, Korea, Indonesia, France, Belgium, Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, Pakistan and India and the kite festivals witness participation from people of these countries.

Traditionally in India kites have been made of paper n bamboo. Though there is no law which says it can't be made from silk n bamboo or any other kind of material. These days it’s common to see kites being made out of plastic with some kind advertisement on it. Usually some Rajdarbar gutka, Shambhu Khaini, beedi, tea etc. The advantage of plastic kites is that they don’t tear easily, so one kite could last days if u are not interested in having a paitch with anyone. Secondly they can be flown in rain also.

The design of the kite is very important as each one has a separate name. By design I do not mean the framework and the arrangement of bamboo sticks. The design on the paper, is made by sticking together pieces of paper in various fashion. Apart from making the kite beautiful, the sticking together of many paper strips to make the kite also makes sure that the kite would last longer. I have drawn whatever I could remember. Hope they are correct.

Now the kite season is different in diff parts of the country. Up north, and i am talking mostly about Delhi, summers is the time when u see people flying kites. The peak is the Independence Day when every guy worth his salt will pull out his kites and indulge in the activity. After Independence Day it starts to slow down. Raksha Bandhan is also another day when people like to fly kites. In the west its Makar Sankranti when you get to see the most kites. South, I believe its Diwali time. No idea what it is in the east.

So this Independence Day, make sure u do fly kites, and what better way to do it than at

Kite flying DBM 24, Nehru Park, 4pm, 16th August '08. (Details)

Rafting Trip

2008-06-18T18:24:00.011+02:00

Here is the account of my rafting trip to Shivpuri (30 kms from Rishikesh) a couple of months ago:-

11th Arpil 7:30 pm
Assembled in front of our office in Gurgaon and started mingling with the other people who would be the joining us for the trip. Slowly and in a very time-consuming fashion, so very typical of us, we got started for the trip. Since we had to pick some people from different places en route I was sure it would be a good amount of time before we actually hit the road. A wait for the toll tax at Ghaziabad ensured further delay. To add to the woes the AC in the bus started behaving erratic. No cooling. Not an ideal start to the journey I would say.

A quick dinner at one of the numerous road side dhabas and then off we were in the bus towards Rishikesh. By now we had left the city far behind and the breeze was cooler than before so people didn’t face much discomfort due to the non functioning AC. Songs, Dumb Charades and games going on in the bus. Special mention about this guy Puneet who had kinda memorized Altaf Raja songs and sang them one after the other. Who bhi poore… Beat that!!!

We finally reach the place in the morning. Sleepy faced people scampering out of the bus with disheveled hair, bags on shoulders and sand in the feet. The camp looks good. The river Ganges surrounded by thick forests and mountains, clean white sandy beach with a long row of 2 person tents and a volley ball net thrown in.
My tent was named ‘Three Blind Mice’. Dropped bags in our respective tents, freshned up and gathered to have some tea n snacks. Started with some volleyball and worked up a huge appetite for breakfast which consisted of bread, butter, jam, scrambled, eggs, cornflakes, milk and upma. Post breakfast it was time to go for the rafting.
Around 10 we left for this place upstream from where the rafting trip would begin. After reaching the place we wore the life jackets, helmets and got the paddles. All decked up n waiting for the boats to be inflated. Each of these boats is imported and costs about 3.5 lac rupees. Gosh!! Even the paddles cost Rs.1700 apiece. WHOA!!
Our instructor gave us a brief ing about few things to keep in mind while rafting. This included basics to follow in case the boat capsized or someone fell off the boat. Weird expressions on people’s faces when this was being discussed. I occupied the first seat on the raft and took the position of one of the main paddlers. The raft had in all 9 occupants excluding the guide. So we had 4 rowers on each side and one non-rowing person as the official cheerleader of the group. At first we practised the basic instruictions like forward padle, back paddle etc, learn to keep our feet dug in under the air cylinders in the boat and then we set for something which can only be described as - adventure of a lifetime.
Rapids form at places where the river isnt too deep hence causing a lot of turbulence in the water. Some of the rapids are level 3 and we had our first brush with adventure when we came across "Three Blind Mice". This is also the name of the tent in which I am camping. Prabhjyot, who had been on a rafting trip last year didnt fail to mention that this was the point where their raft capsized. When we entered this rapid the water hit us hard. Straight in the face, relentless and unforgiving. The water is chilled and the great splash renders everyone immobile for two seconds. The raft rose to a height where the paddle couldnt reach the water. After braving through this rapid we managed through the rest of them all too. Soemtimes easy sometimes scary and sometimes we just ducked in the raft holding on to the lifeline for our loves. During the calmer sections of the river we did bodysurfing. basically u just let urself float in the river, thanx to the life jackets. The water was so cold that we had a hard time to stay in the water for long durations. We body surfed at two three places in the river.
Towards the end of the rafting trip is a point from where u jump off a cliff. The height must not be more than 12-15 mtr or so. Ive jumped that kinda height from the diving board a number of times in the swimming pool but out here my limbs kina froze for a moment and I took a moment to make that plunge. All of us did the jump atleast once. Some even 3 times. Post this there was a very small stretch of river which we had to make before the rafting came to an end. In the mid u could see numerous sandy beaches. On many of these beaches one could see firangis meditating. Most of the beaches had tents pitched up for the people visiting.

After this trip we came back to our camp in the bus. Everyone was feeling hungry and signs of sunburn and the wear & tear sustained in rafting had begin to show. Post lunch we went to a shady part of the beach and just relaxed on some rocks with feet hanging in the water. In the evening we again gathered to play volleyball and some cricket. Playing volleyball in sand is much better than playing on ground as the sand is much more absorbant and lesser bruises etc.
As soon as the sun went down the camp people came out with some snacks , veg and non veg some cold drinks and ice. Rest had to be managed on our own for which almost everyone was prepared, if u know what I mean. So me and a couple of frnds took some snacks and some glasses and ice and headed for a spot in the sandy beach and did a lot of bakar over drinks. After a couple of drinks we joined the rest around the bon fire and had a great time. The hot topic of discussion being ghosts, spirts and the world of paranormal. Post dinner we went for a night trek to some village enarby and then again continued with the chatting around the bonfire.

Around 1 am the last of us, who still were awake after the back breaking day, finally went to their tents. Waking up the next morning was the most painful experience of the entire trip. Almost the entire body complained of pain and getting out of the bed required a Herculean effort. Finally after breakfast we left the camp and went to the Neer Garh waterfall.

The return to delhi was marked by a stop at Muzaffarnagar where we had chaat, aloo tikki, bhalle papdi etc at Gupta Chaat Bhandaar. The trp finally ended when we reached good ol' Delhi. Took an auto from Sarai Kale Khan to home.

Rafting was the main purpose of the trip but apart from that a lot of other things that happened were bonding between the various people in the trip, the extended talk sessions over food and drinks. One thing that I would really like to stress is that carry ample sun screen and dont forget to apply it to all the parts of your body which could be exposed to sunlight. I forgot to do the same and got severe burns on my thighs. Another thing worth mentioning would be the food at the camp. Right from breakfast to lunch and dinner the food was awesome. not the usual heavy oily greasy stuff,which we love to have anyway, but food which was much simpler. Maybe the hunger worked wonders. But overall the food was awesome.

Total cost of the trip 3200/- was inclusive of travel, stay, rafting, trek and entry to a waterpark. A true wilderness adventure taking one through the rapids, the jungles and camping overnight alongside the river by an open camp fire under the stars.

Viva Salsa!!!

2008-04-14T11:55:00.007+02:00

So Salsa is the latest thing that I am learning these days. 1-2 pm every Mon n Wed in the office. Its very conveniently placed for me and suits the schedule. And I am already glad that I took this decision to join the classes. It is a great way to unwind the blow away the stress. It helps me feels good and the fun part is also there.

So now I can say that I know something more than the 'Indian Freestyle' dance. The problem of two left feet continues though ;P

Long time.....

2008-04-04T21:26:00.003+02:00

Hey all... errr anyone here??? helloooooooooo

Well I guess I cant blame u people for this long long absence. And whats the point in when u r not here to read it. To be honest, I cant even say that I have no time or am occupied with a new passion which is keeping me away from blogging. Anyways words may not be able to explain why I kept away from this blog for this while.

Well I am here today to wish Sakshi a very Happy Birthday. U rock gal!!!

To all those who hoped that someday I will be back - Thank you all. And to those detractors who wrote me off - may u be tied in a dentists chair and subjected to 36 hrs of pure 'Rock Your Body - Himesh Reshammiya Nonstop Remix'

DBM XXI (4th Anniversary celebrations)

2008-01-10T19:35:00.000+01:00

It's the 4th birthday of our beloved community. It's great to have lasted this long in the online world, certainly no mean feat this one! 20 official meets, a couple of unofficial meets, history walks, photography gyaan, book reading, kite flying, link-ups, print/tele coverage (BBCRadio/ Delhi Times/HT City/TodayPlus), flame wars, exercises in blogging outreach and endeavours with NGO's ..........we've come a long way together.

The group has had as its members, people from all walks of life..techies, journos, students, activists, photographers, lawyers, doctors, guys who make their living off blogs!!..and we've walked a few steps together. A few in our group have moved on, relocated to other cities, but are still a part in spirit, and try and stay in touch. As the old saying goes "Once a DelhiBlogger, always a DelhiBlogger!!"

We are celebrating our 4 years in this online world and keeping a simple meet this time with no frills and fancies - only fun unlimited, which includes shooting a video of delhi bloggers. If you wish to join in on the fun, please append your name at http://delhibloggers.eventbrite.com or write to twilightfairy at gmail dot com. Please keep your calendars blocked for 13th Jan 2008, 4:30-11pm, Blues, Outer circle, CP, New Delhi :). You can drop in any time at your convenience.

An Evening in Old Delhi

2007-10-08T23:57:00.000+02:00

I had been thinking about going to Old Delhi for quite some time now. Having read so much about the Iftar celebrations in the walled city area, when muslims pray , break the roza and go onto consume delicacies, I certainly wanted to experience it. So a good friend P, who shares an equal (if not more) enthusiasm for food, and I headed to spend an evening in Old Delhi on Sunday.

The roza is the fasting during the holy month of Ramadan when devout muslims observe daylong fast from dawn to dusk, without even a drop of water. A small breakfast before sunrise which is known as Sehari and a feast after sunset, known as Iftari.
The road outside the Gate No 1 of Jama Masjid was jam-packed. Vehicles, mostly rickshaws, were lined bumper to bumper. A vast multitude of people here, heading off with their families to shop and eat. We deftly make way to Karim hotel and wait for our turn to be seated. Over here one can see variety of people. Foreign tourists digging into kababs and tikkas after thoroughly examining them, families of people enjoying the elaborate and lavish meal after the roza, young people out there to grab a bite, waiters running in loaded with dishes. The crowd was heterogeneous, the service quick and the food Y-U-M-M-Y.
On the streets it's a party of sorts and people have come out to enjoy. Mounds of sevaiyaan and other sweets, dry fruits, footwear, clothes, bangles and a whole lot of things.
The 100 watt bulbs bathing the shops in a yellow hue. Shoppers bargaining with the shopkeepers over the price of their purchases. Happy smiling faces, twinkling eyes behind the hijab, its all happening here. The area seems like a bouquet of vibrant colours, sound and flavors.
After Karims it was Rabri at the roadside Kallan Sweet Shop where I tried my hand (unsuccessfully) at reading the urdu written on the board, much to the amusement of the shopkeeper as well as P.
Thereafter We headed for the Paranthewali Gali. The shops here are from an era of the badshahs and rajas, well before last century, being run by the 4th – 5th generation of owners. Each of the shop here must have around 20-25 variety of paranthas. We sampled the Matar parantha and Paneer paranth which were good. The paranthas are accompanied by aloo sabzi, seetafal sabzi, couple of chutneys, pickles and greenchillies. With modest prices and seating arrangements these shops are trying to lure the people into their establishments.

Colorful skullcaps with ornate embroidery and exciting design patterns.

To most, Old Delhi may be a down market wholesale bazaar. However the erstwhile city of Shahjahanabad was once the epicenter of Hindustan. To some it still is!

A young shopper bargaining with the shopkeeper for a pair of shoes.

Chak Ditta, India!!!

2007-09-24T19:08:00.000+02:00

It's Diwali time as India lifts the Twenty20 World Cup beating arch rivals Pakistan. A young n relatively inexperienced team under a brand new skipper and without the "stars", achieved what was really unexpected and seemed daunting at first.

Started as non-favorites, with the bookies giving 1-16 for India playing in the finals and 1-40 for India winning the cup. Beating Pakistan, England, South Africa, Australia and finally G-L-O-R-Y!!!

Chak Ditta India!!!

Happy Birthday to Me

2007-09-11T00:47:00.000+02:00

Just in case u didn’t notice the change in the 'About Me' section, I turned 28 yesterday. Yet another year has passed by. One more year, on the face of earth. I dunno if u feel this way, but 28 suddenly seems much much older as compared to 27. 27 is closer to 25 whereas 28 is closer to 30. At 28 you can’t even give the excuse that u will think about settling down at a later stage. You ARE at the later stage. 30 seems just around the corner.

Anyway, it was after 4 years that I was celebrating my birthday at home with family. It was a quiet and simple affair. Last time when I was home on my birthday, I was 23 years old, still studying in the final year of my post grad. It has also been 4 years since I moved out of the comforts of home and started staying on my own. First in Bombay for 2 years and later in Aalborg for another 2 years. Now after 4 years I have finally shifted base back to Delhi.

The ticket u see below is the train ticket for the journey to Trivandrum for the training of my first job. I carried this ticket with me all this while to remind me that no matter where I stay, I have to return back home. Finally I can say I have arrived. I can now destroy this ticket. Maybe not, let it be there for memory sake.

Fellas…. thanx a lot for your wonderful wishes. God Bless You!!

Happy Janamashtami

2007-09-03T19:32:00.000+02:00

Glimpses of Laxmi Narayan Temple aka Birla Mandir, on the eve of Janamashtami.

Swar Hi Ishwar Hain

2007-08-29T19:26:00.000+02:00

(Pic:- www.musicalnirvana.com)

“Swar hi Ishwar hain…. Through sound u can reach God….Sound is above Song, which is affected by language, story, state, literature etc” – Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

I might be forgetting some of his words here but I cant forget the music which is still playing in my head. Today, I went for a concert of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, at the Vice Regal Lodge, Delhi University, organized by SPICMACAY. The concert started at 6 pm with Ust Amjad Ali Khan giving a few thoughts about swar and explaing the audience the difference between the Indian n Western music. He started off then with Raag Ganesh Kalyan. This raag was formed, as he fondly remembered, using a tune he was humming one day. He first sang the tune n then played the raag. The audience comprised of people from all ages, both Indians and foreigners. The Vice Regal Lodge lent an air of Victorian era to the ambience. The sound system and acoustics of the venue were good. The raag had many moments where the audience burst into clapping applauding the artists. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was accompanied by Mithilesh Kumar Jha and Fateh Chand, both on the tabla.

The second raag of the evening was Raag Durga which is also known as Pahadi and is based on the folk songs of Himachal Pradesh. Between the raags he took a break and explained the audience why he needs to file his nails during a performance. The sarod strings are strung on a board made of stainless steel and does not have frets like the sitar or the guitar, much like the violin. He explained that the violin was played using finger tips and then demonstrated how the sarod would sound if played by the finger tips instead of nails.

Raag Durga was a very melodious with the distinct folk feel to it. In between he also indulged in a jugalbandi with the tabla artists who were equally talented. His histrionics left the audience in splits when he deliberately missed a note or two to which the tabla players had already committed.

From where I was sitting I had a very good view of Ustadji and it was a delight, not only to hear the music, but to watch him play as well. The movements of his head which matched the tempo of the music, the encouraging glances to the other artists and the little bits of info he gave about music.

The evening ended with a bhajan - ‘Vaishnav Jan’ which was played beautifully .. as if the sarod was speaking the words. Towards the end he also played ‘Raghupati Raghav’. I think I enjoyed this part of the performance the most. The songs were known and hence I could relate to them more easily as compared to the earlier ragas.

With thunderous applause the concert came to an end. The evening totally rocked. The event was dedicated to Ustad Bismillah Khan.

Skagen

2007-08-25T21:06:00.000+02:00

It was my last weekend in Denmark and I was hell bent upon visiting Skagen - something which had been put away for a long time. How could I be in Denmark and not visit Skagen all this while? Thankfully the weather was kind and we did have some sunshine. So we gathered at the Aalborg Train Station and we got a discounted pass to travel to Skagen. The first train would take us to Fredrickshavn. From there we took another train to Skagen. The journey was fun with little talks, leg pulling etc.

Skagen station is an old but well maintained yellow building. Right outside the train station is the bus stop. We saw that the next bus to go to the beach was about 2 hrs away so we unanimously decided to hire bicycles. One of us didn’t know how to ride so we got a double bike for him and another guy. Got 11 bikes and pedaled off; in the wrong direction. It was not before 10 minutes when we realized we weren’t any closer to the beach. Change of direction.
The town of Skagen is beautiful. It is a part of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Most buildings in the old town are distinguished as low yellow houses with red tiled roofs providing a perfect backdrop to this charming place. Like most Danish towns this is a quaint little place with well preserved medieval buildings, cyclists, people chatting at the café tables. The town of Skagen has been the abode of many a Danish artists, especially painters, writers and even music composers. The picturesque locales makes this place really inspiring for these artists. The 60 km long coastline of Skagen is incomparable. The sea, the light, the air, the sand - Skagen and the elements seem to be inseparable.
En route we had to take a stop as two of our cyclists apparently got lost and had a lot of ground to cover. We took a break near this lighthouse (above) which we used as a landmark for signaling our location to those two guys. So while they cycled to this point we snacked on cakes, biscuits and namkeens. Soon we were joined by the lost cyclists and they took a short break. Meanwhile the rest of the guys tried their hand at the double bicycle which had caught everyone’s fantasy.
There is another lighthouse at Skagen which was constructed in 1850. Resumed our journey towards Grenen (The Branch), which is the base point and parked the cycles. From here you can either walk or take a ‘Sandmobile’, which is nothing but a tractor pulling a trailer, to the beach. We decided to walk. Popped up a few beers and started walking towards the beach. The flags of the four Nordic countries Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway (Missing - Iceland) Just outside a cafeteria at Grenen.

From Grenen it would take about 15 mins till the ‘point’, which is the northernmost part of Denmark. It is also the meeting point of North Sea (Skagerrak – the strair that separates Denmark from Norway) and Baltic Sea (Kattegat – The strait that separates Denamrk from Sweden), which is what makes Skagen so remarkable.

You can stand at this ‘point’ and notice the oceancurrents and waves coming from your left clashing with the ones from you right and creating a sort of sand carrying mist.

Walked a little in the waves and then we found a good spot and had lunch. Lazed around for a while and then we started a game of football. It soon dawned that no one of us was in good shape and stamina. Still we managed to play for about 45 mins after which there was just enough energy left to get back to the rest of the gang and lie down and have some beer.

