Valparai

A for Apple

Apple..The first English word that we spelled for the first time and hummed gleefully the first health rhyme “Apple a day keeps the doctor away”. From the late night fairy tale stories we knew it almost killed the beautiful princess snow white and was the one forbidden fruit made by GOD when he created the world. On the day we started learning Physics, the first interesting thing we heard was the story of apple falling in Newton’s head. From the facts simple as these .it grew almost as a synonym of electronic gadgets with the Steve Jobs Apple in the 21st century.
SJ for electronics tool is like MJ for POP like Steve Irvin for Man Vs Wild, A pioneer in what he does and who will be remembered forever.
SJ's sad demise doesn’t come as a big shock, but a much expected one as his battle with the pancreatic cancer was known to all who admire him. The god of the techno gadgets, the mentor of innovations and the weaver of iX wave which washed away the whole world. The mesmerizing ideas that we haven’t even dreamt of. Under his powerful wings Apple as a brand became the desire and drug for the techno savvy gadget maniacs.
To all those who became slaves for the bitten apple logo, it is like the death of a dear friend and those admire the excellence of the company it is like a loss of a techno geek who dreams like a writer.
There are only two such things that the public has waited restlessly outside the shop to get the first version of it in this decade
1)The Harry Potter Books
2) The IPod\Pad\Phone
Both of these had the power to draw the public towards it because they had always something beyond imagination to offer. Both takes you to a whole different world of fantasy and ecstasy .It is not like with his death it all ends..But his name will be there for ever will be remembered by those who lived on his era and will be a hero for the coming ages, for he has changed history...the history of modern communication tools.

THE BISCUIT

A long tiresome day in the office!! Had to work from the morning without having a tea break, have sent a handful of mails to every tom, dick and harry in the team. And the end of the day you find yourself in the same pit hole and all that you 'worked' is totally unproductive. In such a situation you walk briskly to the cafeteria and sip one hot tea and a packet of MILK BIKIES, you feel somewhat relieved right? If you are thinking the protagonist in my article the biscuit is MILK BIKIES you are totally wrong.

The whole concept of biscuit in the corporate popped up in my mind, after a 15 minutes meeting with my project lead. He is all set to push me from a cliff and is convincing me that the cliff is the new biggest opportunity I am getting. The deeper I fall, the deeper I screw up myself and the harder these people are going to scold and the faster I am going to become MAD!!! When I entered the conference room, as usual I was scared because it is the surprise box and anything unpredictable can happen in a slot of 15 minutes. But I put up my face as if I am a hard to crack. Before I stepped inside I prayed to all the 330 million gods, the Hindu mythology boast of and energize myself with all the cosmic forces of nature. I opened the door and all the so called butchers were already there to chop me to pieces. I showed my entire attitude and pulled up a chair and sat pretending that it is the most comfortable seat I have ever sat. My PL read out loud all the so called "achievements" I have done in the past couple of months with pure sarcasm and gave me look as if I am the most unproductive creature in the whole team. I also looked back as if I am the cooooooolest thing in the universe and even if u put me in melting lava I will come back in one piece.Pl was so shocked to see my unflinching look and he came straight to the matter. I am blessed with one more application in my basket, which is already filled with all the rotten application I have ever seen. One more to it was a total NO to me. I took a big gasp and said a big NOOO and he looked at me like - who the hell are you to say no to my decisions. My heart was beating 100 dhak - dhak per second, my stomach crunched, darkness filled my eyes and I was waiting for all the official bad words from him. For half a minute I was numb silence spread the room and a puppy face replaced my total arrogant face that I made up. After the long silence that seemed lasted for an year was interrupted by a kind voice..I regained all consciousness and was searching for the source..I couldn’t believe its him my PL himself..I have never thought he can talk this mildly also. He began to talk with that totally different tone - "You are experienced and this is the time you can take up new responsibility. Don’t you think it’s time to take the next step in your career from PA to A”. Ohhhh KKKKK. Now I understood what he is doing now!!!! It’s the same old Dog and Biscuit thing...The promotion is your sweet biscuit and he is holding it and showing it to me. If you take it, biscuit is yours otherwise...you know what. So how am I supposed to behave like a dog wagging its tail and do whatever its owner intends it to do. It is a tough decision..You want the biscuit desperately..but still you know, what’s in his other hand is so bitter that you have to drink it all day to get your taste of biscuit at the end of the year. So now you got the so called corporate biscuit I am talking about. There inside the conference room I felt the pressure of life, the difficulty of choices, and the complexity of taking decisions. So the sole motive of the meeting was to drop me in a no man’s land with no provisions and all I am expected, is to help myself and survive.

So what you think??? Should I bite the Biscuit?????????????

