Interesting Signboards

I came across a few funny sign boards recently. Here r a couple of them..

Check out d 1 to d left. I caught dis 1 near a fly-over at Madurai. Well, it does convey the required msg. But i guess it can definitely be done in a better way.. I really wonder who comes up with these kinda stuff...

This one's a masterpiece. Whoever came up with this stuff must have have been an expert in language(i mean his mother tongue). My friend caught this one during a ride outside Coimbatore.

More to follow...

D: It is written

Slumdog Millionaire. The most talked about film of the day. Inspired from the novel Q and A by Vikas Swarup, Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy wrote the script for the movie and presented it to production companies, who later invited an impressed Danny Boyles to bring it to life. The flabbergasting screenplay, impressive camera, and the well-paced editing complete the film's 'hats off' list, with Dev Patel's (Jamal Mailk in the movie) acting, Freida Pinto's (Latika in the movie) subtle beauty, Anil Kapoor's crispness and Irfan Khan's eyes in the onscreen league. A special appreciation to the childhood actors of Jamal Malik and his brother who stole the show with their performance. I guess the casts' perfection in their roles is attributed to Loveleen Tandan, the casting director of the movie, who has played a major role in visualizing the India that is portrayed on the screen.

The sound tracks by ARR have proven to be a unique milestone in not only his career, but for the country as well. He has brought the picture to life with his astounding notes. With the movie's popularity spreading worldwide, the golden globes would just be the beginning of a long list of awards yet to be won, including the 10 oscars that it has been nominated for.

Centred around the state of poverty in India, the movie has worked the energy and vigor
present within the slums of Mumbai in the way an artist uses colors on his portrait. But some Indian critics feel that this is just an act of selling the plight of Indian poverty to the West. Get a life ppl.. When education is being traded for money, selling poverty only does a lot more justice. More like an oxymoron actually. Selling Poverty. Well, the movie did openly screen certain negative aspects of the country. But, reality being portrayed so bluntly, u just cant go against it. Rather, u admire the way in which several story tracks have been woven into a single narrative. 

With the premieres in India on 23rd Jan, the Indian crowd is eager to receive and garland this "Slumderful" contribution to the world.

Who wants to play Dodge-shoe...

With reference to the shoe throwing incident on President Bush at Iraq, I was actually quite startled when I initially heard about it. The journalist's got guts to throw shoes at a country's President. What I'm wondering is, what were his bodyguards doing. I mean, the journalist had enough time to throw 1 shoe, reload, then throw another. And even after that, it took some time for ppl to react. Weren't the guards supposed to jump in front of even a bullet to save the President. And all they did was watch Mr.Bush play Dodge-shoe. Argh...

There were a lotta comments about this video which has had more than 5 million views. But i liked this the best: "The journalist had an opportunity of a lifetime. Its like running for gold and missing it in the last 5 meters".

An Iraq citizen spoke to the press stating that "Throwing a shoe at someone is a sign of insult in Iraq. It means that person is worse than the dust under the shoes", or something similar to this. Well, did they really think that Americans take that as an honor of some sort. Get a life...

On the other side, Mr. Bush actually has done something good to the economy. Mr. Baydan, the supposedly creator of the famous shoe, has had more than 100,000 orders from several countries after the incident and the firm has given employment to more than 100 ppl. Looks like Mr. Bush has done the good deed of his reign. Way to go... Moreover, he seems to be taking it pretty light-heartedly. "This shows freedom of speech. All I can say is it it size 10", was his jovial comment.

The incident became so popular that there's even a game online mocking it. Ppl sure r determined. Anyway, i just thot I'll giv u the link. So, hav fun...

-> Play Dodge-Shoe

The world just seems to be waiting for something interesting to happen eh.. After all, y els wud i even write this post..

Welcome 2009

Well, I do realize that this is kinda late for such a post. Nyway, better late than never, rite..
So, here we go...

Every new year's eve, we celebrate the oncoming year. But y do we really celebrate? R we really excited about getting a new calendar? Or the innumerable pointless resolutions that we make, but forget to keep up? Or is it d day off from our workplace? The truth is - We just need a reason to celebrate :). A reason to hav fun, get in touch with friends, stay up late in the night, booze, make up with broken relationships n so on.

So with the truth out in the light, lets get to know some reasons y we really could celebrate the onsetting of year 2009. In general, it has become customary to have several names for a particular year with respect to the recent trends and happenings. In this context, 2009 has its own specialities.

• Chinese: Year of the Ox
• Science: Year of Science
  
• Economy: Year of the thaw
• Internet: Year of the Hacker
  
• Astronomy: Year of Astronomy
• Computer: Year of the Linux Delusion
  
• Environment: Year of the Gorilla
  
• US: Year of travel deal

With this, I pass on my new yr wishes to everyone. N if u still r bent upon making new yr resolutions, lemme help u wid some that u can easily keep up.

• Read less books. A little learning is a dangerous thing. Too much of it can really wreck your head
• Eat more. Dont u look skinnier
• Cut down on exercise. Too much is bad for your health, it can even kill you.
• Watch more TV. It's very educational. Catch up on all those programs you missed down the years.
• Work less. Take it easy. All work and no play can make you a dull boy or girl.
• Play more computer games. Scientists say they're good for you and improve your visual skills. But you always knew that.

Btw I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me...