Although the water was cold, we noticed that the temp in the North sea was marginally warmer. So it was decided that we take a plunge in the North sea. The temp was such that only 3 people finally decided to venture inside water. The water was cold and with each step it seemed to be getting colder. We reached a point where there was a kind of sand bank. We sat there and soaked some more sun. Finally we decided to get all wet and swim. Surprisingly, after this the water didn’t feel so cold and we stayed in it for about 15 mins.

Out of the water and finally soaked some sun, chatted with friends, drank beer and watched the ships at a distance. I remember spending a lot of time quiet on this trip as this was my last weekend in Denmark and I was kind of capturing the impressions in my mind. Something like soaking the feeling of being in Denmark for the last few days.

Enjoyed a Café au Lait at one of the cafes in the old town of Skagen and finally took the train back to Aalborg.

I *heart* Denmark !!

The Homecoming

2007-08-14T21:38:00.002+02:00

I am still coming to terms with being back in India. I wonder how this short stint of 2 years has made me become so unaccustomed with the things around here. Sometimes to the point of embarrassment, when I tell people it’s very hot in here. Sounds too NRIsh. Anyways, since the airlines in Europe allow only 20kg luggage per person, I had to leave back a lot of stuff in Denmark. The first thing I did after landing in India was to go and buy myself slippers the next day. I headed to Paharganj. Took a rickshaw to ‘Cheh Tooti Chowk’ which cost 10 rupees. Indian economy is booming and the rickshaw-walas are also entitled to their fair share.

After the purchase of the slippers I couldn’t resist from visiting my fav jalebi shop which is at ‘Cheh Tooti Chowk’. For all you people, who love those thick succulent heavy jalebis with the sugar syrup dripping down and like to have them hot out of the wok, this is the place for you. So I head over to the two jalebi shops side by side and ask for 250 gms of jalebis. I note that the rate is Rs 50/- per kg from Rs 40/- last year. People keeping abreast with the growing economy - I smile to myself. Those two shops have been there since forever. They don’t have names but ask anyone and he will guide you to these shops. I remember the face of the cashier who also weighs the sweets n hands them out to the customers, but the rest of the people have changed. And even though it may be new faces, the person behind the wok will again be wearing the trademark baniyan.
Img: http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/10209/cat/500/ppuser/627
As I dig my teeth into the first jalebi I see a Chinese/Korean/Japanese tourist stop and take pictures of the jalebiwalas with an expensive looking SLR. The batter being poured in perfect shape as the imartis are being made. It’s an art, the way the batter filled cloth is squeezed, the pattern emerges in the oil. Like the hands of some artist, the jalebiwalas hands move in constant, precise and calculated manner. He doesn’t have time to pose for pics. His job doesn’t offer him the luxury of making mistakes as not many people will be eager to eat a deformed imarti. People will buy a deformed piece of art more readily though.

Moving on from the Oriental tourist, I scan the area and see many more tourists. Paharganj is a fav amongst backpackers. You will find loads of them here at all times. Though all guidebooks recommend traveling to India from Oct – March, these people are here in the peak summer months and that too in Delhi. The temperature doesn’t offer them any respite. I hoped to see some Danish guys around, but there weren’t any. Don’t get me wrong, Danes are very fond of vacations and 3 weeks of vacation in summer and later in winter is a norm in the offices. But India doesn’t seem to be a fav destination as I came across very few people in Denmark who had visited India.

A young Caucasian lady is buying bangles at a shop, those big lac bangles. Another Caucasian couple is being led by a travel guide who tells them that he’s a student and does this as a part time job. An oriental couple with a map, trying to locate the New Delhi Railway Station perhaps. As I capture all these things happening in my surroundings I feel connected to these people in a strange way. Not long ago I was also in a similar position traveling in some country, where I was only for a small time. I had also roamed on the streets with a map in my hand. I was also buying souvenirs and sometimes cursing the weather.

The market offers these people what they want - Cheap accommodation, economical meals, travel agents, transport, communication, mineral water, toilet paper and a good amount of Indian culture.

Too much for my first day in India. I head home with my new slippers.

You know you'v been in Danmark too long if...

2007-08-13T20:46:00.000+02:00

- You can say rød grød med fløde, Blåbærsyltetøj, and Angstskrig.
- You love salt lakrids.
- You think there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.
- You cannot understand why not every type of meat can be put together on top of bread.
- You think it’s impolite to sit next to someone in a bus if there is a seat you can sit on by yourself.
- You honestly believe that the distance between Copenhagen and Aalborg is long.
- You can tell the difference between a Grøn Tuborg and a Carlsberg beer.
- The first thing you do on entering a bank/post office/pharmacy etc. is take a number. You accept that you will have to wait and take a number.
- When a stranger on the street smiles at you, you assume that:a. he is drunk;b. he is insane;c. he is an American;d. he is all of the above.
- It no longer seems excessive to spend 800 kr. on alcohol in a single night.
- You know that “religious holiday” means “let’s get pissed”.
- You use “Mmmm” as conversation filler.
- The word “yes” is an intake of breath.
- Traditional dinners may not necessarily mean a cooked meal.
- You forget how to open canned beer.
- You can’t remember when to say “please” and “excuse me”.
- Your wardrobe no longer has suits… but blue shirts, mustard colored sports jackets, and lots of denim.
- You don’t mind paying the same for a 200-metre bus ride as you do for going 10 kms.
- You don’t look twice at businessmen in dark suits wearing white sport socks.
- You start to believe that if it weren’t for Denmark’s efforts, the world would probably collapse.
- You find yourself more interested in the alcohol content than the name of the wine.
- You know the meaning of life has something to do with the word “hyggelig”.
- You wouldn’t dream of coming even 10 minutes early to a party.
- You find yourself lighting candles when you have guests - even if it is bright and sunny outside and 20 degrees C.

I came across this article on the internet and saved it to post it sometime when I leave Denmark.

Well folks, its goodbye Denmark. Saturday I flew back to India. The onsite deputation which was supposed to be for 6 months, lasted for 26 months. In the
course of time I came across many new people, visited many new places, learnt many new things. Whatever time was spent there was amazing and will probably be
remembered for a long time.

The weather was exceptionally good the last week that I spent in Denmark. On the 4th of August I went to Skagen with a few friends and we cycled, walked,
played football on the beach, dived in the sea and had a great time. (Will put up a post about it later). Thursday was a lovely farewell party by some
friends in Aalborg. Friday was another farewell party at office. Though I regret not being able to meet most of the client people since they were away on vacations.

With this comes the end of a long & lovely chapter in my life.

Egeskov Slot, Odense

2007-08-01T22:17:00.000+02:00

This weekend I was off to visit the Egeskov Slot (castle) near Odense, which is about 400 Kms from Aalborg. The journey of 3 1/2 hrs was filled with fun and masti in the bus with the typical games like antakshari, Dumb , a small breakfast and lots of beer.

Egeskov estate is spread over 1131 hectares, with the castle n parks amounting to 20 hectares, and is located in the south of the island of Funen in Denmark. The castle is Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle. Egeskov's history dates to the 14th century.

Through his marriage to Anne Trihuus in 1545, Frands Brockenhuus took over a large farm in the village of egeskov. Acquiring large areas inside and outside the parish through inheritance n purchase and in 1554 the manor was replaced by the existing castle.

The castle is a genuine moated castle built directly on the lake. According to the popular legend the oak piles on which the castle stands gave rise to the name. Egeskov in Danish means oak wood. The Count's War during which many of the manors were attcked by the peasants was probably the reason why Frands Brockenhuus wanted to build a castle which was, to all intents and purposes, inpenetrable. Egeskov reflects a time of unrest. In 1986 Count Claus Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille opened the castle itself to the public.
There are about 8 rooms open to the public of which The Hunting Room is the most popular. It was used as Count gregers Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille's study and shows his great passion for hunting. Many of the game trophies are rare as the Impala below which has remarkably long horns (90 cms, while the normal is 50 cms). The room contains trophies brought back from British East Africa and the Congo - Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya of today.
From his jouneys in Africa, the Count brought back many souvenirs like these plus objects of ethnogrpahical interest like head dresses, jewellery and weapons. In The Hunting Gallery, many of the Count's trophies are displayed along with weapons from many countries. The Count was one of the most famous hunters in Denmark and one of the very few who were granted permission to hunt with bow n arrow. The trophies are displayed with the arrow that brought them down. In one corner is one of Egeskov's 'privies'. The castle was extremely luxurious for its time, with 17 lavotories.
The Victorian Room was furnished with typical items of furniture, brick-a-brac, curtains, carpets, upholstery from the Victorian period which were in the family's possession. The paintings and photographs show members of the family.
Titania's Palace is a palace made by English painter and officer Sir Nevile Wilkinson for his daughter. This palace took 15 years to build and has 3000 components collected from all over the world.

Egeskov's wooden man lies under the spire. Its is said that if he is to be removed from the cushion , Egeskov will sink in the moat on Christmas night. Because of this legend the family never used to celebrate Christmas at the castle. Traditonal Danish rice pudding is served to the wooden man so that he can share it with the castle elves and the human occupants can celebrate Christmas in the other rooms.

The Vintage Motorcycle Museum carries a collection of old bikes. A must see for any auto enthusiast.

The gardens around the castle are to enjoy the warm sunny afternoons with a picnic spread and to marvel such beautiful surroundings.

The picnic also had people from our comapny spread across Denmark. About 150 in all. A delicious Indian lunch followed by not so delicicious sweets and finally a group of 25 people returned back to Aalborg.

Weekend Pleasures

2007-07-25T15:51:00.001+02:00

The weekend started disastrously with the trip to Skagen being cancelled because of rain n overcast sky. Now why would anyone want to visit a beach on a day it is raining??? (Though one remembers a rainy evening spent at Sankhumugham Beach, Trivandrum very fondly). Anyway, so the plan for Skagen was shelved and with long faces the day kept passing until it was evening and the sun decided to give a little peek. We jumped to the occasion and headed towards Fjordparken near Egholm with beer in our bags.

The next few hours were spent sitting on the bench watching the boats sail by, people kanoeing, jogging, cycling, talking about n number of things and drinking beer. Sitting there I felt a strange kind of calmness and the feeling of being at ease with myself, my surroundings, my pals and the world at large.

Live Earth

2007-07-10T15:07:00.000+02:00

I am sure you would have caught your fav artist at/on the Live Earth concerts on 07/07/07. If u have 3 minutes, go and take this survey which will tell you what’s your live impact. With a carbon output of 9.9 tons per year I must def be amongst the above average of us who continue to harm the earth in more ways than one. And I am not alone.. each one of us is responsible. Here are a whole lot of things we can do to help our environments and ourselves.

OK the serious part done, let's get down to Shek's Tag:-

What am I doing to make the earth a greener place?

1) Transport
I use public transport. Car in Europe??? Hahahahah... Dude, am still employed in an Indian company. I also own a bike, which I ride on non rainy, non snowing days. Well not all the 35 days.

2) Paper
I don’t use printouts until it is absolutely necessary to carry some in a meeting. And also I have this habit of having all the data in one sheet of paper. So I print with Font Size = 2 or something. And just so I utilize each n every part of it and nothing is wasted, I draw doodles on the remaining blank surface of the paper in the meeting.

3) Washing
I wash my clothes together at the end of the week. No whites-and-non-whites-separate for me you racial bastards. Also I make sure I stuff all my clothes to be washed in one go. I use cold water to wash as hot water makes more creases in the clothes which take more time to iron out. My towel was last washed on ....errr March?, which is about the time when I also washed my bed sheet n pillow cover.

4) Electricity
Last time I had to buy bulbs I got the long lasting compact fluorescent light bulbs. 2 of them. It will take time before I switch to them completely. My PC/laptop goes on standby/sleep with 10 minutes of inactivity. I have consciously tuned the settings this way.

5) Shopping bags
I carry shopping bags for my weekend grocery shopping and use them repeatedly until they threaten to burst and spill all the stuff on the road.

6) Recycle
I don’t use recycled paper but I do recycle plastic/glass bottles and cans. In fact we get 1/1.5/3 Kroners back for every bottle/can submitted. Nothing like buying beer from the money u just made from empty beer cans.

Some other tips that will help u save the environment:-
* Wear jackets with deep pockets. This way whenever u buy something, u can carry it in those deep pockets. You will not need to buy the shopping bags.
* Eat pizza at the pizza shop, no matter how shady it is. Agreed that u like to have your pizza sprawled on your living room floor in a lungi scratching you hair, but if u eat it there u wont need the pizza box and help in generating less trash. You will also conserve water as you will have no dishes to clean.
* Wear jeans to work. Apart from the fact that they are better any day than formals, you can actually save a lot of water in washing before anyone notices that u r wearing the same pair for the last 2 weeks.
* If u happen to stay in colder regions where the sun is rather reluctant then do wear cardigans all the time at work. They allow you to wear a shirt with just the collars ironed. Save electricity in ironing.
* Shower sensibly. No, I am not asking you to do French showers, but who needs hour long showers and bath tubs filled with gallons of water. If you shower daily then you should be practiced enough to bathe in less than 10 minutes. You may indulge in such extravagances from time to time, but plz keep them to the minimum.

On a ~~more~~ serious note let me end this post with an old native American saying - "We do not inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children".

Let's return it to them as a better place.

New 7 Wonders

2007-07-06T12:01:00.001+02:00

Thank God all the hoopla around the "New 7 Wonders" thing is about to get over and we can all put down the swadeshi topi and get back to normal life. If u r in US, start making plan to visit the Statue of Liberty on the next long weekend if u haven’t been there yet or start planning a vacation to Europe or to South America. By all standards, The monuments in the New 7 Wonders list are some of the most amazing places on the face of the earth and fabulous tourist destinations. Though there may be nothing official about it, the amount of patriotism people are associating with it is simply astounding. Chain mails are being forwarded, people back home in India admit to receiving SMS from long lost contacts urging them to vote for Taj. Anyway, let’s not get into this more.

Peepal, I am introducing a tag. Heres what u need to do?

Pick the Top 3 destinations from the list of New Seven Wonders that you would want to visit and write down a few lines about why u want to visit. Don't forget to tag more people and inform them about it.

Simple in'it? (Sorry, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom movie has left some lasting scars in my mind).

So here is my list of top 3 destinations:-

1) Machu Picchu, Peru (Img: http://www.new7wonders.com/)
Machu Picchu is a symbol of Community & Dedication!

I am sure everyone has heard about this place, or read about it . The 'Lost City' of the Incans was discovered and brought to light by Americam archaeologist Hiram Bingham. I remember, when I was small, reading a novel - Hardy Boys & the Inca Treasure or something similar and then I became curious and read up a little about it. It was the pre-google-and-internet-not-quite-there time when people actually went to library to find out more about things. I found only a couple of pages in some encyclopedia but the name registered somewhere in my mind. With so much available at the touch of a button you can practically know and see all thats to it in the comfort of your couch. But to see a monument in person is an alltogether different feeling.

2) Christ Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Img http://www.new7wonders.com/)
Christ Redeemer stands for Welcoming & Openness!

Now who doesn't want to go to Brazil. :) It's the first place that comes in mind when u talk about South America or football or beaches or supermodels (Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio). I think the first time I saw the statue in the video of the song Brazil by VengaBoys. This country is a sure shot fav among people from all over the world and no wonder Rio de Janeiro is the most visited city in the world.

3) The Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia (Img: http://www.answers.com)The Kremlin/St. Basil’s Cathedral represents Fortitude & Symbolism!

God bless Russia for inventing Vodka! Russia has always been the friendly country from where we bought arms. The cathedral is def one of the cutest, if I may say so, ones in the world. It was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built on the edge of Red Square between 1555 and 1561. Legend has it that on completion of the church the Tsar ordered the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again, much like our own lore about Taj's architect. Anyway, Russia and the other eastern european countries have caught my fascination for some time now. And it would be great to be there and have a quick peek at what lies behind the Iron Curtain.

What the heck... I would absolutely love to be able to visit ANY one of the sites. And as a traveller I realise that you don't need a reason to travel. You travel coz u want to.

I tag:-

Arpz, Confused, Deepti, Delphic, If-she-tells-ya, Kusum, Marlee, Prashant, Priyanka, Sakshi, Sayesha, Shek, Silverine.

Here are my pics, of the 3 sites from the list of New 7 Wonders, where I have been to:-

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France.

Neuscwanstein, Bavaria, Germany.

Colosseum, Rome, Italy.

Tagged

2007-07-03T13:35:00.000+02:00

Tagged by Sakshi

1. Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it?
Right hand palm, just below the index finger. In school we were playing 'pakdam-pakdai' (No, its not some fetish game u perv!!!) and I was running around this bus parked inside the school campus. The flap of the compartment where the stepney is kept was raised and hidden by some leaves from a nearby tree. While running towards it I saw the raised flap just in time and used my hand to save my belly from having a deep gash n my intestines being spilled out. As a result, 5 stiches.

2. What does your phone look like?
6230i

3. What is on the walls of your bedroom?
This poster

4. What is your current desktop picture?
Office: The company defined wallpaper. Can't change it. Its been the same for 2 years.
Home: Standard SONY VAIO wallpaper.

5. Do you believe in gay marriage?
Yes. Gay or Straight, doesn't matter.

6. What do you want more than anything right now?
Its 12:23 pm. M hungry, I want food.

7. What time were you born?
12:40 am

8. Are your parents still together?
Very much.

9. Last person who made you cry?
Dont rem... must've been ages ago.

10. What is you favorite perfume/cologne?
Ive used Brut cologne a lot and it happens to be one of the fav.

11. What kind of hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex?
Any color would do. As long as the hair is lustrous and the eyes are expressive. (copied it from someone's blog.. cdnt find words that would express it in better terms)

12. What are you listening to?
Keyboard sounds.

13. Do you get scared of the dark?
Nope... never.

14. Do you like pain killers?
Now, who likes painkillers? I dont like to consume any medicines and will go out of my way to avoid it.

15. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
No, but choosy and a bit reluctant at times.

16. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
A I would like paneer naan, butter chicken, daal makhani, some biryani and raita, lassi to go with it and ras malai or something for dessert.

17. Who was the last person you made mad?
Dunno, but I am sure it was someone in the office.

18. Is anyone in love with you?
Not that I can think of. I dont really think I am secret crush material.

Consider urself tagged, if u havent done this by now.

Happy Birthday Panchamda

2007-06-27T23:59:00.000+02:00

(Pic Source: http://www.rediff.com)

Rahul Dev Burman (June 27, 1939 - January 4, 1994), music composer and singer whose songs have entertained each and everyone of us. And is still providing bread and butter to most 'DJ Remix'walas.

Here are a few of the genius' songs, categorized into several random categories. Such was he versatility of this musician that anyone would find it hard to pick 1 song from each category. Here is my attempt:-

1) ROMANTIC

Do Lafzon Ki Hai Dil Ki Kahani, The Great Gambler (1979)
This song is an all time favorite. Very melodius and romantic. Some songs which came close are:- O Hansini - Zehreela Insaan (1974), Kitne Bhi Tu Karle Sitam - Sanam Teri Kasam (1982), Tu Hai Vahi Dil Ne Jise - Yeh Vada Raha (1982).

