A Mail I want to remember !!

This is an email I wrote to a bunch of my friends who had formed the Band at UTA with me. I want to preserve it here :)

Sent to: Shrikanth, Rena, Kashyap, Sukanya, Ashwin, Supriya, Murugan

Date: 28th December 2009

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Hey guys,

I attended a music show a couple of days back. It was a tribute to Mohd. Rafi on occasion of his 85th birth anniversary..

The Band was reaally good.. If i wanna use shrikanth's term " it was very tight" :D . There was loads of percussion, just the way WE all like it ;)

- two tablas

- 3 bongos

- 1 dholak-

- drums and octapad ( played by a single guy who used both simultaneously in some songs :-O )

- lots of other diff percussion instruments like tamborine, ghunghroo, those egg shaped ones n all

- 3 violinists( who were very good)

- a lady played sitar, and that other instrument that shahrukh khan plays in DDLJ (:P i dunno the name) .

- 2 guitarist

- 1 flutist, who was playing flutes of all shapes and sizes.

- 1 guy playing 2 keyboards.

They used all instruments well and there communication was good too ( i kept observing them :D )

The singers were also good ( except one, who sucked big time) .. And they didnt mess up hindi pronunciations.. so i was happy about that too :-P

There was especially this one guy who sang "o duniya ke rakhwale" It was simply outstanding..  His range was so amazing. the whole audience unanimously gave him a standing ovation.

For ppl who dont know the song and are interested in knowing about it, here's the link.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX8a2v2o74Y&feature=related

I reached there when the sound check was going on, and thats when so many memories came back :)

It Was really great listening to them.

I could virtually SEE 4 KDs, 2 Shrikanths, 2 Renas, 1 murugan, 2 Supriyas ( there were only 2 female singers, both with a sweet voice :D ), 1 ashwin and 1 prasad on stage..

And I swear I had a tear in my eye !!

Miss you all !!

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Heal the World!!

I feel that NOW is the time to our bit for the betterment of our India and the world.
NOW, when we are young, energetic and strong..
I want to join some organization which is helping improve the India/world in a significant manner. Like education, environment improvement projects etc.
I hope I keep the spirit up and encourage others to do so too..

Lessons of life !!

The song "O Rahi re" from the movie Luck By Chance
Highlighting the lines which I feel are important in everyone's life.. 

jaag uthe hain raaste , o rahi tere vaaste
teri zindagi…tujhse har ghadi… aur har kadam… hai yeh poochti…
rahi dekh raha hai tu kya
har har disha… hai rastaa…
bol tera hai kaunsa rastaa
rahi re o rahi re
kisi ko nahi hai pata
rahi re o rahi re
kahaan ja raha hai bata

ik raasta kaanton ka hai
ik raasta phool ka
tujhpe hai kaun se tu raaste ko chune

ik raasta hai soch ka
ik raasta bhool ka
tujhpe hai tera dil ab kya kahe kya sune

hoga tera hi yeh faisla
hai sochna ya bhoolna
bol tera hai kaunsa rastaa

rahi re o rahi re
kisi ko nahi hai pata
o rahi re o rahi re
kahaan ja raha hai bata

aasaaniyaan mil sakti hain tujhko zamaane se
par zara yeh bata
jeena hai kya yun tujhe
aazaadiyaan tu paayega
khud ko hi paane se
phir bata koi dar
mehsoos ho kyun tujhe

hoga tera hi yeh faisla
aasaaniyaan …
aazaadiyaan …
bol tera hai kaunsa rastaa
rahi re o rahi re
kisi ko nahi hai pata
rahi re o rahi re
kahaan ja raha hai bata
rahi re o rahi re
kisi ko nahi hai pata
rahi re o rahi re
kahaan ja raha hai bata

Woman of Substance

Before my sister got married, both of us used to love to browse the matrimonial section of the sunday newspaper as a source of entertainment. We would read the posts and make fun of the some of them :D

So yesterday I thought of doing the same after a long time, but this time I found something very insipirational.
I saw a post in "Wanted Grooms" section . The post was something like this:
" 29 yr old girl, 5'7'', B.Com, good looking, HIV positive. Seeking a boy who is HIV positive...."


