Thanks to Reliance :)

Well if I speak of my mobile bill... hehehehe :D, it would have crossed 4-5K every month if there was not this savior. Reliance came up with the plan 495, which provides unlimited STD to other RIM numbers. Luckily someone on the other side also has this connection. It has helped both of us to remain connected seamlessly without interference and without worries of bloating bills. Her bills to have fallen down, thanks to Reliance. Ab itna chuna laga chuke hain to Reliance that it is uncountable. We speak on an average 4-6 hours everyday. Thus, with 1 Re. calls this would count to - 5x60 = Rs. 300 everyday. Multiply it with 30. Rs.300x30 = Rs.9000. Hahaha.... now what do we pay - Rs.495/-. Gross savings man. Higher benefits are that you don't have to worry about bills, but yes, you do have to remember the date of payment. If it lapses, you will not be able to make calls ;). This keeps my love to be merrier and happier as I am available at all times for her :).

Rock On - Rocks

Well, I waited for such a movie to come out from many years and Abhishek Kapoor has done it... I was a bit unlucky that I have office on Friday and I wasn't able to take a leave, else I would have seen 1st day 1st show... However, I will see it on Saturday that's tomorrow 30th August 2008. The reviews of the movie are awesome... with 4 star rating probably it will be the best movie of 2008 ... undoubtedly... I liked DCH so much that I have its DVD and see it almost everytime I get time... Farhan is a genius.... He has truly changed the way we watch movies... It was his efforts that now we get movies like Jaane Tu... and very teen and young movies, which you can enjoy and be full of joy...

Thus, ROCK ON...

Refreshing new music - Rock On!

I had always been a great admirer of rock music. Starting from the era of Rock and Roll with "The Doors - Jim Morrison" to the new age singers such as "Poets of the Fall". I have followed rock music with all its variety. Be it "Metallica" or "Guns N Roses". One thing I always wondered was that why such music is absent in India...

Then came - Parikrama and Indian Ocean. Well to be truthful they were more into fusion music than core rock music. Then came an array of Pakistani singers with their six strings. But they were more pop cultured music than rock music. With their Sufi touch they have improved the quality of guitaring in India. But something was missing and there was a gap in the music industry regarding rock.

The A.R. Rehman Era begins...
With his excellent work in Rang de Basanti for the song "Rubaroo" he made a glance towards rock music. But still the exact string match was not there. Rock is all about storytelling by grace of voice and strings combined together. It is not excellent singing but excellent storytelling. What lacked in Hindi cinema music was the concept.

SEL (Shankar Ehsaan Loy) hit the chord...
Now comes "Rock On!" and the era has begun. I seriously believe it as a benchmark for all Rock lovers who were craving to hear the classic+alternate mix in hindi singing. Farhan is a greatly talented man. I admire him for giving movies like DCH and Lakshya. But now I give him a "God" status. All rock fans in India will certainly like his attempt at Rock. Perhaps Abhishek Kapoor never expected such a fan following in these few days of his revelation of Rock On. They depict a culture in youth which was hardly captured. Youth were always shown running after skimpily clad girls which had always made me think - "Hey that was not what, when we were in college with our 3/4s and guitars/flutes/drums etc..."

Songs in a row:
1. Rock On "Title Track" - Simply fantastic with its words to bring out people to sway to the rythm.
2. Pichle saat dinon mein - Farhan at his best and a wonderful video to go with. The storytelling at its best.
3. Socha Hai - Very thought provoking by Farhan again. The video is fantastic...
4. Sindbad the sailor - Should have been put as the song for Indian Olympic contingent. It pushes the youth to achieve dreams that are considered impossible...
5. Tum ho to - Soft rock, fantastically derived and composed
6. Zehreelay - Very hard and amazingly sung
7. Yeh tumhari meri baatein - Very beautiful track, though not rock

The movie trailer has some creatively selected one on one talks between young budding rockstars. Simply awesome!