2) MALE SOLO

Aur Kya Ahede Wafa, Sunny (1984)
I somehow like the Suresh Wadekar Song MUCH more than the Asha Bhonsle version. Other songs in this category :- Aanewala Pal Jaanewala Hai - Gol Maal (1979), Agar Tum Na Hote - Agar Tum Na Hote (1983), Diye Jalte Hain - Namak Haram (1973), Tujhse Naraaz Nahin Zindagi - Masoom (1983).

3) FEMALE SOLO

Mera Kuchh Saamaan, Ijaazat (1988)

The way this song has been rendered with so much pain and hurt in the voice, is just phenomenal. Other good songs in this category:- Aaja Piya Tohe Pyar Doon - Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Aaj Kal Paon - Ghar (1978).

4) QAWWALI

Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977)
Very hep and youithful qawwali if I may say so. Other good songs in the category: - Jina To Hai Usika, Adhikar (1971).

5) GHAZAL

Huzur Is Kadar, Masoom (1983)
The comic timing of Naseer and the shokhi of Shabana make this ghazal a treat to watch as well as hear.

6) CLASSICAL BASED

Mitwa Bole Meethe Bain - Parichay (1972)
The choice for this category very difficult with songs such as Abke Na Sawan Barse - Kinara (1977), Beeti Na Bitai - Parichay (1972), Meethe Bol Bole - Kinara (1977), Raina Beet Jae - Amar Prem (1971) in contention. I had earlier chosen the song Ab ke na sawan barse but changed my mind later on.

7) SEDUCTION / CHED CHAAD

Jane Do Naa, Saagar (1985)
This is inarguably the best seductive song for me. The effect may be more due to the visual appeal pf the song than the musical but it just rules. Other songs in this category:- Ek Chatur Naar Karke Sringar - Padosan (1968), Yeh Ladki Zarasi Diwani Lagti Hai - Love Story (1981).

8) SAD

Meri Bheegi Bheegi Si, Anamika (1973)
Other songs in this category are:- Kya Hua Tera Wada - Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977), Raah Pe Rahte Hain - Namkeen (1982), Yaad Aa Rahi Hai - Love Story (1981).

9) DHINCHAK / MASTI

Pyar Hamen Kis Mod Pe, Satte Pe Satta (1982)
This song tops the categoryundisputed. Other songs:- Dekha Na Hai Re Socha Na - Bombay To Goa (1972), Dum Maro Dum - Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), Gol Maal Hai - Gol Maal (1979), Ye Jawani Hai Diwani - Jawani Diwani (1972).

10) HIS OWN VOICE

Mehbooba O Mehbooba, Sholay (1975)

Duniya Mein Logon Ka, Apna Desh(1972) or Dil Lena Khel Hai , Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai (1982) would be close, but not quiet. (ROT in hell Himesh Reshamiya)

11) CLUB / ITEM NUMBER

O Haseena Zulfowali, Teesri Manzil(1966)
So many lovely songs to choose from:- Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera - Teesri Manzil (1966), Duba Duba Nashe Mein - Drohi (1992), Jaane Jaan O Meri Jaane Jaan - Sanam Teri Kasam (1982), Jahan Teri Ye Nazar Hai - Kaalia (1981), Khatooba Khatooba - Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1980), Piya Too Ab To Aaja - Caravan (1971). I hope u agree with my choice. This also happens to be RD's first Hit film and then there was no looking back.

12) CHILDREN'S SONG

Lakdi Ki Kathi, Masoom (1983)
Now who hasnt sung this song as a child (errr... people who were grown ups in 1983? :P ). Other songs in this category:- Bada Natkat Hai Yeh - Amar Prem (1971), Lalla Lalla Lori - Mukti (1977).

13) FOLK BASED

Chadti Jawani Meri Chal Mastani, Caravan (1971)
Though it is not exactly folk based but it has the use of colloquial words or the lyrics are a touch less refined and give the feeling of a village belle singing it rather a city girl. Other songs:- Bechara Dil Kya Kare - Khushboo (1975), Ghar Jayegi - Khushboo (1975), Goriyan Kahan Tera Desh Re - Caravan (1971).

14) SENTI

Roz Roz Aankhon Tale, Jeeva (1986)
Another of my favs. Other songs in the category:- Yeh Shaam Mastani - Kati Patang (1970), Tujhse Naraaz Nahin Zindagi - Masoom (1983), Is Mod Se Jate Hain - Aandhi (1975).

~~PS: Will update the post tomm. Its already 28th June in some parts of the world including mine.~~

AIRSHOW 2007

2007-06-22T09:33:00.001+02:00

Since I really dont have anything to write, how about sharing some pics?? Well, here are some pics from a Sunday spent at the Danish Airshow which happened at the Air Force Base near Aalborg on the 10th of June.
(Apart from the pics I also have a tan which refuses to subside even after 2 weeks)

C-17 GLOBEMASTER III

Belgium's Fouga Magister taking off.

Patrouille De France, flying the Alphajet.

French colors

F-16 Fighting Falcon, ready for take off.

This baby can roar.

Sikorsky S-61 Sea King.

Swedish Saab AB JAS 39A Gripen.

Patrouille Suisse in F-5E Tiger

Close call

Italy Air Force's Freece Tricolori.

Some very tanned people at the show.

A Different Life

2007-06-12T19:07:00.000+02:00

Read my latest post here, On my dear friend JustSo's Blog.

Save Tiger

2007-06-12T18:18:00.000+02:00

Tigers are on the threshold of extinction. According to WWF, Tigers are amongst the ten most endangered species in the world. Over the last century more than 95% of the Tiger population has been wiped out & three sub-species are already extinct. Less than 3500 tigers remain in the wild today with around 50% in India & their numbers are declining fast.

You can buy cartoons to contribute to this cause. To know more, go to http://www.save-tiger.blogspot.com/.

अंतर्राष्ट्रीय बाघ हित मे जारि।

Karneval Aalborg 2007

2007-05-31T18:24:00.001+02:00

This blog started with the details about my first day in Denmark. It completes two years on blogsphere and it is marked by a celebration in the town of Aalborg - Karneval Aalborg. This being my third carnival in two years (I arrived one the Karneval day). So here are some highlights from the Karneval, which incidently is also my last.

The Karneval celebrations were spread over a week as this was the 25th anniversary of the largest carnival in Northern Europe. With more than 25000 people enjoying the festivities with the carnival bands from 6 countries (Denmark, Germany, Holland, France, UK and Ghana) on the final day, it was the largest till date and my most memorable one. The theme for 2007 was 'Masquerade' a much tamer one compared to last year's 'Erotic & Exotic'.

A, G, N & S
If it wasn't for you guys, it wouldn't have been so much fun.

Pics:-

No Kissing/Sex Please, We Are Indians

2007-05-21T14:49:00.001+02:00

In order to show objectionable, traumatizing and offending acts on screen, without having a lawsuit slapped on your face by the jobless moral guardians of the society, many age old methods have been employed by the champions of Bollywood. As you would have observed dear readers, more often than not, these euphemisms are relating to sex. Now this brings a Q to mind - Is depicting sex on screen such a hard task, that our filmmakers had to resort to such tactics?

Surely its not that Indians don’t know about sex. You don’t have a nation of 1 billion people for nothing. In fact Indians know too much about sex. And we are pretty good at it too. No, I won't mention the Kamasutra or Khajuraho, just look at our birth rate n population. The only people who have better sex than us, are the Chinese. In fact they are so good at sex, that people all over the world are dying to have sex with them for centuries. So much so, that they had to build a wall around their country.

Here is a list of some such euphemisms. The list is by no means exhaustive, for as long as the filmmakers of this nation of 1 billion plus, continue to dig into their minds (or their noses.. or both) to find out new ways to show things on screen this list will keep growing.

Euphemism No 1: Flowers
Scene: Hero n heroine in a public garden whispering sweet nothings to each other... hero feeling the pangs in his loins and the heroine acting coy.... After a while they bend down and the camera stays there on the two flowers (preferably roses...red ones) and then the two roses start to bump into each other or swaying left, right, up & down as if nodding their approval to the acts being committed just below ... usually signifies kissing.

This euphemism doesn't find many takers now, as many people have really eroded the moral fibre of our kulchur and started kissing on screen. Tauba!!

Corollary: Hero and heroine are now in a jungle... Rest scenario remains as above.. In this case the flower nodding usually signifies copulation.

Euphemism No 2: Fireplace
Scene: Hero n heroine on a stormy night... its raining accompanied by thunder and lightening... their car has broken down and they are now in a secluded 'Daak Bunglow' in the middle of nowhere.... since their clothes are wet the hero will start a fire.. (Somehow all the dak bunglows are stacked up with firewood for any such emergency n the hero has the talent to light up the fire from a matchstick/lighter without the need of any kerosene/petrol). The roaring fire's flames are directly proportional to the lust between the love birds at this point of time... the light in the room should be orangish-yellow, ample shadow play on the walls and the hero should be nude waist up (Throw in an ample amount of body hair for macho appeal and hiding the rolls of fat.. though Anil Kapoor is strictly forbiddened from removing his shirt COME-WHAT-MAY). Hero n heroine get close to each other and the camera zooms in through the small space between their bodies and blurs into the fire. Signifies copulation.

It may be noted that this euphemism occurs solely when the case is of pre-marital sex. The Euphemism No 1 though can also be shown with married couples. The corollary to euphemism 1 though is strictly reserved for premarital sex. If it were a married couple the husband would be busy pulling his hair and thinking "Why did I ever promise this woman the jungle safari???"

Euphemism No 3: Bedside Lamp
Scene: Its the "SUHAAG RAAT" (Ah!! Some more random hits on my blog thx to google) .... now after all the ghunghat-uthana, kesar wala doodh and the rest of the usual big-night shenanigans are done with, the hero will lay down his bride on the bed (fully clothed n jewelled)... camera pans to the bedside lamp which switches off after a delay of 2 seconds.

Euphemism No 4: Child photo....SSSHHHHHHHHH
Another variation to the scene in the above euphemism... at the end instead of panning to the bedside lamp the camera will move upwards on the wall where the child photograph is and the child having a finger on his lips... Sssshhhhhhhh!!!

Don't be surprised if the next day the heroine throws up and is expecting a baby (which would be determined without the help of a home pregancy kit or a doctor).. coz somehow this euphemism is oft used in cases when the couple is trying to make a baby. Congraulations flow from all corners and the father, placing a hand on the son's shoulder, says 'Bete, aaj tune mera sapna sach kar diya'. I wonder if the Dad was dreaming about the last nights events.

Euphemism No 5: Waves in ocean 1
Usually occurs at some beach .. now the beach has to have green waters , white sand, ample sun and most importantly it should be a secluded and totally deserted one... how else will their lusty instincts urge them to make out behind those coconut trees...and when the huge waves start hitting the shores you know that the guy has been successful in nailing the gal... one might wonder how all of a sudden the peaceful waves turned into big mighty roaring ones... the answer I m afraid is a bit complex... it's the lunar gravity coupled with the earth's centrifugal force due to rotation on it's axis combined with all the pumping n grinding going on behind those coconut trees.

Euphemism No 6: Waves in ocean 2
This is a variation to euphemism no 5...except that this time the waves are crashing hard on the rocks... this would in most cases signify a rape or passionate love ...it may also be used in some other situation where there is a kash-m-kash going in the hero's mind whether to obey his parents word or go with his gal...or when heroine is contemplating suicide due to the unwanted pregnancy.

Euphemism No 7: Volcano Erupting
Now this one is a multipurpose euphemism... it can and has been used at a number of places in a number of situations...
Hero's sis gets raped.... Volcano erupts
Hero heroine are making passionate love ...Volcano erupts (in this case the amount of lava flowing out of volcano is directly proportional to the ....mmmmm what shall we say...hero's virility)
Saboo ko gussa aata hain ... Volcano erupts (on Jupiter of course).

Euphemism No 8: Boiling Milk
Scene: The heroine is working in the kitchen.... newly wed wife... learning the tricks of the trade... the husband sneaks up from behind and grabs her around the waist... the heat in the kitchen , the smell of milk boiling on the stove, the aroma of spices and all that make the hero really hot (not that he wasn’t already horny) and they start making out oblivious of the milk heating on the stove ... while the hero n heroine move out of scene the camera pans into the vessel kept on stove with milk boiling... within minutes the milk starts to rise ... the rise in the level of milk is directly signifies the building up male orgasm ... in roughly 1 minute 30 secs the milk overflows (that’s the average time it would take - for both the activities)
Note: This euphemism can also be shown for Rape and in that case the milk boils to some rather jarring music.

Euphemism No 9: Bird in Cage
This euphemism is solely reserved for use when depicting a rape scene. The bird in the cage signifies the hero's sister in the grip of the villain.Note: It will be hero's sister in 99% of the cases and this should occur somewhere in the first half of the movie. In the rare exception that it is the heroine, she should commit suicide right after the crime and the hero will avenge her death in the rest of the movie. And before the feminists clench their teeth and ask me, why should a woman commit suicide when the ideally the rapist should be castrated, lemme tell you this is Bollywood and logic is found here in as much abundance as topless girls in Antarctica.

Euphemism No 10: Fluttering Diya
This particular diya is rather from 60s and 70s where a diya would be lighted next to the person on his death bed... sitting next to the dying old man/woman would be his wife/husband, the dutiful-and-friendly neighbors, the chacha, taya, mama, mausi, doodhwala, kaam-wali-bai and a hoard of junior artists but not the son.
The son is rushing home to be besides his father/mother who is ready to kick the bucket anytime now. As soon as he enters the room panting, the diya extinguishes and the man/woman in bed has breathed his/her last.The diya may be replaced by the ECG machine as well. The waves going up n down in a jagged way and finally nothing but a straight line.

With the help of these euphemisms, we can make sure that everything is in strict accordance with the CBFC guidelines of certification. Do you have any Euphemisms which u want to share?

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Update:
Some more Euphemisms which the readers left in the Comments section

Arun
An umbrella/heroine's hat coming in between when the couple steals a smooch.
May I just add, that the Umbrella has got to be of multicolor n should be revolving when the couple engage in the act.

Twilight Fairy
another one.. khufiya barsaati raat.. raat ka andhera.. no bijli.. except for the bijli in the sky.. the torrential rain.. hero heroine getting wet.. windows in buildings thrashing .. hero's hand on heroine's waist (mind u a waist which has a saree clinging on to the wet skin more for effect..for all it matters it's not really there)..and then once the hero and heroine get really close, the lightening weaves across the sky.. signifying what else but...copulation! :)
BRILLIANT

Sushruta
I remember if the rape happens in a stable like place the spinning wheel of a stationary cart also signals at ahem ...rape

Unknown User
You forgot the crying girl photographs...in a rape scene.

Bastet
Eagle or Hawk, preying on a pigeon, indicating the villian following a hapless damsel. As the hawk closes in and kills the pigeon, the villian pounces on the girl.

The First Kiss Tag

2007-05-15T13:19:00.000+02:00

The First Kiss Tag - courtesy Sakshi

Many moons ago a young lad was high and dry. A peck here n there, but the elusive first base as still alluding. Finally the hour came when the sun, moon, planets and all stars were perfectly aligned and he managed to get some privacy with the girl. They both were talking sweet nothings, fingers entwingled and her head resting on his chest. After a moment of long silence the guy lifted her chin and told her "S, I want to kiss you" and a loud voice boomed in his head - "YOU IDIOT!!!". The eyes locked for a second and he could read an affirmative in them. She didnt reply and taking that as the cue the guy went for it.

A light touch of the lips at first. A bit longer one followed. Then with a little vacuum. Soon the lower lip one, upper lipone , lips slightly parted, with a little tongue, more toungue and all that jazz. Finally all the text book theories were being put into practical.
TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

So that ladies and gentlemen was the story of my first kiss. Did I tell you she got hickeys and I had a stupid grin on my face the whole next day. :)

PS: I tag Arpz, Han(again), Deepti, Samyak, Anshh , Arun, If-she-tell..... and Kusum.

Bruges

2007-05-10T16:17:00.000+02:00

About an hour away from Brussels is the small, quaint town of Bruges. Known as the 'Venice of the North', Bruges is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and has a long history of two thousand years. In 2000, UNESCO included the entire historical center of the city as a World Heritage Site. The city treats its visitors to some spectacular architectural beauties, cobbled streets, romantic canals and gastronomical delights.

The old town lies opposite the railway station at a stone throw distance. Just need to buy a map at the tourist office at the station and you are all set. Walking is my fav mode of transport and one of the best ways to enjoy the sights. At first you are greeted by the lovely canal Minnewater. Minne in Dutch means Love and the name of the canalized lake can be roughly translated to "The Lake of Love". It is because of these beautiful canals that Bruges got the sobriquet 'Venice of the North'.

Swan is a symbol of Bruges and you can see plenty of them in the Minnewater. Legend says that in 1488 the folks of Bruges executed one of their town administrators Pieter Lanchals from the court of Maximillian of Austria. Lanchals’ family coat of arms featured a white swan. Maximillian punished Bruges by obliging the whole population to keep swans on their lakes and canals till eternity. Well, I don't think they mind.

Notre Dame

Sint-Salvator Cathedral

From a distance the old buildings allure the traveler and smother a cloud of calm and tranquility, which is shortlived in the hustle ad bustle of the tourists. This town is packed with them. A boat ride in these canals is something which u must indulge in. There are various places from where the canal tours originate and the cost is €5/- only. The ride is an easy way to see most of the cities many historic treasures in the form of buildings churches bridges and statues. Its also a good excuse to rest those tired feet. :)

Town Hall

Chapel of the Holy Blood

The Burg Square, which is the administrative heart of the city, has the Town Hall and to the right of it is the Chapel of the Holy Blood. The Town Hall contains some beautiful portraits of earler Dukes/Counts and Duchesses/Countesses. The Chapel of Holy Blood is actually a double chapel. The lower part is called the Basilius Chapel and the church on the first floor is the actual Chapel of the Holy Blood. The chapel contains a fragment of cloth stained with what is said to be the coagulated blood of Christ, wiped from his body after the crucifixion. Tradition has it that Count Diederik van den Elzas brought the relic containing the blood of Christ from Jerusalem to Bruges after the second crusade.

Pic - www.brugge.be

The adoration of the relic is at the origin of the internationally famous 'Procession of the Holy Blood' which passes every year on Asuncion day during the month of May through the streets of Bruges (17th May 2007).

Provincial Court

Southern side cafes

The Grote Markt (Market Square) is surrounded by the Belfry on the north, Provincial Court on the west, on the south by lotsa cafes which have a distinctive medieval appearance. In the center is the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck from the 'Battle of the Golden Spurs'.

While in Bruge, do try some of the many beers named after the city - Brugse Tripel, Brugs Blond, Brugs Witbier and Straffe Hendrik and the exquisite chocolates. Well that goes for the entire country I guess. Another speciality is the Lace that you can find in many shops. Its been practiced here for centuries and you can find people working on it. It’s also horribly expensive.

