What a pity!

I tuned in to CNBC TV18 this evening and what I saw was by far the most bizarre thing on TV. All news channels are having a gala time covering all the buzz related to markets. It being Diwali day and markets being open for just an hour and a half, one may think, "oh! so now how are these news channels gonna cater to their religious viewers"...I mean with nothing much happening in the markets, what are these folks gonna show their viewers after all! Tough question with an extremely simple answer...these jerks manage to get astrologers on their shows to actually tell us how "shani" n "mangal" are gonna affect our markets and when the good times would be back for all of us (investors and the ilk). Incredibly insane na!! Imagine a Bejan Daruwala telling you that April 2009 onwards markets would take a U-turn from their bearish behaviour at present...now give me one reason why I should believe him....he says that 2 of his predictions have come true; so does that give his predictions enough credibility? Yeah right!!

And hats off to these news channels for generating content in the absence of real content! They sure know how to keep the business going!

What's the world comin to???!!

One look at the newspaper nowadays and that's precisely what you would say...with each passing day, turmoil is being redefined! It all began with the famous (read infamous) sub-prime crisis in the US and almost all countries are feeling the heat now. Talk about disaster begetting disaster.

Every morning you get to read about layoffs/market crash/bailouts...basically all versions of what we call disaster. Take today's TOI for example:-

>Yahoo to fire 1500 employees
>More banks in Europe may fail: IMF
>Google to go slow on hiring: CEO

and the list could be endless...

Having said that, I feel that it's pretty interesting to see how all of these things are inter-related...I mean one thing leading to another...but that apart it's a terrible phase...now I do not wish to harp on the fact anymore but just realized that reading an otherwise boring Bombay Times today is more refreshing than grabbing a copy of the TOI! Watsay!! ;)

My Trip to the Moon!

The caption does seem hard to believe but tell you what I did manage to catch the lunar experience right here in Thane and how!! It's pretty clear by now I'm talking about the roads in Thane...(which by the way do not qualify to be called roads in the first place)

Ok we do understand when tar roads develop those awful craters but what about concrete roads inundated with patches/cracks/craters? I was stumped to see the "craterised" version of concrete roads, the other day!

Believe me, driving on such roads is nothing short of a nightmare...and just imagine if it's raining at the same time, only to add to your woes. When I saw the condition of roads in Pune during monsoon last year, I used to think that there can never be roads worse than these anywhere (anywhere=other cities..which means small towns excluded)! Well well well, Thane proved me wrong! I admit that the highways are sound enough (excellent quality roads) but what about the crucial junctions like the Majiwada chowk or the ever crowded Ghodbunder road? I mean this is where you have maximum movement of vehicles and given the present condition of roads, it's more like a accidents-waiting-to-happen zone. And what's really pathetic-the deadly combination of craters and loose gravel on the roads...I had a terrible time figuring out the potholes from the road or the road from the potholes...never mind!

It's indeed a sorry state of affairs...when you talk about a progressive India, these are the issues that do matter (n it's really painful at the same time)...problems which need to be addressed right away. If we blame the rains for the pathetic condition of roads then let's face it, we are heading nowhere. If we are to build our infrastructure, we need to find a way out soon and till that happens, we continue to be tagged as a 'developing' nation (almost sounds like an axiom now!!) but there's surely no problem in being optimistic about a 'developed' India! We hope to see that day sometime! :)

So far so good

Well I have been inactive on blogger for quite sometime now so I realized the need to get back. The last month was pretty good in terms of enjoyment, freaking out with friends etc. There was this trip to Lonavla which I particularly enjoyed a lot! I have had outings with family, friends but this was the first time with colleagues and believe me it was simply awesome! And Lonavla was at its stunning best what with the scenic beauty and all!! Everytime Lonavla gets even more gorgeous during the monsoon! All my pics on orkut are a testimony to this.

Since it's a weekend, I thought of catching a movie. One look at the new releases and you know Singh is Kinng would have been the only option so Singh is Kinng it was and what a mindless movie, if at all you want to call it a movie! Seriously I have no idea what Anees Bazmee had in mind while scripting it :( Anyway, I spent my valuable money for watching a movie like that...are the producers listening?? The thing is nowadays, movie reviews aren't that reliable so...sadly, you gotta check out a movie at your own risk...too bad I know!

So that's it from me....will be back soon!

The verdict is out: Imran scores over Harman!!

When two star kids debut on the very same day, comparisons are bound to happen and no prizes for guessing who the winner is this time around....yes Imran Khan shines and how!! The dude's got all one needs to become a successful actor/star.