A Nice Cup of Steaming Coffee

How’s Chennai???? If you are permanent/temporary native of Chennai, what pops in your mind when your friend ask you rather this blunt unwanted question? Question is simple, but less specific. Well.. I tried asking this question to many of my Chennai friends and their response were quiet interesting.
Nikhil thinks being one of the oldest metros in India. Chennai still has got an edge over others (Mumbai and Kolkata) in growth factor. May be it in is in the service sector or in the trade relations or in infrastructure. He thinks Chennai is not saturated like its counterparts. Bhagya is much worried about the garbage disposals and the sewages in Chennai and has got her own plan to clear it out. Even though she is Chennaiphobic , she is much interested about the capability of governance here. Roshni who got grafted to Chennai from the huzzle buzzle of Bangalore says chennaites have got the art of paralleling culture and modernity. Archana put her views on the climate of Chennai in as much interesting way. According to her Chennai has got five seasons, or rather five conditions, hot, hotter, hottest, hotter and hottest. But my most favorite one is yet to come...It was from my childhood friend Jake who was always like a cannon ball in his responses, so this time also I was expecting some fresh idea from him. What comes in his mind when someone utters Chennai is that one cup of coffee which can sweep you away to a different world.
His idea was simple, different from all the materialistic things all of us are talking about..It’s a feeling of complete bliss. One cup with right combination of perfectly brewed decoction mixed with the multiply boiled thick milk and the spoonful of sugar that makes the beverage the most preferable to sip after a tiresome day, this is what he should have thought when I asked him the question and I totally agree with his imagination since I can relate mine to it.
I have sipped so many different types of caffeine beverages from the common cappuccino, mocha etc etc...But the one the people make in Saravan Bhavan and Adayar Ananda Bhavan are quiet amazing. Forget the energy drinks and the adrenalin stimulant pills, this cup can do wonders than a shot of pethadene (I swear I haven’t tried this one).The way it is presented again a quiet amusement, a steel glass which can hold a max of 100 ml placed inside a dawra and the sugar is not mixed prior to the serve so that we can mix it as much as we need. The more you mix the more frothy it gets and more tasty it becomes. I remember the a nice cup of tea written by Orwell, if someone is going to write the same for coffee I recommend that must be the one we get in Chennai and nowhere else.
So let me tell you how this drink is made, quiet simple but it is an art and good to watch the making of it also. Boil milk in a open vessel and when it is about to spill just lower the flame and let it bubble for the next 10 minutes. The main ingredient is the thick brewed decoction. For that all you need is a high quality coffee powder with less amount of chickaree which has a smell that can mute your mind for seconds. Brew it in the Chennai made filter. How it is done is simple. Open the upper lid of the so called filter, add up to 10 teaspoons of coffee powder and gently pour the boiling water to it. Add water according to the concentration of decoction you need. Keep this for half an hour your main ingredient is all ready. Take the preheated boiling milk add to the coffee extract add the sugar as much as you need and your coffee cup is all ready to get served
The question is when the right time to have it is? In my opinion you can take it any time ,even if someone is offering it to me at the middle of the night also I will accept and have it without even a single drop in the cup. But I prefer those who are in their extreme mental situation like ecstasy, anger, depression, may be even love. The result after the treatment is total tranquility, or even a self realization...Try it out. If Ii am wrong don’t beat me because, I will blame you for not enjoying this wonderful cup of pure magic....

Cyber Fever!!!

It’s almost been a year that i have completely absconded from all the social networking sites(SNS).It was a bit of hard thing for me ,since i was super active in three major SNS at that point of time.Orkut Face book and Myspace.Orkut was the first networking site i was introduced to and later acquainted with. I was a total slave of this particular SNS while in my collage days. Facebook spread it tentacles during the late 2009 and MySpace was the one where i had no friends and used only to upload my silly blogs. From a total cyber maniac to no social networking was a daunting task like attending a drug rehabitation center. I was bitten hard by the SNW bug and it hooked deep inside me, even if i wanted to get away it pulled me towards it so hard. I decided to stop it not because i wanted to stop but i hated the idea of becoming a slave to a virtual thing..
At last i was able to get loose all the clutches that bind me; i still check my account once in a while but not a 50 times every day as i used to do earlier.

I still remember when i told my friend circle that i no longer am active in any of the SNS,i heard a collective voice of jaws hitting the ground with pure sarcasm. I agree with them on the pros of using it...but i don’t want to be a full cyber freak’s think what Mr.Orkut and Mark did are totally remarkable..But maybe I am adamant on the old school thought and not willing to change with time....But no..i am not at all against the new age facebook dwellers..i just kept a distance from it just because out chemistry worked out little bit worse..i am truly ware of the wide spread influence of it. Its now the best platform to come up with new ideas, fight against the all the bad things
But still becoming cyber savvy is not what i am ..Like my friends say..they spit on me for having this bizarre idea...they consider me as a one Neanderthal man stuck up in stone age even after the third wave (The communication wave mentioned by Allen Toffler)washed up the whole world. Some of my friends really pity me and i kind of accept it.I had a choice ..i choose my way i know it is not perfect ,but its the style i chose and for that no regrets at allll...