The train journey from Brussels to Bruges has a stop midway at Ghent, which is also a beautiful town like Bruges, no canals though. Train journey from Brussels to Bruges costs €12.5/- for a return journey, with trains plying every hour.

With that ladies and gentlemen, the Wanderer signs off, with a smile and a promise to take you to yet another destination sometime soon. Adios!!

Brussels

2007-05-04T16:46:00.000+02:00

From Luxembourg we started for Brussels in a train. At Luxembourg station we bought the tickets at 9:27 am for a train leaving at 9:29 am and ran like hell. Made it just in time. A Belgian friend in Aalborg had already warned us that trains are not so regular in his country and true to his word the train journey of hours took a good 45 mins extra. Welcome to the city of Eurocrats, plenty of chocolate fountains, an array of waffles and more than 200 kinds of beers – Brussels.

A walk of 25 mins from the Nord station and we dumped out stuff at the hostel. Decided to hit the Grand Place Square. The square is one of the most important tourist attractions in the city and has hundreds of tourists looking in awe at all the buildings around it. You have the towering Town Hall, the King’s House, the Guild Houses and a lot of cafes. There also a shop tucked in a corner called Gautam Diamond. Apna Gautambhai che ne aiyaan!!

Click here for a 360 degree panoramic view of the square. Trust me it’s worth it.

The square has something or the other happening at all times. Perfomers, pianists, violinists, puppeteers, dancers etc and the likes. The atmosphere is charged and it’s a joy to sit in one of the cafes around the square and enjoy a coffee or a beer.

A bylane just left of the Town Hall leads you to Manneken Pis, the symbol of Belgium to much extent. Having a prior experience with such symbols (The Little Mermaid), I was prepared for the worst and my dear friend Mr Murphy's Law never fails me. The 2 feet bronze statue of a naked boy urinating in a fountain is hardly impressive. Cute but not impressive. There are several legends behind the statue. The version which I heard is that a certain Duke wanted a statue to be erected and he wanted it to be of some comman man so he went out one day and swore to build the statue of the first commoner he saw. He saw this small boy taking a leak and we got Manneken Pis.

Belgium is reported to the first in covered shopping malls and you can go through the St. Hubert Gallery in the city center. A shopper’s mecca if u r looking for Belgian chocolates, leather goods, ornaments, designer net cloth etc. The gallery has the famous Neuhaus Chocolate. And speaking of chocolate, Brussels is a chocoholic’s paradise. Chocolate for breakfast, some more for lunch and yet some more for dinner. There is always a chocolate shop just round the corner. The bigger ones will have a chocolate fountain on display. Just watching it is a delight in itself, conjuring thoughts and images of all the mentionable and unmentionable things you could do in that fountain. The possibilities are endless ;)

The area near the Hubert gallery is a very popular restaurant area in Belgium and I particularly recall some very good sea food on display in most establishments. Another Belgian specialty is the Waffles and in Brussels the list of toppings will definitely surpass your imagination. You can’t return from Brussels without having these. Trust me you don’t want to. While we are still discussing food, lemme also recommend you the Fries which are usually served in a plastic tub or a cone along with mayonnaise and sauce. Not extraordinarily better than the regular stuff but it’s popular here to stroll through the market place while having some.

The next day we went to visit Atomium and Mini Europe. Mini Europe houses replicas of the famous buildings n monuments from all countries in the European Union. The incomparable chimes of Big Ben welcome you to the heart of London. The gondolas and mandolins will invite you to discover the charms of Venice. Follow the T.G.V. from Paris to the other end of France. You can make the models work yourself : the eruption of Vesuvius, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the bullfight in Seville and many more… In total 300 models and sites in a quite unequalled craftsmanship. The ticket is €12.

At stone throw distance away from Mini Europe is the Atomium, which was built for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, the 103-metre tall monument represents a unit cell of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times, with vertical body diagonal, with tubes along the 12 edges of the cube and from all 8 vertices to the centre.

Coming up – The 1 day trip to from Brussels to Bruges.

Luxembourg

2007-04-23T17:34:00.000+02:00

Easter vacation is always a time to rejoice, to enjoy the warmth in the air and smell the spring. Yet again the traveller is off to satiate his wanderlust. Destination - Luxembourg & Belgium. Met the 3 frnds (A, G & S, who r students at the university) at the train station and off we were on the 6 day journey to visit some of the most beautiful places in Europe. At the train station I met a frnd J, who married recently and was off for a delayed honeymoon to Switzerland. Turns out we all will be sharing the train till Odense. We are in the same wagon but thankfully the seats are far away. Their lovey-dovey journey will not be interrupted. From Odense we hop on to the DB Nachtzug (night train) till Düsseldorf. Here the stop was for 1.5 hrs where we managed to get fresh n grab a bite before we took the final train. The journey from here was one of the most beautiful I have had till now. The train moving at a steady pace along the banks of Rhine & Moselle and all this while you can catch the montains the river n campers along the banks of the rivers just enjoying being out there at the onset of spring or families spending the Easter vacations together by camping in a trailer next to the river.

We reached Luxembourg around 11:45 am and managed to get all the free maps n info from the tourist office. At the station we met a French gentleman of Indian descent (Pondicherry), who was going back from a business trip. He told us that the city was very small and that we could walk most of it. We took the one day Family Pass for Luxembourg City (€20/-) which entitles you to free rides in all public transport and a free walking tour of the city. If you are a group of 3-4 or 5 then usually the family pass works out a much better deal. Be warned that some places issue family passes with restrictions like 2 adults - 2 children n sort.

Reached the Youth Hostel, after taking a bus and me explaining to the driver in my very poor French where we had to go. It was strange that he kept replying in German despite the fact that both French and German are taught in schools n most people can speak both languages. The youth hostel has no age limit and it was hard to find any youth around. The Chinese people staying next door were a couple with 2 children and the number of old people around made us wonder if they should name it Old Age Home. The room however was fantastic with a good view and lovely bunk beds. Since I was traveling with friends who were students, we were on a kind of budget travel. The hostel was very good and we were already feeling nice about our decision. We changed n left to visit the city after some snacks.

1000-year-old fortress city of Luxembourg is perched high atop a rocky outcrop, overlooking the rivers Petrusse and Alzette, and offers stunning views from the city's old ramparts. The city divulges many of its premier sights in the space of an afternoon’s leisurely stroll. The city has a lot of old buildings and a lot of history attached to it. In the pic you can see parts of the old fortress, the river Alzette which flows through the city in a serpentine manner, Neumünster Abbey including the Church of St. Jean and the cranes in the background, busy with all the construction of new buildings offices, apartments. The very old (as in AK Hangal type old), old and the new, all existing together in harmony.

Hotel De Ville - Luxembourg Town Hall at Knuedler

The walking tour starts at 2pm from the tourist office at Knuedler, Place d'armes. The place derives its name from the word Knued which means the knot in the belt of a Francisian. The equestrian statue of William II, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, lotsa cafes and an open market on every second Saturday adorns the square. Our guide, an elderly gentleman, introduced us to the group of Germans and French as 'friends from India', and did mention Laxmi Narayan Mittal who had just taken over Arcelor, whose headquarters are situated in Luxembourg. The tour took us through most of the old part of Luxembourg.

First up was the Grand Ducal Palace, the official residence of the Grand Duke (since this is his 'official' residence, obviously he doesn’t live here) and the host to official receptions and state ceremonies. The building would look more of a grand house rather than a palace but that’s how small some of the things are in Europe. It is very simple, elegant and beautiful. No high arches, flamboyant designs motifs, statues or anything. Just next to the palace is the Parliament building which is also very old and almost from the same period as the palace. The flags of Luxembourg and EU flutter in front of it so it should be easily recognizable.

Old gate of the town

The area around the palace is more or less old town. All vintage buildings with a few modern ones popping in here n there. The guide hated those buildings and made his hatred evident on numerous occasions during the tour. I cdnt agree with him more, as those buildings made of glass n steel n concrete were an eyesore.

St Michael's Church is a one of the oldest structures of the city, built for the first time in 987 AD and renovated ad enlarged a number of times since. The changes done in the structure can be seen in some of the walls. Architecture is primarily Romanesque & Baroque and some beautiful stained glass work.

The quire

The organ gallery

The Notre-Dame Cathedral dates back to 1613 although the artistic decoration of the interior was gradually completed over a period of several decades. You can see the late Gothic style structure here and no doubt it is very impressive. You can visit from 10am to noon and then from 2 to 5:30 pm daily. Guess everyone needs a lunch break :)

The Gélle Fra Memorial, also known as Golden Lady, represents a gold-plated female figure on a stone obelisk. It symbolizes freedom and resistance and commemorates the Luxembourgers who perished in the First World War.

A stone throw away from the memorial is Pont (bridge) Adolphe. It was, in the early 20th century, the biggest stone arch-bridge in the world. The big double-arch has a spread of 85 m and crosses the Petrusse valley at a height of 42 m. From the bridge one gets to see the beautiful Petrusse Valley below.

Luxembourg City in the middle ages was a mighty fortress -called 'Gibraltar of the North' and parts of the original walls and fortifications remain. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site. In the fortifications we also see some hollowed out structures. These are the Casemates. The Casemates are a unique network of man-made underground caverns used in times of siege to house men, horses and armour from 1644 onwards.

Legend has it that Melusina, wife of the founder of Luxembourg Count Siegfried, laid a condition that she would be left alone for one full day and night every month when she would retire into her chambers in the Casemates. Siegfried's curiosity got the better of him and he peeped in one day only to see that Melusina was lying in the bathtub, with a fishtail hanging over the rim. Melusina caught her husband peeping through the door, and jumped out of the window into the river Alzette below, never to be seen again. Except every now and then, some people say they saw a beautiful girl's head pop out of the river, and a fishtail rippling the calm waters of the river Alzette.

You can walk to most places of interest in Luxembourg and its uneven terrain offers you narrow winding paths, cobbled streets and other options. While walking to the station the next day, I saw a group of girls approaching me. So far I have encountered enough of these people to tell from a distance that they were Missionaries.(Yeah, those are the only girls who approach me). One of the girls, who was a Sri Lankan I suppose, asked me "Do you speak English?". I said, "No" and walked on. I wish I could've captured the look on her face. Well I would've liked to hear her point and tell her that I didn't think Jesus was the answer to all my problems. The end result wouldn't have changed anything for any of us. But sometimes these people really get on my nerves. Lord!! Save me from your followers.

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Thx Deepti for all the help with the new template.

Jingle Bells III

2007-04-22T16:53:00.001+02:00

Time to post some of those sarkari jingles. Oh no, I'm not gonna write about the 'Ek Chidiya Anek Chidiya' and 'Mile Sur Mera Tumhara'. I think they have been discussed way too much and everyone knows them. Lemme draw your attention towards a few lesser known jingles. Here they come:-

Chal padi hain ik lahar
Gao gao aur shehar shehar
Shishu ki raksha sandesh hamara
Shishu ki raksha uddesh hamara
Jacha Bacha Teeka Kendra or something

A boy writing something on a board
Purab se soorya uga
Faila ujiyara
Jaagi har disha disha
Jaaga jag saara
Manohar Singh - Yakeen nahi hota yeh wahi Kishan hain
Rashtriya Saksharta Mission
And whenever this guy Kishan in our class answered any question, all used to say together 'Yakeen nahi hota yeh wahi Kishan hain'
Another ad with the same song n theme, in which a lady teaches a young woman how to read n write.

Bol sakhi bol
Tera raaz kya hai
Kya hai teri khushi ka raaz
Tu bata de humko aaj....
Garbh nirodhak goliyaan Mala D hai mera raaz
(Thx Nishant for reminding me the remaining lines)
Bachonmein antar ke liye
Jeevan mein khushi ke liye
Tum bhi apna lo aaj
Mala D, Mala D, Mala D

2 body builders with these large hammers hitting 2 coconuts, one inside a helmet
Marzi hain aapki aakhir sar hain aapka

This one is my outright favorite
Aman Verma and Hemant Chaudhary (I guess that was his name) in a campaign regarding safety at unmanned railway crossings.

[HC as a yankee bike rider](the bike was Yamaha RX100, Silver petrol tank)
AV - Rukiye bhai sahab rukiye zara saawdhani se... aagey train aa rahi hain
HC - Saawadhaaani... what saawadhaaani man??? Thand rakho thand ... Cool down .. Koi farak nahi padta hain.

[As a Bihari Matador driver] (matador was one of those which carried the F for Firodia in front)
HC - Ka hain??? Aur doosra kauno kaam dhaam naahi hain ka....Jab dekho bakar bakar bakar!!!
AV - Bhai sahab train .. blah blah blah
HC - Arrey hatiye saamne se .. kauno farak naahi padta hain

[As a Jaat bus driver]
The bus comes to a screeching halt....
HC - Akhaan phoot gayi ke??? Hor koi gaddi na mili maran ke liye. Ibbi ho jaata tera Happy Budday.
AV - Par bhaisahab wahan train aa rahi hain
HC - Manne na pakadni...aur tu jara sad (side) ne holey.. mar mara jayegaa .. late ho rahe hain late
AV - Bhaisahab train....
HC - Rey, koi farak na padta
HC on a potrait with a flower garland around his neck
HC - Farak to padta hain bhai!!

This ad made the line 'Ibbi ho jata tera happy budday' so famous that it was used left, right n center henceforth. The line 'Jab dekho Bakar Bakar Bakar' also became very popular.

Some smart people gave the logic that AV was repsonsible for getting the poor bus driver killed coz he engaged him in that conversation. Had he not stopped him the bus driver would have long been gone before the train came :) and hence came the revised moral of the Story - Dont stop n listen to anybody on a unmanned railway crossing. Just keep driving :P

UPDATE:
Another sarkari oldie (Thx Nishant once again)

Padhna likhna seekho oh mehnat karne walo
Padhna likhna seekho oh dhoop mein chalne walo
क ख ग घ को पहचानो
अलिफ को पढना सीखो
अ आ इ ई को
हथियार बना के लड़ना सीखो...
Padhna likhna seekho oh mehnat karne walo
Padhna likhna seekho oh dhoop mein chalne walo

Jingle Bells II

2007-04-19T08:58:00.001+02:00

Continuing with jingles... Installment Number II

Ravi Baswani & Archana Joglekar
Oye oye, Oye oye
Khujli karne waale
B-Tex lagale
B-Tex lagake tu apni
Daad khaaj khujli mita le
Oye Oye

Samay ka pahiya ghoome
Dil tere sang jhoome
Yeh jo apni preet hai
Yeh jo apna saath hai
Ik do din ki baat nahi
Barso purana saath hain
Dekhun jab bhi khoob lagey
Naya Naya tera roop lagey
HERO CYCLES

Badami badami mausam
Badami...sapnon ka sangam
Baalon mein resham aur sapnon ka mel
Bajaj Sevashram ka
ALMOND DROPS KESH TEL

Another Tel
Ghane mulaytam kaale baal
Khile khile matwale baal
DABUR AMLA KESH TEL
Resham ka ehsaas jage
Chehhra kitna khaas lage
Aap ke baal hon ya Sridevi ke baal,
saalon saal rakhe khayal
DABUR AMLA KESH TEL

The lovely(then) Sonali Bendre
Tum husn pari
Tum jan-e-jahan
Tum sabse haseen
Tum sabse jawan
Saundarya sabun NIRMA
Saundarya sabun NIRMA

I only rem the last 3 lines of this ad, maybe u can fill me if u rem
************************
Har khel mein safalta paate hain
Hardil mein rang laate hain
Ispat bhi hum banate hain
TATA STEEL

VIDEOCON WASHING MACHINE
It washes...it rinses
It even dries ur clothes
In just a few mintues...
You are ready for the show!

Nanhe munhe bacche teri mutthi mein kya hai
Muthi mein hain mera nanha munna RASNA
isme swad ka jaaaaduuu bhara hain
Packet Kholo, paani mein daalo
Paani mein ophir chini mil lo
Naya chota RASNA
3 rupaye mein aaye
6 glass banaya
I love u RASNA

Landlord(angrily)- Bhada naheen dena to makaan khaali kar do
PAN PASAND - Pan ka swad, gazab ki mithas
Bhada nahi dena hain to kyon na yeh makaan khaali kar do

Pan Pasand ad with Archana Joglekar(man I loved her eyes)
KYA!!! Shadi aur tumse, kabhi nahi.

Pan Pasand ad with Bharati Achrekar
Dekho mujhey gussa mar dilao, apni biwi pe hukum chalate ho

The ad which featured Sunil Gavaskar
Take the world in his strides... DINESH
I wonder if the brand is still alive

Humko pata hain jee
Aapko pata hain jee
Sabko pata hain jee
Barso se chahat apni
Yehi hain jee.. Apni bhi
swad bhare, shakti bhare
PARLE G

Vivek Vaswani - Sir, which shaving cream do you use?
Guy 1- GODREJ
VV - But why?
G1 - Great shave. Cologne fragrance. Wife loves it!
VV asks same questions to another guy
That fellow turns around, but turns out he has a beard "Me?"

Gudiya rani, badi seyani, paye hamesha plus
BOROPLUS BOROPLUS BOROPLUS

Yeh hain badhta baccha dekho kaisi kood lagaye
Yeh hain badhta baccha kapda chota hota jaye
I'm a COMPLAN Boy
I'm a COMPLAN Girl
(Shahid Kapoor & Ayesha Takia)

Someone crying in a boys dorm/hostel
Bakeman's kha
Chup ho ja
Ab tu zara muskura
Rona dhona bas kar bas
BAKEMAN"S GLUCOSE PLUS
I remember my Mom used to threaten me by saying "Agar kehna nahi mana to tere ko bhi hostel mein bhej dengey" and that used to scare the shit out of me :)

3 demons Kabz, Acidity, Sardard
3 gunshots Dhickkaun Dhickkaun Dhickkaun
Rakesh Bedi - Goliyon ka bhi asar nahi
Swami ji - Inka ilaaj goliyaan nahi, Ayurved hain
Dekho iske asar se Kabz, Acidity aur Sardard jaise rakshas kaise gayab hote hain
RB - KAYAM CHURAN
Bhavnagar wale Sheth Brothers ka KAYAM CHURAN

A boy in Superman like costume. The S being replaged by G
GLUCON D
Yeh jaan mein jaan daal de
Peete hi

Kya hai nam janab ka
Yeh hai little cooler VIDEOCON ka
Thandi hawa hai aah aah aah
Daam bhi kam hai wah wah wah
Har mausam me kaam ka
Bin awaaz araam ka
Ghar office ya dawakhana
Pahiyon pe chalke aasan hai aana

Hema Malini - Aaj bacchon ke kamre mein gulab CASPER
Esha & sis - Aur mummy ke chandan CASPER

School se aate dhoom machate
Ek pal nahi ruk paate (Thx Sakshi for correcting)
Ek hi baat hain doharaate
MAGGIE MAGGIE MAGGIE
Pal bhar mein taiyar
Khaane mein mazedaar

Salesman ho ya vyapaari
Manager ya karamchari
Sabhi ki tarakee ka kya hain source
RAPIDEX ENGLISH SPEAKING COURSE

And the lovely Preeti Sagar singing
Baagon ki taazgi laye
Packet band shuddhata aaye
Brooke Bond Red Label chai
Har bar tassali dilaye
BROOKE BOND RED LABEL chai
Packet band shuddhata aaye

A robot holding a tubelight like sword
Bijli ke bill mein katauti
Raushani mein badhotari
BAJAJ BULBS
Roshni ki duniya ka sartaj - BAJAJ

DHARA DHARA shudh DHARA
Asli tel hain dhara
Tamper proof hain dhara
Thode se hi paiso mein
Ho jata hain guzara
DHARA DHARA shudh DHARA

Kyon? Aakhir kyon behtar hai AEROSTAR HELMETS?
Zara sochiye

Yeh BULLET meri jaan, manzilon ka nishaan
Zindagi ek safar, chalna shaam-o-sehar
Iski raftaar ki, baat hai aur hi
Lambi Rahon pe yeh kya gazab ki chale
Raaste tai kare faasle tai kare
Yeh BULLET, yeh BULLET, yeh BULLET, yeh BULLET!!!