Tata Nano - Or is it The New Mitsubishi i

India's hottest topic at present in the automobile industry seems to be the launch of the new tata nano - the world's cheapest car. There hav been many successful small cars such as d smart, mini, etc. Yet, tata stands out considering the cost of the car. But how much credit can tata actually carry for dis revolution..?
Covering the basics, the nano has a 2 cylinder 623cc engine with a 4 speed transmission and a 15L tank (A Honda Unicorn can carry more fuel than dat). The people's car boasts of roomy interiors, tubeless tires, low carbon dioxide emissions n wat not. The official site (http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/) has d following lines on it.


"People world over were keen to see what Tata Motors' People's Car looked like, and know more about it. The Tata Motors website saw nearly 7.9 million hits on January 10 (the day the Nano was unveiled), while the Tata Nano website saw 4 million hits in 30 hours, making these sites among the busiest in the world."


If u ask me, ppl really didn't hav to wait so long. Instead they could've js checked d Mitsubishi site for d 'Mitsubishi i'. From d shape of those head lamps to the small protruding line in front, both cars seem to have Siamese twin-like character. Wat a coincidence!!
Now, js imagine raising d windshield, pushing in d wheels closer to d body wid a few minor tweaks n voila..!! There u hav it...
Well they r technically pretty different though. Dis one has a 2 cylinder 659cc engine with a 4 speed automatic transmission n offers both rear n four wheel drive options. N dis 1 has a 35L fuel tank (Phew..). D Mitsubishi i wud be a wonderful car to buy for city roads in India had it not been for d price (8999 UK pounds). N of course, its not for sale here...

On d whole, I'd like to 1st congratulate d nano team for trying something new. But they seem to hav concentrated 1ly on d budget n missed out on many features. Its a brilliant vehicle dat can substitute a Rs. 65K bike for an Indian family wid an average salary. But it'd only be those despos waiting to get their hands on a 4-wheeler who'd be their buyers.

49-O : A likely Solution for Vision 2020

Recently I came to know about this option called 49-O in our election system. So js thot i'll let u guyz know..

In India, an average of 45% of the entire population only register their votes. So, even when a political party does win, it isn't exactly what u'd call a win. Thats why the govt., insists on citizens exercising their right to vote. But ppl refuse to vote stating various reasons, the most common one being that he is not interested in any of the candidates (leave out d lazy ones).

Provision

In 1961, the govt. of India came up with a new option called 49-O, according to which if a voter does not wanna support any of the candidates, he can register with the officer in the booth for the same. Once u fill out the necessary forms, it is officially recorded. This wud not only prevent illegal votes, but also let the election commission be aware of your intentions. If majority of the votes frm a particular ward r for 49-O, then the entire election in that ward wud be cancelled and a re-election wid another set of candidates wud've to be conducted.

Flaw

The biggest problem in this system is that the 49-O option is not included in the EVMs(Electronic Voting Machines) and has to manually registered. Also, ur anonymity is not preserved while registering for a 49-O. Due to this hole, even ppl who know abt the system think twice to register for a 49-O.

Recently, a proposal has been made to include this option also into the EVMs. But discussions r still under progress(abt god knows wat).

So, if u feel the candidates in ur ward r unworthy, u know wat to do...

References

1. The Hindu

2. Election Commission of India

3. Wiki Link

4. Oh Podu

Road trip to Kodaikanal

It was a bright mornin with clear skies as 6 jubilant college-goers sped off to Kodaikanal from Madurai in 3 bikes on 06.09.08 (Saturday). The drive lasted 5.5 hours which included a 1 hr halt at Batlagundu for breakfast 'n' various foto sessions on the scenic route. With a sudden shower that started toward the end o' d journey, we all entered into sterling resorts in time for lunch, dripping wet and shivering.

Alright, now lets not go into all d boring details about wat we did.. So goin to d highlights... I'm sure whenever u ppl visit kodai, u'd probably drop by d pillar rock, suicide point, pine forest, blah.. blah.. blah.. whatever is present in d regular brochures. But for a change, i suggest u guyz try Mannavanar lake i.e., if u haven't yet been there. Its abt 40-45 kms from kodai n its simply beautiful. U hav a few view points, n an interesting temple on d way. Most package tours take u 1ly to a view point frm whr u can c lake. But u got to cross Mannavanar village to actually reach d lake. A take away lunch n a drink of ur choice (remember dat u hav to drive back all dat distance) wud aptly blend into ur relaxing vacation.

Fairy falls (foto to d left) is another interesting n isolated place, apt for a good chat, located within d govt horticultural farming limits. Taking a detour on d way to d observatory should take u directly to d spot...

N here's another tip. If u r goin up there in a bike during d cooler seasons, I wud advice(wat i've learnt frm experience) a helmet, eye gear, n a pair of gloves to keep ur fingers frm becoming unreactive to motor signals. N dis is for d riders... Try not to stare at d walkers or d cyclists (js while riding) ;-).

Some gud food spots dat i wud suggest:

Non Veg

1. Nadar mess - Bus stand road

2. a couple of muslim shops(forgot d name) - market road

3. u also get gud pigeons n beef in market road

4. Tibetan bros restaurant

Veg

1. Astoria - near bus stand

2. Meenakshi Bhavan - Lake road

I'm poor in dis section. So if u r a veggie, u better look to sumbadielse for suggestions.

Btw, if u ever wanna find such outta d way places, u'd be better off chatting wid d tibetan shop owners near bryant park rather than d tourist guides. Those ppl hav lived their entire lives there n giv u info outta genuine interest rather than for monetary benefits.