I suddenly felt very inspired. I imagined a spotlight on these few lines, which illuminated the sincerity, honesty and spirit for life this girl possesses.
She is telling the world that she is a normal girl who wants to have someone love her, understand her and protect her. First of all, she is brave enough to admit to the world that she is HIV positive.
Secondly, by wanting to marry someone who is HIV positive she is ensuring that the guy understands her and most importantly doesnt feel obliged to take care of her or feel that he's stuck with her.

Without even knowing her, I feel very proud of this girl and wish her the best in life :)

Joined My Sixth Paid Job On 5th November 2009

Started work as Software Developer in Thoughtworks Technologies India on 5th Nov 2009.

Listing my first 5 jobs, for memory sake :)
1. Software Developer, Hewlett Packard
2. Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Texas at Arlington
3. Salesperson, UTA BookStore
4. Computing Helpdesk Assistant, University of Texas at Arlington
5.  Software Intern, Siemens Energy and Automation, Dallas, TX

Looking forward to learning lot of new things about technology and about life, meeting lots of interesting people and earning lots of money :D

This post has been long over due..

There are these scenes in movies/serials in which when a baby is born and it holds someone's finger in its tiny hand, the person looks so overwhelmed with emotion. I used to wonder, isn't looking at the baby, or holding her in your arms enough to generate that emotion in you?
But then, my wonderful, lovely niece taught me better :) The day she was born and i was going to the hospital to see her, I was certain , that being the emotional fool I am, I would definitely cry when i see her and my sister. But miraculously I did not. I held her and still i did not. But when Mahika was around 15 days old and she grabbed my finger, I felt a little drop of tear rolling down my eyes :) That's a feeling I'll remember all my life.

India's Got talent!!

I wanna encourage every indian to watch India' Got Talent.. even if u dont vote, or even if u feel that the victory is decided unfairly by voting..( cos i think so too) If do believe in the voting thing, vote for the right people..

If all of us watched Britain's got talent or america's got talent.. we MUST watch this one, and truly appreciate what is India, and what we all come from..

There's beauty, grace, culture , intelligence.. You will see that there are far more GROUPS performing rather than individuals..

You will see that there are very few "foreign " acts..

I'm trying to keep aside the fact that the concept was copied.. But the judges are far more appreciative and polite.. I like that.. They are not copying THAT rudeness or nonsense from the west,. like in some other shows ( read, indian idol)

Does this mean something??

My last day in Hewlett Packard, India was July 31st 2007. I left the US 8 days after that. Thats when a new phase of my life began.

My last day at Siemens, Dallas, TX, USA is July 31st 2009. And I am leaving for India in a few days, to never return, in near future at least.

Does this date mean something? Is there something good waiting for me?

Let's hope for the best !!

Aamir Khan said in an interview: My friends and family tease me that if you wanna make aamir do something, build a movie around it, he will do it. For example, working out for Ghajini :D

Time: 1.30 pm CST
Date: April 12th 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Event: An accident. I was driving.
Cause: Don't exactly know. Wrong reaction to another event. Everything follows the cause-effect phenomenon.
Lesson Learnt: Calm down. Be careful. Do not panic. Everyone is important in life. Live and enjoy with them and let them know that you love doing so.

This is so exciting!!

I discovered Aamir Khan's Blog today. It's on the official aamir Khan website, and now on my favorite links too :D
At first I thought it might be a hoax, someone pretending to be him. But as I kept reading, I realised it IS him.. Its so exciting to read something written by Aamir Khan and to see that he replies to most people who comment on his blog posts.. He scolded someone for watching a pirated DVD too :-p
Check it out!!

Cheers

Time to come to senses...

All songs sung by Atif Aslam must be banned.. Should be boycotted by the music community.. Because anyone who is even remotely related to music or understands it a bit can easily find out what a useless singer he is.. Or on the contrary, the ppl who think he sings well AND think that they are musically inclined are sadly mistaken, cos these two "thoughts" cannot coexist!!

And yes, some of the songs made for him should be re-sung by KK or Shaan or Sonu Nigam.. Mostly KK, cos most of those songs would sound awesome in KK's voice :D