Arjun Rampal looks awesome in his depiction with those flowing hair like "Kurt Cobain"

Kudos to Rock On team! Looking forward to see the movie... :)

Vijender, Jitender and Akhil at their best

Well frankly speaking, when the Olympics began I was as usual cynical about performance of Indian contingent. But I was proved wrong, and I am happy that was the case. When these three pugilists began their journey to glory I was busy sipping away coffee at the CCD. Then the first news of our boys entering the tantalizing zone of medals, my eyes were lit with hope. The way Akhil smacked his opponent towards no contest showed the courage of Indians at the big stage. I had tears in my eyes because I know how they must have achieved this. Probably without any help from our thankless agencies, they had only one thing in mind - "The Indian Flag". It should always fly high. Abhinav's feat must have started the frenzy to its maximum, but these boys had shown what others couldn't over these many years.

Olympics is a big stage, and success at this stage boosts the morale of our countrymen. Perhaps it is time that we join hands and show our younger generations the path to glory for India.

"Bharat Maata ki Jai!!!!"

Let the tricolor be at the helm...

Sorry state of affairs

I must admit that I was once a great admirer of Delhi and its adjoint areas for all its goodness. But lately things are changing and the change is in a negative slide. I was particularly happy the day I got selected in a premier MNC at Gurgaon as a management trainee. Finally it seems I will be out of Kharagpur :). No offenses, but Kharagpur in particular has a very slow paced life, which is not meant for a guy who is from Delhi. I have seen good and bad days of Delhi from past 25 years of my life here in this great city. But the degradation and massive destruction of local infrastructure has led me to think otherwise. Jolting around in the city I see everything so blurry and "creatively" damaged. Places which were once revered have now vanished in rubbles of mindless construction. Construction, when it all began, was seen as a great step towards development. But as things go haywire, they leave behind nothing but more and more anguish.

So let me begin with the frustrated bashing of Delhi and specially Gurgaon...

The myth of millennium city "Gurgaon"

"These are not potholes on roads, but roads in potholes"
If you see the roads in Gurgaon you will say that this is hell on earth. Electronic City is where I work and this place is the most badly hit. There were roads which have converted into ditches of death. Not a single day goes without an accident because of these roads. I gather some old opinions about these roads and found that when these roads were made a year back they were shining jewels of the city. But I guess all that glitters is not gold. The roads have vanished and all that is left are potholes.
The road in front of Maruti Udyog is particularly the one in discussion. When it rains, the roads get waterlogged till waist height. Think how cars could drive into these and forget about the bikers. The roads are non existent. Only one rainy season has exposed how the Govt. of Haryana has scandalized the construction of these roads. Perhaps it is time that we put forth an RTI regarding this.

"Water water everywhere, and if you don't know swimming, how can you survive here?"
Delhi or Gurgaon are particularly dry places in India, so how come we have floods here. Answer is simple. "Failed civic amenities!". The drains are clogged and civic authorities do not care to clean or open them up. So much construction at all places has made the matter even worse. Take for example the straight road from TCS, ASF Center towards the toll road. Every rain brings out the watery chasm of Gurgaon. Cars, bikes, buses and life comes to a standstill. And every time you will wonder "why in this whole world I came to this place?". Now even I wonder why these corporate houses have chosen Gurgaon. To be truthful, this place is worst for any corporate house. It is extremely bad in its civic amenities. And think about the corporate clients who come in. What would they think, after seeing all this?

"Insensitive people with their vehicles of doom!"
Traffic... Ha... it is something that every Delhiwaala cries foul about. But when it comes to driving on wrong side and blocking of traffic, no one lags behind. Guys, we are responsible for all this mess and we should take responsibility and act in a better way. It seems in this city everyone is in a hurry... But the good old saying "Jaldi ka kaam shaitan ka! Aur shaitan ka hasr hamesha bura!" holds true. These are the same people who end up being late themselves and end up creating havoc on roads. Inexistent traffic policing adds to the woes. The traffic policemen are the most inefficient and ineffective people handling the traffic flow. They are ill-trained and have no idea about controlling traffic.

I shall continue with this bashing...