Laal Kaala Peela,
Gulabi Hara Neela
CLASSIC hai badhiya bristle wala
CLASSIC ka to andaaz hain nirala
Yahi hain yahi hain yahi to hain wooooooooooh

Girl1 - Excuse me kaunse college mein padhti ho tum
Girl2 - Collge aur main hehehehe
a small girl shouts to Girl2 - Mummyyyyyyyy
Meri Twacha se meri umr ka pata hi nahi chalta
Haldi aur chandan ke gun samaye SANTOOR
Jeevan ko khushhaal banaye SANTOOR SANTOOR
This 'meri twacha se ...' line became such a cliché later on

Girl(Ayesha Takia) - Daddy yeh aadha kya hain?
Daddy - Toothpaste aadha
CIBACA FLORIDE toothpaste.

Bachey budhey aur jawan
pehne Young India
Young India
YOUNG INDIA BANIYAN!!!

M-D-H, MDH
Kitchen king ho, ya garam masala
Chai ka masala, ya chane ka masala
Kasuri methi, ya deghi mirach
Asli masale, sach sach
M-D-H, MDH

Khana meri jaan meri jaan sunday ke sunday
Khana meri jaan meri jaan murgi ke ande.
Boiled khilaoon, omlette khilaoon, fried khilaoon...
Khilana meri jaan meri jaan sunday ke sunday
Sunday ho ya monday, roz khaiye ande
Fantastic!!!
National Egg Coordination Comittee

This was hilarious one.. dunno about the rest but i found it very amusing
Chehre se raajrani
Aur paero se naukarani
KRACK cream

Ik sawaal sab karein
rang tera kaise nikhra
HIMAMI GOLD TURMERIC SE
Haldi dhoop, taap se bachaye
Doodh kheera nariyal paani
Jadi bootiyaan rang nikhare
Aur kuch hi hafto mein rang tera
Nikhar nikhar jaaye
This ad featured Raveena Tandon
I think Sonali Bendre was also in another Fairness cream ad - FEM fairness cream but dont rem anything else else about the ad.

Hongey bachey swasth
Fale foolegaa bachpan
Inhe pilao
MUGLI GHUTTI PAANCH SAU PACHPAN
A-ha mithi mithi

Khilta bachpan
Rog se mukti
Isiliye Maa ki mamta ko pyari
Baal Jeevan Ghutti , haan
BAAL JEEVAN GHUTTTI

Another ad for a similar product but I don't rem the jingle, only the last lines
Dabur Janam ghutti
Yaani bachon ki tandurusti
which we distorted as - Dabur Janam Ghutti, kar de bachon ki chutti

And thx Anshul for reminding me this gem
Pyar hua ikraar hua
Pyar se phir kyu darta hain dil
Deluxe Nirodh
50 paise mein 3
(S, u know now, it wasnt a cheap candy :P)

And how can anyone forget this gem:-
Doodh doodh doodh doodh
Doodh hai wonderful
Pi sakte ho roz glassful
doodh doodh doodh doodh

Garmi me dalo doodh me ice
Doodh ban gaya very nice
Piyo daily once or twice
Mil jayega tasty surprise

Doodh doodh doodh doodh doodh, wonderful doodh,

Doodh hai must in every season
Piyo doodh for healthy reason
Rahoge phir fit and fine
Jiyoge past ninety-nine

Doodh doodh doodh doodh doodh, wonderful doodh,

Charon aur, mach gaya shor
Give me more, give me more
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme wonderful doodh
Piyo glassful doodh doodh doodh doodh

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2007-04-17T15:18:00.000+02:00

Is it what it appears to be??? Sallu checking out the participant's ass!!!!

Salman Khan at Yuva Shree 2007 in Goregaon, Mumbai.

I bet he got lotsa eye candy :P

Jingle Bells I

2007-04-16T11:14:00.001+02:00

Update: Keeping in mind the current nostalgic mood, I have cued the Jungle book track in the 'Now Playing' Section. Njoy!!!

My good friend Kusum wrote a post that somehow touched me in a very strange but likeable way. She wrote about some advertisements from the time long gone and forgotten, to some extent. When there was only one channel, and later two channels. Good old Doordarshan. I thought of writing about a few advertisements... E&OE (bhool chook leni deni)

Yeh bechaara kaam ke bojh ka maara hai.
Inhe chahiya Hamdard ka taanic,CINKARA

Pehla pyaar, laaye jeevan mein bahar, pehla pyaar
Jab tan se chuve, nayi baatein kahe
Pehla pyaar
JAI soap
tan man mehake aise pehla pyar ho jaise

Raju tumhare daat to motiyon jaise chamak rahe hain(which became a oft-repeated line whenever someone beamed a smile)
Kyu na ho masterji, main dabur ka laal dant manjan jo istemaal karta hun
Daanto ki kare hifazat moti sa chamkaye
DABUR LAAL DANTMANJAN se mujhda khil-khil jaaye

Washing powder NIRMA, Washing powder NIRMA
doodh si safedi nirma se aaye
Raaangeeen kapda bhi khilkhil jaaye
sabki pasand nirma
Washing powder NIRMA, Washing powder NIRMA
NIRMA

which was follwed later with a similar sounding ad when they launced the washing soap

NIRMA NIRMA
iske jhaaaaaag ne jaadu kar diya
paani mein rehkar bhi yeh kam galey
dheero kapde dhoye aur zyada chale
sabki pasand nirma
Washing powder NIRMA, Detergent tikiya NIRMA
NIRMA

Asrani- Aye bhai Raam laxman bulb dena
Viju Khote - Aisa koi bulb nahi aata
Asrani- Kaise dukaandaar hain ji aap. duniya bhar mein mashhuur, badhiya quality se ban hua bahut hi badhiya bulb hain woh
Viju K- LAXMAN SYLVANIA BULB chahiye aapko
Asrani- Haan haan wohi, lekin ek nahin cheh.
Viju K- Cheh?
Asrani- poore ghar ke badal daalungaa

Another ad about ECE bulbs-
Wife- Bhool na jaana! ECE bulb laana
Parsi Bawa - aye dikro bhoolto nahi. ECE bulb laaujo
Bhoolbe na nee sho bulb ECE bulb.
Ba ba ba ba bulb
Zyada de ujala deeno-din chalne wala
ECE bulb ECE tube

Girl on hoarding - Suno suno ae babuji ting ting ting ting kapde kyu hain maile dhule"
Dilip tahil- "maile??? maine to laundry mein dhulwayen the"
girl - "to kya ..zara thehro..farak dekh lo"
VIMAL washing powder

Another favorite
tan tan tan tan tan , tan tan tan , tan tan tan tan tan tan tan
Tandurusti ki raksha karta hain lifebuoy
Lifebuoy hain jahaaaaaaan, tandurusti hain wahan
LIIIIIIIFEBUOY
Couldnt stand the yucky smell of this soap.

Shopkeeper - Oho Deepkia ji, lijiye aapka sab saamaan taiyaar hain
Deepika- (Who played the role of Sita in Ramayan) Yeh nahi woh
S- Lekin aap to woh hamesha mehngi wali tikiya..
D- Leti thi. magar jab wahi quality, wahi safedi, wahi jhaag kam daamo mein mile, to koi yeh kyu le.. woh na le
S- maan gaye
D - Kise
S - aapki paarkhi nazar n NIRMA SUPER. Dono ko
Aapki paarki nazar line we used to much during teenage years among friends... no prizes for guessing kya parakhte the :P

Lift out of order. A young takes the stairs and starts panting soon after. An old guy takes over
Saath saal ke boodhe ya saath saal ke jawan???
Inki rag rag mein josh aur tandurusti ka raaz
ZANDU ka KESARI jEEVAN
Rug rug mein taakat jagaye.. takat jo jeena sikhaye

And while I am at Zandu
ZANDU Balm ZANDU Balm
peeda haari balm
sardi sar dard peeda ko
pal mein door kare
ZANDU Baaaaaaaalm, ZANDU Balm

Match ka aakhri gend, aur yeh laga sixer....Natraj phir champion
Bonded Lead wali NATRAJ pencil

Bhojan ke baad Swad
Hajme ki goli Swad
Ayurvedic tatwo se bani
hain yeh goli Swad
Aha!! SWAD SWAD SWAD

Hawkins ki seeti baji, khushboo hi khushboo udi
Mazedaar, lazzatdar khana hai taiyaar, aji khana hai taiyaar!
Murg Musallam, Tomato Soup, Matar Pulao, Maa ki Daal, Kheer aur Dum Aloooooooo
Har vyanjan swadisht banaaye, minton mein jhatpat pakaaye
HAWKINS HAWKINS HAWKINS Pressure Cooker!
I still use a Hawkins pressure cooker, brought from India, albeit only for boiling rice, daal & potatoes. No kheer, murg mussalam, dumalu etc :(

Yaad aa gaya mujhko guzraa zamana
khushboo bheeni bheeni. zayaka suhana
INDANA

yeh jawan dil yeh pal
laut ke na aayengey kal
rahon pe apni chalo
jo jee mein aaye karo
MAAAAAAAZA MAAAAAAAZA
One of my favorite drinks.

Bade pahiyon ki hain badi baat PANTHER PANTHER
in raston pe barso ka saath
bade bade pahiye hain iske badi hain iski baat
kaise bhi mushkil ho raste nahi koi dar ki baat...
(then they show panther next to a tractor... hehehe)
dekha iske bade pahiyon ka kamaal, yahan tak bhi le aaye

Kya hua..???
Bachhi ro rahi thi...
Woodwards de de. Wohi to mein tumhe deti thi jab tum choti thi....
WOODWARDS GRIPE WATER

Masti jab chaye
Aur kuch samajh na aaye
CRAX CRAX ho jaye!!
Don't tell me you neevr wore those rings in your fingers and then took the whole finger in your mouth to eat the Crax.

Kharish khujli ya ho daad
RINGCUTTER ko rakhna yaad
RINGCUTTER RINGCUTTER
Jagsonpal ka RINGCUTTER

Jo OK sabun se nahaye
kamal sa khil jaaye
some guy, realising in the bath - "Sachmuch kaafi bada hain"
OK nahane ka bada sabun!!!

We used OK soap when I was small and Mom used to cut the soap into two parts and gave it to us. Each one use their own soap. My sis, Kusum, used to always have ask for the part with K in it and just to piss her off I too asked for it which lead to sveral fights. :D

So jaa meri jaan, na kar maa ko pareshan
chodd tu rona ,bechain hona
apne baap par kar ehsaan
abhi na karna doosre ki baat
pyar ko chahiye KOHINOOR ka bharosemand saath
(This one had Raja bundela)

(Wild horse galloping)
MASTI ne banaya humein marzi ka maalik
jeevan ki baag-dor hamare haath mein aa gayi

More later...

PS: A similar nostalgic post about Radio jingles.

How to become a Serial KilleR?

2007-03-30T11:38:00.000+02:00

People People People!!
Stop your children from torturing animals right away, lest you want them to become sssserial killeRs. You heard me!!

”America mein yeh saabit bhi hua hain ki jab chota bacha hota hain, woh kisi animal pe torture karta hain, bada hone ke baad, woh ssserial killer ban jata hain.”

Thank you Ms. R for enlightening us with that pearl of wisdom. Meanwhile I will just clandestinely, renew my PETA membership.

It's Summertime

2007-03-29T10:24:00.000+02:00

Sakshi tagged me to write eight things that I love about summer.

1) Chuttiyaan(Holidays) - Each year as is the norm in most Indian schools we had 2 months of vacation and it used to be a time we all looked forward to. No schools, no homework, no getting up early, no tension.... Stress free life for 2 months (yeah all these are thew things that may lead to stress in the life of a school-goer)

2) Trips to the village - We used to go each year to our village(earlier) in the summer vacations. Slowly the trips started becoming less frequent but the summer time is still associated to the days spent in that remote village in Uttarakhand with no electrivity and nearest road about an hour away. Playing with cows buffaloes, bulls goats chicken we had 'em all.

3) Popsicles, Golas (desi-popsicle), Roohafza, Rasna, Neembu-pani, Aam-ras, Sattu, Lassi, Chanch - and all the summer food.

4) Extended Playtime - with lesser work to do we had increased playtime. Cricket and football but sometimes hockey too. Not to mention the post game talks and catching up on different things with frnds.

5) New Books - Dont u just love the smell of new books? I do. And Each year in the summer holidays I would skim through the whole english book, reading chapters like stories. even History chapters. waorking away math's syllabuis lietning to the radio.

6) SUPW/Science/Art Projects - Making scrap book of news in the vacations or making that burglar alarm for the science project, or something similar. The school authorities made sure we were occupied for sometime during the vacations.

7) The White Uniform - I loved the white summer uniform we had at school. It was so much better than the grey & blue of winters and no ties or the summer dress of many other schools (mehroon, green, khaki etc).

8) Weather - Denmark has really nasty winters and summer is such awaited with much gusto.
The two or three months of summer is a time when its one of the better places to be. No more covered under layers of clothes to protect from the cold n winds. Not to mention the eye candy :P
(This makes me wonder why the Danes would want to vacation and visit far flung places at the precise time when the weather here is at its best).

Random Updates

2007-03-22T12:05:00.000+01:00

OK Dahlings!!! Moi back, with nothing in particular to write. Just some random updates.

Tomorrow my project is getting released so I will have some time at my hand after that. I promise to complete ur tags Sakshi. Also, have some important work related things being decided over the weekend, but I'd rather not talk about it now. Tomorrow is also the all important match for India against the Lankans. If we win this, we are through. The calculations favor us then. Else it is TATA WC.

Now the most exciting news. M visiting Luxembourg & Brussels in the Easter vacations. HEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. 5-9th April. Just can't wait. The vacation has come in good time - just as the work pressure was surmounting. A perfect break I would say.

Whats new with you?

IT

2007-03-11T14:35:00.000+01:00

Madhur Bhandarkar is working on his next movie ‘Fashion’. No points for guessing what it will be about. In the filmmaker’s own words - “I have been attending all the fashion weeks; have been meeting various fashion designers, models and organisers. No one has been finalised. Once the script is ready, I will begin casting, but as of now, the script is what is most important.”

So guys, get ready to see something like wardrobe malfunction, gay designers, undercutting Czech/Hungarian/random-Easter-European-country models, underpaid workers in sweatshops, child labor n exploitation... get the drift?

Thank you so much Mr Bhandarkar, for making us acquainted with the nuisances of Mumbai bar girls, Page 3 reporters n socialites, Corporate honchos, Traffic signal workers n soon fashion world. Pardon my audacity, but may I suggest the theme of your next movie after fashion.

I T

Yes sir, u heard it right, Information Technology. Cmon, please enlighten the whole country about these ‘poster boys of matrimonial classifieds who are paid handsomely, perceived to be intelligent and travel abroad frequently, but in reality are not programmers, but mere coders’. Let each and every prospective father-in-law know that the nincompoop he plans for his bundle-of-joy is a mere 'smart assembly line worker'.

Please let the countrymen know that the so-called software engineers are doing nothing but cut-copy-paste and producing kilo lines of code day after day in a single repeatable fashion. Tell them how the overzealous managers estimate 5 days of work by 4 people into a 3 day work by 2 people and we spineless creatures won’t say a word just coz they pay us well. Tell them that it requires an IQ only higher than a plant to fix the errors after market close so that all settlements can be done n trade can resume the next day at NSE/BSE. Tell them that scanning n monitoring a banking rollout night after night is something which your neighborhood watchman can very well do with some basic computer training. Tell them how we are also responsible for the sky-rocketing real estate prices.

Tell them how we salivate when we hear the words onsite. How dollars are all we think when we are awake or asleep, whereas other professionals traveling abroad are doing it for a) their love for America/any-other-country b) to help the citizens of that country in every way possible c) to make the population and space density a little less in India d) other charitable reasons.

Please , oh please, Mr Bhandarkar, this is something you must do to stop the millions of collegians who dream to be an IT professional.

IMAGINI-tive

2007-03-10T19:43:00.000+01:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Venice, Italy

2007-02-25T22:27:00.000+01:00

Venice, or Venezia to the Italians, is famous for its canals and is one of the most well preserved cities in Europe. There are about 150 canals, splitting up nearly 120 islands, all connected by about 400 bridges. There are no cars in Venice. Instead, water taxis, waterbuses, waterambulance(high speed waterboats) and the world-famous gondolas sweep along its myriad of canals.

Arriving in Venice at night, we headed straight for our hotel which was in Maestre. Maestre can be considered a suburb of Venice. This is the penultimate stop for all trains heading for Venice. Hotel rates here are a lot less and it takes only 1 Euro and 10 minutes to hop on to any train and reach Venice.

We reached the Venice central station from where we got a €12 pass to travel all day in the water buses. The water bus/taxi or gondola are the only way to travel in Venice else you gotta walk. From the central station we tool a water bus and reached our first stop – Piazza de San Marco. Napoleon called the Piazza "the finest drawing room in Europe". It is what Times Square is to New York n Trafalgar Square is to London. The place is literally covered with tourist n pigeons.

(Pic: http://www.jsu.edu/news/july_dec2004/romano-venice2.html)

St Mark’s Square originated from the 9th century as a small area in front of St Mark’s Basilica. It was enlarged in the 12th century to its present size and shape. The Procuraties are three connected building on the eastern side of the square. It used to house the Venetian offices earlier but now there are cafes, museums, souvenir shops there. In the autumn months, the tide rises n the square resembles a lake.