He delivers in his very first movie and with time on his side, he's destined to carve a niche for himself as a seasoned actor. As for Harman, I would say tough luck that even a movie of such an enormous bugdet (read LoveStory 2050) didn't quite prove to be a decent launch pad for him. Now we've established that he's a Hrithik clone and let's face it nobody likes duds alright; so unless you come out with something original, something of your own Harman I'm sorry to say, your future looks rather bleak!

But hey the brighter side of the story is that you could certainly have a blast catching all the "rave" reviews of LoveStory 2050 on different websites coz it's sure to tickle your funny bone hahah!! I mean this movie succeeds big time, in beating the criticism that Tashan got :D What a pity!!

So take it from me people- if you wanna have fun watching a movie, go watch Jaane Tu... definitely worth a watch and if you're getting terribly bored staring at your same old computer screen, check out the hilarious reviews that poor Harman's received..."FlopStory 2008 (and even that seems like an understatement to me!!) Just goes to show how potentially hazardous the movie could be (of course I haven't seen it yet and after all the caustic reviews I came across, I would be out of my mind to spend my money on it...),gosh I gotta stop right here...stay tuned...more to come on Potpourri!!

New Kid on the block!!

Phew!! After all those unpleasant experiences I shared in my earlier posts, I get to write about something absolutely nice and charming!!!

Cute would not be enough to describe him coz he's much more than that...right attitude, great style, looks to die for...and I could go on and on...Imran Khan, Aamir's nephew could well prove to be the next big thing happening to Bollywood! The man's got everything to make it to the top and the fact that he happens to be a star kid guarantees that he's here to stay (I mean look at Tushar Kapoor haha!!!)

I'm dying to watch "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na"....the songs are good, the theme-tried and tested formula of platonic friendship transforming into love-is interesting though overused...add to it young blood and there goes the recipe for a mushy romantic movie that would definitely be worth a watch to say the least!

Hoping for a good weekend courtesy "Jaane Tu..." !! Hope it's not a let down!

Battling it out....who knows what's neXt!

I was dreaming about God knows what when my alarm went off at 7 and as usual I put it off(know what I have gone past the snooze phase..just goes to show how shameless I've become but something that comes naturally to all late risers right!! :D)...anyway and suddenly at 8 I woke up thinking that I'm gonna be late for work...I looked out of the window and checked the time(8 am as I said)...I kept comparing the view outside and my watch just to make sure if
everything was fine...no, coz at 8 in the morning there was rather economical light and that had me wondering if I was dizzy or what! Believe it or not but it seemed like it was 6 something (I tell ya it was pretty dark) but honestly that's a guess coz I haven't really seen of late, what it is like at 6 in the morning! Needless to say, it was raining as well...and I could see the roads soon getting waterlogged...little did I know what was in store for me later...
By the time I got ready to leave for work, the water level had clearly risen but I never thought, getting to office would end up becoming a nightmare! I stepped out of my building only to find the place completely inundated...never mind I thought...n I waded through the pool of water and made it to the gate somehow...I was partially drenched by now..just when I reached the gate, I realized I had to cross a gushing stream of water flowing across from the gate thanks to the nullah nearby...didn't seem such a difficult task till I actually got there...just for the record, it was raining cats n dogs and here I was staring at the stream...caught in a dilemma whether to go ahead or step back..
Logic said, better go back home and forget about everything else but you can bunk college ya like that and not work [at least technically ;)]!! So I mustered all the courage I had and started moving forward and no matter how hard I tried just couldn't get past it :( I needed a rick to get to office n I didn't want to be stranded like that so I started looking for help....and miraculously, I spotted a rickshaw on the road and the only hitch that remained now was getting into it. The overflowing nullah problem was what I had to overcome...gosh...the current was so strong that had I fallen into it, I would have hurt myself badly and that tells you, this socalled adventure didn't go to the extent that I slumped to the ground or something like that..now people like my bro must be really disappointed after having discovered this haha..just kidding!!
Anyway so this woman got down from the rick and was really sane enough to lend me a helping hand and that's how I landed in the rick but honestly while I was crossing this stream it felt like I was in one of those water kingdom rides...only difference was the water which was anything but clean ew....
While I was on my way to office, I looked around and realized that life, elsewhere, was more or less normal...hardly any water logged areas...I was like wth....turned out that our colony (read New Harvard Garden Society) was one of the few "priviliged" ones to be staring at this whole flood like situation!! But then, such is life dearies :O :D