A Perfect Mismatch

Today is one of the freakiest day in my life .The date itself is spelled ..it is 13 th of feb.the figure 13 made me remember all those spooky stories and gost movies i ever watched.Today was the bride interview.The first one.Was i nervous?well franckly i was not i was sleepy.The guys folks palnned to come at 9...yes it is 9 am and it is my usual wakeup time.I was so much frustrated and cursed all those who discovered the nonsense idea of blind date fixing.I woke up at most earliest( i mean the superduperlative degree of early) 6 30 and i had to dip my head in the bucket for 2 mins to get back my conciousness.. had my break fast atlast at 8.00..i was eating food as if i was fasting for the last 2 days.then i realised that i am totally nervous..i eat a lot when i am tensed and rite now y stomac was on fire and my arms so cold.I felt like writing my electonics supplimentary lab exam one more timee.even the jumbo rock sized idlies my mom made was of no help.i gulped almost five of them 1 full glass milk and two bananas.My father looked at me as if he was proud of having a daughter who can eat like this(considering the usual myth that girls eat less when they are tensed...well in my case it is all reversed).Everything was somewhat fine untill we heard the noise of a horn.Allast the folks are here and my turn to meet a guy is nearingg..i killed all those butterflies inside the stomach with one large bite of chocolate truffle which was bought exclusively for the guests.I literally swallowed that piece and i felt so much balanced..there comes 2 men and 2 women.both wemen were bulky and one guy was lean and the other was quiet a jumbo.All of them were nearing their late fiftie and the one who was missing was the so called guy(payyan).

He,the guy himself was riding the car and he carefullu parked it on the side of the road.I felt good he was not kind of jerky bumpy driver as my father ,he was care ful and gentle..i liked that..he stepped outside and my expectations kicked me hard this timee.he was short and lean..i must say very much lean.if iam medium he was like extra small.But looks never matter in life as old people say.We welcomed them and seated all in our well arranged drawing room(It was quiet a herculian task for us to arrange the whole setup).The guy seemed very much cool firt and eventuallyy turned to a bossy youth,but still was verymuch kind with my parents.From my 50 50 yes no condition i slipped to a 75-25 yes no condition .After the tea party it was time for us to have a chat.The guy himself said that we can talk upstairs and we went up..He was going in front and i didnt like someone showing the way in myowmn house...We chatted and i let him talk about his job and while he was enthusiastically explaining his job i became totally bored and half sleepy.He was too practical and less fun lovingg.He was like the opposite of me ..He was a perfect brother not the MAN in my life.HE went on with his ramayan and i heard everything like a patient counseler.He never asked me about my aspirations so i was a little offended.After half an hour KATTI we came down stairs knowing that we were not kind of perfect match.But Iwont say he was horrible .He was quiet a nice gentleman.but sure we were not made for each other.Meanwhile his pareents were busy scanning my sisters marriage album..i was thinking why they got a sudden interest in my sister and later figured out they were checking the jewlry and i was so very much offended this timeand i came to a 100-0 no yes condition.Still i liked the guy hated his family.felt a litle bit conserned about his health and found my marriage to him as the perfect mismatch.

He was settled in trissur and no way he will get a transfer else where and i am in no condition to lose my job for marriage.Its done and over.Hunt is still on and i am experienced now,,,bewaree

FEVER is ON.....!!!!!

The fever is on..all those cricket maniacs are all set to get gleued up to their couches for their much awaited event..the whole purpose for living 4 more years ..yes the cricket world cup(more to the thrill this time its uswho are co hostinggg).After the humiliating defeat of their last world cup season the boys(Still they are reffered like this..dont blame me) are back with a roar.Like all the contemporary indaian families the scene is not much different in my home also.My dad whome i thoght once as the most maddest(i meant the superlative of mad..dont kick me)cricket fan was proved wrong by my own uncle who bought an ultra zoom binoculors to watch the match in the stadium before the tickets were on sale.Un fortunately my dad is going to miss some of the events since he is going to undergo a cateract surgery during the wc season.The operation day was well placed that he wont misss any of India's matches,he can rest for 4 days and comfortably see our teams next performance.I was thinking how he would have conviced the doctor to get this safest slot and my confusion was disolved by one comment from him "One crick maniac can empathise on the other...(what docter Uncle U toooooo) If amartya sen saab says a normal indian ia "argumentative"i ll add he is a cricket freak aswell.One of the strangest thing i have noticed is my dad is so much reluctent in choosing a son in law who has any other sport other than cricket as the high priority.Well..for all those folks out there who are expecting the men in blue will make it this time..i will say hope is always good..i am not being pesismistic out here i too wish this time luck strike on us.jeethega bhai jeethegaa India jeethegaa