St Mark’s Basilica (Basilica de San Marco) was built in 832 AD and is renowned for it’s opulent design, gilded Byzantine mosaics, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power 11th century onwards. Reportedly, the church had in fact been based on two churches from Constantinople, now Istanbul. The horses that you see in the pic are ‘Horses of St Mark’. They are replicas of the sculptures plundered from the Hippodrome of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.
The square’s tallest structure is St Mark’s Campanile. Built as a bell tower for the basilica, it actually collapsed a few times before being totally rebuilt in 1902. The common feature to both the basilica and the tower were the insanely long queues. Well that’s one thing which u gotta face when u are traveling in peak tourist season. Not to mention the problems in finding accommodation. One advice to travelers would be to always get a confirmed booking before embarking on a travel to any such popular tourist destination. You just can’t walk into a hotel and get a room.
Opposite the Campanile, and adjoinig St Mark’s Basilica is the Doge’s Palace. Built between the 14th and 15th centuries, the palace was the official residence of the Doge (Chief Magistrate or Leader of the Republic of Venice). Very ornately designed marble exterior.
Just take a stroll around the place and are sure to witness someone posing in a mask. The wearings of masks by Venetians was def one of the mankind’s most eccentric practices. Venice at a time was perhaps the most flourishing state in Europe and the inhabitants had a very high standard of living. With a level of social wealth unequaled since, the citizens of Venice developed a unique culture - one in which the concealing of the identity in daily life became paramount to daily activity. Part of the secrecy was pragmatic: there were things to do, people to see, and perhaps you might not want others to know what deals you were cutting. After all, the city is relatively small. Don’t return from Venice without one as a souvenir.
The Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) is a bridge spanning the Grand Canal. It is the oldest bridge across the canal and probably the most famous in the city. The current structure was built in just three years, between 1588 and 1591, as a permanent replacement for the boat bridge and three wooden bridges that had spanned the Grand Canal at various times since the 12th century.

Gondolas were for centuries the chief means of transportation within Venice. Though now-a-days its mostly used by the tourists. A 40 minute ride will set u back by €100. What the hell!! You don’t come to Venice everyday. But the trip turned out to be quite a disappointment. The gondolier didn’t sing any song, the small canals were kinda stinking and although he did point out Casanova’s house and a couple of other details I was rather expecting more.

For me the most interesting time in Venice was spent roaming around in the streets n checking out the souvenir shops which house some of the most beautiful murano glass work. The glass workers were banished to the island of Murano centuries ago because of the fire risk to Venice.

Venice is a walker's paradise. Its small, easy to cover but the maps can be a bit confusing and you could get lost. But there’s only so much ground to get lost. Narrow lanes, by-lanes and bridges, some no longer than 12 feet, connecting them. Yet again one comes across all the big fashion labels n ofcourse Ferrari. I got a glass bottle with a gondola blown into it from the side wall, complete with a gondolier.

At sunset the Venetian skyline is a scene to watch and behold. No wonder Claude Monet was inspired to paint ‘Sunset in Venice’.

Rialto Bridge at night

Venice was an unforgettable experience. Surreal, dream-like, just like an altered state of reality. Walking down the streets that don’t lead to anywhere in particular. The water flowing beneath your feet quietly, noisy tourists at places and the much needed silence at some. Armed with the map and the anxiety the traveler continues. Halts for a while and then resumes.

Would recommend Italy to each and everyone. I’ll be back with some more travel experiences sometime later this year. As of now, I don’t know what I will feed my wanderlust, but will keep u guys posted.

PS: I need a new backpack.

Pisa, Italy

2007-02-22T23:01:00.000+01:00

The next morning left for Pisa. The day being 25th Dec the hotel mngr packed some Xmas cake for us. Really nice fellow, spoke perfect english and helped us a lot in getting the missing luggage from Milan to Rome. Anyways the train journey to Pisa was about 3 1/2 hours and most of the travellers were desis. True to the tradition I again met people from my company. I have met people from my company everytime I have vacationed in Europe. I would say that go to any popular tourist spot in Xmas or Eatser Holidays n just shout “My company’s name”, chances are you will see few familiar Indian faces. And this time I met an old mate who was earlier in the same project in aalborg, but is now in Amsterdam(Some people are lucky). The train journey from Rome, Lazzio to Pisa, Tuscany is especially very enjoyable as the train runs along the sea for a large part of the journey and you get to enjoy the sights of magnificent villas, the vineyards n the Italian riviera.
Hopping off at the Pisa Central station we deposited our bags at the locker room and headed off to the tower. The walk (Yes, I love walking) from station to the tower is a leisurely 20 mins max. Just walk straight from the station. Chances are that there will be more people walking in the same direction. The walk would lead you across the river Arno, sopme old quarters of the city with pretty aged buildings n narrow lanes at times.

It was a sunny day and the Torre pendente di Pisa (Leaning Tower of Pisa) was visible in its full glory, fighting a battle with gravity. Breathtaking. It is situated behind the Cathedral and it is the third structure in Pisa' s Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles). Aerial view of the entire Campo dei Miracoli. e other two being the Duomo n the Baptistery. The Leaning Tower is infact just the bell tower to the Duomo, but def much more famous. The Tower stands 58.36 mtrs tall. The construction commenced on 9th August 1173 and is spread over two centuries. Even before it was complete the inclination was evident and corrective measures have been taken from time to time. The tower was closed in 1990 because of the danger posed by the continuing tilt, but reopened in 2001.

Galileo is said to have proven that objects of different weights drop at the same rate by dropping a cannon ball and a wooden ball from the top of the Leaning Tower. For a fees of €15 you can take a ½ hr trip inside the tower, a must do. A batch of 30 or so people are allowed in at a time, so make sure u reach the tower in time. The 294 narrow, winding n foot-worn steps lead you to the three levels where you can stop in the tower. The view from top is amazing. And so is standing there getting urself clicked.

The campus has huge sprawling gardens, and lot of people r there just enjoying the sun. Next to the tower is the Duomo, the medieval cathedral entitled to St. Mary. The exterior façade is white n colored marble, huge bronze doors. Notice (on the top) the statue of Madonna with Child and the four evangelists Mathew, Mark, Luke & John. Inside there are frescos on the dome and an awesome mosaic in the apse - Christ in Majesty.

Midway down the nave hangs a special bronze lamp. It is commonly known as Galilieo's lamp, since it is believed that the great scientist Galileo Galilei figured out the law of the pendulum by observing the lamp as it swung back and forth. The inside also has some very beautiful stained-glass works.

Opposite to the duomo is The Baptistery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. An impressive buiding. Some more time was spent in the lawns eating pizza hamburgers n sipping the good ol Heineken. And clicking the age old clichéd pose of pushing n supporting the tower.

Pisa is just an hour away from Florence by road or rail, so it might be a good idea to include the same in your travel iternary. I wasn’t as thoughtful while planning the journey.

For people who r interested in visiting other things in Pisa there is Orto botanico di Pisa, a botanical garden operated by the University of Pisa, Oldest Botanical garden in Europe.

If u r interested in reading a much finer travelogue of Pisa then read this. Mark Twain’s - The Innocents Abroad.

Italia Rome V

2007-02-11T17:52:00.000+01:00

Last post on Rome… (I know my dear readers, yes both of you, want me to end this Rome thing which has stretched a bit too much I guess)

From Roman Forum moved onto The Pantheon, which is arguably the best preserved ancient building in Rome, coz of its constant use thru the ages. Standing in front of this structure I felt both intimidated and overhwelmed. Due to the size, structure, symmetry and the fact that something made 2000 yrs ago stood so marvellously, withstanding the test of time.

The original Pantheon was built in 27 BC-25 BC by Caesar Augustus’ general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to to commemorate the Victory of Actium over Antony and Cleopatra. His name is inscribed on the portico of the building. M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT - Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, during his third consulate, built this. Now as Julius Caesar lends his name to the Cesarean section, Agrippa lends his name to Agrippated Birth - he was born feet first.

The Pantheon was intended as a temple to all the Gods. During its two centuries as a functioning temple, statues of gods filled the niches, animals were sacrificed and burned in the center; the smoke escaped through the only means of light, the Oculus. Now I overheard some guide telling his troupe that when it rains no water enters the Pantheon via the Oculus which has a 27 feet diameter. One of those things to which I would have to “see it to believe it”. Sadly it didn’t rain that day & I cant give a word on that.

After Christianity replaced paganism in Rome, the Pantheon was abandoned for a time until the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave it to Pope Boniface IV. In 609 AD, the Pantheon was consecrated as a Christian church.The main altar of the church is opposite the entrance, and the original 7th-century icon of the Madonna and Child can be seen above it. The interior is very rich and most statues inside are in pretty good shape. In the piazza outside the Pantheon is a lovely fountain topped by an ancient Egyptian obelisk.
Outside almost all tourist attraction in Rome, you will find people dressed as Galdiators ready to pose with you for a small fee. Do it by all means if u r interested. The light was dwindling by the time we left the pantheon and I had decided earlier that I would visit the Colosseum at night when it would be all lighted and beautiful. Some of the people were not so excited by the idea and so me n S went to the Colosseum. Caught a bus and realised only after boarding the bus that tickets were not sold in the bus. You had to buy them before boarding. Travelling without ticket in Rome public transport was certainly not on my list of must-dos, but now that it happened m glad :P

Travelling halfway across the city to visit the Colosseum at night was worth evry nickle i spent. Actually I didnt spend any. Doesn't it look awesome?

The other set of people who headed back to the hotel experienced an unsucessful attempt of pickpocketing on them. Rome like any other city has its share of crime. As a traveller who’s there for a small time, one should be careful and try not to get involved in any unpleasant incident. A theft, fight or loss of belonging is not why one would like to remember Rome.

Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II

Throughout Rome you will see fountains or water sprouting from the mouth of a lion/elephant kinda thing. More often than not the water is safe to drink, but don’t take chances. Drink it only if u see locals drinking it. Another thing which is quite common is that every now and then you will run into something which is historical. There's history in every nook n corner of this city. One cannot possibly know about everything but I try to capture the image n go back n read about it later.

The main mode of travel in Rome was walking. Believe me, this is the best way to explore. Walking thru the roads n streets, one notices not only the shops, buildings, houses from much closer quarters but also the people going/returning from work, people idling on the sidewalks, street vendors, the billboards, the signs and many such things.

The number of designer shops per square kilometer must be the highest in Rome. Almost all big names in fashion seem to be present here. Most of them are from here. And you will also find fakes being sold at every street. An authentic looking designer Gucci/Fendi/Prada handbag for as less as €25. €15 if u bargain a bit. Though my fav shops were the number of pizza outlets in the city. Almost every second street will have one. While covering the city I would often hop into one of these and come out with a slice of pizza. In most such shops they sell pizza by the weight of the slice you want. And it comes out to something between €2 - €4. Allows you to sample a lot. There’s a huge difference in the way pizza is eaten elsewhere n Italy. Here most of the pizzas are veg, with generous toppings made of all kinds of vegetables and the freshest ingredients. I did not find a single place that had chicken pizza but the ham more than made up for it. *slurp*

They say there’s a city named Rome on every continent (I find it hard to believe..errr Antarctica??). I bet none of them is like this. 2 days in Rome slipped right past me and it was time to move on to the next destination.

Another dream come true!!

Italia Rome - IV

2007-02-04T17:29:00.000+01:00

Next morning, time to hit one of the timeless wonders of the world – The Colosseum – perhaps the most famous and enduring monuments of the culture and cruelty of the ancient Romans.
The construction started in 72 AD under the rule of the Emperor Vespasian of the Favian dynasty and hence was originally named Flavian Amphitheater. The construction was finally completed in 80 AD under Emperor Titus. It got the name Colosseum thanx to the colossal statue of Emperor Nero next to it - Statuas del Gigante Nerone. (The reconstruction of Colosseum with the Nero's Statue).

This huge amphitheater could hold about 60000 people who could enter through any of the 80 doors and occupy seats according to their social status. The inauguration of the Colosseum was marked with 100 days of games. The fights took place in the sandy arena. (Arena is the latin word for sand). It was used until 6th century after which it was abandoned till the middle ages. Amongst the beast fights and jugglers and magicians the most popular event was the the gladiatorial events (munera). ’Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant’ – (Hail Ceaser, We who are about to die salute you.) that’s what the gladiators used to say before starting the fight. The gladiators who fought were not only slaves and prisoners of wars but also free men who fought for wealth and fame. In view of their popularity these games were often supported by politicians seeking public support. The last gladiatorial game in the Colosseum is recorded in AD 438, when the games were abolished by the Emperor Valentinian III.
For €11 you can get an be a witness to this great historical wonder. Be there preferably early coz the crowds tend to swell with time.

Just outside the Colosseum is the Arco di Constantino. This arch was built after Emperor Constantin's victory on October 28 in 312AD against Massenzio in the Milvio Bridge battle.
From Colosseum we moved on next to the Roman Forum. The Forum is located in a valley that is between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill. It originally was a marsh, but the Romans drained the area and turned it into a center of political and social activity. The Forum was the marketplace of Rome and also the business district and civic center. It was expanded to include temples, a senate house and law courts. Much of the forum has been destroyed. Columns and stone blocks are all that remain of some temples.

The Arch of Titus (Arcus Titi) is a triumphal arch that commemorates the victory of the emperors Vespasian and Titus in Judea in 70 AD, which lead to the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish temple there. The inscription in Roman square capitals reads:
SENATVS POPVLVSQVE·ROMANVS DIVO·TITO·DIVI·VESPASIANI·F(ILIO) VESPASIANO·AVGVSTO
which means - "The Senate and People of Rome (dedicate this) to the divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the divine Vespasian."

The Basilica of Constantine (Basilica Constantini) was begun by Maxentius in 306-310 and completed by Constantine in 312-337. Today we can see three huge vaults from the original building. The basilica design later became a model for Christian architecture. For the Romans it was a center of justice and civic affairs.

Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (Templum Antonini et Faustinae). When the wife of emperor Antoninus Pius died in A.D. 141, he had this temple constructed in her honor, and twenty years later at his own death, the temple was rededicated to them both.

Temple of Castor and Pollux (Templum Castoris) was erected in honor of Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Jupiter. Only three massive columns remain.

Temple of Saturn (Templum Saturni) - Legend has it that an altar was built at the foot of the Capitoline Hill for Saturn and that a temple was erected on the same site. In early times, the grateful inhabitants brought their wealth, grain, wool, and oil, to offer the first fruits to the god who had blest them, and to have him guard the remainder of their treasure.

Arch of Septimius Severus (Arcus Septimii Serveri)- This triumphal arch was erected in 203 A.D. to commemorate the Roman victory over the Parthians in honor of the Emperor Septimius Severus and his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Reportedly Napolean was so impressed by the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Arch of Titus, that he ordered his architects to reproduce these in Paris; the result is the Arc du Triomphe de Carrousel (a life-size imitation of the Arch of Septimius Severus) and the more famous Arc du Triomphe, which maintains the exact proportions of the Arch of Titus, though several times larger.

On top of the capitole hills after a long flight of steps is the La Lupa Capitolina. The legend says that Romulus and Remus were nursed by a She-Wolf. Romulus becoming the first king and founder of Rome!!

Italia Rome - III

2007-01-28T18:31:00.000+01:00

Left the Vatican to explore the city further, but just before that we caught a bite to eat at one of the roadside vans which you will find near every tourist spot. Now the van was being run by Bangladeshi brothers. Infact everywhere in Rome, you will see lot of Bangladeshi guys selling stuff on the street, managing souvenir shops and other things. Since my friend is a Bengali he managed some cool discounts and some handy travel tips throughout our stay in Rome.

From Vatican we started walking towards out next destination, the Spanish Steps. En route we came across Castel Sant'Angelo. The Mausoleum of Hadrian, popularly known as Castel Sant'Angelo, initially was commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building spent over a thousand years as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.

It was in the late 16th century that the French king comissioned the building of the steps to reach the Trinità dei Monti church, which is one of the two french national churches in rome(other one being San Luigi dei Francesi). However the steps were finally built between the 1723 -1726. Now the square below was called Piazza di Spangna hence the steps got the name Spanish Steps. In the early 19th century Keats & Shelley lived and worked here. During that time so many English were there that it was nicknamed ‘The English Ghetto’. The house right to the steps where Keats died in 1821 now houses the Keats Shelley Museum.

In the middle of the square you see a fountain which was comissioned by Pope Urban VIII to commemorate a destructive flood in Tiber around 1600. After the water receeded the boat was found at the spot. La Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Boat). It was the last work of architect Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
On the steps and around the fountain a lot of people assemble just to laze around, catch a breath or just do nothing. You may also see a lot of locals there. At the top of the steps you will find the church and lots of artists displaying their work. The street which leads you to the steps is lined on both sides by some of the best names in fashion - D&G, Versace, Gucci et al and you may also find a line outside each such shop for entry.

From Spanish Steps we headed to Fontana di Trevi. Probably one of the most famous fountains in the world. Some of you readers might recall the famous scene from Federico Fellini’s movie La Dolce Vita, with Swedish actress Anita Ekberg in the fountain. One of the most celebrated images from cinema.

(Img Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/)

The fountain is located at the intersection of three roads hence namedtre-vi(a). Work started in 1732 under architect Nicola Salvi and got completed in 1762. Giuseppe Pannini finished the work after Salvi’s death in 1751.

On top of the fountain is the coat of arms of Pope Clement XII, who began work on the fountain. In the center is the magnificent figure of Oceanus(Neptune), son of the Sky and the Earth, which dominates everything in its regality. He is the power of water, impressive in his capacity to give life and at the samer time destroy it. He advaces in a chariot in the form of a shell. His chariot is pulled to two sea horses accompanied by tritons. The horse on the left advances violently symbolizing the sea in tempest, indicative of its violent, destructive nature. While the horse on the right advances calmly representing the calm state of the waters, useful and life giving. The two niches at the sides of Oceanus are the allegoric statues of Fertility(left) and Healthiness(right).

The foutain looks most impressive during night when the sculptures n the water is floodlit. A traditional legend says that if a visitor throws a coin into the fountain, he is ensured a return to Rome. Two coins will ensure a marriage will occur soon, while three coins leads to a divorce. However you need to throw the coins in a special way. Turn your back to the fountain n throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder.

After Trevi it was time to head back and we made a walk till our hotel stopping shortly in between at the Piazza della Republica. The Fountain of the Naiads sits in the center. Naiads are the nymphs who protect rivers, lakes, oceans and the underground. Although finished in 1900, the fountain was not turned on until a year later because the female statues were considered by many people too provocative for the times.

Italia Rome - II

2007-01-14T17:45:00.000+01:00

Moving on from where we left. After Vatican Museums n Sistine Chapel it was time to visit Basilica di San Pietro (St Peter’s Basilica). The first thing you’ll notice about it is that it’s HUGE. The basilica is built in high renaissance and baroque style & covers an area of 5.7 acres and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. St. Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, was allegedly buried here in A.D. 64 near the site of his execution, and in 324 Constantine commissioned a basilica to be built over Peter's tomb. The current Basilica’s construction began on April 18, 1506 and was completed in 1626. because of such a lengthy contruction the chief architect position was held by many artists. The first was Donato Bramante. When he died great painters n artists like Raphael and Michelangelo took over and finally Carlo Maderno finished the work.

On the front façade of the basilica you can see the words inscribed -
IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII (In honor of the prince of apostles; Paul V Borghese, pope, in the year 1612 and the seventh year of his pontificate).

For a long time it was the world's biggest church, but in 2000 it was dethroned by Basilica of Our Lady of Peace situated in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire. This was built as a clone of St Peter's Basilica and has aroused much international controversy, for the lavish building glittering with Italian marble sits in the middle of an impoverished African city where only a minority of homes have running water and adequate sanitation, and the cost of the basilica doubled the national debt.

St. Peter's has a strict dress code: no shorts, no skirts above the knee, and no bare shoulders. You will not be let in if you don't come dressed appropriately. And ladies if you find the Swiss guards cute then don’t bother coz they have to be single, devout Christians to qualify for the job.

As you enter the basilica the grandeur and beauty of the interiors hits you in the face. There are more statues, monuments and memorials than I can remember. Immediately on the right aisle is one of the Vatican's greatest treasures: Michelangelo's Pietà, depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ. This is considered by some to be one of Michelangelo's greatest works of art, completed when he was 24 years old in 1499 AD. It is the only work signed by Michelangelo (on a diagonal ribbon carved across Mary's breast - MICHAELA[N]GELUS BONAROTUS FLORENTIN[US] FACIEBAT - Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this). Its noteworthy that, Michelangelo makes Mary and Christ appear to be about the same age. Mary has youthful features, although she would've been middle-aged at the time of the Crucifixion. Michelangelo portrayed her as a young woman to convey her purity and chaste character. An act of vandalism on May 21, 1972, after which the Pietà, is secured behind reinforced bulletproof glass.

Over the main altar stands a 30 metres (98 ft) tall baldachin held by four immense pillars, all designed by Bernini between 1624 and 1632. The legendary location of the burial place of St. Peter after his crucifixion is reportedly under the massive baldachin.

The Basilica’s Dome is also a dominant feature of the Roman skyline. The paraboloid dome is a double layered structure with a spiral stair case between the outside and inside layers of the dome is 42.3 metres in interior diameter, rising to 120 metres (394 ft) above the floor.

For a fees of €7 you can take an elevator and then climb to the top of the dome. Def worth a visit believe me. I especially enjoyed the part where u walk between the narrow space between the outer and inner shell of the dome. The space is very less, hardly 2 feet at some of the narrowest points and almost claustrophobic.

From the dome you get a magnificient view of the Piazza di San Pietro (St Peters Square). The open space before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing. At the center of the oval stands an Egyptian obelisk of red granite, forty meters tall to the cross on its top and the surrounding Colonnade which has 284 columns made in classic Baroque style.

Italia Rome - I

2007-01-04T23:17:00.000+01:00

6 days, 20 hours of travel, 3 missing bags, 2 wonders of the Medieval world, several new kinds of pizzas and dozens of lingering moments. That's how I would sum up the trip to Italy.

Italy has been a place which has captured the imagination of many a people. Some of the world's most famous monuments. (If u haven't heard about the Colosseum, u've probably been living under a rock...go n watch Gladiator for God sake). There were many things in my mind when I was planning the trip and along with those a secret fear… Will it be as beautiful as I expect it to be?? It would be a shame to come out of it thinking 'it's good but I expected more' (I will enlist one such experience in Italy later).

Now, u might have heard many people say that Italy is a lot like India. We knew how right they were when the flight landed in Milan without the check-in luggage. I as a thumb rule travel light when on vacation and don't check-in anything for intra Europe travels. But the rest of the people weren't so lucky. What resulted was an awefully long wait for the luggage and an even longer in the line to register missing bags. Apparently half the flight's luggage was missing. The next thing we did was catch a shuttle to reach the city center using the shuttle bus which plies every 20 mins or so (This is the cheapest way to reach the city center. Ticket €5). Malpensa airport is a mere 48 kms from the city center so the shuttle took another hour. All this ensured that we just had time to grab a bite at the Milan central railway station and board the train for Rome. All the plans to see the Duomo di Milano went down the drain. Ah, what a beginning!!!

The better part of the journey was spent sleeping so I won't comment on how beautiful the countryside was. 4 hrs and 45 mins later we were in Rome Central station. The delay can be attributed to Tren Italia. Did I hear someone say another similarity? :) Anyways we decided to cool off our heels that night and attack Rome the following morning. The missing baggage, the wait n the effort to explain the Italian lady at the reception, who spoke no english, that we were expecting luggage the next day took its toll I guess.

The next morning after a hearty Italia breakfast of croissants, butter, cheese, honey and a lovely cappucino we were off. First up - Musei Vaticani & Cappella Sistina. Here lie some of Michelangelo's greatest works like The Last Judgement and Histories of the Genesis (which adorns the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel).

The Vatican Museums displays work from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Julius II founded the museums in the 16th century. It consists of the Gregorian Egyptian Museum, Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Rooms, Pinacoteca and the Ethnological Missionary Museum, the most famous being of course the Sistine Chapel. Tickets cost €12 per head. The Sistine Chapel is such an important and popular historic place that it has a swarm of people in it. Its fame rests on its architecture, which evokes the Temple of the Old Testament, its decoration, frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo whose ceiling is legendary, and its purpose as a site of papal religious and functionary activity, notably the conclave, at which a new Pope is selected.

(Photo source: http://academics.skidmore.edu/weblogs/students/j_joyce/the%20roof%20of%20the%20sistine.jpg)

The Sistine Chapel is named after Pope Sixtus IV and was built at the end of the 16th century. His nephew Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the chapel. From 1508 -1512 he painted the ceiling all the time lying on his back. His paintings show the scenes from the old n new testament. Instead of the 12 figures of the apostles that the Pope had suggested Michelangelo ended up painting more than 3000. The ceiling was unveiled on October 31, 1512, and the whole world came running to see what Michelangelo had done and certainly it was such to make everyone speechless with astonishment. Central to the ceiling are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis of which the Creation of Adam is the best known. God is depicted as a bearded old man with His arm wrapped around a female figure, normally interpreted as Eve, who is not yet created and waits in heaven to be given an earthly form. God's right arm is outstretched to impart the spark of life from his own finger into that of Adam, whose left arm is extended in a pose mirroring God's. The ceiling can be better understood with the help of the below diagram.

(Pic source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/Sistine_Chapel_Ceiling_diagram_A1.PNG)

Dr. Frank Lynn Meshberger of St. John's Medical Center in Anderson, Indiana believes that the famous 'Creation of Adam' panel contains an image that has been misunderstood for half a millenium - a brain that symbolizes God bestowing intellect on man.(more...)

More than 20 years later he was asked to paint The Last Judgement. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. It took 5 years to complete. The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. When it was unveiled in 1541, the Pope Paul III’s MC, Biagio da Cesena, was upset to see a caricature of himself in the painting. During the five years of work this guy had bothered Michelangelo so much that he decided to paint him in the caricature of Minos – Judge of the underworld. (The guy with the snake around him in the bottom right corner). In the painting Michelangelo shows himself as a limp skin held by St Bartholomew near the cloud (The saint is just near the left foot of Christ).

(Photo source: http://vr.theatre.ntu.edu.tw/fineart/painter-wt/michelangelo/michelangelo-1534x.jpg)

From 1981-94 the Chapel was restored. This work was sponsored by a Japanese TV channel, Nippon TV, in return for the exclusive media rights for the ceiling.
Video of the Chapel:-

2006-12-31T01:48:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow, 2006 will be history. Another year which flew by and we are more close to 2007 than we were ever before. Hope 2007 is a good year for us all.
God Bless!!!

PS: Next up ….the Italy trip posts n pics.

Random Post

2006-11-26T14:45:00.000+01:00

Well don’t have anything worthwhile to write, so I will just fill in with some mambo-jambo.

Terribly busy with work these days, being allocated in more than 3 projects at the same time, which ensures that the bug list I have, is never small. Winters setting in and the whole place looks so depressing with rains dripping every now n then, the low temperatures coupled with windy conditions. I don’t mind the chill but no windy wet chill .. puhleeeeeeez. And it snowed… on 1st Nov.. Now, where on earth does it snow on 1st Nov???? Wait.. don’t even try to answer that.. it’s a rhetoric question.

I am sick n tired of, what I initially enjoyed, Cooking. Every evening I return home and open the fridge and try to think of what I should be having for dinner. How I wish there was some pill which you could pop and no hunger or thirst for the next 24 hours. End of problems.

Let me end the post on a positive note. Come X'mas n I am off to Italy for a 6 day vacation… Rome, Venice, Pisa n Milan. The one thing I love about my job here is, how it allows me two vacations a year to some beautiful locations in Europe.

The Countdown Tag

2006-11-19T19:03:00.000+01:00

Sakshi tagged me to do this tag.
BTW, Deepti m still woprking on ur tag. It will be up sometime soon :)

10 Favorites:
Favorite Season: Spring – isnt everything so beautiful in spring?
Favorite Sport: Cricket, we’re Indian afterall.
Favorite Time: Late evening, just like to unwind after work n relax
Favorite Month: March, its niether too hot nor too cold.
Favorite Actor: Too long a list to be out here.
Favorite Actress: See above point.
Favorite Ice Cream: Chocolate.
Favorite Food: Indian, but anything that tastes good is more than welcome.
Favorite Drink: Beer.
Favorite Place: Home :)

9 Currents:
Current Feeling: Relaxed. Two days of doing nothing has this effect.
Current O/S: Windows XP Home Edition
Current Windows Open: Microsoft Word (where I’m typing this) and Winamp.
Current Drink: Water
Current Time: 03.19 p.m. CET
Current Mobile(s) Used: Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6610
Current Show on TV: Some random movie on the idiot box. Don’t know which one. Usually the telly is on mute.
Current Thought: I need to finish this soon n go out n buy a few things? The aatta is also finishing, will it last a week?
Current Cloths: Trackpants n Tee.

8 Firsts:
First Nickname: Lalli – only my family calls me by that name and I prefer to keep it that way.
First Kiss: was so special.
First Crush: When I was 17(late bloomer yeah), a girl in my tution classes.
First Computer: Assembled one, Dec 2003.
First Vehicle I drove: Bajaj Priya… Took it straight in the side drains :)
First Job: At my dad;s canteen as waiter/server/cook/dish washer/cashier.
First Movie I watched: No idea which was the first…
First Pet: I once bought 10 fishes. 2 died on the 2nd day, 2 on the 3rd, 2 on the 4th n 2 on the 5th, the remaining 2 lasted about three months.
First Shave: hmmmm I was 15 and even though I didn’t have a moustache or beard worth shaving.

7 Lasts:
Last Chai (Tea) : at 1 pm.
Last Movie: Vivah(If u r a diabetic stay away from it.. m serious.. could prove prove fatal)
Last Time I Drove: No idea.
Last Time Shaved: Friday morning.
Last Web Site Visited: http://games.yahoo.com/pl
Last Software Installed: WinRAR
Last Pill I Had: Viagra … just kidding.. I hate taking medicines. No idea when was the last time I popped a pill.

6 Have You Evers:
Have You Ever Broken the Law: Yeah. Paid for it ... in cash.
Have You Ever Been Drunk: Yup .. a few times.
Have You Ever Climbed a Tree: Too many as a kid and even now. Lat one was a couple of months ago.
Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: no 
Have You Ever Been in the Middle/Close to Gunfire or Bomb Blast: No 
Have You Ever Broken Anyone’s Heart: Yes 

5 Things:
Things You Can Hear Right Now: The song on winamp, computer keyboard and someone with whom I am talking on Gtalk right now, vehicles outside and the clothes spinning in the washing machine.
Things on Your Computer Table: Computer Table ??? what's that. A Laptop, a digital camera, few CDs, toothpicks, a nailcutter, an ashtray, Hajmola bottle, earphones, a USB drive, Pens, a Notebook, papers, a Swissknife, chewing gum, a hankerchief, a water bottle, a lighter, cigarettes.
Things on Your Bed: 2 pillows, my quilt, my phones and an alarm clock.
Things You Ate Today: Biscuits.
Things in Mind: I need to call home, what will I eat for dinner tonite, tomorrow I will get the design approval for my project, am I hungry?.

4 Places You Have Been Today:
Kitchen
Toilet
Bedroom
Living Room
(Havent ventured out today)

3 People You Can Tell Anything To:
I don’t tell ‘anything to’ to anyone.

2 Choices:
Black or White: Black.
Hot or Cold: Hot

1 Thing You Want To Do Before You Die:
See my dreams come true.

I tag -
All those who read this n havent done it. Yes you, and you too sir, and aap bhi.

Copenhagen, once more!!

2006-11-07T00:11:00.000+01:00

Back after a long hiatus. Blame it on the increasing workload or my procrastination. Apologies for not being regular. OK.... coming up some pics from my trip to Copenhagen recently. If u remember I have already covered Copenhagen in two posts earlier (Copenhagen I and Copenhagen II). Having seen most of Copenhagen city I decided to go to the outskirts and discover some of the beautiful sites surrounding this city. So off we begin on our journey.

From Copenhagen Oc...

I don’t know if it happens only with me but the sky was again overcast and slight drizzling had occurred that day making it a bit unfortunate but overall it was still very enjoyable. The ride till the castle was marked by some beautiful spots here n there.

From Copenhagen Oc...

First stop Kronborg Slot(slot=castle). It is is situated near the town of Helsingør. This is the Øresund region and the water body seperating Denmark and Sweden is the narrowest here, merely 4km wide. You might associate the region with the world famous Øresundsbron (Oresund Bridge)

This was an strategically located castle in those days when dues were collected from all vessels passing by. It also enjoys being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kronborg acquired its current name in 1585 when it was rebuilt by King Frederick II into a magnificent renaissance castle, unique in its appearance and size throughout Europe.

Kronborg during its times was considered the strongest fortress in Europe. From 1739 until the mid- 19th century, it was used as a slave prison. The inmates were guarded by the soldiers in the castle. From 1785 to 1922, the Castle was completely under military administration. During this period, a number of renovations were completed.

From Copenhagen Oc...

The castle had been invaded and conquered by the Swedes in 1658. The hostility remains no longer but the canons are still pointing towards Sweden.

However the most important point about Kronborg is that it was the setting for much of William Shakespeare's famous creation The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark which is arguably the most popular of Shakespeare's plays. It is def the longest play and from which are derieved the famous words “To be or not to be”.

Kronborg is also the resting ground for the Danish mythological character Holger Danske (Ogier the Dane). According to folklore the statue will come alive when Denmark is in great danger, and Holger Danske will save the country.

From Copenhagen Oc...

Next stop Fredensborg Palace. It is the Danish Royal Family's spring and autumn residence. The palace was built in 1720-1726 and is one of the most used of the Royal Family’s residences. Didn’t spend much time there but was able to catch the change of guard.

From Copenhagen Oc...

Next stop - Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød, was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV, and is now known as The Museum of National History. It is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia. The oldest parts of the palace date back to 1560, and were built by King Frederick II, after whom the palace is named. Most of the current palace, however, was built from 1602 to 1620 by Christian IV.

From Copenhagen Oc...

In 1850s, the palace was again used as a residence by King Frederick VII. During the night of December 16-17, 1859, while he was in residence, a fire destroyed a large part of the main palace's interior. Reconstruction was funded by public subscription, with large contributions from the King, state and the prominent philanthropist J. C. Jacobsen of Carlsberg Brewery, who also provided funds to establish The Museum of National History that now occupies Frederiksborg.

From Copenhagen Oc...

Prince Joachim (younger brother of the Crown Prince) and Princess Alexandra were married in the Palace Church also known as Chapel of orders. Various Coats of Arms adorn the walls of the palace church and the spiral staircase that leads you to the top of the four storey building.

From Copenhagen Oc...

Don’t be late for work, coz :-

2006-10-16T08:58:00.000+02:00

¤ You might skip walking till the bus stop n hail a cab instead
¤ You might be too preoccupied with getting to work, to notice the beauty of the fall colors
¤ You might be in a hurry n forget to smile at the passer-bys
¤ You might be too busy in saving time and don’t bother to say Good Morning
¤ You might be angry with yourself and have a frown on your face, which I need not tell you, will do no good for your face-value.
¤ You might screw up your whole day by getting late.

Have a great week ahead!!!

Some of the searches in the past few days which have lead people to this blog are

2006-10-08T17:10:00.000+02:00

02 Oct, Mon, 20:50:51 Google: suhaag raat ke samples
Dude/Dudette... there is no sample of suhaag raat on my blog. Surely not the kind u r interested in. A fleeting reference to the words in these two posts about Filmi Euphemisms is all I can offer. Filmi Euphemisms I and Filmi Euphemisms II

04 Oct, Wed, 01:40:27 Google: suhag raat video
Abe tu phir aa gaya?? Video to pakka nahi hain bhai... maaf kar de plz...
I think I will remove those words from the above mentioned posts.

04 Oct, Wed, 06:49:36 Google: shireen bhan singh
**Starts day dreaming**
Stocks, Quotes, Quarterly results, financial policies never were so interesting *Sigh*

04 Oct, Wed, 10:36:13 Google: meetings alternative to work
04 Oct, Wed, 11:54:45 Google: "the practical alternative to work"
04 Oct, Wed, 16:48:13 Google: meetings the alternative to work
No one wants to work eh???? Get the gyan about meetings here.

04 Oct, Wed, 14:40:34 Google: mozart mother house hofgarten austria
The visit to Mozart's house in Salzburg, Austria is here.

04 Oct, Wed, 16:08:24 Google: Where is tht tomb of unknown soldier in France?
Its nothing but the Arc de Triomph yaar.

04 Oct, Wed, 18:21:47 Google: MANGAL PANDEY SKETCHES
I have no idea why Google directed u here dude. It must be some kinda bug in their algo or something.

04 Oct, Wed, 22:15:46 Google: jeevdaya netraprabha
Must be the post on Radio which brought you here. If u have listened to radio in the last decade n before u might just love this one. One of my all time fav posts.

04 Oct, Wed, 23:08:13 Google: Nike fra Smothrace
Thats in the Louvre Museum in Paris

05 Oct, Thu, 01:04:14 Google: Nude geroine
Whats that??? geroine??
If you meant 'heroine', I am sorry not much for u here pal. There are no nude heroines out here.

05 Oct, Thu, 03:33:09 Google: desi=radio.com
I menitoned in a lame post that how www.Desi-radio.com and www.musicindiaonline.com is what I turn to when I wanna hear desi music.

06 Oct, Fri, 08:42:43 Google: North Indian Couple Suhaag raat video
GAWD!!!!

07 Oct, Sat, 16:30:52 Google: tanushree dutta tits
M sorry sir . We dont have those in stock either.

07 Oct, Sat, 20:37:53 Google: Skeleton of St. Mundita
Oh yeah thats the one in Munich.

08 Oct, Sun, 14:27:55 Google: tandoori reciepe
One of my fav posts. Reciepe to prepare Tandoori Chicken with very little effort n skill. Enjoy!!

Tagged

2006-09-24T18:13:00.000+02:00

Tagged by Anshul

1)Are you happy/satisfied with your blog with it's content and look?
Yes. It's simple, sober n just the way I would want it to be.

2) Does your family know about your blog?
No.

3) Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
I m not embarassed if it comes up. But I dont push it either.

4) Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
It has made me realise that if u cant put it in words its not an idea. It has made me aware of so many great people around.

5) Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?
I read everything n anything. Not just my commentators (else i would be estuck with 4-5 people.)

6) Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?
Most of 'em have a picture in my mind based upon what they write and if any interaction happens.

7) Admit. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?
It is a great way to maintain a personal log of things that you did saw believed in at that moment. Also it makes u aware about a lot of things happening around you. Over all yes it is a beneficial and powerful media.

8) Do you think that bloggers society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
Regular blog meets happens, though i havent been part of any. I think that bloggers are not isolated from the world. Each one has his/her own life which is away n above the blog.

9) Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it's a normal thing?
no annoyance, Criticism is taken positively.

10) Do you fear of some political blogs and avoid them?
I dont visit political blogs. I read the newspaper though.

11) Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
Who when where why?

12) Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?
No i didnt think about it. But now that u have mentioned it, I think I will work upon a contingency plan.

13) What do you like to hear? What's the song you like to put its link in your blog?
I personally like ghazals, old melodies, Kishore, instrumental and light classical .
Right now its playing Desh Raag. Dont know what will I switch to next.

14) Five bloggers to be the next "victims"?
Tag urself... i m not doing it for u!!!!

I, Me and Myself

2006-09-16T23:22:00.000+02:00

I am thinking about: aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh ... errr.... ammmm.... am trying to think. OK, it's World peace. But on a more serious note, one thing that I now think about daily is food - "Aaj khana kya banaun?"

I said: ..............
I don't remember. When exactly are we talking about?

I want to: see the world, understand the meaning of life, shout my lungs out at the top of Everest, touch n feel the glaciers, go on a wild African safari, camp somewhere in antarctica and feed the penguins who would have gathered around my tent, go rafting, fly a fighter plane, fall in love once again, have so much money that it doesnt bother me anymore, become rich n famous, be able to sing perfectly, write poetry, ....
'Hazaaron khwaaishe aisi, ki har khwaaish pe dam nikle
Bahut nikle mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikle'

I wish: for everything written above.
Bas itna sa khwaab hain

I regret: very few things in life. I am sorry about many things, but I regret very few. Which is because those were my decisions. It did what I thought was right, at that point of time.

I hear: voices. And I converse with people in my head.

I am: who I am. Please dont try to change me. I am perfect for myself.

I dance: as if no ones watching. Actually the way I dance, no one wants to watch.

I sing: when I don't like the audience.

I cry:
U wish!!!!

I am not: what at times people think I am. And if by now u r having your doubts then lemme clarify, I am also not insane.

I am with my hands: a good typist, a skilled programmer, a photographer, a guitarist, a cook.....

I write: coz I want to.

I confuse: my present clients, with long sentences and out-of-GRE-list words. English isn't their first language. MWAHAHAHAHAHA *evil laughter

I need: air, water, food, shelter and love.

I see: with the help of glasses. I don't have contacts.

I tag: All those who read this n havent done this tag by now.
Kya karun, m so low in the blog hierarchy. By the time any tag reaches me its pretty much done by all.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

2006-09-10T00:40:00.000+02:00

~~*Tan Ta Dan*~~

Laydiss and Zaantalman

Dig In

The birthday was celebrated this year in July when I was home. My li'l sis brought this. (Yeah, I know there is a spelling mistake, but what the hell).

This also happens to be the year when my day of my birth, coincides with the day my birthday is. Couple of decades and a few years ago, it was another Saturday night. Will try and put this post up at the exact time of my birth - 12:40 am.

27 ... n still going strong!!!

PS: Thank you Deepti, for being the first one to call n wish.

100 things

2006-09-03T22:38:00.000+02:00

Tagged by Sakshi

The things I've done are in red, the ones that I want to do have an asterisk (*) at the end (the number of asterisks indicates, how desperately I want to do them). An asterisk precedded by a - denoted I dont want to do it.

01.Bought everyone in the bar a drink **
02. Swam with wild dolphins *******
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive ************************
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid *******
06. Held a tarantula -*(negative)
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone *************
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped****
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea ***
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights *********
15. Gone to a huge sports game ****
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa ****
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg****
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper -*
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon *****
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (On second thoughts, I dont think I got all high)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse ***
29. Asked out a stranger *****
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can (At all the Echo points i ahve visited so far.. I think every hill station has one)
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run (Does the equivalent 6 in cricket count??)
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (Never happened.. never will)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces (NA :P)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales ***********
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing ************
49. Midnight walk on the beach *********
50. Gone sky diving *********
51. Visited Ireland ****
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan ***
55. Milked a cow – rather a buffalo - (Both)
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lazed around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving ******
62. Kissed in the rain **********
63. Played in the mud
64.Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China *******
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken *************
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Been in a movie **
73. Crashed a party
74. Gone without food for 5 days
75. Made cookies from scratch
76. Won first prize in a costume contest
77. Ridden a gondola in Venice ******
78. Gotten a tattoo
79. Rafted the Snake River ******
80. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
81. Got flowers for no reason
82. Performed on stage
83. Been to Las Vegas *****
84. Recorded music (not my own though)
85. Had a one-night stand
86. Gone to Thailand ********
87. Bought a house *****
88. Been in a combat zone
89 Buried one of your parents
90. Been on a cruise ship
91. Spoken more than one language fluently
92. Performed in Rocky Horror – But have attended a midnight showing.
93. Created and named your own constellation of stars – Still do.
94. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
95. Wrote article for a large publication
96. Petted a stingray
97. Broken someone's heart
98. Gone on an African photo safari ***********
99. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol *****
100. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
101. Ridden a horse
102. Had a snake as a pet
103. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon ********
104. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
105. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
106. Visited all 7 continents **********************************
107. Eaten sushi
108. Had your picture in the newspaper
109. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
110. Gone back to school
112. Eaten fried green tomatoes
113. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
115. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
116. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
117. Skipped all your school reunions
118. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (So many times)
119. Dyed your hair
120. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

Phew....
Go ahead ...Tag urself!!!

Things I miss about home

2006-08-29T11:24:00.000+02:00

Before going on vacation, Sakshi asked me to do this when I came back - Write about the things I miss about home.

1 Family
I miss them like anything. No friends can make u feel the way they do and can in no way supplement them.

2 Maa ke haath ka khana
Yeah yeah...its the mother of all cliches, but seriously I miss my mothers cooking. Using the same ingredients n method to prepare I just can't get the same taste. Also 3 years of staying away from family has made sure I drop all nakhras and unfussingly eat anything n everything that is edible. U should've known me when I was staying at home. The number of things I wouldnt eat, outnumbered the ones which I would. My mom sees that as the only good things about me statying away.

3 Delhi
I miss Delhi. The city that has so many fond menmories attached to it. The city which I can call mine. The big n small things that make it special and worth missing. Its wide roads, all-seasons climate, Lutyens zone, Raisina Hill, old Delhi, Lodhi gradens, India Gate....

4 The awesome food
The terrific food you get here
Sharmaji ke chole bhature at karol bagh, Pachkuian Road's Samose wala, Karims and (much closer to home hence frequented)Galina for their non veg stuff, the bhalla-papri at UPSC, the bun maska at Chanakya cinema, Kachori outside Hanuman Mandir. Delhi is a foodies delight. Theres something for everyone, that suits your pocket n taste.

5 Delhi Rains
When it rains in Delhi it brings a smile on everyones lips. Rains are such a welcome thing in delhi coz of the heat that yeh dil maange more.

6 Watching cricket
Yeah believe me or not, I miss watching TV. Not for the K brigade serials but for the cricket. Havent seen a match in a year. Couple of other reasons apart from that (viz. Shireen Bhan n Mitali Mukherjee .... Monita Rajpal just doesnt make the cut)

7 Carefree days
Whenever I am home its only on vacations, so somewhere down the line the whoel thing about being at home has being synonymous about being carefree, not having to worry about the meeting in the morning, or the delieverables which have to be tested before deployment and all such work related stress.

Thats all I can think of right now. I guess I am quite an adaptable person. :-)

Copenhagen/København II

2006-08-20T00:02:00.000+02:00

Copenhagen Part I

Picking up from where I left....It was almost 3 in the afternoon by the time I completed all the earlier said things and grabbed a bite.... So post this, was the stroll on the Strøget, which claims to be the longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe. It starts from the townhall and goes right down till the new harbor. If u r stand facing the Town Hall then look at your left, it's the one between the Burger King and 7/11. Shops, restaurants, cafes, ice cream parlors, pubs, street performers, museums, churches, squares... its got everything including some big names in the fashion world like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Marlboro, Boss and more. Strolling along the street u cant help but notice the multicultural mileau of the city. Danish, Indians/Pakis, Lankans, Moroccans/Algerians, Chinese/Koreans/Japanese and people from many other places. Copenhagen is a metropolis.

A little down the street, in one of the bylanes, is something called Rundetårn (Round Tower). Its something like a city observatory which isnt too high for that matter. Seven and a half 360 degree turns and a flight of few steps leads you to the top of the Round Tower. As I mentioned earlier its neither too tall or spectacular but the view u get from the top is def worth a visit. Maybe so, beacuse all the buildings in the vicinity arent very tall themselves. We are right now in one of the oldest part of the city, with red brick roofs, cathedrals, cobbled streets and a lot of history attached.

Halfway down the street there is a beautiful water spouter at Gammel Torv (Old Square) called Storkespringvandet. In earlier days the midwives used to hold hands and dance around it after graduation. Some medieval fertility ritual it sounds :-). I saw something similar in Munich, only that the butchers used to dance around that fountain when they completed their apprenticeship.

Towards the end of the street is Kongens Nytorv. The equestrian statue of King Christian V stands tall n proud and has witnessed many a young people dancing around it when the matriculate. (Whats with all the dancing around things and the Danes??). The monarch rides over a prostrate figure of a man, who symbolises envy. The statue was made of gilded lead which meant that the horse began to collapse under the king, and repairs had to be carried out from time to time. If u look closely then the man who is lying down is supporting the horse with his knee. Finally, in 1946 it was considered necessary to replace the lead sculpture with a new one cast in bronze.

At Nytorv there was an exhibition of Steve Blooms phototgraphs.. all of them relating to wildlife shot all over the world India, US, Canada Africe, Europe, Australia and they were beautiful. This poster adorns my bedroom walls.

Just ahead of Kongens Nytorv is Nyhavn (New Harbor). This is one of the liveliest area of Copenhagen. Brightly colored buildings on either side of the water inlet with lotsa cafes, bars & restaurants and lotsa people hanging out there. Nyhavn in olden days was the heaven for sailors, who after their long months at the sea came to get 'fresh' here. But all thats passe now and what remains is def way better. Cruises start from Nyhavn every hour which take u on a 1 hour trip and show you around the place. Its good for my tired legs who have carried me around the whole day.
It also allows you to see from close quarters the Royal Danish boat, which is always ready to set sail if the need arises.
And now it was time to bid goodbye to Copenhagen and return to the good old Aalborg. One thing to note is that most of the attractions in Copenhagen are within walkable distance, so if u r in good shape it shouldnt be tough to see around. For others theres the tram, the buses and the metro. Maps to these n the city along with pamphlets of the major happenings n attactions are available at the tourist office which is bang opposite the Hard Rock Cafe - Copenhagen. Start walking left when u exit the Central Station and its on the first traffic light.

Some other pics from the trip:-

Random Post ....

2006-08-17T15:00:00.000+02:00

I was just running through the Urban Dictionary when I came across something interesting.This one cracked me up....

11. Lurve

similar to love in that is has the letters "L" "V" and "E"...but thats about it.
Lurve is much deeper, stronger and more meaningful than love. It is possible to make lurve, this feels much better than making love, and is more fun for everyone involved.

heck I lurve you!
hey baby, lets make lurve.

And I thought those people had a slurred speech or some other kinda speech problem .... How very naive of me!!!!

M back!

2006-08-08T19:22:00.000+02:00

OK people, am back. Back to Denmark, back to work, with a terrible cold.
Well just wanted to post something so here is something lame:-

Your Birthdate: September 10

Independent and dominant, you tend to be the alpha dog in most situations.
You're very confident, and hardly anything ever shakes you.
Mundane tasks tend to drain you - you prefer to be making great plans.
You are quite original. When people don't "get" you, it bothers you a lot.

Your strength: Your ability to gain respect

Your weakness: Caring too much what others think

Your power color: Orange-red

Your power symbol: Letter X

Your power month: October

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Will post about the India trip once I am done with the work backlog and the current things at hand.
This is also a hint to all you people that my birthday is only about a month away and I have officially started accepting gifts. In case you have any difficulty in sending me the gifts you may also send me cash or wire the money. Lemme know and I will furnish further details for you.

Yaar main India chala.....

2006-07-13T11:03:00.001+02:00

YAASSSSSS!!!

Finally after 1 year 1 month and 16 days I get to go back home tomorrow... Just can’t wait. Don’t feel like working at all in the office...I think I will make an early exit today. All the packing needs to be done... have an early morning flight tomm...Two stops n I will be in Delhi by midnight.

3 weeks of vacation filled with family, relatives, friends, no work and 'maa ke haath ka khana'.. just what the doctor ordered. I hope u will excuse my inactivity on the blogsphere until then. I promise loads of pictures n posts upon return. (Hmmmm....I know about some of them right now like 'How to beat the Delhi Heat', 'How I successfully avoided my Mom's attempts to find a girl for me').

BTW.. if I know you and you happen to be in Delhi anytime within 3 weeks from tomorrow, drop me a line at:-

lalitsingh99 at gmail dot com

PS: The "if I know you" clause doesn’t hold for girls.
Please respond with your name, number, age and relationship status, and I will get back to you ASAP.

Copenhagen / København I

2006-07-08T16:14:00.000+02:00

Surprisingly even after a year in Denmark, I hadn't seen the city. Well not a surprise considering that after staying in Delhi for 23 years I haven't seen the Qutub Minar. Copenhagen gets its name from it's Danish name København which literally is formed due to the amalgamation of the words Køben n Havn which means Merchant's Harbor. The city is a welcome break from the small town Aalborg where I stay. Of the 5.3 million inhabitants of Denmark 1.5 stay here. Well its neither too big nor too small... just the right size.

I started my day by going to the city hall the Rådhus and the square in front of it Rådhuspladsen (the Town Hall Square). It is the perfect place to start your tour of Copenhagen. It has the main bus station, hotels, restaurants and is in close proximity to Tivoli, Strøget (shopping street) and the tourist office is just about 200 mtrs down the road on Vesterbrogade.
The building was built at the start of the 20th Century and since then has been the political centre of Copenhagen. Its quite big and majestic from the outside and if u wish u can go in and have a look around n inside. The clock tower stands at 106m but the clock was placed in the tower in 1955. What purpose did it serve prior to that???? They also offer guided tours in the hall but I didnt atend one. Oh...and free washrooms as well.
On the right side of the building is Hans Christian Andersen Boulevarden and a statue of the great writer who gave us fairy tales like The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes and many more.

The bronze statue has shining thighs due the no of people who insist on sitting in it's lap and getting themselves clicked. Thanx to those bottoms at least something is shining.
Next up was the Amalienborg Palace. It consists of 4 seperate buildings, Christian VII, Christian VIII, Frederik VIII and Christian IX's Palace, built in rococo style and is where the Danish Royal family live. The equestrian statue in the middle of the square is Frederik V, the founder of Amalienborg. The Armaliemborg palaces have been home to the royal family since 1794 when the Christianborg Palace burnt down.

The Palace is guarded by the royal guards in their furry bear skin hats and once a day there is a changing of the guard at noon. The Royal Guards leaves the Rosenborg Castle at 11:30am in route to Amalienborg. Aftewards, the guard returns to Rosenborg. If the Queen is in the palace there is a band which accompanies the guards. Sadly, the Queen chose to be away when I paid her a visit... Can you believe that??? :-D
On one end of the square is Frederiks Kirke (Frederik’s Church) and on the other end is a beautiful fountain which overlooks the water front.On the other end of the water front is the Copenhagen Opera House designed by tbe Danish architect Henning Larsen (BTW Sydney opera House is also designed by a Danish architect Jørn Utzon).
The next thing I visited is a symbol of Denmark and something u would have def heard about - Den Lille Havfrue or The Little Mermaid... now fellas... the key word here is 'Little'.. believe me... its hardly noticeable..blink-and-you-will-miss-it types.
The little Mermaid sits at the waters edge with her back to the sea. This statue was inspired by The Little Mermaid fairy Tale by Hans Christian Anderson. The statue, made by artist Edvard Eriksen using his wife Elaine as the model, is made of bronze and was erected in 1913. A gift from the brewer Carl Jacobsen, of Carlsberg fame, to the city. The little one has suffered a tough life I must say. She has been decapitated twice and been covered in paint several times. Did someone say 'Living Dangerously’?
The next stop was Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady). This church is one of the most sober and simple one I have visited so far and yet so beautiful and impressive. The present church is the sixth to be built on the same site. After the fifth church was burned down during the bombardment of the town in 1807 the architect Christian Friedrich Hansen created the present classical building in 1811-29.

It has a two-storeyed interior. Behind the altar is Thorvaldsen's figure of Christ and along the walls the Twelve Apostles (on plinths). The church has witnessed many royal weddings and crownings, the latest being the marriage of The Crown Prince Frederik and his lady love (now the) Crown Princess Mary on May 14, 2004.

To be continued....

Karnival Aalborg

2006-06-19T00:04:00.000+02:00

Karnival Aalborg is a three ay event which happens every year in Aalborg. It is the biggest carnival in north Europe and 25000 people participated in 2005. I came to Denmark on 2005 on the day of the carnival and have often joked to my colleagues that the people started singing dancing n drinking coz i had arrived. One year and the event happens again.

The first day is the Bourne Karnival (carnival for children) and I really don’t have much to write about it.

The fun begins on the second day when there is a parade of the various bands through the streets of the city and they all collect at Kilder Parken where the 'War of the Bands' begins. Each band plays for about 10 minutes and then 5 bands are selected for the finals the next day. Then there was a 60 min performance by a guy called SW Storm. The music is fusion, reggae, rock, Indian/Bhangra.

The best feature of this day is def the bands competition coz next day u wont be seeing all of the on stage. Bands from far n wide take part in this event. Drum beats and those gorgeous ladies dancing to their beats.

The final day its a riot on the streets. I don’t mean they literally riot, but the parade and the bands and the rest of the people dressed up as anything and everything just throng the streets, drinking beer n having a good time. The usual shenanigans like drunken brawls, people making out in the corners if they aren’t yet wasted, topless girls et al were all there. Don't feel like writing more so just see the pics.

BTW, theme of this year was "Erotic & Exotic"

World Cup Fever

2006-06-07T16:06:00.000+02:00

Friday the 9th, I would be wearing this new Tshirt which says World Cup Germany upfront.

Here is one of ma fav World Cup songs:-

I have to admit that obtaining the tickets for any match has been impossible for me... and by now I have resigned to fate and decided to watch the matches from the confines of my apartment.

Who r u cheering for???